Cuphead and Mugman in "Fate Will Find You"

The Final Nightmare....?

"Decent try." The shadow admitted as it casually crossed its arms in front of its chest, seeming unimpressed. Mug stayed strong as it stared him down once more. He gave it a hard stare of his own right back. "But it will take much more than a little magic to defeat me." It explained to the child. Mugman's confidence bubble was starting to waver. He realized that it was right. Nothing he did seemed to have any effect on this creature. It just kept taunting its prey and regenerating. This cyclical process was starting to tire the young mug. They stared at one another until one finally gave in. Mug let out a sigh as he let his head droop down. His hard eyes now became soft as they drooped in sorrow just as his head did.

This thing is so powerful...

How do I expect to ever use it to protect Cuphead and Elder Kettle? He wondered. But even his thoughts were no secret from the shadow.

"What's this?" Two clawed fingers reached down towards the child's cup. They lifted it from the underside so that its prey looked at it in the eyes. "You fear for your family? How sweet..." It taunted the young mug. This angered Mugman that it used his family against him.

"D-don't talk about my family!" Mug spat back. His arms yanked against the sludge as he yelled in the shadow's face. The glass arms shook but did not lift an inch.

Finally! Something the dark mug could use to taunt its prey even further. Joy filled its evil heart as it planned its clever response that was sure to strike fear into its prey's soul.

"Heh! You may want to sit down for this one, mugface." It chuckled. In a second, sludge traveled up Mug's legs and pulled him to his knees.

"Ugh!" The child yelped as he was forced down. Clawed hands rested on his shoulders as the black mug started to talk down to him even more.

"You will never control me!" It hissed. "And you can't protect your precious family from my wrath! I will destroy your soul....piece....by....piece! After all, I know everyone you care about. And then you will be alone! With no one left in the world that cares about you!" The clawed hands then moved from the cup child's shoulders to his mug. Sludge that was wrapped around his limbs dissipated. Mugman felt his body get lifted off the ground by his head. This only brought him closer to the knife-like teeth of the monster. A powerful strain pulled at his head and neck. His feet swung back and forth a couple of times before ultimately settling down.

"Yet here you are, trying so desperately to save your pathetic family, refusing to embrace the darkness! Your family is not as innocent as you think!" The shadow taunted the little mug.

"Wh-what do you know about my family? You've never felt love a day in your life!" Mugman yelled at the creature. This was not the response that the shadow was hoping for. It had hoped that the little mug would cower in fear. That it would start making its pathetic noises of fright again. Oh, how it loved those sounds. It filled its evil heart with joy. His negative words did not affect the child as much as they once did. It now required painful actions to elicit that type of response from its prey.

"Perhaps a dose of pain will help you remember who you're dealing with..." The shadow bellowed before its grip tightened around the mug's head. Black claws poked inward at his glass dome. Mugman began to screech in pain. The black mug chuckled in satisfaction as the child's body thrashed around in an attempt to get free.

"Aaaahhh! Cuphead! Cuphead, hurry! Wake me up!" Mug cried out, hoping his brother would hear him. A toothy smile grew wide across the shadow's face.

"You see little mug, fear has a way of finding you. Whether you like it or not." It sneered at the young mug. Mugman continued to struggle as he watched his enemy's mouth start to open. It grew wider and wider. Mug didn't know if it ever was going to stop. The mouth was almost snake-like as it reached the point of nearly unhinging its jaw. A long tongue spilled out over the lower jaw. The triangle shaped fangs started to near the young mug's throat. Mugman only screamed louder as the life-threatening weapons came ever closer to him.

Cuphead abruptly woke up when screams emitted from his sibling. He hopped over to the adjacent bed as quickly as he could.

"Go away!" Mug yelled as his feet swung wildly. A foot cut through the shadow's torso. Mugman dropped to the ground as the legs were separated from the monster's torso. The cup child instinctively launched himself at the stunned enemy with a battle cry.
"Mugs! Hey! Wake up!" Cup shouted as he shook his little brother. Mug woke up just as he launched himself at the shadow. This caused him to actually lunge forward in real life. The young cup was instantly pinned to bed. A gloved hand reared back as Mugman still believed himself to be dreaming. He intended to punch the shadow right in its mug. Cuphead was in utter shock at what just happened. The little cup cried out for his brother to not bring that fist down.

"Mugman, stop! It's me, Cuphead!" His arms tried to cover his head in case the balled hand came down anyway. It was only then that the little mug realized he was not dreaming anymore. Eyes shifted from his raised hand down to his elder sibling. The room didn't have much natural lighting, so making out figures was a bit difficult for someone. Especially if that person had just woken up. Mug's hard stare immediately drooped. Now panic-stricken that he had just tackled his own brother, he backed off of the other glass body.

"Cuphead, I'm-I'm so sorry!" His voice wavered as tears welled up in his eyes. "I-I didn't mean to..."

"I know you didn't, little bro." Cuphead replied as he sat up. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I have to be if I'm to ever control the demon. But it appears that I can't even control myself nowadays...." The young mug explained as his voice began to trail off. Cup knew that Mug must be feeling pretty bad. An act of comfort was needed to console his sibling.

"Mugman..." The young cup reached out to hug him. But Mugman could sense him coming closer. And he did not feel that being close to his sibling was a good idea at the moment.

"No, Cuphead!" Mug spat back. The other cup stopped in his tracks at the sudden yelp. "I'm a danger to you..."

"You know that's not true, Mugman. Both you and I know that you would never hurt me. Hell, even the demon refuses to hurt me." Cuphead explained.

"You're right...." The little mug realized. "So why am I lashing out like this?"

"I don't know." Came Cup's reply. "But I do know that it should have been the last nightmare. Djimmi's spell will be done by tomorrow and it shouldn't be able to reach you anymore!" Mug heard his brother's confident voice. This instilled the same feeling in him too.

"Th-that's right! You hear that demon? We won't have to share my subconscious anymore!" Mugman yelled into the darkness as he shook a fist into the air.

"Yeah, what you said...!" The young cup joined in. Any type of big words threw Cuphead off. He was not as adept at spelling and grammar as his younger brother. Cup did not enjoy literature the same way Mugman did.

"You've given me hope yet again, Cuphead. I don't know what I'd do without you!" Mug praised the red cup. His heart filled with hope every time his sibling said something nice to him.

"Think nothing of it, pal!" Cuphead replied. "Now I believe it's time we get back to sleep."

"Yeah, let's do that." Both boys snuggled back into their beds. Mugman hoped and prayed that the last nightmare was behind him for good. That he could rest easy from now on. The two brothers closed their eyes and slowly drifted off again.