Mugman and his group of followers neared the city of Inkwell. They all marched in anticipation of the look on Forkington's face when he saw the alliance that had formed. All except for Spoonfred, that is. The young utensil just grew evermore anxious. He started to form nervous habits by the minute. His gloved fingers continually twirled around his red and white tie and accidentally made it tighter. The spoon gagged a little before he actually realized what his busy fingers had done. He quickly loosened it up, hoping that no one had noticed his frightened body language. Mug had seen this and was about to say something when his demon pulled him to a stop.
What's wrong? He inquired.
Something's moving. It said quickly.
We're all moving. Mugman replied, seeming a bit annoyed that it was picking this moment to listen to something.
No. There's something going towards your family. The demon explained. Mug immediately became interested in what it was saying.
What do you mean?
Spoonfred noticed that his friend had stopped and was more than happy to backtrack a bit and stall the inevitable meeting with his father.
"What's wrong, Mugman?"
The young mug did not reply. He stayed still, listening through the ground as well. The mug child struggled to understand what all the movement meant. It seemed to zig and zag around with no apparent goal or direction. Then it became much more calm and concentrated. Thankfully, the parasitic creature understood what it all meant.
I think it's going to attack! The dark voice said in alarm. This also put Mugman on high alert.
"They're in trouble!" Mug blurted out and took off running in the direction he had felt the unnatural movement. He instantly forgot about his friends, leaving them in the dust. Rumor and Djimmi didn't have a moment to react as they saw a blur blow past them. Spoonfred tried his best to keep up with the speedy mug child.
"We're coming too, Mugman!" He barely heard the utensil call out as he continued as fast as he could. Mug started to change himself into his alter ego as he ran. If something was going to attack his family, then he needed to be ready to fight. He arrived at the scene just in time to see Werner stalking his family and lashing his tail menacingly. The demon pushed him even faster when it saw the muscles in the rat's legs tense and ready to pounce. Mugman took a leap just as the rodent did. He caught it mid-air and tackled it away from his family. They began to lash their claws at one another as they tumbled across the pavement in a heap of fur and glass.
The chief's backup arrived at that moment too. Six officers made a loose circle around the brawling creatures.
"Don't shoot!" Cuphead cried out. "Mugman's in there!"
"Hold your fire!" Mr. Honeybottoms reacted accordingly to the child's plea. They all obeyed him and lowered their weapons. The rest of Mugman's group caught up as well and came to a halt with a gasp from each of them. Kettle stared in horror as he watched his boy begin to fight like a wild animal like he had done with the demon bat.
Mug and Werner fought to pin one another. The young mug was able to toss his opponent to the ground and hold him there by his shoulders. But the possessed rat wasn't about to give up that easily. Black claws popped through his shoes and took a swipe at the child's torso. Mugman felt the sharp weapons tear through his shirt and dig into his glass skin. A painful stinging seized his stomach as the wound started to bleed his white essence. He hissed in pain as the rodent kicked him off to the side. Werner got up and advanced forward. The mug started to pick himself up when a tail lashed across his face. It groped and rubbed its face with its hands, just like the bee had done. Mug's jaws opened in a silent scream. This gave the rodent another chance to get in an attack. The furry body pushed down the glass one face first so that it could not lash back. Both Mugman and the demon panicked at the realization that they were completely vulnerable. Arms shot out and tried to grab something to help the child up. His claws only made a horrible scraping sound on the pavement below him. The rat stood on his back, making sure that he couldn't jump back up. Black eyes homed in on the mug's fragile head. It opened its jaws and prepared to bite down on the boy's mug.
"Stop! Stop!" Werner yelled at his body. He was well aware that his body was dueling with somebody. And he wanted it to stop. The poor rat did not wish any harm on anyone on Inkwell, not even his annoying neighbor. He was able to jerk his head to the side just enough that his sharpened rodent teeth missed the child's head. Instead, they latched onto his shoulder. Mugman cried out in pain as the objects pierced and cracked his skin. To everyone other than Mug himself, it sounded like an awful roar. The boy's cup only heard his childish wail of pain. His arms scrambled even more desperate now to find a way to escape the torture. The left arm's movement was a bit hindered because of the teeth now buried into the shoulder. He tried his best to find traction with his boots too. But they merely slipped and slid around without any purchase. Both Cuphead and Spoonfred realized that he needed help. The young cup went to take a step forward when the utensil sped past him.
"Spoonfred?" He wondered aloud.
"Let him go!" The sterling silver body shouted as he advanced on the larger brown creature. Everyone gaped in shock at who stepped forward to help. Forkington heard his son's voice and began to emerge from his hiding spot. The spoon's gloved hands grabbed onto the mammal's naked tail and started yanking on it. Annoyed, Werner let go of his prey and whipped around to deal with the other child. Spoonfred let go and stumbled back just in time to avoid sharp teeth from colliding with his chest. Instead, they closed around the spoon child's tie. The rat flicked his head and sent the utensil crashing into the pavement.
"Aaah!" Came a short cry before Spoonfred lay motionless. His body had tried to curl up to protect himself during the toss. Now it lay partially balled up. Forkington had pushed his way toward the front of the crowd just in time to see his boy in that state. Not only that, but the attacker was advancing on him once more. Spoonfred's red and white tie still dangled out of the rat's mouth as it crawled toward him.
Meanwhile, Mugman was trying to recover from the nasty bite he had just received.
It stopped? The demon wondered.
Someone must have done something.... Mug thought as he pressed his clawed hands against the ground. The glass body shook as he made it to his hands and knees. Probably Cuphead.
With a shake of his head, he looked where he heard the rodent snarling at someone.
Spoonfred?!
The young mug witnessed the mammal spit out the piece of cloth. It then placed a clawed hand down on the unresponsive utensil.
Oh, no you don't! Mugman exploded with a literal roar. Dashing over, he yanked Werner away as he was baring his teeth. The two of them began throwing clawed punches at one another. Mug threw a swipe that caught Werner's shoulder and cut halfway through the single light brown strap of his overalls. It snarled a bit, but otherwise took little notice of the wound. His overalls sagged a bit as it struggled to keep itself up with only half the fabric. The rodent lashed out in response and made contact with the child's torso. Poor Mugman felt another fierce stinging sensation bite him. The mug recoiled back, giving the rat another chance to attack. A long and flexible tail whipped low and took the glass legs out from under him. Mug's back collided with the pavement, causing yet another shock to ripple throughout his body. With a grimace of pain on his face, the mug child realized another clawed hand was coming right for his head. He rolled out of the way as fast as he could. A single claw barely grazed his cheek. Even for as small as the cut was, Mugman could feel a drip of liquid coming out of it. The rest of Werner's claws collided with the pavement, nearly cracking the dark gray surface as well.
Phew! That was close! Mug gave a sigh of relief, realizing how devastating that attack could have been. The young mug stood up and prepared for the rodent to strike again. Just as predicted, it lunged forward with both its claws and fangs ready. Mugman quickly made his right hand glow dark blue. He then strategically aimed a punch for the animal's gut. Almost as soon as it made contact, Werner coughed out a cloud of black smoke that seemed to float away from the group of Inkwell residents with a purpose. It was as if it had a mind of its own. And it did have one – Mr. Wheezy's mind.
The furry body then tumbled backward. It lay on the ground, not making an effort to get up right away. Mug's demon made sure they were right on top of him again before it could get up. Gloved hands started to beat on the rat's head, jerking it left and right. After a couple of meaningful pounds, Werner's eyes blinked back to normal.
"Mugman stop! Please!" The rodent squeaked in alarm as he saw whom he had been fighting with.
We need to stop now! The young mug yelled to his guest, who was ready to keep pummeling the animal. But the parasitic creature listened to its host and ceased the assault. Mug's body instantly stopped the aggressive behavior and slowly stood up. Werner watched as the now neutral body backed off.
"You....stopped." The rat said in complete awe. This was completely different than just a few days ago when the mutated mug wanted to turn him into raw meat. Mugman instinctively put away a set of claws and offered the hand to Werner. Still shocked, the rodent shakily grabbed onto the hand and let it haul him up to his feet. Mug noticed that its black claws had disappeared too.
"You saved me!" The German rat realized. Relief and joy washed over his voice. "I don't know what happened...." He confessed, scratching his head with ripped gloves. "I could hear you all, but I couldn't see you or control myself. Thanks again, Mugman!" The mutated child gave a nod of agreement. Mug wished he could have done more to let Werner know that he was there.
Mr. Honeybottoms' men still stood around the two creatures. Their weapons were poised to strike as they eyed the unusual child.
"Lower your weapons, men!" He commanded them. They all obeyed his word. One of them, however, was buddies with Forkington and wasn't sure why this creature was getting let off the hook.
"That's it?" The officer spat. "We're not going to subdue the monster?"
"There is no monster." Rumor's husband replied calmly. Everyone gave a sigh of relief that the tense scene was over. Cuphead still pressed a hand to his wound. Elder Kettle continued to look on with a worried expression at the fact that his grandson was still in that dangerous state. It was still possible that he could hurt somebody, the kettle thought.
Mugman then remembered the little utensil that came to help him. His mug turned around to find him. The young spoon was still sprawled on the pavement. Kiki was beside Spoonfred, nudging him with her head and letting out mews of concern. He watched as the child stirred and woke up. The utensil looked from the feline to his friend. They looked at one another in understanding. Mug instinctively went to embrace and praise his new friend for his efforts. He didn't realize how odd that looked coming from his mutated state.
"Don't move!" Shouted Forkington's buddy. The officer pointed his weapon at the monstrous mug, who immediately came to a halt. His parasitic creature took this as an insult and began to growl at the person.
No sudden moves.... He told the darkness. The atmosphere became very tense yet again. Everyone seemed to hold their breath in anticipation of what would happen next. Kiki unexpectedly left Spoonfred's side. She dashed toward her mug child friend. The golden feline hoped to somehow get across that the mug was not dangerous. That she could prevent what she had foreseen. Kiki had seen a vision in the near future with Mugman sprawled on the ground and Spoonfred being dragged home.
"No, kitty!" The young spoon yelled as he dove to catch her. He was also aware that bad things could happen if there were any sudden movements in this tense moment. Unfortunately, the feline's plan to prevent bad things only brought the chain of events into reality. The sudden movement caused the officer to accidentally pull the trigger on his taser. Mugman ran as fast as he could to stand in front of his friends. The wire snagged onto his clothes as he took a dive. In an instant, he was engulfed by powerful streams of electricity. His body twitched and convulsed as he let out an ear-piercing roar of pain. The demon was confused at what was going on. For he had never seen a taser or gun of any sort. It did not know its capabilities and how debilitating they could be. Cuphead, Kettle, and Spoonfred all panicked as well. They could only watch as the young mug was fried on the spot.
"No!" The triad of people screamed in horror at what they were seeing. Mugman ultimately collapsed to the ground after the mere few seconds of agony. It felt so much longer to Mug than just seconds when he was in the grip of the torturous bolts. Streams of smoke emitted from the mug child's body that lay motionless on the pavement.
"I said stand down!" The sheriff roared. Forkington's buddy flinched in shame at his boss's tone.
"Didn't you see him?" The fork accused, pointing a finger at the unconscious body. "That thing went after my boy! Hit him again!" His officer friend nervously looked from the utensil, to the body, and then ultimately his boss. The look on the sheriff's face said that he would be in more trouble than he could imagine if he proceeded to do so. Forkington huffed out his chest when the bee refused to do so.
"I'll do it then! Gimme that!" He roared and snatched a taser away from the closest bee officer. The sterling silver body marched right up to the enlarged glass one. A black gun was pointed at Mugman's body that was still smoking. Heavy pants emitted from between the tightly closed teeth as he began to stir. Spoonfred let go of the kitty and squirmed his way out front of his friend. He stood defiantly with his arms out in a protective stance.
"No father! Stop!" The boy pleaded.
"Get out of the way, Spoonfred!" Forkington snapped back and tried to get closer to his target. His son maneuvered to block the gun that kept trying to move around him.
"If you want to hurt Mugman, you'll have to shoot me too!" The young spoon shouted. Even though he sounded confident, fear started to sprout within his heart again. He wanted to protect his friend, but that seed of doubt planted itself in him. Even if he were to successfully prevent his father from harming Mugman, he would most likely get punished for it.
Forkington stopped short when he heard his son talk back with attitude. If they had been in the privacy of their house, he would not have stood for it. But they were out in public and he had to think about how he would react very carefully. Djimmi and Rumor secretly wished that the adult utensil would indeed threaten to do something and, thus, expose how awful he really was to his boy. But the fork stayed silent, planning his next move ever so carefully.
"I won't let you hurt him!" Spoonfred reinforced. "Punish me if you will, but don't hurt my friend!" Even Kiki stood beside the spoon with her fur ruffled and lips pulled back into a snarl. Forkington ultimately tossed the weapon away with an annoyed grunt.
"You're coming home now, Spoonfred!" He ordered. "You have a lot of explaining to do!" The full-grown utensil looked over to Elder Kettle. "This isn't over, Kettle. We still have to discuss what is to be done with that thing!" A gloved finger pointed at the mutated but injured body.
"He's not a thing!" The young spoon shouted and slapped his father's hand away. He instantly regretted doing that. For he had never physically lashed out at his dad before. Talking back was cause for punishment enough. He had learned that a long time ago. Spoonfred feared what was to happen to him now. Without a second thought, Forkington seized his boy's wrist.
"Don't talk back to me, child!" He yelled in Spoonfred's face, causing the child to shy away and avoid eye contact. "Not another word from you until we get home! Understand?" The utensil had yelled so loud that his voice had carried all the way into the mug child's head. Bright yellow eyes started to flutter open. Their red pupils shifted to the right when he heard the spoon's voice reply to the other.
"Y-yes, sir." Spoonfred barely stuttered out as he hung his head in shame. His father started to drag him home. The feline tried to lash her claws at the fork as he turned around. She missed and Forkington all but ignored her. Even though Mug's vision was blurry, he saw the shapes of two utensils. No doubt the adult one was trying to take his boy away.
No.... No Spoonfred don't! Mugman thought as he stretched out a hand for his friend that was just out of reach. The spoon child heard a moan and turned his head as best he could. For he was still being pulled away. He tried to resist against it when he saw that Mugman was awake. But his father's hold only tightened as it gave an extra yank.
"It's okay, Mugman. I'll be punished, but at least you'll be safe. I hope to see you again soon." The poor spoon said solemnly as he was taken out of earshot of his friend.
He's a brave little maggot, I'll give him that. Mug's demon commented as he reverted the child back to normal.
"Mugs!" Came Cuphead's voice. His brother came rushing over to his side. "Are you okay?"
"Help Spoonfred! Please!" Was the young mug's reply as he tried desperately to stand. Shaky limbs collapsed under him. He wanted desperately to go after his friend. To make sure Spoonfred was going to be okay. 'Getting punished' sure didn't sound like things were going to be peachy within his house.
"Take it easy, Mugs." Cup said as he unhooked the wire from his clothes and went to help his little sibling up. "Ow!" He squealed as a single spark zapped his fingers upon touching the sizzled glass body. A second time touching him didn't produce another shock. Cuphead slung Mug's injured arm around his cup. A small moan of pain couldn't be helped when his cracked shoulder was moved.
"Since when did you become buddies with Spoonfred?" The little mug did not reply and just stared out where they had disappeared. Sheriff Honeybottoms chimed in instead.
"I'll personally keep a watch on Spoonfred to make sure his father doesn't hurt him. Child abuse is a crime after all." He shot a glance at the officer who had tagged Mugman as he said the second sentence. The bee had a guilt-ridden face, knowing he had done something very wrong. Even though it had truly been an accident, there was still a talk to be had between employee and boss. "You are all dismissed for now." He announced and then turned to the mug child. "I'm truly sorry about that, Mugman. That should have never happened and I'm willing to take full responsibility for-"
"No, it's not your fault, chief." Mug said as he still huffed, trying to get his breathing under control. If he was able to control his breathing, that may also make the pain seem less. The mustached bee nodded and turned to his family at last. Bumble happily buzzed from his mother's arms into his father's.
"Thank goodness you found him!" Mr. Honeybottoms beamed. "Where was he?"
"Actually, it was Mugman and Spoonfred that saved him from some bullies." Rumor explained to her husband. The bee couple looked back to the injured child.
"Thank you so much, Mugman. And Spoonfred, too. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. It's the least I can do for you." He said as his fingers tickled the young bee's belly.
"Speaking of which, there's a certain little bird that needs to be disciplined." Djimmi reminded himself. "You okay, Mugman?"
"Yeah." Mug answered even though his whole body stung from his encounter with the taser. It would involuntarily twitch every few seconds due to the effects of the electricity.
"There's plenty of Miracle Heal in my pyramid if you need it." The genie said, almost as if he could read Mugman's mind. "I'll be off now to talk to you know who." His lamp shoes clicked loudly on the pavement. Kiki stayed behind for a moment to say goodbye to Mugman. She approached the mug child with her tail and ears up straight. Her emerald eyes stared up at him. Gloved fingers slowly approached her golden fur.
"Thanks, Kiki. You were a lot of help too." A spark transferred from the mug to the kitty. Her fur puffed out so much that she looked like a fluffy golden hedgehog. "Sorry!" He quickly said, hoping the feline would not be upset. Kiki merely shook herself in an attempt to flatten her pelt. It only went about halfway down but she didn't look upset about it in the least.
No worries. A quick cleaning will make it normal again, her stare seemed to say. She flicked her tail in goodbye as she scampered off to her person.
Mugman's attention was averted as the bruised up rat approached him again.
"Thanks again, Mugman." Werner said. "You've really come a long way in just a few days. I'm glad to call you my ally again."
"Same here, Werner." The two creatures nodded in understanding as they parted ways.
Now that all of Mugman's friends were gone, there was only Elder Kettle left to praise him for his efforts. Or so he could only hope. Mug saw Rumor and her family lovingly embrace one another. How he wished to have that amongst his family again. Perhaps now that Elder Kettle had witnessed so many others were accepting him, he would do so too. It seemed to be this way as he noticed his guardian approaching with a smile on his face. The little mug's smile grew bigger and bigger as he thought he was finally getting his wish. They started to reach out a hand to one another. Right as they were about to make contact, a spark jolted the old person's body. He stumbled back in alarm. That look of disappointment and distrust returned to the kettle's face. Mugman's stomach churned as his feeling of dread washed over him yet again. His smile turned upside down as the kettle shook his spout back and forth before getting his bearings to actually say something. Whether that something was positive or not was yet to be determined.
"Good job, Mugman. Let's go get you healed up, shall we?" Their guardian turned away and started to make for his house. Positive? Yes. Meaningful? No. As long as the old kettle talked without truth and conviction in his voice, Mug knew he was hiding something. Cuphead agreed that this was odd behavior. Not like their usual grandpa at all.
The young mug hung his head in shame and turned it away from his brother. He hoped to hide his pain and tears from Cup. For he was hurt both physically and mentally now. Nothing he ever did seemed good enough for his grandpa anymore. It was like he was just a monster now. A dangerous pet that's kept at a distance, forced into a corner for an extended timeout. Cuphead could feel his brother's positive energy drain on the spot. As if his purpose had been taken out of him. He watched as a gloved hand swiped across that big blue nose as it took a sniff.
"I'm sorry, Mugs." The young cup began to say.
"I'm fine!" His sibling snapped as tears fell from his eyes.
"It won't be like this forever. I promise." Cuphead hoped that someday Elder Kettle could see that all the mug was trying to do was protect everyone. That he wasn't a threat like everyone initially believed.
"No! It will only be worse!" Mug sobbed. The mug child tried to compose himself before turning to his brother. "I don't think you understand, Cuphead. I'm losing him.... He used to trust me. He used to love me...." Mugman turned to hug Cuphead in an attempt to have some comfort. Cup happily met his sibling's embrace.
"I understand, Mugs." He said solemnly. "I also understand that he owes us answers. Something tells me that Werner's suspicious behavior was no accident."
That's two assassination attempts now. The demon chimed in. ...and still no 'thank you for saving my life' mind you!
Since when do you demand manners? Mug wondered, becoming a bit amused at the parasitic creature's changing personality.
I can have some standards, can't I?
Mugman audibly laughed a little as he wiped his remaining tears away.
"What's so funny?" Cup inquired.
"I'll tell you later. Right now, I'd like a Miracle Heal."
"I think I could use one myself." Cuphead replied as they started to walk home. He could feel the sting of the crack that had formed on his arm from the rat's teeth.
"I don't think you're going to like how they taste." Mug explained.
"Why is that?"
"It kind of tastes like earthy super vegetables."
"Oh, yuck!" Cup spat at the thought of ingesting uncooked vegetables in liquid form.
Upon arriving at their house, the cup brothers found a vile of Miracle Heal sitting on the counter.
"Looks like Elder Kettle left one out for us!" Cuphead beamed, trying to make circumstances seem better than they actually were.
Maybe he does care.... Mug thought. But then he realized that it was a form of help that didn't require the kettle to be face to face with his mug child. .....Or maybe not.
If he did care, he wouldn't keep secrets from you! The demon scoffed.
Cuphead took a swig of the potion before handing it off to Mugman. The cup child contorted his mouth as if he had something stuck in his teeth and screwed his eyes shut.
"Do you really think it's that bad?"
"That's gotta be worse than a tainted batch of Elder Kettle's drink!" Cup pouted.
Mug just laughed at his brother before drinking the rest of it. The cup siblings just took it easy for the rest of the afternoon, playing an occasional game of yo-yos or checkers. It was getting late in the afternoon when the young mug realized his guardian had not mentioned anything about going to train. Mugman intended to ask why this was. He found his grandpa sitting peacefully in his wooden rocker with eyes closed, humming a tune, and gently rolling back and forth. His cane rested against its right arm, slightly sliding with the seat's movements.
"Elder Kettle?" Mug gently said. But his voice seemed to startle the elderly person. The elder flinched and instinctively grabbed for his cane. Even his boy flinched and took a step back at his sudden movement.
"Are we going to train?"
"No, not today." Kettle gave a short response and went to close his eyes again.
"Why not?" The young mug inquired. Elder Kettle ceased his rocking and opened his eyes when he realized he now had to come up with a reason for his decision.
".......you deserve a break, Mugman." He finally stuttered out. However, it was embarrassingly obvious that it was not the real reason for lack of training session. Elder Kettle wondered what was the point of training anymore. Mugman didn't seem to be disciplining the demon for popping out. In fact, he seemed to welcome it nowadays.
He's still lying to me.... The little mug realized.
Perhaps he is frightened of another assassination attempt? The demon offered.
No. It's more likely that he's afraid of me.
An awkward silence filled the space between their stares. Mug's look said he was becoming suspicious about what his grandpa was thinking. Kettle's stare just hoped that the mug child would leave him alone. The elder finally broke the silence with a different idea.
"Why don't you go keep Cuphead company for the evening?"
"Okay!" Mugman replied, happy enough with that alternative. It was certainly much better than fighting those fake enemies that could pack just as much punch as a real one.
"Looks like you're stuck with me tonight, Cup!" He teased his brother.
"Oh, heavens me! Whatever will I do?" The red cup teased right back.
"You can't beat me in chess, that's for sure!"
"Oh, that's it! Come here you little nut!" Cuphead took a dive for his little sibling as they laughed and began to play wrestle with one another.