Cuphead and Mugman in "A Recipe For Evil"

Trapped Again

Mugman sat calmly within the bushes. He spent his time star gazing, counting so many before he wondered if he had already counted the one he was looking at. They were out past curfew for sure now. Would Elder Kettle come looking for them? Certainly, he would. But would he know where to go? It seemed so far from his home island that the chances of their guardian finding them seemed slim. It would be up to the boys to help Chalice and get home. The Devil should have been on his way soon as well. Perhaps they weren't totally alone. A spark of hope grew in Mugman's chest.

Tsundere stared up at the sky too. He wondered what could possibly be out there. How far did it go? Perhaps he would have a chance to see the world past Inkwell yet. The stars reminded him of a resident of Inkwell that had helped them in the past and seemed to care for them. Hilda Berg had always been fascinated with the stars. She had traveled out there one time, he had sensed. Out past where one could see from earth, that is. What was she doing now? His thoughts started to form into real words in the young mug's mind.

Do you think that female – Hilda – can sense when we're staring up at the night sky?

Why do you ask that? You starting to be a softie for her? Mug teased him.

No! The parasite snapped. I just wonder if she could ever send us a sign through the stars. Like to tell us that help was coming.

So out of all the people we know, you would want Hilda to help us first?

M-maybe....I just... He stuttered, not sure why he felt that he wanted her help.

You would want her over the Devil?

W-well...

Or even Cuphead?

Okay, okay, let's not get too technical! It just depends on the situation, all right?

Okay, tough guy. Mug still teased him.

And don't you forget it. The blue mug's arm twitched as Tsundere weakly nudged it.

Just as they were having a moment together, the ground began to rumble. It was as if something heavy was knocking on the other side of the ground. Mug's body jolted like somebody had jump-scared him.

"What was that?" He quietly asked and poked his head over the bush. The circular portal near the gravestones was beginning to open. Its blue rim pulsed with each rumble, growing wider. Eventually, the red demon's arm punched out and fell loudly to the earth. Its sound made the creature seem much larger than he actually was....at least at the moment. Tanuki dragged his skinny body out of the portal and stood up tall. Mugman retreated halfway back into the bushes to make sure he was not seen. But the demon was too busy taking in the fresh air to notice the child spying on him. It took in a deep breath through the nose.

"Finally! I'm free! Time to go find my slave..." The hairy demon bellowed in utter joy. Tanuki began to elongate his body even more, transforming himself into a furry, multi-legged dragon and took to the sky. He was gone within a couple seconds of the transformation.

"Please hurry, Cuphead. He's coming..." Mugman quietly said to the empty grave site. Poor Mug felt bad about just sitting there and letting the demon escape into the world. But they needed to rest for now if they hoped to be of help later on.

A few minutes passed by as the duo sat in silence. Instead of peaceful thoughts, their minds were now flooded with awful ideas of what Tanuki would do to Chalice and the rest of the island. No doubt he would move along to the other Inkwell isles if he was not stopped.

The sound of the wildlife seemed to quiet down after Tanuki had made his presence known. Even those small little animals – such as crickets and birds – could tell when there was a threat around. Their chirps told one another to be quiet and lay low until the predator had left the area.