As the group conversed, Mugman ran far from his friends and family. Tears streamed down his mug. The young child circled around the island, trying to think of a good hiding spot.
I can't go to the treehouse! That's the first place Cuphead will look....
Where else can I go to be alone? I can't risk hurting anyone else.
Mug then looked to his left as a dilapidated building came into view. It was the old mausoleum where he and Cuphead had rescued the Legendary Chalice from ghosts. By now all of the ghosts had fled the scene. It had remained motionless for months now. Pieces of rubble littered both the inside and around the temple-like building's edges. It was rusted and bore the color of an aged gray stone. Not a creature stirred inside the dark and dusty building. Mugman quickly ducked inside. He sat down just to the left of the doorway. His chest pulsed in and out as he breathed deeply from the run. A gloved hand tried to wipe away the remaining tears from his mug. The child curled his legs up to his chest just like he would do inside his treehouse. It was so dark inside the mausoleum that he could not see his hand in front of his face. After clearing his face of the tears, he buried it in his arms. Mugman stayed in that position the whole day, not moving an inch. Hours passed before he heard a voice from the outside world. The voice slowly approached as he distinguished it as Cagney's.
"Mugman! Mugman, where are you?" The flower called out. "I want to apologize." Mug slowly lifted his head out of his arms. He considered poking his head out of the dark piece of rubble. But then he heard Cagney muttering to himself.
"This is stupid...." The carnation scoffed. "Pfft! Apologize! What good would that do when he's tearing me limb from limb?" Mugman quickly changed his mind about emerging from his sanctuary. His face nuzzled back into his arms. The child listened as the flower slowly shuffled out of earshot.
Cagney will never forgive me....
A little later on, three more voices called his name. This time the voices were female. The trio of ladies from the market cried out for him. Mug just listened as they repeated his name over and over again. He still had no intention of showing himself anytime soon. In fact, he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to show his face on the island ever again. The ladies came closer to the mausoleum.
"Where could he have gone to?" He heard Hilda's voice say.
"He's right to hide after what he did to my boys!" The young and sassy candy queen snapped. Her eyes glowed bright yellow in her resentment. Hilda was shocked that Bon Bon would say such a thing.
"You can't really mean that, Bon." Her pointy nose turned toward the girl in pink. The Baroness huffed in anger. She stomped up to the witch with her chest puffed out.
"I do! And it's Baroness to you missy!" Bon Bon snapped. A pink gloved finger poked the petite witch's chest. "You just like making excuses for that young man! He needs to start taking responsibility for his actions!" Instead of snapping back like Bon Bon wanted, Hilda kept her cool and asked a serious question.
"Why are you even looking for him if you don't care for the kid?"
The candy queen huffed angrily again. Just like Cagney, she did not have an answer for the witch's question. Bon Bon then stormed off back to her castle made of cake. Hilda and Sally just stared at the brunette female in disbelief.
"I'll talk to her for you." Sally offered. "She'll eventually come around." The two remaining ladies prepared to part ways.
"Thanks, Sally." Hilda replied. "I sure hope we find the poor dear soon. I'm sure he feels really bad..." The actress and witch nodded to one another.
"See you later! And good luck!" A gloved hand waved to Hilda as Sally followed in Bon Bon's direction.
"Same to you, Sally." The witch said seriously. She then turned around to face the mausoleum. A small cup face quickly retreated back inside the building. Hilda's eyes widened in surprise of seeing the little mug.
"Mugman?" She called quietly. Her red slippers clacked loudly against the stone floor as she entered the dark hovel. A gloved hand felt the wall as the black atmosphere engulfed her too.
"What are you doing in here?" Hilda questioned the young mug. The child stayed quiet for a few seconds but then finally answered the female.
"Everyone thinks I'm a monster..... Perhaps it would be better if I just disappeared." Mug confessed as his gaze fell downward.
"No, Mugman!" She quickly replied. The witch crouched down to his level. Her gloved hand found its way to the cup child's shoulder as he looked back at the female. "Any sane person would know that you didn't mean it. They just need some time to blow off steam. They're still your friends." Mugman wanted to believe her. But how was that possible after what he did to them?
"Are you sure about that?" Mugman asked with tears in his eyes. "Cagney has no intention to apologize to me. He said so himself." His voice quivered as he thought about the flower that roared and called him a monster. Its large fangs and dilated pupils had shaken the child to his core. For he knew that meant rage coursed through his roots and stem. And there was no stopping him when he became that mad.
Hearing this made Hilda's blood boil.
"Why that flower! I'll-" The witch stopped before cursing out the carnation. She couldn't see Mugman's facial expression, but she could tell that he was feeling very hurt. Sorrow seemed to emanate from the child's body. Hilda then returned to her sympathetic tone.
"It's okay, Mugman. Everything will work out." She explained. "Cuphead and Elder Kettle are really worried about you. They've been searching for you all day." The witch paused before continuing her speech. "It's not my place to drag you home, so I will leave that part up to you. Just think about it for a little, okay?" Her hand then moved off of Mugman's shoulder. Hilda slowly stood up. The blue cup looked up at the caring female. "You know where to find me if you want to talk." Mug watched as the friendly witch exited the mausoleum. Deep down he knew that she was right. But he wasn't ready to face his family just yet. Mug stayed in the mausoleum even longer. He did not bury his face in his arms anymore. Instead, he held his mug upright and stared into the darkness, thinking about what the female had said.
Hilda pretended to look for Mugman a little while longer. When she realized that the young mug had not returned home yet, the witch told Cuphead where she "thought she had seen him, but wasn't sure". The young cup took her advice and headed to the old mausoleum.
A second cup child entered the building. His quick steps startled his sibling. Mug's straw rattled against his brim as he flinched and inched away from the entrance. Cuphead heard this and immediately looked to his left. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He eventually saw the silhouette of his brother in the still black air.
"There you are!" Cup beamed loudly as he threw his hands up in the air.
"Shhh!" Mugman shushed him. "Please keep your voice down. Someone else could still be around." He pleaded. The young mug could only hope that no one followed his brother here. For he could not bear any more yelling or fake apologies. Cuphead respectfully poked his head out of the dark building to ensure that they were alone. The child looked right and then left before ducking back in.
"No worries, bro. We're the only two here." He explained in a quieter voice. It still wasn't as quiet as Mugman wanted it to be. Mug moved his gaze from his brother back to the darkness. Cup then sat down next to his brother. "Please come home with me, Mugs. Elder Kettle is really worried about you. I was worried about you.... I still am." The young cup begged.
"I want more than anything to go home." Mugman confessed, still not making eye contact with his sibling.
"Then what's holding you back?" Cuphead questioned.
"I hurt him, Cuphead. What if I hurt him again?" Mug explained, holding back even more tears, amazed that he had even more that he could possibly shed. "I'd never be able to live with myself if something happened to you or Elder Kettle because of my own actions." The young mug darted his glance to Cup a few times during his explanation, but never turned his head to face him.
"You know, he's hurting right now because he doesn't know where you are, when you're coming home... If you're coming home. Elder Kettle needs you, Mugman... I need you." Cuphead solemnly explained as he placed his left arm around Mug's shoulders. This got Mug's full attention to look at his older brother. It stayed there for a few seconds before Mugman's gaze shifted from Cuphead to the ground. They sat in silence for a few moments. A heavy sigh eventually emitted from the young mug.
"Okay, I think I'm ready to come home now."
"That's the spirit!" Cuphead beamed, his voice growing louder again. He quickly stood up as his sibling's body tensed from the sudden change in Cup's volume. "Elder Kettle will be so happy to see you!" Mug accepted a hand from his brother as he was yanked up to his feet.
"A-are you sure he won't be mad?" Mugman nervously asked.
"Mad? No way! He'll be relieved that you're okay." The young cup explained.
"If-if you say so, Cup." He could only hope that Cuphead was right about that. Mug thought he would faint if any more accusations were thrown his way.