Cuphead and Mugman in 'A Choice Between Two Worlds'

Brother or Monster?

"You better give ours back!" Mugman called out and pointed accusingly at the Devil.
"He's not just going to give them back, Mug. We'll have to force him to!" Cuphead explained to his brother before turning to the Devil. The little cup took off racing toward the Devil. He jumped, ready to loose a magic shot at the furry body. The Devil simply sat there and elongated his tail. The spade tail reached out and smacked the cup on his brim. Cuphead closed his eyes and yelped as the strike rattled his head. It felt like his cup had just gotten whipped. His body fell straight to the ground. The Devil gave a toothy grin as he enjoyed seeing the little cup in pain. Mugman gasped as he saw his brother tossed to the ground. He then balled his fists in anger and charged the Devil.
"You hurt my brother!" He shouted as he ran. "Now come 'ere so I can pummel you!" The Devil let the little mug come closer to him than the cup. He simply held out his right hand and caught Mug's head, stopping him in his tracks. Mugman swung his arms wildly in a windmill motion, trying to hit the Devil.

"You children are foolish to think that you can hurt me..." The black creature said. With a slight push from the Devil, Mugman fell back on his rear end. Despite the fact that it was boiling hot in the Devil's lair, Mugman trembled terribly in fear of the large and powerful deity. The little mug quickly scrambled backwards. Cuphead was now standing up and caught his brother by the shoulder as he almost backed into him.

"What are we going to do now, Cuphead?" Mugman asked as he stood up. Cuphead could see the worried look on his brother's face. He tapped a couple fingers on his cup, thinking about what the best option was. The room was silent for a few seconds as Cuphead stood there lost in thought. Mugman hoped that his brother would come up with a good and rational decision. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined what Cuphead was about to say.

"....Perhaps we should take up his offer." The cup stated.

"What?!" Mug said in alarm. He was so shocked that his straw stood erect once more. "What do you mean, Cuphead? You can't seriously be saying that we join him!"

"I'm the older brother, and that's exactly what I'm saying!" Cuphead narrowed his eyes and spit back.
"Just because you're the older brother doesn't mean you're right about everything!" Mugman challenged, narrowing his eyes back. He leaned close to his brother so that they were nose to nose. Unbeknownst to them, a wicked smile grew on the Devil's face as he watched them bicker. Mug realized that this conversation was escalating and he backed out of his brother's personal space. After taking a deep breath, he tried to convince his brother that joining the Devil was not the answer.

"Don't you remember what Elder Kettle said? About doing the right thing when the time came?" He tried to reach the rational side of Cuphead.

"Aren't you tired of being pushed around all the time?" The cup questioned his brother.

"But Cuphead we beat every single one of the Devil's debtors! We've become pretty powerful!" Mugman clenched a fist, physically showing that he had become stronger.

"Need I remind you how many times we lost before that actually happened? The endless times we were burned, sliced, crushed, or even worse!" Cuphead pointed out. "If we had power like him, we would be the ones that all of the residents of the Inkwell Isles respected. And we would never be looked down upon anymore!" The cup boasted while pointing at the black monster in his chair.

"Cuphead, this isn't you." Mugman said softly, as he gently grabbed his brother's arm with both hands. The cup immediately yanked his arm away from the little mug.

"You can run home if you want. It's what you always do when you're scared. But this is what I'm choosing." Cuphead pointed to himself, being firm in his decision. He then started walking towards the Devil.