"Stop!" Came the voice of Cuphead. Chalice's piercing yellow eyes shifted over to see the boys rushing towards her. The cup brothers stopped a safe distance away and tried to talk some sense into her.
"Ms. Chalice, please! You have to fight his influence! Don't let him control you!" Cup urged her. The demonic girl merely roared and lunged toward them. Her oversized jaws opened wide, hoping to snap one up. Mugman took a dive that pushed both him and the young cup out of the way. They shuddered as they heard the teeth clang against one another. Her heels made the demon stumble and take a few seconds to find its footing.
He's weakened her will good. I can hardly sense it inside there. Tsundere observed as the mutated body slowly turned its way to stare at them again. There's no use trying to reach her in this state.
Mug nodded and relayed this information to his brother.
"Cuphead, she's too deep in there to hear us right now. We're going to have to weaken her first. I think Tsundere and I have enough strength to fight for a little while, but we're definitely going to need your help."
"Okay, just please be easy with her. Don't hit her too hard." The young cup pleaded with him.
Before the blue mug could respond, Chalice pounced at them with a fist frothing with pink fire. The boys took a dive in opposite directions to avoid it. Her fist slammed the ground, instantly killing off a patch of grass with a wicked sizzling sound. Tanuki turned her toward Cuphead.
"Come on, Chalice. Please don't make me do this." He said, pointing a finger at her. The mutated chalice merely responded with a hiss. "You're asking for it!" Cup warned her before unleashing his blue peashooter shot. The small blue magic pellets merely bounced off her armored chest. Those fiery pupils watched, seeming very unimpressed. "Oh, that's not good." The young cup drawled out.
Chalice lunged at him again. She shrieked when something collided with her side and tossed her away. The demonic female shook herself off and roared at a mutated mug that now stood before her. Mugman challenged back with his own roar. Chalice charged forward in her uncoordinated manner. Mug did not rush her in the same way. He let her come near and used her momentum to pick up her enlarged body and toss it over his head. Cup followed up by getting close and unleashing his red spread shot at close range. The mutated chalice shrieked in pain and tried to shield her face. She blindly took a swipe at the young cup. The back of her hand smacked the boy's head, knocking him down onto his side. Tanuki made sure that Cuphead didn't have an opportunity to get back up. The demon made a clawed hand come down on the mortal's head to keep him pinned to the ground. Cup panicked and tried to move her off. He could feel her hot breath on his neck. That probably meant she was close to biting him.
Mugman tackled the mutated chalice away before she could clamp down on his brother's neck. They rolled along the ground, trying to pin one another. Mug thought he had her down when a knee came up and socked him in the gut. He hissed in pain and got turned over.
Now pinned by the demonic chalice, Mug could only watch as one of her fists reared back. It started to glow with pink hellfire. A few fiery punches landed on Mugman's head before he had a chance to retaliate. He promptly bit down on her hand when it came too close. The girl shrieked in pain. Although this cry sounded more like the actual chalice than a mutated beast roaring. It backed off a bit, clutching its stinging hand. The young mug used this moment to get up and slug her with his own glowing fist. She made that awful scream again as her body tumbled away.
"Mugman, take it easy! You're hurting her!" Cuphead became concerned when he heard that noise coming from her. Mug merely shrugged with both his shoulders and hands. It didn't seem like his attacks should be hurting Chalice too much when the demon was there as a buffer over her soul.
Chalice stood up and summoned pink electricity magic to her fingers. The beams of electricity shot out erratically, bouncing off the ground and trees. Also burning them in the process. The cup brothers danced around and were ultimately able to avoid the attack. Tanuki made his host's body sneak up on Mugman while he was distracted and pushed him down. The pink electricity was still zapping at the girl's hands as they held onto the mug child. A powerful surge of energy went into Mugman's body. His body convulsed as the electricity engulfed him. A pained roar came from the boy's throat. Once the shock was over, he lay there seemingly paralyzed as he panted heavily. He felt her clawed hand press down on his head. Sparks of that pink lightning seemed to encircle his body and keep him from fighting back. Cup saw Chalice's fangs lean down near his brother's throat.
"Hey! Hey, over here!" Cuphead called and waved his hands around. "You want another soul? Come over here!" The mutated chalice stepped off Mugman and plodded forward to the young cup that was taunting it. "That's right. My soul is still ripe for the taking." Cup kept egging the demon on. He slowly backed away from the creature, charging a powerful orange blast behind his back. Cuphead kept waiting for the moment that the parasitic creature would expose itself before grabbing onto him. It was a short window, but the cup child was confident he could make it. He watched as the chalice's head reared up, with gleaming jaws opening.
Now! Cup silently said to himself and unleashed the charged orange magic on her head from that close range. The mutated chalice shrieked and fell back. Cuphead followed up and held her down by the shoulders.
"Now's your chance, Chalice! You have to fight his will! Break free of his control!" The enlarged body under him struggled to get free. Chalice then stopped and let her split handles reach out to the young cup. They were like haunted tree branches that snaked around Cuphead's arms. Once they had hold, they unleashed a pulse of pink electricity. Cup cried out in pain and fell off when the handles let go of him. Chalice promptly stood up and lifted the boy by his shirt. Still with sparking hands, she landed two solid punches to his cup before he found the strength to say something to her.
"Please, Ms. Chalice. Don't be a dum-dum." He pleaded. Cuphead could feel his right eye threatening to close due to a big bruise right above it.
"Rrrrgh?" The mutated chalice sounded in a confused manner, narrowing one of her eyes at him. Her oversized cup cocked to the side, her mouth still half open. Cup wasn't sure if she could fully close her mouth in that state. But he realized she might have been listening in that moment, so he kept talking to her.
"Yes, a dum-dum!" He said excitedly. "You remember that word, don't you? It's what you used to call me when I messed up during our adventures. And I sure as hell messed up a lot. But you never gave up on me…. and I'm not giving up on you." Chalice seemed to pause before ultimately squealing and dropping the cup child. She stumbled back, holding her head as if it hurt.
"That's it, Chalice! Fight him! You can do it!" Cup said from his collapsed position on the ground. Both the brothers got up and started toward the distracted female.
Quickly! Now's our chance! Tsundere told Mug, who knew exactly what he was talking about. It was a good opportunity to reach in and pull out Tanuki while they seemed to be having a spat.
Cup pushed her down from the front and Mug held on from the backside. Once she was down, the mug child wasted no time in reaching an arm down into her cup where he could access the spiritual layer. His gloved fingers felt around and eventually got hold of one of the demon's tentacles. The mutated chalice roared in anger as the pesky mug started to pull the parasite out. She began to thrash about, trying anything to get the brothers off. A bubble of pink energy radiated from the chalice's core. It threw Cuphead off, but Mugman still had hold. Without Cup to help hold her down, the enlarged figure stood up. This made the mug's angle for pulling less than desirable. She continued to thrash about. Mug felt one of those heeled shoes stomp on his foot. He hollered in pain as he felt a crack form even through his shoe. Her hands reached back and clawed at anywhere she could reach on the young mug.
Mugman definitely wanted to let go now. But his own parasitic creature made sure they still kept hold. A couple tentacles began to rise out of her cup. They arced up like long and thick snakes. Their narrow ends pointed at Mug as if they were looking at him. One lashed out, wrapping itself around the mug's chest. The muscular appendage was seething hot. Mugman screamed in agony as it squeezed. It then lifted him up and tossed him away as if he were nothing more than a ragdoll.
Wh-why is it so hot? The mutated mug wondered. His body shook and did its best to get up. Mug could still hear his chest sizzling as the tentacles rolled back into Chalice's cup. The mutated chalice turned around. Her eyes seemed to bulge against her cup. They glowed even brighter than usual. This meant the demon was extremely mad now. The girl's pink figure roared and summoned raw energy that radiated from the enlarged body. Cup shielded his eyes from the bright light. When he brought his arms down, he saw Chalice heading for Mugman, who looked to be having a tough time getting up.
The young mug had made it to his hands and knees when the demonic chalice approached. They made eye contact for a second before Chalice lifted up her shoe, giving the boy a push against his side. Mug collapsed on the ground once again. The demon took advantage of every aspect of his host and made the girl's skirt harden and begin to spin around like a saw blade. Cuphead saw his brother in trouble and rushed over to help.
"Mugman, watch out!" The young cup called as he dragged his brother away. Mug had closed his eyes and cringed as the sharp object came toward him. He only opened his eyes when he heard his sibling yelp in pain. Mugman immediately looked to his big brother who was clutching his arm close to his body. "Don't worry, Mugs. It's just a scratch." Cup said in a strained voice. His white life essence dripped from the wound, seeping below the gloved hand that was holding it. Mug growled at the mutated chalice and shakily got up. He made sure that his brother was behind him.
Chalice still had her skirt twirling when she started to build up a powerful blast at her hands. The boys cringed and turned toward one another, ready to feel the impending blast. They heard the mutated chalice snarl in confusion. So they looked back to her. A large playing card had wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides. The demonic chalice struggled horribly against it. She was ultimately able to tear through it with a mighty roar bellowing from her cup.
"You boys okay? Looks like you could use a little help." Came King Dice's voice from the forest. The die man tossed a couple more cards the demon's way to distract it. These ones floated around her like magic carpets, sneaking a small paper cut here and there. Dice went over to help the brothers up while she was distracted. The mutated chalice was eventually able to slice the cards in half. She was about to advance on her enemies, but a beam of black energy bombarded her. She squealed as it exploded on her. The Devil stalked forward through the smoke the explosion left behind. He readied his black trident for another attack. The king of Hell intended to try and finish the battle with the mutated chalice.
David and Chalice lobbed powerful blasts of energy at one another. King Dice attempted to help his boss by using his card tricks to distract and disorient her. The boys watched as this went back and forth for a couple minutes. Cuphead realized this battle was going on for too long. That it wasn't accomplishing anything but getting everyone hurt.
"We have to reach Ms. Chalice before someone gets killed. Before she gets too consumed by the demon." He told his little brother. Mugman nodded in agreement that they needed to do something. "I think….I think she'll listen to me. But I need her undivided attention." Cup raced out into the battlefield. "Everyone needs to stop fighting!" He yelled and held up his hands. Everyone stopped and looked to him in confusion. Chalice was the first one to break the silence. She lowered her head and unleashed her sickly pink fire at the red cup. Mugman reacted by unleashing his own fiery cannon at her. The two colored fires met in the middle and caused a big explosion. The force of it tossed everyone to the ground. Mug and Chalice panted, unable to get up fast after expending a large burst of energy.
"What's the big idea interrupting this battle?" The Devil spat at him.
"That's just it. I have an idea on how to get Chalice out from his grasp." Cup stated.
"What is it, Cuphead? Let's hear it." The King urged.
"Well, if she's unable to have power over him for any period of time to weaken him, then that means….*gulp* I'll have to go in."
"Cuphead, are you sure you want to do that? It's pretty risky." Dice's green eyes went wide.
"Extremely risky. That's putting a lot of trust in us, too." David added.
"I'm sure." The young cup said with a nod. "If I don't try, I'll never forgive myself if she ends up lost." He then turned to his sibling. Mug had finally found the strength to get up. "I'm sorry, Mugman. You're not going to like this plan, but it's the only one we've got."
Wait-what? What is he saying he's doing? The young mug asked Tsundere. It took the parasite a moment to realize exactly what Cup meant.
Oh no…. he's going to let Tanuki take his soul so he can go in there and talk to Chalice. Mugman could feel the demon's worry spill into his heart. This only made him panic even more.
What? No! That's out of the question! I forbid it! Mugman tried to yell at his brother and blocked his path. But he was in such a frantic state that his words came out as a roar instead of anything intelligible. Even though Cuphead couldn't understand what he was saying, the frantic screams and body language made it pretty clear.
"This is my decision, Mugs. This might be our only chance to save Ms. Chalice. Please help me do this, Mugman." The red cup begged him. His mutated sibling still stood in his way panting. The fiery pupils shifted around, mulling over the idea. He knew Cuphead was right, but he just didn't want to admit it when the risks were so high.
A whirring sound caught Mug's attention. He turned around to find the mutated chalice charging up a mini twister of pink energy. She let it fly toward the cup bros. Mugman threw up his arms to block it from getting to Cuphead. The twister exploded upon impact and tossed him to the side. His back bounced off a tree before he collapsed to the ground.
Cup took a deep breath before saying to himself: "Here goes nothing." The young cup stepped into Tanuki's line of sight. "Hey, over here! Come and get me!" Chalice snarled and came closer. But then her body seemed to hesitate for a moment. The demon realized he had already been tricked by the cup child and wasn't about to fall for another one of those again. "No more games. No more tricks. I am surrendering my soul to you." Cuphead said in a calm voice. It still did not act, wary that something else could be going on. A hiss escaped between her big fangs. "Take me. It's what you want, right? More souls to conquer?"
The mutated chalice lashed out and grabbed him in her arms within a second. She squeezed the young cup's body close to him. Cuphead's first instinct was to struggle against the tightening grip. But then he forced himself to relax as best he could.
This is gonna be painful, Cup thought as he watched Chalice open her jaws wide. They came down over his cup and began to suck his soul out. The red cup screamed and thrashed about in pain.
Cuphead, no! Mugman cried as he struggled to get up. Despite his wobbly legs, he pushed himself forward to help his brother. His clawed hand gave a swat to the back of Chalice's head. She squealed and let go of the young cup. His porcelain body clanged to the ground, unmoving and completely silent. Mug realized the female was winding up her fists to smash his sibling. Acting quick, he pulled Cuphead out of her range. The enlarged fists came down on the grass as her prey was dragged away. It wasn't until Mugman had dragged his brother away did he realize that the young cup's eyes had gone completely blank and there was no liquid left in his head.
Meanwhile, Elder Kettle had heard the commotion and raced over to see what was going on. Unfortunately for him, the kettle got there just in time to see a seemingly lifeless body of Cuphead hit the ground.
"Cuphead!" He quietly gasped and rushed forward. Kettle and the mutated mug stood around the cup child's body. The kettle gasped again as the sickly pink chalice hissed at them and began to plod its way over. Dice and David promptly put themselves between the family and the demon.
"Mugman, protect your brother's body at all costs. If it gets destroyed while his soul is not in there, he'll never be able to come back." Dice warned him, but didn't take his eyes off the possessed chalice. Mug nodded and readied himself in case Chalice got past the two of them. But Dice and David were able to keep the mutated chalice at bay, even with the added soul, which increased his power.