Cuphead and Mugman in "A Recipe For Evil"

In Pieces

Sitting next to the rubble that was once Saltbaker's bakery, the group looked to one another. They all were a bit confused at what they should do now. Not being shy, Cuphead offered the first question.

"Anybody have a place where we can go rest for a bit? I think some of us could really use it." Everyone still stayed quiet. More glances were thrown around. It was an awkward and uncomfortable silence. But any suggestions were better than nothing at this point. Saltbaker looked back to his former shop. He gave a big sigh.

"Well, we can at least make a fire. The sun's gone down and it will start to get cold soon."

Kiki trotted over toward the debris. She then turned around and gave a terse chirp, flicking her tail toward the rubble. It was as if she was saying to hurry up and stop standing around. No doubt she would have started already if she had hands to pick things up with. All six of them agreed that was a good start.

They soon had a roaring fire that the group sat around. Kiki lay in Mugman's lap purring away, doing her best to keep up a healing frequency to help the boy. He gently stroked her immaculate gold fur. Mug kept his gaze locked down on the feline. For if he looked into the flames for too long, he would see terrible things. Still lingering effects from being tossed into the Devil's pit a little over a year ago. He was lost in thought when Cuphead placed a hand on his shoulder. The young mug flinched, which in turn made him wince.

"I really wish we had a Miracle Heal for ya right now, buddy." The red cup said.

"I think you could use one, too." Mugman replied, eyeing his brother's wounds.

"I don't know about this Miracle Heal," Came the chef's voice. "But there should be some stuff on the island to help soothe the wounds. I'll go see if I can find some. Plus...I could use a walk to help clear my head." Saltbaker got up. His head still seemed to hang in defeat. Clearly the truth about his wife still settling in. How do you accept such a fact when you had been searching and had hope for years? "I'll be back." The chef gave a half-hearted wave before walking out of town and into the forest.

Spoonfred scooted over close to the cup brothers.

"Is it really okay to let him wander off by himself like that?" He whispered.

"It might be a good idea to have someone follow him from a distance...to make sure he isn't up to any last tricks." Mugman agreed.

"I'll go." Forkington offered and promptly stood up. The utensil was trying hard to win his son's trust back. Then maybe – just maybe – he could go back to the main Inkwell Island and live with his boy the way he should have been the whole time. If only he hadn't been so arrogant and short-tempered, neither of the utensils would be in this situation right now. Forkington never would have been sent to prison and Spoonfred never would have had to live off doing chores for the other Inkwell residents.

"Thanks, father. You've been a big help." The spoon nodded as his father departed on the stealth mission. Mugman also gave a nod of understanding toward the utensil. For he trusted Spoonfred, and if Spoonfred trusted the fork, then he should trust him too.

The four children and cat lay close to one another as their bonfire still roared loudly. It was a constant sound that almost hypnotized one into falling asleep. It had been a few minutes since Saltbaker had left to find some sort of natural remedy. There was no sign of him or the fork returning soon.

Spoonfred was getting sleepy when his concave head curled to look at the fire. Something in the distance caught his attention. It looked like a group of people that were coming in their general direction. A multitude of voices rang out from this traveling herd. Spoonfred sat up and got the others' attention.

"Um, guys, I think we might have some company." He told them. They all sat up at attention and looked beyond the fire where the spoon was pointing.

"What's going on? What do you think they want?" Mug wondered aloud. Cup squinted and realized that he recognized some of them.

"Wait a minute....aren't those the folks that we fought to get the Wondertart ingredients from?" It was then that the group realized that these people were carrying torches and weapons as they marched closer and closer.

"There's more than just them...." Chalice tensed as she attempted to make a headcount.

"Are they mad at us or something?" Cuphead asked her, to which the golden chalice just shrugged. This mob kept coming and didn't stop until they were just on the other side of the bonfire. Its bright light illuminated each one of their faces, showing expressions that were clearly upset and plainly mad.

"Can I help you with something?" Cup nervously asked the seemingly angry mob.

"That's her!" A random voice from the group shouted.

"Me?" Chalice said questioningly and pointed to her chest. Her gloved finger made contact with the relic that was still attached to her chest. She shuddered at its cold, metal reminder.

"Yes, you! That red beast has ravaged our lands looking for you." A person from the mob explained.

"Red beast...?" The red cup slowly drawled out, but then it hit both of the cup brothers.

"Oh no....the demon!" They both said in unison.

Don't let her run away. It isn't safe for her to be alone. Tsundere warned. For they all knew that she had run away the last time the demon's curse had been mentioned to her. Cuphead must have thought the exact same thing, because he turned to find her inching away. He promptly grabbed her hand.

"Please don't run away, Chalice. Everything's going to be okay. We'll get through this together, I promise." He explained softly to her. It seemed like she thought about staying for a moment, but then that fear seemed to come back to her.

"I'm sorry. I know ya mean well, but I can't stay here. Bye!" With that, the golden chalice squirmed her way out of the young cup's grip and ran off into the night.

"No, Chalice! Come back!" Cup pleaded with her to see reason. But she didn't even look back, too afraid of the mob she knew would be coming for her.

"After her!" Someone called and the group charged forward.

"Stop, please! Leave her alone! This isn't her fault!" Cuphead tried to tell the mob. But the people merely pushed him down and stampeded around the others. Too blind from their rage to see otherwise. Mugman curled his body around the small-boned feline to protect her. Spoonfred, on the other hand, assumed the duck-and-cover position with his hands covering his head. Luckily, they were never touched. And besides the person that pushed the young cup down, they had left him alone, too. After the thundering herd had passed by, Cuphead brushed himself off and got up. Mug and Spoonfred sat up as well.

"Oh, for crying out loud! Why can't anyone just stay put?" Cup pouted.

That's what we ask you all the time. Tsundere silently joked. The mug child gave a little chuckle despite how bleak the situation was looking.

"What can we do to help her?" The utensil inquired.

"You have to go after her, Cuphead." Mug told his sibling. The red cup thought about this for a minute and then said, "No, I'm not leaving you again. That's how you got captured last time. Because I wasn't there to protect you."

"But Cuphead-" Mugman went to argue.

"Even if I did follow them, there's no way I'd be able to fend off all those people by myself..." Cup turned back to his group with his head hung in defeat. He sighed and took his seat next to his brother. "Chalice is good at hiding. Let's hope she can find a hiding spot until this blows over...."