#cupheadxundertale

Author’s Note:

Finally got this done after a half-year hiatus! This fic is still in hiatus sadly, but it’s slowly progressing. It’s my birthday today! And soon it will be my Japanese test on Sunday. Thank you so much for sticking around, even if it’s really taking this long. Enjoy!

Music box melody playing. The peaceful darkness. A cushy pillow on the back of your head… well, half of it for Cuphead at least. The other half was taken by a baby cooing and moaning Mugman, and Cuphead felt his brother snuggling on his right face, as if he was a pillow.

 Opening his eyes, Cuphead glared annoyed at his brother’s big and goofy smile, and his rubbing snuggles on his face… but he also felt the end of his lip curl into a smile and felt a heartfelt stiffness on his right arm that is stopping him moving away from Mugman’s shoulders. Looking down and realizing he smiled, his eyes widened, then he shook himself and growled at Mugman for making him feel like this. They weren’t flexing. They weren’t wrestling. They weren’t chest bumping, fist bumping, butt bumping, or clinking… They weren’t manly at all.

 Closed eyes, Mugman moaned and squeezed his hug a little. “Cuphead is red… Mugman is blue…”

 Cuphead couldn’t help but chuckle. “Flowers are stupid. So Cagney is too!” He continued to giggle which got a little louder and then ended with a sigh mixed with fun and disappointment. Annoyed, he glared at Mugman who was still on his face. “Ya awake yet?!” He said with a hiss on his voice.

  “Nope.” Mugman said jokingly.

 Cuphead grunted. “Well, when are ya awake?” His right hand on Mugman’s shoulder splayed.

 Mugman opened his eyes and smirked. “When I open my eyes.” And then he closed his eyes again.

 Cuphead moaned and rolled his eyes. “How long will that be?”

 Mugman squeezed his hug a little more. “Few more minutes.”

 Cuphead grumbled and pounded his left fist on the bed, causing the mattress to shake. “That’s gonna take ferever!” And then looked at the ceiling, waiting for that forever to finish… but then his eyes widened. “Wait a minute…”

 Mugman started to snicker, then bubbly giggle, then bubbly laugh. “Yer such a dum dum bro.”

 Cuphead growled. “Get off!” He pushed Mugman but he didn’t move.

 “N-ho!” Mugman giggled and tightened his hug.

 “You’re being super icky right now!” With his hands, Cuphead pushed his face off.

 “Aww come on!” Mugman pushed his head through Cuphead’s hands and clinked the head of his brother, who squeaked startled in reaction. “You like this ickiness!”

 Milk boiling, straw steaming and whistling like a kettle, Cuphead readied his hands. “I. DO. NOT!!!” At the last word, Cuphead pushed Mugman’s face away very very hard.

 “OW! HEEEY!” Mugman swatted Cuphead’s hands. “YA DIDN’T HAVTUH PUSH SO HARD!”

 “THEN GET OFF ME!” Cuphead pushed Mugman’s chest.

 “NO!” Mugman pushed Cuphead’s chest back. “I’M NOT DONE!” He placed his hands on Cuphead’s shoulders and hit his forehead onto Cuphead’s.

 Cuphead’s furious eyes glared straight into Mugman’s. “YES!” He put his foot on Mugman’s stomach. “YOU-“

 A wisp of brown creamy curly air waved and seeped into the nostrils of Cuphead and Mugman who then sniffed, sniffed, closed their eyes, and then followed the scent with their sniffing noses. The trail led to the floor behind Mugman and they both leaned their noses towards it while sucking the scent with their giant nostrils at the same time. They opened their eyes and gasped.

 Two creamy brown pies (with golden brown crust and creamy brown filling) were set on the floor in the middle of the rug blessed by the warm white light peeking from the narrow open doorway.

 Dog-like tongues dripping with drool stuck out of the brothers’ mouths and they used them to lick their own entire faces. They looked at each other, cheekily grinned at each other, and then scrambled out of bed while growling, laughing, and playfully pushing each other, to get to the pie. Along the way, they pushed each other so hard they crashed sitting and laughing on the floor next to the closest pie they each had.

 They both looked at the pie with their black pupils reflecting the pie’s image… but then Mugman raised an eyebrow confused.

 “Huh…” Mugman continued to stare. “No forks.”

 “Heh!” Cuphead elbowed Mugman. “Relax, we can eat it on the floor.”

 Mugman glared at Cuphead. “On the floor?! Like animals?!” Then suddenly Mugman’s eyes widened. “Ohhhh…” He said in realization, picked up his plate of pie and smiled at it. “Toriel-! THAT’S WHY THERE’S NO FORKS!” He held up the pie like it was gold.

 Cuphead glared confused at Mugman “Uhh, yeah!” He smiled. “Forks are borin’ anyway.” He motioned his right hand to pick up the pie until-

 “HEY HEY HEY!” Mugman swatted Cuphead’s hand.

 “Hey!” Cuphead glared surprised at Mugman.

 “Didja wash yer hands?” Mugman pointed his right finger at Cuphead while looking at him with his squinted right eye.

 Cuphead snickered and then swatted Mugman’s right index finger away. “Who cares?” He splayed his carefree hands, while Mugman just looked at him annoyed. “We’ve got gloves.” He presented his hands wiggled his fingers.

 Mugman scoffed and rolled his eyes. “The same gloves you drooled on and fell on the dirty creek! You’ll wind up buzzed by germsville! I’ll go find the bathroom.” He placed his right foot down, ready to stand.  

“Mmmmokay!” Cuphead smiled smug and picked up his pie. “I hope ya don’t mind if I eat that other slice if yer not havin’ it!”

 After a moment of staring cautiously at Cuphead, Mugman picked up his plate and moved the pie away. “No way! I just need clean hands!”

 Cuphead shrugged his shoulders. “Alrighty!” He offered his hand. “I’ll just hold onto yer plate while ya go wash yer hands!”

 Mugman gasped and beamed. “Thanks buddy!” He was about to lend his plate to Cuphead. “Hey wait a minute…” He pulled back his plate to the middle and squinted his eyes at Cuphead. “Ya tryna pull a fast one on me?”

 Cuphead snickered while biting his teeth together and holding back tears. “Whaddya mean bro?”

  “Yer gonna wait until I’m outta sight.” Mugman pointed his left finger at the door. “And then when I come back” He pointed his finger to the floor. “Both pies’ll be gone and in yer stomach!” Mugman stretched his left arm two times its size to poke Cuphead’s stomach, causing him to squeak in laughter.

 Still giggling, Cuphead swatted his brother’s left hand away. “Soooo… Let’s eat em togethah!” He presented his plate to Mugman. “Come on!” He smirked and raised an eyebrow at Mugman. “Don’t leave me hangin’ pal, or I’m getting that slice!” He winked and pointed at Mugman’s pie.

 Mugman grumbled at Cuphead for this idea… but then he rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He laid his right foot to a sit, and (together with Cuphead) picked up his pie with his right hand while his left held the plate.

 They lifted their pies to the middle between them. “Cheers!” Then bumped them together “Clink!”

 Both with their biggest open mouths, they chomped their pies almost finishing it with one bite leaving only the crust they held on their fingers. They both chewed the pie with their cheeks puffy and lumpy.

 Cuphead elbowed Mugman. “Hnn Mhhgmhhn!” He talked with his mouth full.

 Closed eyes, enjoying the pie, Mugman peeked his right eye to Cuphead.

 “Thish ish howsh ya eatsh yush candish!” Cuphead spoke with salivary crumbs spitting out of his mouth. He closed his eyes and then vocalized “NGAM NGAM NGAM NGAM!” as he made very big chews with his teeth showing, saliva spitting everywhere, and the gooey pie in his mouth breaking down to pieces as it was being tossed around his mouth.

 “EEEEEHHEEHEHEHEEEEEEWWW!” Mugman giggled as he smiled disgusted and intrigued at his brother. He then gulped down his pie. “I love ya buddy.” He then bit off a part of the crust.

 Eyes popped out open, chewing stopped, and mouth scrunched at the same time. The words of the last phrase echoing in his mind. Cuphead’s horrified eyes slid towards his right looking at his innocently smiling brother who locked eyes with him for a few seconds.

 “LEAUGH!” Cuphead let his ball of pie roll out of his tongue down to his plate like a ball rolling down a red carpet.

 “EEEEHEHEHEHEEEEWW!!” Mugman laughed and pointed at the ball of masticated pie.

 “Mugs!” Cuphead said disgustedly. “I know!” He splayed his right hand. “Ya literally just told me the day yester!”

 Mugman giggled. “You mean yesterday. Wait was that yesterday?!” His eyes scrunched in surprise and then his eyes looked left and right as he tapped his chin in thought. “I thought it was a few hours ago.”

 Cuphead grumbled. “Mugs, you were literally on my face fer like ferever!”

 “Really?” Mugman raised an eyebrow. “I thought it was just a nap.”

 Cuphead uttered a sound but then stopped to look left and right, thinking about how long they slept, but then he shook his head. “It doesn’t mattah ya literally tell me that gross L-word more often than not, it’s like ya think I don’t know.”

 Mugman smirked. “Aww come on, I know ya like it!” He winked at him.

 Cuphead’s eyes twitched, his milk boiled, he blushed and even the beating brotherly heart on his chest glared annoyed at Mugman. “NOO I HATE IT!”  He he stood up at the same time.

 Mugman’s smile faded into a disbelieving frown. “Wh-what?!”

 “YEAH!” Cuphead stomped his foot down. “Y-YEAH Y-YA HEARD ME! I-I H-HATE IT WHEN YA USE THAT GROSS L-WORD A LOT!”

 Tears started to form on Mugman’s eyes, but then he scrunched them angrily. “I DON’T BELIEVE THAT ONE BIT!”

 “YOU SHOULD TOO!” Cuphead pointed his finger at Mugman.

 “OH YEAH?!” Tears welling on his eyes, Mugman splayed his arms. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT?!”

 “WHAT’S WRONG IS THAT YER ACTIN’ LIKE A BABY BRO!” Cuphead jabbed his finger once at Mugman.

 “WELL I LIKE ACTIN LIKE A BABY BRO! IT’S WHAT WE DO!” Tears fell from Mugman’s face as he spread his arms.

 “NO IT’S NOT! YA SEE THIS?!” Cuphead flexed his left arm, and a lump of muscle appeared. “AND THIS?!” He flexed his right arm. “THESE…” He alternately flexed his arms left, right, left, then right. “ARE WHAT REAL MEN DO! THEY ACT TOUGH! THEY ARM WRESTLE!” He arm wrestled both his hands together. “THEY BURP!” He puffed his cheeks and unleashed a loud trembling burp to the ceiling while spreading his arms wide like he used inner power to do so. “AND THEY DO…” His eyes looked left and right at his hands. “OTHER MANLY STUFF!”

 “I DO THAT!” Mugman pointed his thumb at himself.

 “NO, YA DON’T! YER ALL-“ Cuphead formed two fists that were cuddling his chin. “’Hee hee, I’m a baby bro, I like tuh cuddle with my brothah and get lotsa tickles all day!’” He grunted and dropped his fists into demanding open hands. “Come on ya gotta man up bro!” He smirked and folded his arms. “Or we might as well start callin’ ya Mugbaby!”

 Fists clenched. Mouth trembling. Tears falling from his furious eyes. Mugman took a sobbing breath. “NOOOOOOOOOO!” Shutting his eyes, Mugman stomped his foot forward, and punched his fists behind him as he screamed as loud as he could in front of him.

 Cuphead gasped and trembled at his brother’s sudden scream; his straw turned into an exclamation point. He took a step back and raised his hands in caution.

 Fists lowering. Eyes open and glaring at his brother. Breaths shuddering and turning into sobs. Mugman pointed his finger at him. “I LIKE WHAT WE-! NO!” He stomped his foot again, making Cuphead shiver. “I LOOVE WHAT WE DO!” His sobbing became louder. “YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND AND MY BROTHER!” He pointed his finger at Cuphead, whose eyes started to crease in sadness. “I-I-I COULD BUILD A BLANKET FOHRT WITH YAH A-AND-AND READ OUR FAVORITE COMIC BOOK ALL NIGHT! I-I COULD WRESTLE ON THE BED WITH YA ‘TIL ELDER KETTLE COMES! A-A-AND I COULD CUDDLE UP TUH YA I-IF THERE WAS LIGHTNIN’ OR I-I HAD A BAD DREAM OR-!”

 Mugman grabbed his head grunted in frustration, and Cuphead took a step forward reaching out his hand.

 “ANYTHIN’ CUPHEAD!” Mugman spread his open ‘crying out’ hands. “ANYTHIN! I-I-ITS LIKE EVERY DAY’S A SLEEPOVER W-WITH MY BEST BUD AND-AND I-I DON’T HAVETUH INVITE YA OVAH CUZ WE’RE BROTHAHS! WE LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE! I-IT’S LIKE MAC N CHEESE” Mugman brought out two index fingers representing each food. “A-AND CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA” He pumped each of those two fingers each again. “O-OO-OR SUGAR N SPICE TOGETHAH! TWO OF OUR FAVORITES IN ONE! WE COULD DO ANYTHIN CUPHEAD! ANYTHIN’! WHY WOULD YA WANNA MAN UP FROM THAT?!”

 Eyes creased. Pupils trembling. Cuphead started with a stammer. “B-because…” His eyes looked down in defeat. “B-because…”

 Sobbing turned into open-wide loud wailing and the tears fell like rushing waterfalls from Mugman’s eyes. Cuphead’s creased eyes looked up apologetically at Mugman, he reached his hand and opened his mouth to try talk to him, but then Mugman covered his eyes, turned around, and ran while pulling the door open.

Cuphead gripped the hem of his shorts, and grunted while kicking his plate, which flipped over and then spun on its rim on the floor to a noisy shaking stop. Closing his eyes, He slapped his own forehead with both hands, grunted as he looked up at the ceiling, and roughly wiped his face down with his hands.

 “WhydoeshehavtuhbelikethisIcan’tbelieveit!” He gave big heavy sigh and opened his air-patting ‘calm down’ hands. “Alright. All I gotta say is…” He took a deep breath, and opened his eyes pretending he was there. “Mugs… I’m…” His mouth shut uncomfortably, it gradually puffed up, and it struggled to open to say something... but then he unleashed a loud raspy whine as he stomped his feet left right left then right. “WhydoIhaftuhsaythes-word” He walked towards the door and yanked it very aggressively that it banged onto the wall. “AllIevahwantedwasfuhMugstuhmanupforonceandnotbesoickyandsobabyishandsoftandstuff.” He kept grumbling other jibber jabbers while walking towards Toriel’s living room/dining room. “Whydoeshehavtuhbesuchababywhycan’themanup.”

 “Why couldn’t he just go with it and have fun?” The sound of Mugman’s sniffling being wiped could be heard. “It’s not like I’m hurtin him or nothin.”

 Toriel hummed endearingly. “Well, if I may suggest, based from experience, maybe you’re giving him too much love.”

 “Too much?!” Mugman exclaimed.

 As Mugman ranted, Cuphead entered the mouth of the room and saw Toriel wearing her eyeglasses while sitting on her couch by the fireplace and Mugman sitting on Toriel’s left knee by the crackling fireplace.

 “Well, what did you do with your brother yesterday?” Toriel rubbed Mugman’s back handle endearingly.

 “Well, we went lookin’ for ya.” Mugman said as he was touching his index fingers together.

 “And… did the search, by any chance, involve lots of hugging?” Toriel teased and raised an eyebrow.

 “What?!” Mugman started counting with his fingers on his right hand. “Noo, there was running, and parrying, and we played tag n’ uhh… ghosts, and spiders and…” He counted his left fingers while looking at them nervously and a curled mouth. His left fingers unfolded one by one, ‘til all four of them were splayed.  “S-sure… there were some hugs here n there but… they weren’t too much!”

 “Uhh, yeah they were!” Cuphead interjected.

 Mugman’s chest jumped, and looked his under right to see Cuphead with his arms folded and blankly staring at him at the foot of the couch.

 “Ah!” Toriel smiled. “Good morning Cuphead!”

 “NUH-UH!” Mugman furiously leaned in closer to Cuphead and stared him down.

 “UH-HUH!” Cuphead stood on his toes closer to Mugman and stared him down... or up rather.

 “NUH-UH!” Mugman leaned in very close to Cuphead.

 “UH-HUH!” Cuphead stood even taller and pushed his nose against Mugman’s as he stared straight into his eyes.

 “AW COME ON YOU STARTED MOST OF ‘EM!” Mugman poked a finger on Cuphead’s chest.

 “I-!” Cuphead blushed from embarrassment, and then swatted his hand off furiously. “THAT’S NOT THE POINT!”

 “HA!” Mugman poked that same finger on Cuphead’s chest, while pushing his nose forward. “SO YOU DO ADMIT IT!” He poked his chest a second time.

 “DON’T YA ‘HA’ ME OR I WILL ‘HA HA’ YOU!” Furious-eyed Cuphead pushed back with his nose and poked Mugman’s chest.

 “WELL DON’T YA ‘HA HA’ ME OR I WILL ‘HA HA HA’ YOU!” Furious-eyed Mugman with steam erupting out of his straw pushed back with his nose and this time he pressed hard Cuphead’s chest with his finger.

 “WELL DON’T YOU ‘HA HA HA’ ME OR I WIL ‘HA HA HA HA’ YOU!” Furious-eyed Cuphead with steam erupting out of his straightened straw pushed back with his nose as he pressed Mugman’s chest back as hard.

 Growling Cuphead and Mugman pushed each other by their noses in some sort of push-o-war with an intense stare down.

 “CHILDREN!” Toriel yelled, and then sighed. “Please! No yelling!” Without breaking their nose connection, she picked up Cuphead and sat him on her left knee. “And…” Toriel giggled. “Do you have to literally be at each other’s noses when you argue?”

 As they broke apart, Cuphead and Mugman blinked and they both looked at Toriel unamused and confused respectively.

 “Uhh…” Mugman scratched the side of his head. “What’s wrong with that?” He said while briefly stealing a peek at Cuphead.

 “She doesn’t have a brother.” Cuphead spoke to Mugman while his backhand was hiding his sidemouth

 Toriel’s eyes widened, she frowned, her eyes stared in anger and her head pulled back pushing against the couch.

 Mugman gasped and covered his mouth with his right hand. “Aww… that’s so sad.”

 Snapping at Mugman, Toriel made a loud flaring inhale, and gritted her teeth under her closed mouth.

 Cuphead giggled. “I know right.” He winked at him.

 Mugman giggled in response. “Yeah, she don’t get what we do.”

 “Yeah. Only we do buddy.” Cuphead buddy hugged Mugman and they both shared a moment to giggle.

 Cuphead ended with a sigh. “Now… where was I?” He raised an eyebrow.

 “Ha ha ha.” Mugman said casually as he tilted his head three times, one on each ‘ha.’

 “No no, what’re we beefin’ about?” Cuphead swished his free hand on front of him.

 “Oh! Uhh…” Mugman tapped his chin twice. “My hugs are too much. Which THEY’RE NOT BY THE WAY!” Mugman bumped his forehead and pressed his nose onto Cuphead’s, who stared back furiously.

 “YA THEY ARE!” Cuphead pushed back with his nose.

 “NO! THEY’RE! NOT!” Mugman pushed forward with his nose and forehead on each syllable.

 “YA! THEY! ARE!” Cuphead pushed forward with his nose and forehead on each syllable.

 They both grumbled as they kept pushing in this nose push-o-war again.

 “Toriel!” Cuphead and Mugman turned to her they pointed their fingers at each other.

 Then, they gasped in shock.

 Before them were two crimson-piercing eyes looming and staring back at them furiously. Toriel’s mouth scrunched and she took one fiery fuming breath.

 “Apologize… Now. “ Her irises burned with fire within them.

 “W-we’re…” Cuphead and Mugman hugged each other very tightly as they shivered. “W-we’re-!”

 “Say. It.” She hissed with every word.

 “WE’RE SORRY!” Cuphead and Mugman yelled as they kept shivering and hugging each other.

 She glared at them, turning her eyes slowly to Mugman, then Cuphead, then Mugman, and then Cuphead.

 Then, she sighed in relief, and chuckled. “I guess it’s not too much when you are taking care of each other!”

 Cuphead and Mugman’s eyebrows creased with confusion, and then they habitually slid their eyes to each other to check if the other understood… but then those same eyes widened and they gasped in shock. They were hugging each other, and Mugman quickly pushed Cuphead away.

 “WHA-! HEY!” Cuphead splayed his palms open.

 Mugman folded his arms and looked away. “I don’t wanna hug you anymore. You ruined everything!”

 “I-!” Cuphead growled, gritted his teeth, squeezed his fists, and his milk boiled. “FINE!” He turned away and folded his arms, mirroring Mugman’s posture.

 “Oh children…” Toriel gently placed her hands on their heads, covering their milk completely, but not the straws. “This is all a misunderstanding. Can’t we talk it out?”

 “No!“ They both said as they bumped their folded arms onto their chests and stuck their noses higher to the air.

 “But… you’re both right!” Toriel smiled.

 Cuphead and Mugman’s eyes opened, and they looked at her confused. “What?!”

 Toriel’s smile showed teeth as she chuckled. “Yes! You’re both right!...” She raised and index finger as she explained, but she tapped that same finger on her lips thinking for a few seconds. “But you’re also both wrong.” She giggled. “Does that make sense?” She looked at them with a kind and patient smile.

 Cuphead and Mugman kept staring at her with their silent speechless mouths open. “Nnno!”

 Toriel chuckled. “Alright, I’ll explain.” She cleared her throat. “Cuphead. Don’t be so harsh on your brother. Just tell ‘im.”

 “I did!” Cuphead thrusted his showing hands towards Mugman. He then glared at him. “But he wouldn’t gimme a break!”

 Mugman spit raspberry sounds at towards Cuphead.

 “Well in that case, Mugman.” She looked at the blue mug with a gentle smile. “Don’t blame your brother. You fed him too much pie.”

 Eyebrows creasing more confused, Cuphead and Mugman looked at each other for a moment, and then back at Toriel.

 “But… I didn’t feed him any pie!” Mugman raised right eyebrow.

 “Yeah!” Cuphead raised his left eyebrow, mirroring Mugman.

 Toriel chuckled, with her hand politely covering her mouth. “Your hugs ARE the pies.” She endearingly booped Mugman’s nose.

 “Hey!” Mugman’s eyes looked at Toriel’s finger booping the middle of his nose, earning a slight chuckle from Cuphead who thought Mugman’s crisscross pupils were funny.

 “Yeah, I still don’t get it.” Cuphead scratched the top of his bendy straw.

 “Yeah!” Mugman looked up at Toriel. “Why would anyone get tired of your pie? It’s delicious!” He smiled and began moving in some forward kicking-like action alternatively with his left foot, then right, then left, and then right.

 Cuphead stared with a confused raised brow at Mugman. “Uhh… that’s not it, but he’s not wrong though.”

 “Aww, that’s very sweet of you!” Toriel smiled with his hands together with thumbs touching her mouth. “Come here my child!” She opened her arms wide enough for Mugman to enter.

 A big smile spread on Mugman’s face and he made a quick tackling hug on Toriel’s stomach earning a surprised “Oh!” from her. She chuckled, and then hugged Mugman very fondly, and Mugman stuck his tongue out with a loud “LLLLLLHH!!!” at Cuphead who growled and folded his arms in reaction… until Toriel tightened her hug that it caused Mugman to squeak at the sudden tightness.

 “Ughh-!” T-Toriel!” Mugman made a grumbling sound as he pushed Toriel’s stomach away trying to free himself of the tight space. “Too tight!”

 “Oh?” Toriel chuckled. “I thought you said you wouldn’t get tired of my pie!” She maintained her tight hug on Mugman.

 As he watched Mugman struggle, Cuphead’s mouth turned from a curious ‘o’ into a right-lipped giggling smirk.

 “Wait!” Mugman grumbled louder and pushed harder. “I get it!” He brought his feet to her stomach and pushed. “TORIEL!”

 Cuphead laughed and pointed his right finger towards Mugman, who then growled at Cuphead.

 Toriel chuckled and let go, but it made Mugman push himself too far that he wobbled with a “WOAHOAHOAH!” and he spun and spread his arms trying stop himself from falling over her knee.

 With a sly smile, Cuphead leaned over to Mugman and tapped the back of his head with a “Boop!”

 “WOAH!” Mugman wobbled forward and was finally balanced sitting on Toriel’s knee.

 Mugman looked at Cuphead to see that he was smug smiling.

 “You’re welcome.” He showed a cocky white-teeth sparkly smile.

 Eyebrows scrunched, Mugman gave a slightly hard pat on Cuphead’s face.

 “Ow!” Cuphead covered his nose with his right hand as he recoiled backwards.

 “Mugman!” Toriel glared shocked. “He just saved you!”

 Mugman’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh yeah…”  His eyes looked down in regret.

 “Yeah…” Minorly grumpy Cuphead rubbed his nose with his index finger. “No thanks buddy.”

 Mugman’s eyes began to water, and he rubbed his sniffing nose with his right back wrist.

 “Aww… Mugman.” Warm smiling Toriel opened her arms wide enough for Mugman like before. “Come here.”

 “Not…” Mugman sniffled and a tear dropped as he blinked. “Not too tight.”

 Toriel nodded and gave an endearing hum. “I think you’ve already learned your lesson.”

 After one last sad look, Mugman let himself fall towards Toriel’s stomach, and they shared a tender hug.

 “MMm Sorrrmmm.” Mugman said, muffled by her stomach.

 Toriel chuckled. “Not to me my child.” She gently turned Mugman’s handle ‘til he faced Cuphead who was just pouting.

 Mugman took a breath and sighed, realizing the hassle he must go through.

 “Oh.” Toriel stroked Mugman’s handle with her right hand. “It’s alright my child.” She gave a gentle smile to Mugman, and he looked back with his frown turning into a hopeful smile. “Nothing wrong with trying to fix something… especially if it’s with your best friend.”

 Grumpy Cuphead looked away for a moment of thought, and then looked back at Mugman.

 Smiling more hopeful, Mugman let go of Toriel and placed his hands on his knees. “Hey. Bro…” He looked at the corner of his eyes and scratched the back of his head. “I-I’m…” He took a breath, closed his eyes, exhaled, opened his eyes again and then faced his brother properly. “I’m sorry.”

 Cuphead’s right lip smirked. “Heh. No biggie.” He closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. “It’ll just gimme more reason to get back at ya later.” As he spoke, He opened his eyes and punched his right fist onto his own left hand at ‘get back’.

 Mugman’s smile curled, nervous about the anticipated revenge.

 “See!” Toriel gently placed a hand on Mugman’s left shoulder, and Mugman’s nerves calmed to a genuine smile. “Even after all that fuss, he still loves you!” She playfully tapped Mugman’s nose, causing him to giggle.

 Eyes bugged out. Chest jumped. Bendy straw turning into an exclamation point. “WHAT?! NO!!” Cuphead glared at Toriel.

 With a big smile, Mugman gasped. “AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!” His glossy eyes sparkled and shimmered as he looked at Cuphead.

 “SHADDUP!!” Cuphead lunged his nose against Mugman’s, earning a surprised squeal that soon turned into a snorty bubbly laugh.

 “Aw-!” Mugman snorted.  “Come on buddy!” He snorted and giggled some more. “Embrace the brotherly love!” He snorted with a giggle as he opened his arms. “Get it? Embrace!” His smile got bigger as he laughed, even as Cuphead continued to glare at him annoyed.

 “Oh I’ll show ya some BROTHERLY LOVE in a minute!” Cuphead rolled up his right sleeve, showing his white arm, and he pulled back ready to punch.

 Mugman’s pure smile turned forceful as he stared with a sweat drop back at Cuphead… but then the latter’s right lip trembled as he snickered, and then he threw his head backwards as he made a loud laugh.

 “I HA-HA-HA-HATE YOUHUHUHUHUHU!” Cuphead playfully pushed Mugman, who just closed one eye as he was pushed, and he laughed with his brother.

 “No you don’t.” Mugman folded his arms and he smirked at Cuphead as he danced his head left and right sassily.

 The three of them threw laughing fits. Toriel laughed while hugging her stomach, and then eventually placed her hands on Cuphead and Mugman’s shoulders. Cuphead hugged his stomach, Mugman accidentally rested his hands on Cuphead’s knees instead of his own, but Cuphead placed his left hand on the back of Mugman’s right hand, and then playfully pushed it away starting a small pushing of hands game as they laughed.  

 Finally, Toriel sighed. She turned to both each. “You two remind me so much of…” She looked at the corners of her eyes in thought. “a couple of… faces I used to know.”

 With curious big eyes, Cuphead and Mugman looked at her, then at each other for a moment, then back.

 Turning to the right, Toriel looked at the dining table behind her. “They made me so happy.”

 Mugman turned to his left, while Cuphead leaned forward to look past Toriel.

 Three chairs were arranged on the long table; one was the smallest about the size of the Cups by the far head of the table, next was the biggest on the right side, and lastly across the smallest was just the size of Toriel’s.

 “Who were they?” Mugman kept looking at the table with his brother.

 Toriel looked at Cuphead and Mugman’s hands, held them each with her own hands, and softly clasped them together. “Two best friends.” She looked at both, who then looked back at her with curiosity. “Just like the two of you.” She turned back with a proud smile at their holding hands.

 They smiled at each other; Cuphead had an excited and big smile while Mugman had a warm, endearing, and awestruck smile.

 Still excited, Cuphead looked at Toriel. “Where are they?”

 Her smile turned into a sad and longing one. “I...” She slowly turned to the fire on her left. “I will tell you… another time…”

 “Aw come on!” Cuphead gave a light tug on their held hands, earning a smile from Mugman. “Tell us!” He smiled with his white teeth at Toriel.

 “Not now my child!” Toriel snapped a glare at Cuphead, and they both gasped in reaction. She then returned her gaze to the fire and then let of their hands. “Not now.”

 Still holding hands, Cuphead and Mugman looked at each other, and then shrugged their shoulders.

 “What about you two?” Toriel smiled at them. “I’ll be honest, you’re a cupple of unexpectedly delightful surprises that dropped-in!”

 “Hey!” Cuphead smirked.

 Cuphead and Mugman laughed in reaction to the puns Toriel made.

 “Well, thanks a bunch for taking care of us Ms-! I mean!” Mugman shook his head so hard, it splashed tiny droplets of milk in different directions (Cuphead chuckled as he covered his face) and shook his head straw. “Toriel.” He finished smiled.

 Toriel chuckled with her hand elegantly covering her mouth. “You’re a very sweet gentleman you are Mugman.”

 “Or should I say…” Cuphead smirked as he leaned towards his brother. “Muggentleman?” He winked at Mugman, earning a snicker from him.

 They all laughed together.

 “So…” Toriel leaned in with a curious enthusiastic smile. “is everyone a cup or mug in your world?”

 “Nah!” Cuphead and Mugman said in sync. They gasped at each other. “Jinx!” They booped each other’s noses and laughed.

 “We’ve got all sortsa fellas!” Mugman explained with his right hand splayed open.

 “Yeah!” Cuphead raised his index finger. “We’ve got Beppi!”

 “A, uhh…” Mugman tapped his chin repeatedly, then widened his eyes with an ‘aha!’ expression. “A balloon clown!” He smiled.

 Toriel’s eyebrows creased confused. “A… balloon clown?”

 “Yeah!” Cuphead and Mugman said in sync. “Jinx!” They both booped each other’s noses.

 “But I said that.” Mugman smirked with his eyes closed and arms folded,

 “Yeah!” Cuphead winked and nudged Mugman with his elbow.  “That’s what I said.”

 “No! I said that!” Annoyed Mugman pointed his thumb to himself.

 “Yeah!” Cuphead glared at him annoyed. “That’s what I said!”

 “No!” Mugman bumped his nose against Cuphead’s nose again while he stared him down. “You are stealin’ what I’m sayin’!” He poked Cuphead’s chest.

 “No! I’m sayin-“ Cuphead pointed his thumb to himself. “What ya said-“ He poked Mugman’s chest. “Is exactly what she’s ask sayin!” He splayed his hands to Toriel as he explained.

 Mugman uttered a retaliating tone, but then tapped his chin and hummed in thought. “So what you’re sayin’ is-“ He poked Cuphead’s chest. “What I was sayin’-“ He pointed his thumb to himself. “Was exactly what she was askin fer?” He pointed to Toriel.

 “Yes!” He pressed his clinking forehead forward as he pressed his point, regardless of how ‘in-your-face’ he was with Mugman.

 “And in addition to what you’re sayin’-“ Mugman poked Cuphead’s chest again. “Yer not tryinna snatch my sayin’-“ He snatched the air to demonstrate. “And yer actually sayin is-“ He poked Cuphead’s chest again. “What I was sayin-“ He pointed his thumb to himself. “Is exactly what she was sayin’?” He pointed to Toriel.

 “YES!” Smiling Cuphead pressed his forehead even further, goofily making Mugman lean backwards (which he didn’t mind), and he spread his happy exclaiming hands high to the air. “OH MAN!” Placing his head on Mugman’s shoulder, he used those same hands to hug Mugman tightly. “It feels so good to be on the same page again buddy!”

 Mugman’s mouth scrunched smiling. “Awww! You’re huggin’ me again!”

 Cuphead’s eyes bugged out. “LEAUGH!” He spit his long tongue out as he pushed himself off of Mugman, earning a bubbly laugh from him, and he panic-wiped his shirt off like he was cleaning off a disgusting infection, and then he folded his arms. “Hmph!”

Toriel joined in on Mugman’s snorty bubbly laughter with her own endearing and gentle laughter.

 “See my child?” Toriel raised a finger in front of Mugman’s nose, and he looked at it with his crisscross eyes. “All you need… is patience.” She booped Mugman’s nose.

 Mugman giggled, his shoulders excitedly tensed as he was booped, and then he nodded.

 “Now…” Toriel looked at Cuphead. “You were talking about balloon clowns? These are humans who are clowns, who sell balloons right?”

 Cuphead glared confused at Toriel. “Uhh… No. He’s walkin’ n talkin’ balloon… human. Right Mugs?” He looked at his brother.

 Mugman giggled. “Yeah!” He nodded. “Uhh, Then we’ve uhh…” He tapped his tinking chin. “Baroness Von Bon Von.” His eyes shrunk and his straw turned into an exclamation point (Cuphead giggled in reaction). “No no!” He shook his head. “I mean uhh, Baroness Bon Von Von! NO I MEAN-!” He grunted to the sky.

 Cuphead laughed. “No it’s Baroness Von Bon Von Bon Bon Von Bon!”

 Mugman laughed, in chorus with Cuphead’s. “No it’s Bon Bon Von Von Bon Von!”

 The brothers laughed together with their respective squeaky hiccup sounds and snorts.

 Amused, Toriel watched them as they laughed. “And, what kind of person is this Baroness?”

 “She’s a candy-! No, I mean… a cake human?” Mugman looked to Cuphead.

 Cuphead shrugged his shoulders. “She’s got the candy cane though so you’re not wrong.”

 Mugman smiled and held his hand high, and Cuphead high-fived it casually.

 Smiling Toriel raised an eyebrow intrigued.

 “Then there’s Djimmi!” Cuphead raised his index finger.

 “He’s a ghost human!” Mugman raised his index finger in imitation.

 “Uhh…” Cuphead raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that ghost train thingy-!”

 “The Phantom Express?” Mugman raised an eyebrow too as he smiled.

 “Yeah the phantom train thingy! That one!” Cuphead pointed to Mugman as he smiled. “Isn’t that ride full of ghosts?”

 Mugman gasped. “Oh yeah! That mean’s Djimmi’s uhhh, uhhh…” He stirred his head milk with his own straw as he tapped his chin; his eyes went whirly as he stirred.

 “A djinni?” Toriel raised an eyebrow.

 Stopping his stirring, Mugman snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah! A Djinni!”

 “Yeah, like that one story Elder Kettle tells us about?” Cuphead was wagging his pointing finger.

 Mugman giggled and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t remember which one, there are so many!”

 “Pfft!” Cuphead flicked his hand down. “Yeah, until he-“ He pretended to snore with his head tilted down and his bendy straw inflating a big bubble at the tip of it.

 Mugman laughed loudly and bubbly. “He’s the best!” He spread his hands in the air.

 “Yeah!” Cuphead also spread his hands in imitation… but then he looked at the lower corner of his eyes. “Yeah…” His smile started to fade.

 Mugman noticed his fading smile, making his own smile start to frown as well.

 They looked down to their laps, and felt a peculiar familiarity. Sitting down on the knees of someone else. Fire crackling from the fireplace. If they looked up, they could probably see Elder Kettle smiling with wonder with his right hand in the air wiggling with magic wizard fingers and his left hand holding a book picked from a shelf of dozens of storybooks arranged on the shelf above the fire. If not stories, then they listened to the radio, and would sing a hippy happy song they would know.  

 Their minds raced. Elder Kettle giving them the blue potion of their powers… them training in Kettle’s magic drawing board with Elder Kettle himself gently guiding them from above.… Him catching up to Inkwell Isle II to give them hope of defeating The Devil… and finally celebrating in a hippity hoppity group hug after everything was over… with a few back breaks from Elder Kettle that they had to take him to the hospital.

 They both looked up to the headrest of the chair, but Toriel, instead of their beloved guardian, rested her head on it while watching them with curiosity. They both looked at each other, and gave a sad smile and a sigh of longing.

 “Toriel…” Mugman slowly looked to her, who just blinked. “It’s been a real slice…”

 “Literally!” Cuphead raised his index finger and giggled. “That pie was the bee’s knees!”

 Mugman gasped. “Aw man no fair!” He pushed Cuphead a little roughly.

 Cuphead and Toriel just laughed.

 Cuphead put his hands on his hips. “Ya gotta be faster buddy!” He winked.

 Mugman rolled his eyes. “Anyway, yeah it’s been a real-“ He paused, and then slid his glaring eyes at Cuphead who was just smirking at him. “Real.” Mugman said smug.”

 Cuphead snickered. “Jealous.”

 Mugman rolled his eyes again. “Toriel, when can we go home?”

 Cuphead smiled at Toriel.

 Toriel blinked confused. “Home?”

 “Yeah! Ya know, our reeaal home!” Cuphead he spread his arms as if he was demonstrating a huge place.

 Mugman chuckled apologetically. “Yeah! Elder Kettle might steam his spout if we’re gone for too long.”

 Eyes shut, Cuphead shuddered. “Wouldn’t wanna see that.”

 Toriel chuckled. “You’re very thoughtful to think about your grandfather like that.”

 Mugman raised his finger. “Well technically he’s-!”

 “Don’t.” Cuphead put his index finger on Mugman’s mouth. “Just don’t.”

 Mugman just nodded.

 “But first…” Toriel raised her finger. “You mentioned you had… cake humans…” She started counted with her fingers. “balloon humans, djinnis, ghost humans, and Elder Kettle, which I think is a walking kettle or… a kettle human?

 “With a cane and a jolly good ‘ol sense of humor.” Cuphead made a hook punch in front of him.

 Toriel hummed in amusement. “I see. I suppose there are other cup humans in your world too!”

 From smiling, Cuphead and Mugman looked at each other, and then frowned looking down.

 “We… um…” Cuphead started.

 “We don’t know.” Mugman finished.

 “Oh…” Toriel put her hands on their heads. “I’m sure there are my children.”

 Cuphead and Mugman looked at her and smiled.

 “And I also suppose that… in your world, there are other kinds of ‘humans’” She wiggled her fingers to make quotation marks. “Not just candies, balloons, and ghosts?”

 “Oh yeah!” Cuphead and Mugman said. “Jinx!” They pointed at each other.

 “There are plant humans!” Cuphead raised a finger.

 Mugman raised an eyebrow to Cuphead. “Are those humans?”

 Cuphead blinked confused for a moment. “Well.. there are human humans.” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled with uncertainty.

 “Yeah but… plant humans?” Mugman smiled with cringe.

 “Well… there’s Goopy.” Cuphead pointed to Mugman.

 Mugman stared in space, thinking about what he said. “Good point.” He then smiled at Toriel. “There are mermaids and fish too!”

 “Fish in the water?” Toriel smiled with curiosity, though her tone sounded more suggestive than surprised.

 “Nah! Fish walkin!” Cuphead smiled. “And fish… fishin’….” He cringed in realization.

 Mugman cringed in realization too, and their eyes met.

 Toriel chuckled. “Are you sure you know what a human is?”

 Cuphead and Mugman looked at each other confused. “Yes?” They then looked back at Toriel.

 Toriel chuckled. “Only one way to find out.”

 She carried Cuphead by his body and put him down and did the same with Mugman. She stood up, held their hands, and walked towards the dining table.

 “Wait here please.” Toriel let go of their hands and walked towards the kitchen.

 Cuphead looked to Mugman confused but the latter just shrugged his shoulders with the same confusion as his brother.

 As the big soft footsteps approached, Cuphead and Mugman turned to see Toriel carrying in her hands paper and a box of crayons which the two brothers cringed at the sight of.

 Mugman leaned to Cuphead. “What’re we babies?” He whispered with his sidemouth.

 Cuphead spoke back with his side mouth. “I’m not, but you are.” He smirked

 Mugman’s eyes widened for a moment, then he glared at him sideways, and then pushed him. “Stop it!”

 Cuphead laughed as he was pushed.

 Toriel went to the table and laid down the paper and the box of crayons she carried onto the table.

 Cuphead and Mugman cringe-smiled. “Yay…” They said unenthusiastically.

 Toriel sighed. “I’m terribly sorry my children, these are the only arts and crafts supplies I could find.” She hummed and tapped her chin to herself. “Maybe I could find or buy more once you get settled in.”

 Mugman blinked and stared at her cautiously. “Once we what?”

 Toriel’s eyes widened. “Oh! I mean, I have a favor to ask both of you.”

 “Oh! What is it?” Cuphead smiled while gliding his hands backwards.

 Taking a sheet from the stack on the table, Toriel placed a piece of paper to her left in front of Mugman, and placed another to her right in front of Cuphead.

 “Could you draw yourselves…” Toriel opened the box of crayons, and rolled the crayons in the middle. “But with your own hearts?”

 Cuphead and Mugman raised an eyebrow confused and looked at each other. “Hearts?!”

 “Yes! You know…” Toriel picked up a black crayon and drew an upside-down heart on the paper. “Like that!”

 Cuphead and Mugman kept staring at the heart example with their raised eyebrows.

 “Uhh…” Cuphead looked at Toriel as he pointed at the heart. “I think ya got it upside down.”

 Toriel’s enthusiastic smile turned into a shocked eyes widened frown.

 “Yeah!” Mugman then smirked. “Wow Cuphead you’re not so dum dum after all.”

 Cuphead playfully pushed him. “Shut up.”

 Mugman giggled and rotated the heart right-side up. “And his heart is pink!” He grabbed a pink crayon and colored the once black-lined heart.

 Toriel’s shock slowly turned into despair.

 “Ew!” Cuphead glared at Mugman. “Ya make it sound like I have a gal’s heart!”

 “Wha-!” Mugman glared at Cuphead confused. “No! It’s the same color as mine!”

 “EW WE BOTH HAVE GIRL HEARTS!” With a playful smile, Cuphead leaned away from Mugman.

 “EW CUPHEAD!” Mugman playfully pushed Cuphead and they both laughed.

 Amidst their laughter, Toriel slowly became numb and it turned into a frown of indifference.

 “You have a stupid tiny nose.” Giggly Mugman drew a cup for a head with a black crayon and put a red dot on it.

 “Oh-ho yeah?”  Cuphead confidently raised an eyebrow. He snatched the black crayon from Mugman. “Well you have a giant nose the size of a football!” He drew a mug for a head and then picked up a blue crayon and drew a huge oval that covered most of the mug.

 “Hey!” Mugman snatched the blue crayon from Cuphead, who then was surprised at first but then glared back at him annoyed. “It’s not that big!”

“And my nose ain’t that small!” Cuphead pointed his thumb to himself. “Ya started it!” He tapped his brother’s chest.

 “Okay okay!” Mugman raised his ‘stop’ hands. “No nose jokes.” He wagged his finger.

 Cuphead smiled. “Deal!”

 They bumped their backhands to each other.

 “Excuse me for a moment.”  Toriel said with an empty voice.

 “Okay!” Cuphead and Mugman said together as they continued to finish their drawings of each other; Cuphead grabbed a sheet and started a new Mugman drawing, while Mugman just normalized the size of Cuphead’s nose on the drawing.

 -End of Part 1-

  (Cutscene)

 Once they were done, they ran out to the main hall and looked around to find her.

 “I think… she went to her room?” Mugman pointed towards the hallway.

 Cuphead smiled. “Come on!” He grabbed Mugman’s hand and they happily ran to the end of the hallway to the last room on the left.

 They opened the door, but Mugman screamed, jumped towards Cuphead and hugged him, while the latter then caught his brother by his back on one and his back knees on the other.

 “F-f-fl-! F-F-F-Flowey!!” Mugman pointed above ahead.

 A bunch of bright yellow flowers in a vase glowed in the upper part of the dark space.

 Cuphead snickered at Mugman who just blushed and looked away.

 “Hey, flowers can be horrible. Like Cagney for one!” Mugman looked at his brother, hoping the explanation was enough.

 Cuphead put his mouth closer to Mugman’s ear side. “Baby br-!”

 “AM NOT!!!!!!” Mugman yelled with his mouth opened three times larger than its actual size, showing its sharp shark-like teeth, and unleashing a strong wind that blew onto Cuphead’s smug face.

 Cuphead laughed and began to sing. “Rock a bye baby on the tree top!” He began to sway Mugman left and right.

 Mugman growled and wrestled Cuphead down to the floor, who laughed in reaction, and then laughed louder as evil-smiling Mugman was wiggling his stomach.

 “OKAY!” Cuphead kicked the ground repeatedly with his heels as he laughed. “OKAY OKAY YOU’RE BIG BRO!”

 Mugman held his fists on his hips. “That’s right, and dontcha forget it.”

 Mugman looked to the room, leaving Cuphead to just laugh the tickles off.

 It was a mostly dark room, save for the things lit by the hallway light. On the dark parts (after his eyes adjusted) there was a bed on the far left corner, a tall flower vase on the right of it, a four-space bookshelf full of books right of it, on top of the book case was the yellow glowing bunch of flowers on the left side and a tall cactus in a pot on the right, on the right of the bookcase was a two-drawer dresser with a lamp standing on its left-side on top, and a mirror on the wall behind the dresser.

 In the lit parts of the room, closest to Mugman who stepped in, was a desk with an unlit lamp on the upper right, some scratch papers below it, below that off the desk was a pulled-out seat, and to the left of the scratch paper was an open written journal with one paragraph encircled in red. Mugman tiptoed to read the journal.

 ‘Why did the skeleton want a friend?’ Mugman read in Toriel’s voice. ‘Because she was feeling BONELY…’

 Mugman raised an eyebrow and smiled in reaction.

 “What’cha readin’?” Cuphead approached Mugman.

 “Eh, just some of Toriel’s jokes.” Mugman shrugged his shoulders.

 Cuphead tiptoed to read, and just snickered. “Where does she get these bad jokes?”

 “Speaking of who, where is she?”

Chapter 7 “Home”

The ruins seemed to go on and on endlessly and were beginning to be a little monotonous for Cuphead and Mugman, but what always distracted them were some of the new sights and new things they would see. Such was this…

A dark brown leafless tree stood far ahead beyond the mouth of the narrow corridor, and the boys’ eyes glimmered to see such an enchanting tree that they ran to it. As they exited the hallway mouth, they stopped and watched the tree from top to bottom with their glimmering eyes while their hands glided behind them.

The tree had about eight branches radiating from the center and there were barely any leaves on them, just some tiny ones and some big ones which would eventually fall off swaying down to the bed of vibrant and healthy-looking red leaves on its roots.

Cuphead and Mugman took an awe-inspired deep breath. “Wwoooowww…” They smiled in awe as their glossy eyes reflected the image of the tree.

“Oh dear…. That took longer than I thought it would…“ Toriel’s distant worried voice said.

Cuphead and Mugman blinked, noticing Toriel’s voice was in earshot. They peeked to the right, looking beyond the tree, and saw worried Toriel walking hurriedly from a castle doorway towards a spot on the right side of the tree. Cuphead snickered while Mugman smiled warmly. She stopped there, picked up her phone from her right pocket, pushed a button with her left index finger, and then placed the phone under her fluffy right ear.

“Oh… I hope you are alright my children…” Toriel said worriedly to herself.

She then looked to her right… then her eyes widened as she saw Mugman and Cuphead, leaning on their right watching her, and as they were noticed, they stood normally, smiled, and waved.

“Children!!” She raised her voice as she ran towards the boys and put her phone back in her pocket.

Toriel and Mugman & Cuphead ran towards each other. She knelt down and placed her hands on their shoulders, and they smiled comfortably in return.

“You’re okay!!” Mugman looked up at Toriel with his kind eyes while gliding his hands backward.

Eyes closed, Toriel chuckled, then she opened her eyes. “Of course, I am alright my child! How about you? How did you get here?”

“Duh, we walked.” Cuphead snarkily smiled as he folded his arms.

An irritated exhale puffed from Toriel’s nostrils as she looked annoyed at Cuphead. “I mean, how did you get here in one piece? Are you hurt?”

Cuphead tsked. “Nah!” He flicked his hand down. “We’re A-okay. Right Mugsy?” He looked at his brother but then gasped as he noticed a few cracks on the side of his head right and a few bite holes on Mugman's black turtleneck before Mugman turned to look back at him. Mugman gasped and saw some cracks on Cuphead’s head and bite marks on his turtleneck as well.

Mugman nervously chuckled, touched his index fingers repeatedly, and looked at Toriel. “Just a few cracks here and there.”

“Oh you poor boys. Come here and let me heal you.” Toriel showed her hands which both glowed leaf green.

After a momentary look at each other, and then a smile each, Cuphead and Mugman stepped forward and let Toriel’s embrace wrap around them, and Toriel’s glowing leaf green hands glowed brighter accompanied by a low humming of power. The leaf green aura wisped and chimed from her hands, they twirled around the air like ribbons, and then the aura wrapped around the two brothers starting from their heads down to their arms, to their fingertips, bodies, stomachs, hips, legs, and finally to their feet inside their shoes. Soon, the pain on Cuphead and Mugman’s heads was receding, making them sigh in relief, and they watched the cracks on each other's heads fade and recede ‘til it was just smooth and shiny porcelain, and the holes on their clothes repair and weave together, all while their full bodies were layered within a green aura. Toriel let go of her embrace, and the last leaf green aurorean light ribbons of the green aura seeped into the bodies of Cuphead and Mugman ‘til there was nothing but two clean and shiny good-looking boys. Cuphead and Mugman began to pat, rub and turn each other’s squeaky clean heads as they inspected them with such curiosity… and they smiled, but then Cuphead roughly and playfully hit Mugman’s head with his hand.

“Hey!!” With a playful smile, and with his right hand, Mugman hit back on Cuphead’s head, and the latter just bubbly laughed.

Toriel groaned and rolled her eyes. “Please don’t hurt yourselves after I’ve just healed you my children.” She looked at them strictly. “This is exactly why I told you to stay in that room! So that you wouldn’t get hurt! Why didn’t you listen?!”

Mugman frowned, looked at Toriel, started to shiver, and started to touch his index fingers. “I-I-!”

“Hey!” Cuphead put his hands on his hips as he looked defensively at Toriel. “We heard you were in trouble so we went lookin’ for ya. It was Mugs’ idea!” He splayed his showing hand at Mugman who gasped.

“Oh my…” Toriel covered her mouth, and then looked at Mugman. “Did you now my child?”

“Oh! Y-yeah! I did!” Mugman beamed as he placed his fists on his hips proudly like a hero.

“And even if we stayed put, brawls were brewin’ once them monsters started comin’” Cuphead jabbed the air with his fists a few times. “So we figyad, since ya said you were comin’, we’d meet ya halfway!” He splayed his hands in explanation.

“Oh I see…” Toriel said as she bit her lower lip and held her right fist close to her chin. “And… what about the puzzles?”

Cuphead made raspberry sounds (which Mugman giggled to) as he flicked his hand down. “Pisacake.”

Mugman looked at Cuphead in shock. “Wh-what didja just say?” He giggled.

Cuphead held his hands on his hips proudly. “Pisacake.”

Looking away, Mugman squiggled a very big smile and he bit his lower lip trying to hold back laughter, while Cuphead raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Toriel glared strictly… but also clamped her mouth shut, trembling and fighting to hold back her laughter. “Mugman no!”

With one last snicker, Mugman gulped down his laughter and then rested his left hand on Cuphead’s right shoulder. “It’s piece of cake.” He giggled. “And hey! I’m the one who solved em!” He pointed his thumb at himself.

Cuphead snickered. “Bro, some of em we just had to push rocks.” He folded his arms.

“Oh yeah…” Mugman put the knuckle of his finger on his mouth in thought.

Toriel sighed. “I suppose… none of this would’ve happened if I was a lot more responsible… instead of making you wait for so long while I prepared this surprise…” She looked at the corner of her eyes in thought.

Cuphead and Mugman gasped. “Surprise?!” Their eyes glimmered in excitement.

“Wait let me guess…” Cuphead tapped his tinking chin three times. “Does the surprise have a bag of flour?” He raised an eyebrow and looked at Mugman.

“Butterscotch?” Mugman giggled and looked at Cuphead.

“AND Cinnamon?!” They both said in sync as they looked at Toriel. Without looking, they both bumped their closest fists at each other.

Smiling, sighing, and rolling her eyes, Toriel looked at the boys. "Why don’t you boys come inside and see for yourself… before any one of you begin to spoil it.” She chuckled.

Toriel stood up. “Come along children.” She turned around and walked towards the direction she came from behind the tree.

The boys watched her go, then they looked at each other smiling, but then Cuphead raised an eyebrow.

“Uhh, what did I say?” Cuphead held his hands on his hips.

Mugman cupped his right hand on his own mouth and leaned closer to Cuphead’s right imaginary ear to whisper. Cuphead’s eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped with a big smile on his face at what he understood. Tears started to form on Cuphead’s face and he started to wheeze in laughter, while Mugman just covered his big smile with his two hands and he looked back at Cuphead with teary eyes as well.

Still with the jaw of his big teary smile dropped, Cuphead pointed his finger at Mugman and he spoke in a wheezing voice. “Liar, liar, pants on fire!” He cackled.

Mugman wheezed a few laughs of his own. “No they ain’t bro! Even Toriel-!” He pointed his left thumb at the direction Toriel went… but then…

Cuphead and Mugman bit their lower lips as they tried to contain their big laughs within their bloated cheeks, realizing that even Toriel knew what they were talking about. They looked at each other, saw their goofy bloated faces, and finally unleashed their loudest laughter bottled up from their diaphragms all erupting to the ceiling. The laughter bounced and echoed across the halls making the laugh louder than it was supposed to be, and the boys didn’t care. They both buddy hugged, leaned on each other for support, and let their arms and legs fall like jelly as they cried in laughter; they looked like a goofy upside-down V of two idiots slumped together with three waterfalls of tears (two waterfalls from their closest eyes mixed into one) and two gaped-open mouths twice the size of their face and the equal force of their leans balanced each other that they were able to keep standing. During this laugh, a yellow star glowed between their cheeks.

They laughed and laughed even as their stomachs started to hurt, then they started to cough and then breathe in between laughter ‘til they could not laugh anymore and instead cough and cough while crying with tears. For a good few minutes this mix of coughing, breathing, panting, crying, and a few bits of laughing went on… until finally they both sighed with satisfaction and opened their eyes.

They both looked at each other with satisfied smiles, and then suddenly with closed eyes, Cuphead raised his right hand for a high-five.

“What?” Mugman raised an eyebrow.

“Yer not in trouble.” Cuphead opened his eyes and grinned with his sparkly smile. “Yer welcome.” He closed his eyes again, waiting for his high-five.

Mugman’s eyes widened in realization, and then he smirked with a mischievous idea. He high-fived Cuphead’s face, and the latter recoiled, widened his eyes, and gaped his mouth open in amused shock.

Mugman began bubbly giggling and started to run towards the direction Toriel went to, but Cuphead, as he fell forward due to Mugman leaving, caught Mugman’s head handle, yanked bubbly squealing Mugman back to him (which also helped pull himself to a stand) and he sandwiched Mugman between a noogie on his right cheek, and a cheek-to-cheek rub cuddle on the other.

“Who’s the best bro?” Cuphead teased.

“YOU! YOUUHUHUHAHA!” Mugman squealed as he kept laughing and struggling.

Cuphead giggled. “Nah.” He turned his noogie into a hug that had one arm each buddy hugging the other and the other hand holding the other’s hand. “You’re the best bro.”

“Awwww…” Mugman smiled warmly, closed his eyes, and folded his fingers on Cuphead’s backhand. With a deep breath, Mugman took his time to enjoy the hug… but then he snickered at an idea. “Well duh, I’m still the one who solved most of ‘em puzzles.” He opened one eye to Cuphead and pointed his thumb at himself.

Cuphead’s mouth gaped open. “Ohoho you wanna RUB it in?!” He began to give Mugman a noogie again as he said ‘RUB’, and the latter began laughing and squealing again. “You wanna RUB it in?!” He pressed his noogie even harder and then carried him with that noogie.

Mugman squealed in laughter and failed his arms around as he was carried. “CUPHEAD! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Giggling, Cuphead continued to happily noogie hysterically laughing Mugman while he walked around the tree towards the direction Toriel went… but then Cuphead stopped to a standstill, and curious Mugman gently stopped laughing and opened his eyes.

A small rectangular castle-like house stood in front of them; It had a doorless castle doorway with large cubes of rocks lining the arch, crenels lining the borders of the roof, and two long red beds of leaves flanking the left and right of the doorway.

“Is that Toriel’s home?” Smiling Mugman looked at Cuphead as he pointed to the house.

“Oh wouldn’t YOU like to know!” Cuphead smirked and noogied Mugman a little faster while he walked to the entrance.

“HEY-! HAAHAHA!” Mugman tried to push Cuphead away.

“Wouldn’t YOU like to know!” Cuphead carried Mugman higher as he noogied him harder.

“STAHAHAHAHAP! CUPHEAHAHAHAHA!” Mugman tried to push himself away from Cuphead but he was being pushed back by the noogie on the other side of his face that pressed on him mildly painfully. “OW!”

Cuphead laughed. “That’s what happens when you fight the looove bro.” He said as he entered the castle doorway that had a wooden door being held open by patiently-waiting Toriel.

“NO!” Mugman continued to laugh while trying to get away from Cuphead. "I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS IS LO-...." But then…

As they passed through the door, Mugman began to sniff something sweet and buttery (and Cuphead watched curiously). Soon after, Cuphead was sniffing the air too. As they took a synchronized deep breath, there were two strings of brown buttery air that entered both their big nostrils. With their backs goofily bent backward (with their butts pointing up), they began floating in the air as they were sniffing and their floating bodies followed the scent trail.

Toriel giggled. “I am glad you loooove the surprise my children! Oh that reminds me!” She closed the front door, closed her eyes, turned towards Cuphead and Mugman, and then spread her hands. “SURPRISE!”

A few seconds of silence went on with no response.

Toriel opened her eyes, and they widened in shock as she saw they were not there. She ran to the hall to the left, where the dining room/living room was, and she saw Cuphead and Mugman floating side by side in the middle of the room; the room had a long rectangular table on the left with three chairs of varying sizes, a big brown sofa (one as big as Toriel), next to it a fireplace, a small two-foot tall bookshelf to the right of the fireplace, and a fireplace tool stand with four tools hanging in a circle (one tool resembled a shovel, one resembled a pike pole, and the other two were being shadowed by the aforementioned two at the front).

Dreamily sighing and sniffing, Cuphead and Mugman floated and followed the two strings of brown buttery scents which formed into two very thin gas hands that were flirtatiously rubbing the middle underside of their small and big noses respectively with their gaseous index fingers. The scent trail led to a hallway to the right… to a kitchen.

It had a light brown refrigerator on the leftmost, then a sink next to it, then a counter with a white chopping board, then the pie… Mmmm the pie.

The boys floated closer to the pie and as they were next to it, their sniffing sniffed faster. They opened their eyes, and they each made a big smile while their eyes reflected the image of the pie… but then, because they were conscious already, they fell down facedown to the floor. They pulled themselves up with the help of the counter ledge, stared at the pie with their butterscotch pie-shaped eyes and salivary tongues dangling and dripping from their mouths, and then licked one full clockwise round of their faces each like dogs. One more time, they sniffed the pie, and the brown buttery scent was then vacuumed into both their big nostrils.

With a big smile, Cuphead grabbed Mugman’s blue tennis ball of a nose with his right hand and pulled it off of his face with a ‘pop’, and Mugman was surprised.

“Nhey!” Mugman glared at Cuphead annoyed, his voice changed as if his nose was being pinched.

Cuphead pinch-pulled off his own tiny nose and then pinned it to Mugman’s face like it was a corkboard, while the latter reacted in surprise, but then smiled at the idea his brother was getting. Cuphead attached the big blue nose to his own face and Mugman giggled as he watched. In sync, they sniffed the pie once more, and the brown buttery scent was vacuumed to their nostrils.

“Ya know…” Mugman smirked; his voice turned squeaky and high-pitched, slightly like Cuphead’s, but he still had his signature low voice. “Ya could’ve asked before ya yanked my snoot off.”

“Aw come on pal!” Cuphead winked and gently elbowed Mugman’s closest elbow; his voice turned nasally and slightly lower-pitched, but he still had his evidently squeaky voice. “Ya were thinkin’ the same thing.”

Mugman giggled. “Ya thinkin’ what I’m thinkin?” He buddy hugged Cuphead while raising an eyebrow to him in suggestion.

“OHHH YEAH!” Cuphead firmly buddy hugged Mugman

They each reached out a free hand towards the pie.

“CHILDREN!” Toriel yelled from behind.

Toriel rushed in and gently caught Cuphead and Mugman’s reaching hands.

Toriel sighed in relief. “That was close! Better to wait for it to cool my chi…” Slowly, Her eyes grew shocked and confused.

Cuphead with a big blue nose and Mugman with a tiny red nose were looking back at her attentively as if there was nothing wrong.

“Oh my! What happened to your noses?!” Toriel backed off slowly a bit.

Cuphead and Mugman looked at each other and then gasped. “Ohhh!” They giggled, detached their noses, and put them back to their appropriate faces.

“We just did the old switcheroo!” Cuphead switched the positions of his pointed-up index fingers.

“More like a-!” Mugman snickered. “Switch-a-snoot!” He goofily booped his own nose.

Cuphead gasped and his eyes turned into stars. “EYY! OKAY WE’RE OFFICIALLY CALLING IT THAT!” He tightened his buddy hug that they clinked.

They shared a laugh together mixed with Cuphead's squeaky hiccups and Mugman's pig snorts.

Toriel continued to stare at them shocked and confused. Cuphead and Mugman looked at her and noticed.

“Oh! Before ya blow your wig…” Mugman raised his right index finger in explanation.

In sync, they grasped their head handles with their left hands, looked at each other with a smile, then nodded.

“Blow my...” Toriel glared at them offended and covered her ears. “THIS NOT A WI-!”

Suddenly they pulled their heads up 'popping' them from their necks.

“OH MY GOODNESS!” Toriel backed off, hands clinging to the walls.

Cuphead cackled and slapped his left knee. “That prank never gets old!”

They clinked their heads together happily like a drinking toast.

Mugman giggled. “We’re okay by the way. It’s just a thing me and my bro could do.” Mugman shrugged his shoulders as he smiled apologetically at Toriel.

“It’s great for stacking too!” Cuphead scooped up Mugman’s head with his own, causing the latter to squeal.

They laughed together as they enjoyed a moment of being stacked together.

Toriel was holding her chest as she panted, but then she let out a big exhale to relax and then smiled intrigued at what she had learned.

“Well… You certainly did surprise me.” Toriel chuckled nervously, but then covered her head and looked at the corner of her eyes. “I do not have a wig…” She said to herself saddened.

“No no!” Cuphead wiped his free right hand left and right as if he was erasing something. “’Blow your wig’ meaning ya… ya just… uhh, what does it mean?” He looked above him where Mugman’s stacked head was smirking back at him.

Mugman giggled. “Get excited.”

“Yeah, what he said.” Cuphead smiled in relaxation.

“He has bad comblahblahsion.” Mugman grinned cheekily while his body pointed its thumb to Cuphead.

“Gee!” Cuphead folded his arms and glared annoyed at Mugman. “You wanna announce that on the radio pal?”

Mugman cleared his throat, then stretched out his straw which turned into a gloved hand, and turned the mouth of Cuphead’s red-striped bendy straw towards him. “Stay tuned to Cuphead radio for more dum-dum comblahblahsion of my best friend.” He said in his radio announcer voice.

Smirking, Cuphead hit Mugman’s side head with his right palm, causing him to laugh bubbly. “Get outta here!”

Playfully and roughly, Cuphead lifted bubbly laughing Mugman’s head from his own and tried to shove him back onto Mugman’s neck, but then Mugman’s straw gloved hand gripped hard onto Cuphead’s bendy straw.

“REMEMBER ME FANS!” Squeaky and bubbly Mugman spoke to Cuphead’s straw like it was a mic that his bendy straw desperately clung to. “REMEMBER WHO TOLD YOU OF THE TRUTH ABOUT CUPHEAD!”

Cuphead giggled. “LET GO!” He tried to yank Mugman’s head away.

“NO!” Mugman giggled as he continued to cling to Cuphead’s bendy straw.

Toriel's gentle smile widened with her left side teeth showing as she watched snarky Cuphead try to pull Mugman off of his straw while teasing him, and Mugman kept squealing and laughing with such thrill while continuously talking about Cuphead being a dum dum, and then soon Cuphead challenges about how much of a dum dum Mugman is as well.

“They’re definitely not them… but…” Toriel’s smile closed and tears began to form in her eyes.

Finally, Mugman’s grip on Cuphead’s straw slipped through, and the former’s head was put back on his respective neck. Cuphead wrapped his arm around Mugman’s neck trapping the latter, grabbed the latter’s blue straw, and, like it was a mic, spoke through it repeatedly “Mugman is a dum dum! Mugman is a dum dum!” all while Mugman struggled and whined “Cuphead stop! Quit it already!”

“Children!” Toriel gently called.

Cuphead and Mugman looked at Toriel in a pose of Cuphead pausing from talking to Mugman’s straw and the latter pushing Cuphead’s face away to the point he was squishing his face.

“I have another surprise for you.” Toriel tilted her head to the right, raised her eyebrow, and smiled. “If you become best friends again that is.”

The boys both gasped and smiled at the same time. They let go of each other, and Cuphead held out his hand for a handshake.

“Let’s call it a dum-dum truce!” Cuphead said, closed eyes and smiling.

Mugman giggled. “Yeah!” He takes Cuphead’s hand. “Dum-dum truce!”

They shook their hands once… but then, with those same hands, they high-fived each other, then low-fived, high-fived their straw hands together, and then clinked their heads together.

“Bro!” They said as they winked at each other.

Cuphead and Mugman both shared a moment of laughter, and soon Toriel laughed along. She took both their hands, walked them out of the kitchen, then back to the main entrance hall, and then towards an unfamiliar long hallway where three doors about three-four feet apart stood on the left wall; the hallway in order was a light torch, the first room door, a tall flower vase with reeds, a side table with a small flower vase with a six-petalled red flower, and an empty long frame behind the red flower (Cuphead and Mugman could not see clearly what the rest of the hallway comprised of). They approached the first door on the left.

“Well… This is it!” Toriel said happily as they approached the first door on the left.

All three of them, Cuphead, Toriel, and Mugman, stood looking at the door.

“It’s a room for the both of you!” Toriel rubbed her hands on the front rims of their heads. “I hope you like it.”

Mugman and Cuphead gasped, looked at each other with smiles, and they both opened the door together (Mugman twisted the handle while Cuphead pushed the door).

The walls were painted cozy red, and the floors were lined with light brown planks with lots of perpendicular crosses. There was a large lamp on the left, a flower crayon drawing attached to the wall, a chest, a shelf full of shoes with some papers and an empty photo frame on top of the shelf, a wardrobe, a bed, two goat-shaped stuffed animals on the right of the bed, and an open chest full of toys down of the bed.

“Wwwowww…” Cuphead and Mugman said as they scanned the room, but then frowned at the bed which looked fit for only one.

Toriel gasped. “Oh my!” She covered her mouth and shook her head. “I’m terribly sorry, I only prepared a room for one!” She facepalmed herself and breathed through her teeth. “I’ll be right back, I’ll see if I can find another bed.”

Toriel rushed to the right along the long hallway, and Cuphead and Mugman smiled gratefully as they watched her go.

“So…” Cuphead placed his hands on his hips and smirked at Mugman. “Wanna call the truce off and wrestle? Winnah gets the beeed!” He sang a tune as he said 'beeed', held his hands up and wiggled his fingers at the ready.

Mugman squiggle-smiled in excitement and reflexively covered his side stomachs with his hands at what those wiggly fingers meant... but then shyly looked at the lower left corners of his eyes and began touching his index fingers together. “I-I was thinkin'…. I was thinkin' that we could…” He smiled sheepishly, looked at Cuphead, and raised his palms face-up. “Share it?”

“Share it?!” Cuphead snickered. “We’d hardly fit!” He raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips.

Frowning, Mugman rubbed his left elbow and looked away shyly. “M-mmoow waisins tu mmmmdlllee.”

Cuphead blinked confused but then smirked. “Speak up bro.”

Mugman let out a big sigh. “You’d laugh…” Head-turned to his left, He looked at Cuphead by the upper right corners of his eyes.

“Yeah, so?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. “I still wanna hear ya, don’t leave me hangin’.”

Head still left-turned, Mugman glared. “Now that’s just mean…”

“What?!” Cuphead stared shocked but then sighed as he dropped his arms. “Well... I can’t promise I won’t laugh…” He walked towards Mugman and held his shoulders. “But I’ll be honest.“

Mugman grunted and turned his eyes away towards the left. “I know, that’s why you’re the worst.”

“Aw come on! You’re my best pal!” Cuphead gave a big grin and raised his shoulders for a moment. “Whatever it is I’ll lend ear to ya… if I had one that is.” He giggled at his own pun.

Mugman smiled, turned his head to Cuphead, and then shyly rubbed his arm. “I said…” He looked at the lower left corner of his eyes. “…more reasons to… to cuddle?” He tilted his head to normal and grinned.

Cuphead glared in shocked confusion and let go of Mugman’s shoulders… and then his eyes turned bored and unamused.

Mugman’s smile grew forceful and bigger. “I-it’s a good ol’ manly brotherly cuddle o ‘course!” He chuckled nervously as he raised his shy and shivering left index finger in explanation. “Y-ya know… the brawlin’…” He gently punched the air twice. “The wrestlin’” He lunged his chest forward like he was doing a body slam. “The huggin’” He hugged and swayed himself twice. “And uhh Elder Kettle singin’ ‘til we’re snoozin’…” He looked at the ceiling with a dreamy smile… but then shook himself awake. “B-but I-I can do the singin’ ‘stead!” He looked at Cuphead… but was surprised to see he wasn’t there anymore.

Mugman looked to the right and saw Cuphead was already climbing up the bed.

As he watched, Mugman’s eyes became glossy and watery, and he closed his eyes as he sighed in disappointment. “I-it….”  He sniffed and wiped a tear. “I-it’s okay… y-you can take it, I-I’ll j-just…” He started walking toward the right.

“Hey! Where’re ya goin'?” Cuphead called out.

Mugman stopped, confused about why he was called, and then he turned to look at Cuphead.

Cuphead was sitting on the bed, smiling warmly and spreading his arms wide. “I thought ya said ya wanna cuddle?” He raised an eyebrow… But then he widened his eyes realizing what he said, and then cleared his throat loudly. “I MEAN-!” He cleared it again loudly. “Manly bro cuddle?” He warmly smiled and spread his arms again.

(Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IotSCSLOKnc)

From a devastated frown, Mugman slow-gasped ‘til his eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped surprised… and then… he slow-exhaled with a dreamy “Haaaaaaa…” accompanied with the happiest and purest open-mouth smile, knuckles squeezing his base (chin), and twinkling eyes of a wish coming true.

Cuphead blushed, surprised at how cute Mugman looked. He quickly shut his eyes and looked away “MUGS!” He sighed. “Oh brother…” He thought as he opened and rolled his eyes, and smiled on his hidden left lip. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Starting with a bubbly giggle, arms forward and open for a hug, Mugman jumped to the air, pedalled his legs as if they were windmills, laughed louder as he looked at Cuphead (who smiled and kept his arms open at the ready) and tackled him with a big bubbly laugh. Cuphead caught Mugman, and they giggled together as they crashed onto the soft cushy pillow on their heads.

Cuphead closed his eyes and sighed half-dreamily and half-wishful of something manlier. “You are such a baby bro.”

From his closed-eyes wish come true indulging the cuddle, Mugman’s eyes burst open. “BABY BRO?!” He glared confidently at Cuphead.

With one big battle grunt, Mugman rolled Cuphead over behind him, spun him to his back, and kicked his butt off the bed.

Upon landing his bum on the floor, Cuphead’s eyes widened in surprise at what just happened.

Meanwhile, Mugman was bubbly giggling, kicking off his shoes, and then digging his feet under the covers of the soft blanket until…

“HEY!” Cuphead sprung standing, glaring with his big villainous smile at Mugman who jolted bubbly screaming, and cowering while trying to sink his body as far as the bed can sink.

“NGGAAH!” Cuphead grabbed hold of Mugman’s body and tried to yank him out, but Mugman had his fingers and toes clawed to the sides of the bed that he was clinging to it with bubbly screaming and laughter.

“NOOOOHOHOHO!! NOOOOOHAHAHOHOHO!” Mugman screamed with tears splashing out of his eyes each time he was being pulled from the bed but it was failing.

“YA DON’T WANNA LET GO?!” As he yanked, Cuphead towered his face over Mugman’s squiggly smiling, shivering, and thrilled face.

“NOOOHOHOHOHO!” Mugman shook his head more intensely.

Cuphead let go of Mugman, raised his wiggly fingers high “YA DON’T WANNA LET GO?!” AND DARTED HIS FINGERS TO MUGMAN’S SIDE STOMACHS.

Bursting out in the loudest laughter and the loudest snorts, Mugman buckled his arms and legs and wiggled his body all over the bed trying to avoid the tickly wiggly fingers drabbling on his side stomachs. Cuphead giggled and moved his wiggly tickly fingers up to Mugman’s armpits, and back down to his side stomachs, and Mugman’s laughter loudened and softened depending on Cuphead's finger pressure. Cuphead kept wiggling his fingers, reveling at Mugman’s bubbly laughter with evil laughter of his own… until Mugman started to kick the air.

“AH! FOUL, YOU DON’T KICK ME IN THE FACE!” With that, Cuphead rolled up Mugman with the blanket he was under, and carried him above his head as if he was about to throw him.

“NOOOO!” Mugman said joyfully screaming, laughing, snorting, and wriggling to break free of his cocoon blanket. “NOOOHOHOHOHAHAHA!”

Cuphead threw Mugman down the bed and he bounced up to the wall, which then bounced back to Cuphead and he caught hysterically laughing Mugman with his hands like a ball (Mugman didn’t feel pain because the blanket cushioned the hits). He threw Mugman down to the bed again, and he bounced up to the wall and then bounced back to Cuphead who then caught Mugman on his chest, and then, on the floor behind him, body slammed him down like a wrestler, causing the room to shake. Mugman kept laughing hysterically while snorting and crying his bubbly heart out. Cuphead grabbed the blanket and pulled it sending Mugman spinning so fast like a top that it caused the latter’s laughter to spin as well like he was in a spinning ride. After like 10 super-fast spins, Mugman landed face down on the floor pounding and kicking the floor with his fists and feet while his eyes were spinning and he was still laughing.

Meanwhile, Cuphead got on the bed, kicked off his shoes, whipped the blanket in the air, and held his hands open as he let the blanket fall gently onto his body… and then suddenly Mugman playfully snarled like a monster with his ‘RAAAR!’ and tried to pounce on Cuphead, but Cuphead’s reflexes caught Mugman’s wrists before the latter’s fingers could touch him. They bubbly laughed as Cuphead struggled to keep the latter at bay while Mugman kept pressing his hands forward to get a hold of him.

“IIIII’M GONNA GET YA!” Mugman said playfully as he tried to push his hands towards Cuphead.

Cuphead giggled. “Huh? Whatcha say Mugsy?” He raised an eyebrow

“IIII’M GONNA GET YA!” Mugman said louder and pushed his hands harder, but Cuphead’s grip was too strong.

Cuphead giggled. “Oh? How are ya gonna get me?” He said as he drabbled his fingers teasingly onto Mugman’s hands he caught.

Mugman leaned back as far as he could, and then bumped his forehead onto Cuphead’s forehead with a loud clink and an "EGH!”.

Cuphead laughed out loud at the silly forehead clink. Mugman pushed his forehead and nose against Cuphead’s forehead and nose, and the latter pushed back as they play some sort of face forehead-nose push-o-war. They were squishing their noses against each other, pushing their foreheads so hard it hurt, and playfully growling their voices out…

“I’M GONNA GET YAAAAAAAAAA…….!!!!!!” Mugman kept yelling his battle cry on and on

“NO YOU’RE NAAAHAHAHAHAAAA……!!!!” Cuphead yelled his own battle cry on and on.

Their voices clashed and they kept yelling on and on and on as if it was a contest on whose voice would tire out first, all while Mugman kept pressing his hands forward while Cuphead kept holding them back, and they pressed their foreheads and noses together with all their strength… until Cuphead broke into laughter with harmless ticklish squeaky hiccups in between because of such fun he had, and it caused his grip on Mugman’s wrists to loosen.

Mugman laughed as well at the victory he won, feeling a bit ticklish as Cuphead’s nose was wiggling on his nose... and remembered how Elder Kettle used to wiggle his nose spout onto Mugman’s big baby nose years ago… but also because of Cuphead’s infectious laughter. His evil smile grew as he looked at Cuphead who was just laughing there wide-open for him to be tickled back… but then his evil eyes gently melted into

warm endearing ones.

Cuphead kept laughing and laughing, not caring about what was gonna happen anymore nor about his in-between squeaky hiccups that he found slightly annoying, he knew he had lost and was okay with it… but then he was hugged and clinked on his right face, and he gasped and stopped laughing in surprise. When Cuphead looked, it was closed-eyes Mugman smiling and snuggling on his face like he was his favorite teddy bear.

“Good night buddy.” Mugman gently said as he squeezed his hug a little.

Cuphead’s heart melted so much that he just smiled, but that smile smirked a bit, half-wishing he got some tickles as well. He one arm hugged Mugman closer to him, gently laid him to the right on the bed, and closed his eyes. “Good night pal.”

They both moved and wiggled their bodies ‘til they were both under the cover of their one blanket, and both within the tiny bed they were sleeping on, without breaking their hug. In sync, they took a deep breath each and sighed it out dreamily as they slept into their own dreams.

From outside the room, Toriel sighed. “I suppose I will just have to sleep on the couch for… a very long time.” She entered the open room and smiled. “Good news! I found an extra b-“

Mugman and Cuphead were peacefully snuggled in the tiny bed for one; Mugman was tightly hugging Cuphead, while the latter was one-arm buddy hugging him, but soon he hugged Mugman with his other arm as well, mimicking Mugman's teddy bear hug. Bubbles soon floated up from their heads as they entered into dreaming.

Toriel smiled warmly and chuckled to herself. She walked over to the lamp and switched it off with a ‘CLICK!’. Then, the sound of clockwork being winded up turned once... twice... thrice… frice (four times)… five times… then it paused… then played into a gentle music box melody.

Music Box Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyT-EqLNJ_M

Toriel walked back to the door… but stopped halfway to the center of the room. She smiled, letting her tears fall on her face… and after a moment’s thought, she turned to the boys.

She walked over to them, gazed at their gentle and pure sleeping smiles, then kissed Mugman’s forehead, and then kissed Cuphead’s.

Toriel stood there, watching them. “A second chance… thank you.”

She walked to the door, leaving Cuphead and Mugman to sleep with the music box melody.

To the boys, it was a sweet gentle melody… to Toriel… she smiled very wide, as it reminded her of…

“Home…” Toriel turned to the boys from the half-closed door (tears whipped from her eyes as she turned). “Welcome home… my children.”

With that, she closed the door, and the room was dark.

-End of Chapter 7-

Speaking of music, I forgot to add this in Chapter 4 “Not Feeling Up to It right now sorry”

Napstablook Music (Recommended: Play 2x Speed):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeJx04_47Lc

Will be pasting it on the chapter, but in case I do not, just play it as soon as the Napstablook fight starts.

This was absolutely heart-warming and fluffy to write, I couldn’t stop smiling every time I kept on fiddling and editing this chapter. I hope you love it as much as I do! I’m going to be posting my September plans this weekend. I’ll leave in fluffy heaven for now. Please enjoy this picture as I close the story.

Synopsis: Mt Abott suddenly appears out of nowhere and Cuphead, dragging Mugman along, runs to the mountain to investigate. Soon they fall into the chasm and are attacked by the monsters of the underground. As they explore, they discover a tragedy that befell the underground, make friends along the way, and have a bro jolly fun adventure of a lifetime.

Read the fanfic Now! (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/cuptalecupheadxundertale/665197697031192576?source=share)

Table of Contents (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/cuptalecupheadxundertale/683556798922358784?source=share) 

This has taken me weeks to finish but I'm finally done! Please enjoy this eye candy while you wait for the next chapter. (But please don't devour it like Mugman and Cuphead did).

Will post something on Thursday again (I think).

Synopsis: Mt Abott suddenly appears out of nowhere and Cuphead, dragging Mugman along, runs to the mountain to investigate. Soon they fall into the chasm and are attacked by the monsters of the underground. As they explore, they discover a tragedy that befell the underground, make friends along the way, and have a bro jolly fun adventure of a lifetime.

Full poster will be posted on 06/22/2022 10pm Tuesday.

Bubbly excited screaming and laughter erupted from the pink-walled hallway on the left where big smiling Mugman was hands-forward running out of, followed by growling and war-shouting Cuphead who was sprinting after his brother. Mugman turned right and kept running to the lower right of the room away from Cuphead as fast as he could, but then stopped as he reached the corner.

 Cuphead let out an evil villainous cackle, causing Mugman to stiffen, tremble, and then whimper all with a big squiggly smile on his face. Mugman rotated his trembling head 180 degrees to look behind him and see Cuphead with his arms wide, fingers spreading like claws and wiggling in preparation.

 “Dead end Muggy boy.” Cuphead said like some evil deep-voiced cowboy while his teasing eyebrows wiggled.

 Mugman shivered and his squiggly smile stretched even more and became even more crooked with all the thrill he was feeling. He walked backward, but soon realized with shivering shock (his body grew goosebumps and his pupils trembled) that his body was moving towards Cuphead (because he was facing 180 degrees behind him), so he rotated his body while walking backward that it looked like he was walking in a ‘U’ towards the corner of the wall without facing away from Cuphead.  

 Cuphead let out an evil giggle. “Ya know… back in the rocks… didn’t ya say ya wanted a tickle?” He raised an eyebrow and wiggled his fingers faster at ‘tickle’.

 In addition to his goosebumps, Mugman’s spine shivered like a hissing cat and his smile grew wider as he squeaked in thrill.

 “Wh-what?!” Mugman took a squeaky inhale. “I- I never said that!” His back squeezed into the corner behind him. Unnoticed by him, the shivering straw on his head popped into an exclamation point for a moment.

 Cuphead’s eyes noticed Mugman’s straw, his smile widened even more mischievously, his evil giggle started slow and then hastened, and his fingers wiggled even faster. “Your straw says otherwise, Mugsy.”

 Mugman scrambled his trembling arms to get a hold of his straw from shaking. “CUPHEAD SSTOOP!” He said with a smile.

 “Oh, you’re gonna get it for tryin’ tuh tickle my stomach baby bro-!” Cuphead shrieked as he felt a tickle on the top side of his bendy straw. His eyes fiercely glared at Mugman as he giggled and said “AND MY STRA-HAW! COME-!” He blinked and then frowned as he realized confused-frowning Mugman was actually too far to tickle him.

 Cuphead weakly whipped his head to the right making his straw stir from the back of his head towards his front, and on the tip of his bendy straw was a black bug with eight legs skittering and clinging to it.

 “AAAGH!” Cuphead’s eyes trembled and his entire body jolted. “SPIDER! SPIDER!” The tip of his bendy straw turned into a hand and he backhanded whipped the spider away flying to the wall on his left.

 Cuphead panic-heaved in quick successions as he arms-forward ran towards frightened Mugman and hugged him while the latter hugged him back.

 Mugman’s eyes wandered up, and as he looked at the ceiling, he made a wheezing gasp while his eyes shrank.

 “EFEFE-!” Mugman spoke in a wheezing voice and Cuphead noticed him in concern. “EFEFEFUFIFACUPHEAHEAHEADUGHUGHUGH!” His shivering right hand pointed towards the ceiling which Cuphead’s eyes followed.

 Above them was a blanket swarm of black large spiders that covered the entire ceiling, some were slightly smaller and younger while some were adult-sized, standing on the ceiling with some skittering to find their space, but all of their glossy glowing crimson red eyes were fixated on the boys.

 Cuphead’s pupils shrunk as he let out a wheezing gasp of his own. “EFEFE-!” Already hugging, He and Mugman wrapped their arms like snakes around each other’s bodies even more. “EFEFEFUFIFAMUGMAHAHAHANNUGHUGHUGH!”

 They continued trembling and speaking in wheezing gibberish as their arms continued to elongate and wrap like 4 snakes (two arms each) around their entire upper bodies (from their chests to their stomachs), and finally, they constricted and tightened each other for dear life. As they kept squeezing each other, the color from their shoes up to their exclamation point straws gradually turned pale white (whiter than their cup and mug heads). Then… their bodies sank deeper into the corner of that room… and they died.

 Their light blue spirit energy wisped out of their eyes and formed into their respective gloomy closed-eyes ghosts floating towards the ceiling. As they glided up to the ceiling, their eyes fluttered open in waking, and then suddenly sprung open in fright and they shrieked as they were nearing the blanket of upside-down spiders that were smiling with teeth from within their mandible mouths and giggling like creepy squeaky bats.

 As they noticed the creepy spiders, ghosts Cuphead and Mugman screamed in fright, their ghost forms shivered and their straw haloes turned into exclamation points. They turned to each other and screamed as they pointed their fingers at their ghost forms. In one swift downward stroke of their head straw hands, they parried each other’s pink hearts on their ghost chests. As if by vacuum cleaners, their spirits were sucked back into their dark eye sockets and they awoke with huge gasping of air.

 “RUUUN!” Cuphead yelled at the top of his lungs.

 Cuphead and Mugman ran in split left and right directions respectively, but their rope-tied, snake-constricting, hug held their upper bodies together while their heads and legs were gaining distance apart as they ran on air (so it looked like a weird hourglass shape of their heads and legs as the bases and the middle which is their upper bodies constricted by their arms). After a good few seconds of running apart on air, their over-stretched hug pulled them back and it whipped them together, and they grunted loudly in pain as they slammed flat into each other’s faces (forehead-to-forehead, and nose-to-nose).

 “Oooowww…” They both groaned.

 The spiders giggled even louder, and some even laughed as they watched the boys, and it caused the boys to freak out and then run forward aimlessly while screaming in terror under the continuous ceiling of creepy bat-like laughter.

 “Don’t let go of me buddy!” Mugman cried out as he ran.

 “NO! YOU DON’T LET GO!” Teary-eyed Cuphead glared and towered his face over Mugman.

 “NO! YOUUUU!!” Mugman constricted his hug even more and yelled at Cuphead’s face that drool was all over the latter.

 “NOO! YOUUUUHUHUHU!!” Cuphead tightened even tighter than Mugman’s hug and yelled at the latter’s face with more drool.

 SPLAT! They ran straight onto a wooden sign.

 “Oooooooowwwww…..” They both moaned loudly in pain.

 The spider giggling and laughing turned into a massive creepy loud cackle fest, all while poor Cuphead and Mugman were lying side by side lowly moaning in pain with dizzy swirly spinning eyes still trapped in their rope-tight hug. At first, their vision was blurry and spinning, but then it slowly became steady as they focused on the blurry brown rectangle in front of them. The brown rectangle then became a sign with cobwebs on the upper left and lower right corners and a text in black was written on it.

 “Spider Bake Sale.” Mugman said. “All proceeds go to real spiders.”

 Cuphead and Mugman gasped in realization. “Ohhhh….”

 They both looked up and behind them and noticed the spiders that were watching them eagerly. Cuphead and Mugman gave very big but nervous smiles.

 ”Uhh… maybe we should buy something?” Mugman smiled nervously at Cuphead.

 “Y-yeah… good idea.” Cuphead smiled back nervously at Mugman.

 Initially, Cuphead and Mugman used both of their hands to push themselves up, but their arm movements caused their hug to squeeze and wiggle around their stomachs and armpits which made them giggle at the small tickles they felt.

 “MUGS!” Cuphead yelled as he smiled at Mugman.

 “He-hey! I didn’t mean to!” Mugman giggled.

 Carefully and slowly this time, they pushed themselves off the floor and stood up facing the creepy spiders. Altogether, the spiders pointed their eyes in the direction behind the sign. Cuphead and Mugman turned their heads exactly 180 degrees around and saw two cobwebs on the left and right behind the sign, the left was small while the right was big.

 Together Cuphead and Mugman, with a bit of wobbling (and a bit of annoyance at each other’s miscoordination), towards the smaller cobweb on the left.

 A big text woven in spider silk was written in the cobweb.

 ‘Spider Donut: 7G’

 “Mmmmm!” Cuphead and Mugman licked their lips as their mouths salivated.

 “A donut sounds delicious right now eh pal?” Cuphead smiled at Mugman.

 Mugman nodded eagerly with his long Scooby-Doo tongue sticking out and flailing around.

 Cuphead tried to move his hands, but his wrist and his arms wiggled Mugman’s left stomach, causing him to jolt and laugh.

 “I’hahi’ll do it! I’ll get the coins.” Mugman shot a teasing glare at Cuphead.

 Cuphead giggled and shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry bro.”

 Mugman used his left hand to fish the coins from Cuphead’s left pocket on his red shorts. He took out a few jingling coins on his left hand, counted three viewing from over his brother’s right shoulder, then passed it jingling on his right hand, and then fished with his left hand in that same pocket for more coins that jingled at the drabble of his left fingers.

 “Hurry up already.” Cuphead playfully bumped his right hip to Mugman’s right hip.

 Mugman giggled as he tried to balance his stand. “I’m counting sheesh.”

 With the sound of coins being clink-clipped together by fingers, Mugman pulled out his hand and unfolded his fingers to reveal a handful of fourteen gold coins. Letting his hands tilt down to the weight of the coins, Mugman let the gold coins fall on the floor jingling in front of the cobweb.

 Some of the spiders from the ceiling rappelled down using their spider web produced from their posteriors, while some climbed and skittered down via the wall and the small cobweb on the wall, and they all caused Cuphead and Mugman to back away in creeped out disgust and fear. As the spiders landed and crawled over to the coins, the spiders fiddled their legs on the jingling coins, moving and shuffling them around as if they were counting. When they were done, the smaller swarm of spiders took the coins and carried one or two at a time while the large spiders carried three or four at a time, and then rappelled up while some climbed up the web.

 Cuphead and Mugman’s glossy eyes reflected the pink glazed donuts of purple bread, and their mouths drooled to the point saliva was dripping from between their teeth, to their lower lips, to their chins, and then splashing to the floor. They both rushed in to get the donuts but again forgot they wrapped up tight in their hug and tripped forward in front of the donuts.

 Cuphead and Mugman smirked at each other.

 “Okay, to be fair, you told me not to let go.” Mugman raised an eyebrow and tilted his head down to Cuphead, making his smirk more teasing.

 Smirking, Cuphead rolled his eyes. “Why’d ya listen to me?”

 “Cuz yer the big bro.” Mugman sassily remarked as he bumped his left hip to Cuphead’s right.

 Cuphead’s smiley mouth gaped wide-open. “Oh you did not just use the big bro card against me!” He pushed his right shoulder against Mugman’s left shoulder and they bubbly laughed together.

 “Instant karma bro. So does this mean ya wanna let go?” Mugman giggled and raised an eyebrow as if he were challenging Cuphead.

 Cuphead opened his mouth as he was about to rebut… but then stepped to look at the right corners of his eyes, and then looked up at the ceiling at the spiders again.

 Cuphead made a very big but sheepish smile as he shyly shrugged his shoulders at Mugman. “When we get outta here?” He suggested.

 “When we get outta here.” Mugman nodded as he smiled and then giggled.

 Cuphead and Mugman opened their huge mouths, scooped up the donuts with their jaws like shovels on the ground, and began munching like jolly and goofy crocodiles with the donuts staining their teeth in purple, black, and pink. Their lips were dirtied with purple, pink, and black crumbs of the donut, and they licked their lips clean with satisfaction.

 “I liked how crunchy it was!” Cuphead looked at his brother as he placed his hands on the floor at the ready.

 “A-hahand gooey too! Not too sweet, it definitely was somethin'!” Mugman looked at his brother as he too placed his hands on the floor at the ready.

 In sync, Cuphead and Mugman pushed themselves up with ease (unlike the previous hassle hustle earlier). Mugman was going left while Cuphead was going right so they bumped into each other.

 “Where’re ya goin'?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow in confusion.

 “Out.” Mugman pointed to the hallway they came from on their left. “Where’re YAA goin'?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “I wanna check out what they’re sellin' in the big web over there.” Cuphead pointed over to the web on their right.

 They both glanced at the bigger web on the right corner.

 “No way!” Mugman whipped his head back at Cuphead and glared at the latter. “We already bought something, let’s get outta here!”

 “Aw come on, it’ll be a quick check!” Cuphead shook his arms teasingly, wiggling Mugman’s body a bit causing Mugman to giggle at the tickles.

 “O-hohor maybe ya just want tuh keep huggin.” Mugman smirked.

 “EAUGH!” Cuphead stuck his tongue out… then after a pause looked at the upper corner of his eyes and an involuntary tiny blush warmed on his cheeks. “Don’t pretend ya don’t want to.”

 “EAUGH!” Mugman spit his tongue out of his smiley mouth as he glared in surprise at Cuphead.

 Cuphead squeezed shut his eyes and bit his lower lip in regret, while Mugman bit his lower lip with delight as he looked teasingly at Cuphead.

 Mugman giggled. “I can’t believe ya-!”

 “Yeah me neither, shut up.” Cuphead pulled Mugman along as he walked to the large cobweb on the right.

 Mugman’s smile grew as he walked with his brother. “I lo-!”

 “SHUT UP!” Cuphead’s glare got bigger as he gritted his teeth in his part-embarrassed, part-irritated, part-happy smile.

 They both shared a giggle fit as they walked to the large cobweb on the right.

 Another text was written in silk on the cobweb.

 -Spider Cider 18G-

 “Wait…” Mugman narrowed his eyes at the text. “Cider? As in… alcohol?”

 “Ooo!” Cuphead’s eyes glimmered with excitement as he accidentally pushed Mugman aside to look at the text (causing Mugman to grumble and glare a little). “Let’s try it!”

 “Cuphead no!” Mugman pushed back as he glared, while Cuphead glared back in confusion. “We’re barely legal!”

 “Uhh, we’re pre-teens?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow and smirked.

 “Yeah! Six years underaged!” Mugman towered his head over Cuphead as he looked his large bloodshot eyes furious eyes into the latter’s; they were nose to nose.

 “Aw come on.” Relaxed smiling Cuphead, with his hand that stretched all the way from Mugman's hip, gently booped Mugman’s nose and pushed him down back to normal head level, which surprised him and calmed him down. “Ya remember what Porkrind said about alcohol right?”

 Back in his shop in the Inkwell Isle, while they were buying new magic potions…

 “Ha!” Porkrind slammed the counter and pointed his finger at Mugman. “Why do I drink alcohol he asks!” He laughed while loudly patting the table. “Why it’s only the best thing that’s ever been invented! Moonshine, Vodka, Whiskey, Beer…” He sighed in satisfaction. “Trust me kids, it’s water from heaven that will change your life.

 Eyes twitching, Mugman stared at the wall nervously; deep down he was fighting back the temptation to try drinking. Meanwhile, Cuphead’s mischievous smile stretched bigger as he sensed his brother’s hesitation.

 “You know you want to buddy.” Cuphead wiggled his eyebrows as he leaned closer to Mugman.

 Mugman mumbled nervously and he looked with shaky eyes at Cuphead. “This spells trouble and you know it.”

 “Yeahhh….” Cuphead rolled his eyes to the upper left corner in thought, and then slyly looked at Mugman with his half-closed eyes. “If Elder Kettle knew that is.” He grinned mischievously and wiggled his eyebrows.

 Mugman squeaked as he bit his lower lip and looked at the wall realizing Cuphead’s ‘bad’ idea.

 “Come on!” Cuphead gave Mugman a gentle shake. “It’ll be our buddy secret! Nobuddy will know but us.” He giggled.

 Continuing to stare at the wall, Mugman’s mouth squiggled (his left end was frowning while his right end was smiling); he wanted to laugh at the pun, but he was also terrified of the consequences of giving in… but it would still be so much fun if they tried and eventually he squeezed his eyes shut and grumbled knowing this.

 Mugman chucked his hand into Cuphead’s left pocket and began digging it for more jingling coins. Meanwhile, Cuphead was giggling at Mugman.

 “Ya know, technically you’re the one buying it.” Cuphead grinned mischievously.

 “Shut up.” He said as he stuck his tongue out in focus.

 Cuphead huffed and glared at Mugman. “Rude.”

 “No I mean it’s supposed to be a secret don’t blow it.” Mugman smirked at Cuphead.

 “Ahhh!” Cuphead squeaked due to his surprise. “Buddy!!!” His hug picked giggling Mugman up to the air and he shook him left to right over and over. “I lo-!”

 “Shut up!” Mugman’s eyes widened suddenly. “Wait what was that las-“

 “Uh-uh, you told me to shut up.” Cuphead put Mugman down as he smirked.

 “You said the L-word.” Mugman’s eyes narrowed as he smirked.

 “I didn’t say nuthin’.” Cuphead’s eyes narrowed as he looked into Mugman’s.

 Mugman just grumbled, wishing what he suspected was true while he kept fiddling and counting the coins he was fishing from Cuphead’s left pocket; Cuphead meanwhile was giggling at Mugman’s grumbling. When he was done, he clinked the coins together in his palm, brought his hand out of Cuphead’s pocket, and then unfolded his fingers to reveal a handful of 18 coins, which he then threw onto the floor.

 Like before, the spiders came down, counted the coins that were shuffling between their legs, and took them up rappelling back to the ceiling. Afterward, from the large cobweb on the wall, another swarm of spiders brought down a brown ceramic flagon that they carried in swarms to the open space on the floor, and then set the heavy flagon down, accidentally squishing a leg of a spider on the left which screamed and trembled in pain as it tried to yank its leg out while the other spiders rushed to its side trying to help yank it out.

 Frightened and with quick reflexes, Cuphead and Mugman rushed to the flagon and picked it up.

 The spider’s leg was trembling, bent upwards, and the middle was squashed flat; the spider in question’s screeching lessened and was calming down. The other spiders skittered to the injured spider's squished leg, while some went behind the spider, then they began pulling the spider and its leg apart, and finally, the leg came off; The boys were watching in creeped out teeth-gritted frowns and they shivered once the leg popped off. The spiders faced the boys and waved their legs like ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye’ (the seven-legged spider waved its leg that was holding its detached leg). In response, the boys nervously smiled, tightened their hug a bit, and then waved their hands (which were by their opposing their hips, while their occupied hands were holding the flagon) at the spiders. Both of them chuckled nervously, then faced the exit, and then walked on and on while continuing to nervous chuckle.

 They stepped into the previous room they were in (the one where they met Napstablook earlier) and after a few seconds of nervous chuckling, they both unleashed their biggest and loudest sighs of relief followed by continuous panting of stress.

 “Good thing…” Cuphead continued panting. “We don’t have…” He panted more. “Spider enemies…” He panted more. “At home…"

 “Don’t…” Mugman panted. “Don’t jinx it…”

 Together they took a deep inhale and then a big exhale to finish. They smiled at each other in a few seconds of silence.

 “Uhh… you can let go now...” Mugman said, referring to their snake-constricting hug that was still in place.

 “No you let go.” Cuphead teased as he smirked at Mugman.

 They both kept smirking at each other without moving…and standing… and waiting… as if it were a game of ‘firstonewholetsgoistheloserwhilethewinnergetsthebigbrocard.’

 “Wanna drink the cider?” Cuphead looked at Mugman with a big smile as he lifted the cider to their faces.

 “Sure!” Mugman replied with his own bright and big smile.

 They tilted their heads towards each other and tangled their respective blue and red straws together until they twisted into a big funnel of blue and red candy cane stripes.

 “Cheers!” They said to each other and then clinked their heads together.

 “Together they lifted the flagon up to their funnel, and poured the black cider into the funnel which began pumping liquid into their straws and into their respective heads…… and suddenly their eyes and mouths opened in shock.

 “LEAUGH!” They both yelled in disgust with their crooked tongues spat out, their funnel untangled into their crooked disgusted straws, their arms untangled into goofy spread out hands, their pupils looked in different directions, and their legs were twisted around.

 They both pinched their noses and blew them, which caused their straw to literally spit out their milk onto each other’s faces.

 “Yuck!” Cuphead wiped off his face of milk. “What was that?!”

 “Eaugh!” Mugman rubbed his tongue repeatedly with his two hands as if he was trying to remove the taste. “That was the most horrible thing I’ve ever tasted!” He looked at Cuphead.

 “Man apple juice was waaay bettah than this stuff.” Cuphead lifted the flagon as they started walking towards the northern exit.

 “Or a milkshake.” Mugman said as he walked beside his brother and put held his hands behind his back.

 “Or a soda!” Cuphead's eyes widened as he smiled.

 “Or root beer!” Mugman's eyes widened as he smiled.

 They both slurped their lips, paused walking, slouched, and looked dreamily at the space in front of them with their salivating tongues sticking out of the left end of their mouths. “Mmmm! Root beer! Jinx!” They both pointed their fingers at each other.

 “Double jinx!” Mugman pointed his finger at Cuphead.

 “What?!" Cuphead's eyes widened in surprise. "No way!” He narrowed his glare and smirked snarkily.

 “Uh-uh!" Mugman wagged his right index finger. "That was for the ‘Eaugh!’" He assumed his goofy disgusted spit-out tongue face. "...earlier.” He smirked snarkily at Cuphead.

 Cuphead covered his eyes with the wrists of his fists and grunted in frustrated realization. “You’re right!”

 “2-2?” Mugman raised an eyebrow and smiled as he buddy hugged Cuphead.

 “2-2.” Cuphead smirked at Mugman as the former buddy hugged the latter. “You still owe me two hotdogs!” He booped Mugman's nose.

 “Well you owe me two…” Mugman tapped his tinking chin twice. “Somethin’.” He booped Cuphead's tiny nose. "Hey that DOES feel good!" He made a big smile.

 Cuphead giggled. “Deal!” He buddy hugged his brother. "AAAND told ya."

 Cuphead and Mugman buddy walked together, arms wrapped behind each other’s necks, and playfully booped each other's nose as they giggled and laughed into the next room.

 -End of Chapter 5-

Author’s Note

Sorry, I’m a few weeks late on this chapter. I’m considering to trim the interaction between Cuphead & Mugman and the monsters since I’ve already demonstrated the idea in Chapter 3, and that it’s taking too long for me to reach the important interactions of the cupbros and the rest of the underground gang (Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, etc.), and overall it would make the story too long and draggy. So I’ll probably congest their interactions into one event, or employ a more Cuphead Run n Gun style where they evade or shoot the monsters, but it will also be full of small talk like at most two sentences of exchanges.

We’re almost at “Home”, I really thought this chapter would be it, but I got carried away with the story.

“Take your sweet time my children! I’m just… minding my own business”. Toriel smiled nervously, hoping no one would know what she’s up to. She suddenly sniffs in suspicion. “Wait… is something burni-! OH MY GOODNESS MY PIE!”

I’ve been itching for her to come back, so you’re not alone in this struggle.

I’m juggling multiple projects right now, not just this fanfic, so it’s taking more time than I anticipated. So it might be June when you’ll see the next chapter, sorry guys, just doing my best to give you a quality story.

With smiles (the former relaxed and the latter with genuine happiness), Cuphead and Mugman were clapping their hands together at a near snail’s pace in a pattern while they recited together:

 “Pat a cake, pat a cake, baker’s men! Bake me a cake as fast as you can! Roll it!” They rolled their fists in the air as if they were turning a bicycle pedal with their hands. “And pat it!” They patted their laps.  “And mark it with a B!” They drew a B in the air in front of them. “And put it in the oven for baby and me!”

 Cuphead started to smile more confidently. They clapped at a faster pace.

 “Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake, baker’s-men! Bake me a cake as fast as you can! Roll it!” They rolled their hands. “And pat it!”  They patted their laps. “And mark it with a-!”

 “C!” Cuphead’s beaming smile stretched as he punched the sky.

 “Hey!” Mugman’s smile surprised opened wide.

 Cuphead giggled as he continued clapping. “And put it in the oven for-!”

 “Cuppy and Me!” Mugman’s voice changed to toddler-like.

 “Heey!” Cuphead said pretend-annoyed as his eyebrows scrunched.

 They both giggled, and their claps got faster, harder, and overall more intense.

 “Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake, Baker’s-men! Bake-me-a-cake-as-fast-as-you-can! Roll-it! And-pat-it! And-mark-with-a-!”

 “M!” Beaming Mugman raised his fist, and Cuphead laughed at the same time.

 “And put it in the oven for-!”

 “Mugman, yeah him.” Cuphead rolled his eyes as he said with a dull voice.

 “He-hey!” Mugman’s eyebags squeezed up his eyes as he giggled.

 They clapped really fast and their voices were close to shouting. “Patacakepatacake!! Baker’smen!! Bakemeacake, as, fastasyoucan!! Rollit!!” They rolled their hands. “Andpatit!!” They patted each other’s laps. “Andmarkitwitha-!!”

 “Uhh…” Cuphead looked at the corner of his eyes, and Mugman burst laughing.

 “Andputintheovenfor-!”

 Mugman gasped and his eyes widened. “FLOWEY!”

 “And-!” Cuphead gasped and his head snapped looking at the direction behind him.

 Looking across the long long pink hallway, Cuphead saw nothing else but the pillar closest to them and the occasional vines on the right-side wall. His eyebrows scrunched and his eyes paced left and right as he found it strange... and then he blinked in realization.

 “Wait a minute…” Cuphead smirked and slowly turned his head to Mugman.

 Mugman squeaked in fright and his eyes widened. “Really, I swear… I thought Flowey was…” His eyes searched the room but no one was in sight.

 Cuphead placed his fists on his hips and kept his smirk. “What… ‘stalk’ing?” He raised an eyebrow.

 Mugman’s eyes widened and he stared in surprise at Cuphead for a good few minutes… and then his mouth squiggled as he let out a snicker, and finally he unleashed a loud holler of bubbly laughter that echoed across the halls.

 Covering his ears and shutting his eyes, Cuphead giggled from the sudden reaction of Mugman. He peeked an eye open. “Geez, you were really tickled by that pun.”

 Mugman’s laugh calmed down into a snorty fit of laughter and he wiped a tear in his eye. “S-sorry! It was really…” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Blooming!”

 Squeezing his eyes shut, Cuphead snickered into a loud gentle laugh, and soon after Mugman followed laughing in sync with his brother.

 When they were done, the both of them sighed and looked at each other.

 Mugman frowned and touched his index fingers together shyly. “B-but seriously, I thought I saw Flowey behind ya.”

 Cuphead hummed with a smile on his face. “Well, if we’ve got each other it ain’t a problem.”

 “Hey!” Mugman looked with concern. “We barely made it out clean back there. He… it was kinda strong.”

 Cuphead snickered, noticing he changed ‘he’ to an ‘it’. “Hey, we beat the Devil, remember? If we face that pansy again we’d definitely beat that guy… thing.” Mugman snickered at this. “No matter how much we get our butts kicked.”

 Mugman smiled and sighed in relief. “Okay. If ya say so.”

 Cuphead tsked. “’If I say so.’” He said in a mock imitation of Mugman’s deep voice. “Ya gotta have more faith than that bro. Stop being such as baby bro.”

 “Hey!” Mugman scrunched his eyes annoyed. “I’m the older bro now not you.” He folded his arms.

 Cuphead giggled menacingly. “Weally? Zen wai r u whining wike one.”

 With puffy cheeks, Mugman pouted and folded his arms, and Cuphead giggled. Suddenly, the phone was ringing from Mugman’s pocket and the boys’ eyes lit up attentively. Mugman picked up the phone, clicked a button that beeped as he did, and placed it on his ‘ear’.

 “Hello?” Mugman answered.

 “Hello Mugman! This is Toriel!” Her gentle happy voice answered.

 Mugman smiled at Cuphead, and in reaction the latter smiled back and crawled closer to the phone on his brother’s ear.

 “Hey Toriel! How are ya?” Mugman asked with a beaming smile.

 “I’m well. Your kind question is appreciated my child! I called to tell you that I’m running a little late for my errands. You’re going to have to wait for five more minutes.”

 “Oh!” Mugman’s smile faded a little. “Um, okay, we’ll wait!”

 “Thank you my child! Be safe!” She said endearingly.

 *BEEP!*

 Mugman put back the phone in his pocket.

 Cuphead yawned while patting his open mouth repeatedly. “Welp, now I’m bored.”

 He laid on his back on the floor with his hands on the back of his head inside the loop of his cup handle. With a smile, Mugman laid beside Cuphead.

 “Well, let’s keep playin’ pat-a-cake then!” Mugman raised his hands to his chest.

 “Pfft! No way!” Cuphead rolled his bored eyes as he flicked his hand down. “That game’s for babies. Like you Muggy!” With a teasing smirk, he booped Mugman’s big nose, and the latter’s goofy intersecting pupils looked at it.

 “Hey!” Annoyed, Mugman swatted away Cuphead’s wrist and the latter giggled in reaction. “Why’d ya play it with me then huh?” He folded his arms.

 “Well duh, I like makin’ my baby bro happy. Boop!” With a wink, Cuphead pressed Mugman’s noise.

 Still folding his arms, Mugman grunted and turned away from Cuphead. “I’m not a baby!”

 Cuphead giggled. “Yeah you are.” He pulled his brother by the shoulder bringing him close that their heads clinked. “I mean come on! I give ya the big bro card and all the fun ya could think of was Pat-a-cake?”

 “Hey!” Mugman glared a little offended. “It’s a fun game!”

 “H-yeah… for sippy cups.” Cuphead rolled his eyes. “Ya coulda thought about ‘Mercy’” With a villainous smile he clawed his hand, as if he were holding Mugman’s hand and painfully squeezing it until he cried for ‘Mercy’.

 Mugman gritted his teeth in worried fright. “Too painful.”

 Cuphead tsked. “Thumb Wrestling?” Cuphead closed his fist and pressed his thumb in the air as if he were trying to pin down an opposing thumb.

 Mugman cringed. “Pretty much the same.”

 Cuphead snickered. “Wimp.”

 Mugman grunted and tightened his fists.

 “Tag?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow as he pushed his brother’s shoulder a little roughly.

 Mugman looked around mumbling nervously. “There’s not much room here to run to.” He touched his index fingers together.

 Cuphead sighed. “Welp, at least I got one fun game that we can play.”

 Mugman smiled and his eyes brightened. “What is it what is it?”

 “Boop!” With a big goofy smile Cuphead booped the center of Mugman’s big nose and the latter’s goofy pupils looked at it.

 Cuphead laughed while Mugman grumbled and tightened his fists annoyed. Mugman picked up the phone from his pocket, dialed it, and put it on his non-existential ear.

 RING… RING… RI-

 “Hello! This is Toriel!” Her sweet voice answered.

 “Hey Toriel. Are ya comin back yet?” He asked eagerly.

 “Just a few more minutes my child. Are you bored?” Toriel with happy casual concern.

 Mugman groaned. “Cuphead has turned my nose itno a push button.”

 With a mischievous and happy smile on his face as he laid cuphead-rim-to-mughead-rim next to Mugman, Cuphead pushed his brother’s nose using his index finger while playfully saying “Boop!” and again “Boop!” and again “Boop!” all while Mugman watched with an annoyed stare without doing anything to stop it.

 Toriel giggled. “I’ll be back before he makes blueberry puree of your nose my child. Oh-!”

 *BEEP!*

 Mugman squeaked, his mouth scrunched, and his cheeks blushed red. Eyes popping, He looked furiously at the phone. “MY NOSE IS NOT A BLUEBERRY!!”

 Pupils shrunk. Teeth biting his lower lip while snickering. Tummy trembling as he snickered. Cuphead unleashed a large holler of laughter from his Pacman-like open wide mouth towards Mugman’s face; his uvula was visibly wagging. Head shivering due to the tremoring shockwave vibrations of Cuphead’s holler of cackling, Mugman on other hand was twitching his eyes in annoyance. Cuphead’s laughter turned into a big heave of air.

 Mugman looked at Cuphead with the former’s watery eyes trembling, his milk boiling, and his breath heaving. “CUPHEEEAAAAAD!!”

 Cuphead laughed pointing his finger at Mugman. “SHE CALLED YA A BLUEBERRY NOSE!!” He kept cackling while hugging his stomach.

 Milk steaming from his head, Mugman grunted and gripped both his fists very tightly as he glared angrily with tear-flowing eyes back at Cuphead. “Sssstoooop!...” His face flushed redder.

 Cuphead wiped a tear. “Ya know why-!” He snickered. “Yer nose is called ‘Blueberry’?”

 Mugman’s eye twitched in annoyance. “Cuphead no!”

 “Aw come on!” With a sly and confident smile, Cuphead wrapped his arm around Mugman’s shoulders while clinking his head on Mugman. “I know how much you love punny puns.”

 A few seconds of pausing happened with happy Cuphead and irritated Mugman staring at each other... until Mugman’s mouth broke into a few giggles but more tears came out of his eyes.

 “Ahh! You giggled bro.” Cuphead winked and pointed his finger while he pressed his cheek against his giggling brother’s.

 “I-hi did! I did!” Mugman giggled, and then grunted in regret. “And I hate it when ya do that when I’m still mad.”

 “Bro, she was just teasin’ ya!” Cuphead splayed his hand in explanation. “Don’t be mad if she likes havin’ fun with ya and yer chic magnet asset.” He booped Mugman’s nose.

 Mugman gave a few seconds to look at the finger that booped his blue nose, his so-called chic magnet asset, and then looked at Cuphead. “Okay, what were ya talkin’ about?”

 Cuphead giggled. “Ya know why yer nose…” He booped Mugman’s nose. “Is called a blue-” he booped again. “Berry?” And again.

 Mugman bubbly giggled. “Wh-hat?”

 “Because it’s Blue!” With a big beaming smile, Cuphead booped Mugman’s nose. “Berry much!” He playfully pushed and wiggled the center of Mugman’s nose.

 Mugman and Cuphead broke into their respective snorty and hiccupy laughters.

 The phone rang from Mugman’s pocket again, and Mugman answered.

 “Hello?”

 ‘BARK! BARK!’ A puppy squeaked over the phone.

 In a surprised and confused frown, Mugman glared at the phone.

 Noticing Mugman’s reaction, Cuphead snickered. “What’s up?”

 With a confused eye twitch, Mugman looked at Cuphead while pointing at the phone. “There’s a…” Suddenly, an idea popped into his head and his eyes widened as it did. Then, he smirked. “I… think it’s for you.” Mugman reached the phone to Cuphead.

 Cuphead smiled while raising an eyebrow in suspicion. He took the phone and placed it on his ‘ear’.

 ‘BARK! BARK!’ The same puppy squeaked again.

 “What!” Cuphead yelled with his head leaning away from the phone, eye pupils shrunken and looking at the phone, and his smile beaming.

 Mugman let out a holler of snorty laughter.

 Cuphead splayed his hands, one of them holding the phone. “What happened?!” His voice squeaked as if he was going to laugh.

 “I literally just answered it and that puppy was on the other end!” Mugman pointed his finger at the phone.

 Cuphead snickered. “Did Toriel become a dog??”

 “Stop, please!” The phone trembled as the gentle but demanding voice of Toriel spoke.

 The brothers gasped and then brought their heads closer to the phone.

 “Come back here with my CELLHPONE!!” Toriel yelled.

 The phone beeped, ending the phone call altogether.

 Looking at the phone, Cuphead and Mugman cringed; the former had a slight smile while the latter was biting his lower lip worried.

 “Should we help her?” Mugman looked at Cuphead.

 “Nah!” With a confident smile, Cuphead flicked his hand downwards. “She’ll be fi-!!” His eyes widened, his mouth formed an ‘o’, his bendy red-striped straw straightened and an imaginary lightbulb popped out with a ‘ding!’ at the top like it was an idea. Slowly, his smile turned into a wide mischievous grin.

 In confusion and worry about Cuphead’s idea (knowing it wasn’t a good one), Mugman raised an eyebrow.

 Cuphead’s straw turned back to normal. “Ya know…” He looked at the corner of his eyes and tabbed his tinking chin three times. “Now that I think about it, I think that’s a grrrrreat idea bro!” He swung his fist in front of his chest and winked. “We definitely sssshould help her!”

 Mugman’s cheeks cringed up and his shoulders tensed as he got the natural ‘Cuphead’s got a bad idea’ sense. “Okay… I still don’t see what you see innit, but yeah!” He smiled brightly. “We should definitely get out there and-!” His eyes shot wide open, and his pupils shrunk at the same time. “Get out there… And… get… out… Ohhhhh…” He frowned.

 Lower lip biting, grin stretching even wider, Cuphead snickered into a noticeably loud giggle as he enjoyed Mugman’s entire reaction.

 One end of Mugman’s lip twitched, and he nervously chuckled. “A-actually… I think yer right…” Sweat dropped beside Mugman’s eye. “Sh-she’s probably-! I-I mean I’m sure sh-she’s just fine, l-like ya said!”

 Looking at the upper corner of his eyes, Cuphead hummed in thought. “I dunnnooo broo…” He tilted his head down towards Mugman while looking at him, and the latter’s mouth squiggled and backed off a bit in nervous reaction. “She sounds like she’s in trouuubuhhhhle!” He sang a tune in ‘trouuubuhhle’.

 Mugman shivered. “Th-then we should go find her and-!” As he noticed what he said, he shrieked and grasped the rims of his own nerve-wrecked trembling head.

 Cuphead cackled. “But Mugs! You remember what Toriel-!”

 Mugman growled and grabbed his nerve-wrecked trembling head. “I KNOW I KNOW!!” He grabbed Cuphead’s shoulders and pulled him nose-to-nose. “YOU’RE NOT HELPING!!” His furious bloodshot eyes stared into laughing Cuphead’s shrunken pupils trembling with thrill; Mugman’s nose was towering over Cuphead’s tiny nose mimicking how Mugman is towering over bending-back Cuphead.

 Cuphead giggled. “Yes I am. I’m-!”

 “YOU’RE-!” Mugman furiously squished his nose against Mugman’s nose and pushed his face so his bloodshot eyes closer to Cuphead’s eyes.

 “Helping you get in trouble!” Cuphead said at the same time.

“HELPING ME GET IN TROUBLE!” Mugman said at the same time.

 As they continued staring into each other’s eyes and squishing their noses against each other, Mugman’s eyes paled and he frowned in shock, while Cuphead bubbly giggled.

 “Jinx!” Cuphead leaned his head back and booped Mugman’s nose with his finger. “You owe me a hotdog bro.” He winked.

 Furiously growling, Mugman let his bubbly brother fall to the floor and then folded his arms grunting. Then his head straw straightened with an imaginary lightbulb popping out of it, he smiled, and he snapped his right finger as he dashed it across his chest. He pointed his finger at Cuphead. “You talk to it!!”

 “Wh-hat?!” Cuphead raised an eyebrow and giggled.

 “Yeah!” Mugman picked up the phone from his pocket and brought it closer to Cuphead. “I mean ya basically know how to bark like a dog, especially since you love hotdogs!”

 Cuphead snickered. “Uhh, not sure if you were trying to make a pun…” He giggled. “Or you’re serious and ya dunno how that works.”

 “Come on bro!” Smiling, Mugman splayed his hands, one of them holding the phone. “Just bark at the puppy! It’ll probably get distracted and Toriel can get his phone back!” Mugman beamed.

 After listening to the idea, Cuphead stretched his beaming smile even more, and his cheeks were squinting his eyes. He giggled and then snatched the phone from Muman “Gimme that!”

 Cuphead and Mugman giggled together.

 Cuphead dialed on the phone and put it on his ear. They both waited in giggly excitement as the phone rang.

 The phone was answered to the sound of a puppy that was snoring and humming sweetly over the phone.

 “Hellooo?” A distant voice of a motherly woman called. “Little puppy…? Where are you…? I will give you a nice pat on the head!”

 As she said this, the puppy stopped snoring.

 “… if you return my CELLPHONE!” She yelled at the ending word.

 As she said that, the puppy continued to snore.

 Cuphead took a big inhale… and BARKED LIKE A PUPPY SEVERAL TIMES!

 On the other end, the white puppy jumped up in fright, and then barked back at the phone on the floor repeatedly.

 Cuphead laughed. “It barked back!” He pointed to the phone as he happily looked at Mugman.

 “Ooooohhh!!” Mugman shook his fists in excitement. “Let’s bark at it together!”

 In sync, Cuphead and Mugman were puppy barking at the phone, and the puppy was barking back with equal intensity.

 “Ah! There you are!” Toriel’s close voice said from the phone.

 Over the phone, the puppy began to bark even faster as if it were towards Toriel.

 “OH MY GOODNESS! BAD DOG! YOU DO NOT BARK AT A WOMAN WHO IS TRYING TO GET HER PHONE BA-!” Toriel gasped. “NO!! COME BACK HERE WITH MY Cell…” Her voice was getting farther away.

  Both their eyes on the phone, Mugman stared in horror while Cuphead just cheekily, beamingly, and mischievously smiled at the former.

 “Well… looks like your plan went… ‘arf’ of hand buddy.” Cuphead’s smile stretched even wider.

 Furious blood-stricken eyes with shrunken pupils. Milk boiling. Gripped fists trembling. Mugman glared and growled at Cuphead. His furious eyes turned to the exit of the room in front of them and they melted into watery worry, his fists released, and his lips pursed while he whimpered.

 Still with a big beaming smile on his face, Cuphead teasingly and mischievously scooted closer to the sad Mugman and buddy hugged him. Mugman glared back, his milk starting to boil again.

 Cuphead sighed and pretend frowned. “I dunno buddy. It looks like you and I are gonna be spending the rest of your lives….” His eyes rolled to one corner. “Waiting for Toriel…” He moved them to another corner. “Eating vine leaves… for breakfast, lunch, and dinner…” His eyes fixated back at Mugman. “But hey!” He smiled.

 Mugman flared out an exhale. “Bro, stop that!”

 “At least we’ve got each other!” With a big smile, Cuphead clinked their heads together.

 “Bro, stop stealing my lines I get it!” Mugman’s milk boiled and he was gripping his fists.

 “We can keep playing that game you like baby bro!” Cuphead pinched Mugman’s cheek.

 “Cupheaaad!” Mugman growled as his face started to puff like a pufferfish and blush.

 “And best of all, I can keep booping your nose whenevah I want.” Cuphead positioned his index finger in front of Mugman’s big blue nose while the latter’s furious eyes focused on it. “Boop!!” Cuphead pressed his brother’s nose and Mugman squeezed his eyes shut as he received it.

 Fists trembling, eyes twitching with fury, body trembling, mouth scrunching, milk boiling, Mugman stared at the exit across him.

 Meanwhile, Cuphead hugged Mugman with a clink, and breathed in as he felt a sudden warmth. “Aaaah! A warm hug, deserves a warm mug. Or wait… was it the other way around? Awarmmugdeservesawarmhug… hmmm, I dunno.” He shrugged his shoulders carefree.

 Mugman’s cheeks puffed, he closed-mouth screamed, his milk boiled faster, and his face turned completely red… until he paused… and then made a long exhale which brought his entire self back to normal.

 “Alright!” Mugman held his head up and placed his fists on his hips. “Come on buddy!” Mugman grabbed Cuphead’s hand, stood up, and started walking towards the exit.

 “Hey!” Cuphead said with a pretend-surprised smile. “Where’re ya goin buddy?” He raised an eyebrow.

 “What’s it look like?” Mugman looked at Cuphead with determined eyes. “We’re goin’ tuh find Toriel and help huh (her)” He pointed towards the exit as they walked towards it.

 “But Bro!” Cuphead squeaked as he rooted his heels to the ground that started to screech as they slid while Mugman kept walking. “Toriel said that should stay put! Wouldn’t ya…” With a mischievous grin, he leaned his head forward. “Get us in trroouble?”

 Mugman’s mouth squiggled as he listened, and he started to sweat as he looked back at his brother. Then he turned his head to the direction of the exit, and found that he was one-step away from exiting the room.

 Closing his eyes, Mugman took a big inhale. “We’re not going into trouble.”

 Cuphead’s eyes widened a bit as he felt a certain familiarity in that line.

 Mugman turned his head around and smiled with confidence at Cuphead. “We’re goin’ to adventuh!”

 Cuphead’s sparkled and he gasped very very slowly at Mugman, and the latter just grinned at his brother’s reaction. Mugman looked to the exit, took a step forward, and…

 RING! RING!                                                                                

 From his right pocket, Mugman picked up the CELLPHONE and answered it.

 “Hello?” Mugman greeted with concern.

 “Hello?! Hello?!” Toriel sighed in relief. “Thank goodness you’re alright.”

 “Hey Toriel!” Mugman smiled. “Are you alright? What happened?”

 “Well, a strange white puppy kidnapped my phone… but before that, it also took my bag of flour.” Toriel said.

 “Wh-hat?!” Mugman smiled and raised an eyebrow.

 “What’s she sayin?” Smiling, Cuphead went over to Mugman’s side close to the phone.

 With a smile, Mugman moved the phone closer to Cuphead. “She said some small white puppy stole her phone AND a bag of flour.”

 “OHHH!” Cuphead giggled and yanked the phone closer to him, which Mugman didn’t mind. “We were barking at it!”

 “Ahh! That explains the puppy barking at the phone earlier.” Toriel chuckled and then sighed wishfully. “If only I had been quicker I would’ve properly snatched it right back.”

 “Ehh.” Cuphead shrugged his shoulders. “Ya win some ya lose some.”

 Mugman hummed in confusion. “Why does she have a bag of flour?”

 On Toriel’s side, she is staring into space in silence, shocked at Mugman’s suspicion. Then to shrug it off, she smiled at the phone. “I see you are sharing the CELLPHONE I gave you.”

 “Oh yes!” Cuphead and Mugman said in sync; on their side they are both leaning their non-existent ears close to the phone.

 “And you are both well-behaved!” Her voice spoke from the phone.

 “Yeah!” The boys said in sync again with big smiles.

 “I guess…” Cuphead interjected while slyly looking away.

 Mugman snickered at Cuphead’s reaction.

 “And you are both still in the same room!” Toriel said sprightly.

 “Still in the same room… room… room…” The words echoed into Mugman’s head for a bit… and then his eyes bugged out, and his frown opened slowly as he started to gasp very slowly. Meanwhile, Cuphead’s smile gradually grew even bigger up to his cheeks as his eyes watching Mugman’s reaction gradually narrowed.

 “Hello?” Toriel called. “Are you still there my children?”

 Cuphead yoinked the phone out of pale-eyed jaw-dropped Mugman. “Yeah Toriel, we’re still in the room!”

 Unmoving, Mugman’s eyes slid to his right staring in horror at Cuphead and squeaked in shock noticing his lie.

 Toriel sighed. “That’s a relief. You are such good children!!”

 “Good children! Good children! Good children!” Toriel’s voice echoed through Mugman’s thoughts and his squeaky gasping turned into dreadful moaning, while Cuphead’s snickering turned into giggling.

 “So good, that you deserve three stars!... If I can give you that is.” Toriel sighed wishfully. “Especially you Mugman, I know how much you love puzzles, but they would be too dangerous to solve them by yourself.”

 Cuphead giggled and patted Mugman’s shoulder. “Yeah! They would be too dangerous for ya… baby bro.” He clinked his head against Mugman’s.

 Glaring at his brother, Mugman growled, tightening his fists while his milk boiled.

 “Thank you so much for being so very patient my dear children. Just wait a bit longer. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Be good, alright?” Toriel said.

 “Okay! Bye Toriel!” Cuphead ended the call with a beep and put the phone in his pcoekt. Then he squealed in excitement while looking at horrified Mugman and hugged him.

 “I…” Mugman’s squeaky voice spoke in horror. “I did a bad thing…”

 “I know!!!” Cuphead cuddled Mugman’s face. “You make so proud bro I love you!” He beamed.

 Moaning, groaning, Mugman just slowly curled himself into a ball on the floor and cried while smiley “wheeee!” cheering Cuphead kept hugging as he was brought along to the floor.

 Cuphead leaned closer to Mugman’s non-existent ear. “Welcome to the dark side buddy.”

 Mugman curled even further into his ball just cried, and Cuphead just cuddled him. In the midst of his crying, Mugman roared and roughly pushed Cuphead away.

 “Hey!” Cuphead glared at Mugman and then rolled his eyes. “Fine. Be that way.”

 Cuphead stood up, looked forward, and then gasped. About five feet away across the exit, a bed row of red leaves laid and glimmered in golden sparkles to the eyes of Cuphead. As he looked at them, his eyes glimmered with golden sparkles too. In such beaming excitement he jumped to the air, ran midair pedaling his feet in place three times and then dashed diving to the bed of red leaves. He bubbly laughed as he rolled around, spread his arms and legs and waved them on the leaves as if he were making a leaf angel.

 Meanwhile, Mugman was still sobbing miserably trying to curl deeper into his ball; he made a puddle of tears next to him.

 Cuphead popped his head out of the leaves like a party popper with leaves for confetti and looked at the miserable Mugman next to the tear puddle. “Come on bro! Adventaaaaahhhh!!” He whispered the last word loudly as he made threw a rainbow curve of red leaves above his head.

 Mugman moaned and cried even louder.

 With a goofy giggle, Cuphead scooped up a pile of leaves into his arms, and stretched his arms like a cartoon about three feet longer over to Mugman. “Adventah!” He whispered loudly as he dumped the pile of leaves onto Mugman’s head.

 Mugman groaned irritated and his blue eyes visibly glared through the gaps between the leaves back at Cuphead. Cuphead’s hands, which were still stretched out, picked up a handful of leaves from the leaf pile on Mugman’s head and loudly whispered “Adventuhhhh!!!” while he sprinkled leaves three times on the floor making a trail that led to himself.

 With a blank stare at his brother, Mugman pushed himself up a little, letting the remaining bundle of leaves fall off his face and some on his head milk.

 Cuphead scooped up a bundle of leaves into his arms and then threw them up while spreading his arms to make rainbow shaped leaves and opening his mouth wide letting them fall into his throat, which he choked on and coughed out by punching his chest. He stared awkwardly at Mugman, and then suddenly spread his arms while smiling confidently and said “Adventuh!!”

 Stubbornly, a smile crept up to Mugman’s face, and he couldn’t help but snicker into a giggle. Cuphead smiled more mischievously as he caught Mugman smiling.

 Mugman pushed himself up and ran towards Cuphead tackling him down as they both bubbly laughed in the rustling leaves.

 Mugman sighed. “Well, no going back now I guess…” He scratched the back of his head.

 “A-hand miss out on all the fun?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow and folded his arms with a snarky smile.

 Mugman brought out a shy but happy smile. “N-nah.” He giggled sheepishly.

 “Then raise your right hand and accept your initiation.” Cuphead raised his right hand and knelt properly.

 Mugman raised an eyebrow. “Initiation?”

 “Yeah!” Cuphead beamed. “I mean, no matter what, yer stickin with me!” He pointed his thumb to himself. “And ya might as well take in the spirit of adventah with ya and not be some stick in the mud!”

 “Hey!” Mugman glared and smiled at this conclusion. “I’m just-!”

 “Yeah I know, I know Mugs.” Cuphead pushed his ‘chill out’ hands. “It’s how ya bail us out every time, but ya also gotta enjoy life tuh the fullest, ya know what I mean bud?”

 With a shy smile, Mugman looked at the corner of his eyes understanding Cuphead’s point of view, and then nodded with a big smile.

 “Then, raise yer right hand!” Cuphead said raising his voice as he raised his right hand.  

 With a beaming and giggling smile, Mugman raised his right hand.

 “I, (state your full name)”. Cuphead held his head proud.

 Mugman chuckled. “I, Mugman…” His eyes shifted left and right while his right cheek gradually cringed up in confusion. “Kettle?”

 Cuphead’s eyes widened, his smiley mouth gaped open, and then he let out a snickering laugh.

 Mugman giggled and blushed a little. “Th-that was a guess…” He began to touch his fingers shyly.

 Cuphead heaved. “Are ya sayin’ grandpa’s first name was Elder?” He, and Mugman, laughed out loud. “Like when he was a baby people called him ‘Baby Elder’?”

 Cuphead and Mugman hollered in laughter.

 “Well…” Mugman looked at the corner of his eyes. “Didn’t people used to call me baby MugMan?” He smiled with his right cheek cringed as he thought it was a bad pun.

 “Ahhh, good point good point.” Cuphead nodded. “But which one are you??”

 Mugman just raised his shoulders smiling shyly and they both just laughed.

 “So…” Mugman raised an eyebrow and looked to his right. “Am I gonna repeat everythin’ ya just said or are ya?... ya know.” He shyly pointed a finger at Cuphead as if he was hinting ‘say something else’.

 Cuphead’s mouth ‘o’ed in realization and then grinned mischievously with his eyes narrowed at Mugman.

 Smiling and widening his eyes, Mugman moaned while his arms shivered in fluster. “Cupheeaaaaadd!” He sighed. “Me and my big wit.” He said while looking at the lower corner of his eyes.

 Cuphead laughed, and then raised his right hand. “I, Cuphead Kettle.” He winked twice.

 They both giggled.

 “I, Mugman Kettle.” Mugman raised his right hand.

 “Promise to risk my life, including gambling my soul, facing meanies and monsters, and getting my butt kicked all for the sake of fun and adventuah!” He looked back at Mugman with a big smile on his face.

 Eyes twitching in tension, shoulders shuddering, and frowning, Mugman looked back at Cuphead quite scared. “Nnnnoooo?”

 “Uh-uh Mugs.” Cuphead shook his head. “The spirit of ‘Adventahh!’” He said ‘Adventahh’ in a loud whispering voice while sprinkling leaves on himself. “Compels ya to say yes without hesitation.”

 “Bro, I’m pretty sure that if we didn’t fall to the underground we would’a went flyin’ in space with Hilda and Djimmi.” Mugman shrugged his shoulders.

 Cuphead hummed and tapped his tinking chin. “Yyyeahhh… but we wouldn’ have met Toriel.”

 Mugman groaned. “True but…” He sighed and splayed his explaining hands. “Look, I just got a better reason, can ya just hear me out?” He smiled sheepishly.

 With a smile, Cuphead huffed and folded his arms. “Alright, but I don’t see what’s bettah.”

 “Well…” Mugman touched his index fingers together. “I’d do it ‘cause… I’d be with my bro.”

 Cuphead’s eyes widened and he felt a warm hug wrap around the little heart in his chest.

 Mugman raised an eyebrow. “What? It’s always an adventah with my best buddy around.” He blushed a little and touched his index fingers together.

 Cuphead smiled endearingly and then rolled his eyes. “Why do ya always have tuh make things icky?”

 Starting with a hum, Mugman giggled while his eyes looked down.

 Cuphead sighed. “Alright alright.” He cleared his throat. “I, Mugman Kettle, promise to… whatever icky thing ya said.”

 Mugman laughed. “Be a true bro to my bro.”

 Cuphead’s smile squiggled and his eyes started to water. He inhaled. “All for the sake of fun and adventah.” He scooped up a bunch of leaves and raised it above Mugman’s head.

 Mugman giggled. “All for the sake of fun and adventah.” He closed his eyes as he let the leaves sprinkle into his head milk like cereal. He then opened his eyes to Cuphead. “And…” He held out his hand. “Our cupbrohood.”

 Cuphead’s squiggly smile widened to the point the ends of his mouth almost touched his squinting eyes. Tears started to pour down from his face. “And…” He sniffled. “Our cupbrohood…” He took Mugman’s hand.

 All of a sudden, a yellow star between their hands sparkled only for an instant and the brothers gasped as they noticed.

 “Whoa! What was that?!” Mugman’s mouth ‘o’ed in surprise.

 “It’s…” Still with his squiggly smile, Cuphead sniffled and his eyes watered even more. “It’s the power of our cupbrohood.”

 Mugman gasped and his eyes started to water, his shiny affectionate slightly shivering pupils started to enlarge, and he locked eyes with Cuphead who was looking back with the same matching enlarged shiny affectionate slightly shivering pupils. They looked at each other, their mouths started to tremble, and so did their arms wanting a hug.

 “AUUUGGH!!” Cuphead grabbed the rims of his cup head. “I CAN’T TAKE IT C’MERE!” He spread his arms wide inviting a hug.

 They both tackled each other into a growly bear hug like ‘MMMMMMMMRRRRRRMMMmmmm!!” and they roughly cradled each other.

 “Just… don’t. Say. The L-word.” Cuphead said while squeezing his eyes shut.

 Mugman squeezed his eyes shut too and tightened his hug. “I love you bro.”

 “EAUHEAUGHEAUGHEAUGHEAGH!!!” Cuphead yelled.

 Mugman snorted into bubbly laughter, keeping his chin stable on Cuphead’s shoulder while Cuphead just kept on making funny vomiting noises.

 Suddenly a frog-like monster hopped close, and Cuphead and Mugman gasped while they flinched away from the frog while looking at it side-by-side, without breaking their hug.

 *RIBBIT!* The frog-like monster stared at the two with all of its four eyes; two on its head, and two on its abdomen which kept rolling its pupils around.

 The hearts on Cuphead and Mugman’s chests started to visibly glow from within, and the boys gasped as they noticed.

 “Whoa! Okay uhh, heyya fella!” Cuphead waved a hand at the frog-like monster and then looked at Mugman. “Say hi bro.” He shook Mugman’s shoulder.

 Mugman chuckled nervously and waved a hand. “Hey uh… Ribbey and Croaks’ cuzin lookalike… sir.”

 The frog-like monster squeaked in alarm, then scrunched its eyebrows in anger, and then hopped towards the boys, who then screamed and scrambled out of the way. On opposite sides, Mugman and Cuphead turned around to see the frog monster standing and sticking onto the wall. It looked to its left eyeing at Mugman, who shivered as he was noticed. The frog leapt to Mugman and the latter screamed and trembled while his straw turned into an exclamation point. Then, Mugman dashed to the right where Cuphead was, leaving behind a white dust cloud that the frog monster leapt through.

 Mugman scrambled to a stand by Cuphead who watched him in worry. After landing on the spot where Mugman left a dust cloud, the frog monster hop-turned towards the boys and croaked his mouth open, unleashing a small swarm of four or five flies flying towards the boys. The boys screamed in alarm with their bodies shivering and their straws turning into exclamation points. They ducked the flies to the point that their chins almost touched the ground, but the flies stopped, and then flew back towards the boys’ behinds.

 “YEOW!” Cuphead and Mugman leapt to the air covering their bitten bums.

 “ALRIGHT THAT’S IT!” Cuphead hastily landed on his feet, dashed to the frog monster and pointed his finger right in front of frog monster towards his face and it squeaked in shock. “YA TRY THAT AGAIN AND I’LL BLOW YOUR FACE UP!!” Cuphead looked at the frog monster furiously.

 The frog was trembling, its mouth more squiggled, and its eyes was quickly shifting between Cuphead and his glowing blue finger gun.

 At first, Mugman’s eyes were stern and angry, but then they creased into concern. “Whoa, whoa!” He ran over to Cuphead’s side and gently pushed Cuphead’s finger gun down, and then stepped towards the frog with open arms. “Heya chum, ya look kinda shaken there. You okay?”

 Trembling, the frog looked at Mugman’s hands, then at his kind smile, then switched back and forth.

 Watching his brother, Cuphead released his glowing finger gun and smiled.

 “C’mere froggy buddy.” Mugman wiggled his ‘come here’ fingers twice.

 The frog croaked and scrunched its eyebrows. “I am not a froggy buddy!” Its rough and croaky voice spoke.

 Cuphead and Mugman’s eyes widened, and they leaned their heads back.

 “Oh-kay?” Mugman slid his eyes at Cuphead who snickered. “That was anti-climactic.”

 He leaned in next to Mugman’s shoulder, cupped his left hand like a megaphone to his mouth, and said “Shut down!”

 Mugman grumbled as he glared annoyed at Cuphead who giggled back in reaction.

 “And I-!” The frog placed one of its webbed feet on its chest and it made a croak. “Am not a Ribbey or a Croak! I am a Froggit!” The Froggit slammed down its foot to the floor and made a croak again. “Don’t you humans know it’s rude to call people names when-!” It made a croak again. “You haven’t even asked?!” It croaked again.

 “Oh…” Mugman covered his mouth in realization, but then he lowered his hand and smiled. “Sorry there Mr. Froggit.”

 “Hey!” Cuphead put his fists on his hips. “That ain’t an excuse to be attackin’ us like that. That kinda hurt.” He rubbed his bottom a bit.

 From an angry glare, The Froggit’s eyes creased and it croaked gently. “I am terribly sorry boys. There’s some candy beyond that door over there.” It nudged its head to its upper left towards the dark tall doorway a few distance behind itself. “As a token of my apologies.”

 Cuphead and Mugman gasped with starry eyes staring at the doorway. “CANDY?!” Their salivating tongues stuck out splattering spit in random circular directions.

 Mugman’s stomach grumbled very loudly, and both of them looked at it in surprise.

 Looking at Mugman, Cuphead giggled. “C’mon!!” He took the hand of happy Mugman and they ran through the doorway together.

 Inside, between two rivers flowing next to the ends of the side walls, stood a short Greek pillar that had a gray bowl of glossy sparkly rainbow-colorful jellybeans. The boys’ pupils glimmered and reflected the bowl of rainbow jellybeans. They licked their lips with their giant ‘Scooby-Doo’ tongues, and then dashed to the bowl leaving two white clouds of smoke.

 They eached grabbed two fistfuls of candy and began munching on them with loud “AMMNAMNAMNAM!” noises; Mugman was alternating his munches between the candy on his left and right hands, while Cuphead was shooting balls of candy into his open-wide mouth like they were basketballs and clamped his mouth shut whenever he shot one in.

 With closed eyes and a big closed-mouth smile, Cuphead rubbed his belly and licked his lips at the taste of the delicious candy. He poised his hands to grab more, when suddenly Mugman swiped the bowl for himself.

 “Hey!” With scrunched eyebrows, Cuphead glared at Mugman.

 Like a ‘cha-ching’ chiming cash register, Mugman’s jaw dropped three-times-lower than a human mouth possibly could, and began to pour the entire bowl of candy to his open mouth.

 Cuphead’s shocked open-mouth gradually smiled in amazement and he laughed out loud. “Waitwait, Imma help ya with that!”

 Rushing over to Mugman, Cuphead held the base of the bowl and kept pouring the seemingly infinite waterfall of candy to Mugman’s inflating and bloating mouth. While pouring, Cuphead interjected his open mouth into the stream of candy, and after gathering a regular mouthful he went out of the way to chew and pour some more candy to Mugman. Finally, the bowl was empty, and Cuphead shook the bowl making sure none was left. Then, he tapped Mugman’s jaw, and it shut like a cash register with a ‘CHING!’

 Mugman chewed the candy in his jumbo chipmunk-filled mouth’ his smile was showing with his saliva and the disgustingly masticated candy rolling around his mouth and being crushed by his teeth. After a few good rounds of chomping, with closed eyes, they both gulped down their giant lumps of candy down their throats, rubbed their giant bellies, and exhaled in satisfaction with a loud whispering “Ahhhhh!”

 Cuphead’s belly was only as big as a ball, while Mugman’s body was as big as a giant pumpkin’s.

 “Still hungry buddy?” Cuphead opened his eyes to Mugman.

 With a big smile, Mugman shook his face and then licked his lips with his giant ‘Scooby-Doo’ tongue while drumming his belly.

 Cuphead laughed. He winked and pointed his finger at Mugman. “Now all we gotta do is stick ya on a stick, put ya over a spit, and turn ya ‘til yer roasted!”

 “Hey!” Mugman smiled with a raised eyebrow and put his fists on his hips. “What do I look like, a pig?” Then he snorted like a pig, and he gasped. “Uh oh.”

 For a few seconds Cuphead tried to hold back his laugh behind his squiggly smile and teary eyes, until he unleashed a large holler of cackling laughter that echoed through the halls. In reaction, Mugman blushed, smiled sheepishly, touched his index fingers repeatedly and instead looked away towards the pillar that held the bowl.

 At the frieze of the pillar, right below the cornice, was a stone placard with a carved text in it.

 “Take One.” Mugman narrowed his eyes as he read it a second time, then nodded at it with a smile, and then looked away casually…. Then, in shock, his body jolted to a stand and his eyes widened at the same time, and he snapped his eyes back at the plate.

 ‘TAKE’… ‘ONE’. Mugman’s eyes looked at each individual word.

 Mugman heaved a very slow gasp as if he was out of air while he stared at the text with his pale-white eyes.

 Cuphead approached Mugman, looked at his brother with a raised eyebrow, and then at the placard his brother was staring at. For a moment, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the placard, until he gasped with a big smile, and cackled so villainously (the kind that lightning would follow) as he slowly turned his gaze at Mugman.

 A tear dropped from Mugman’s right eye. “Wh-what… what have I done…” His body chubby body trembled and then shrunk back to its regular size.

 Two hands clasped to Mugman’s shoulders making him squeak in fright, but then those hands massaged those shoulders. “You have done well…” From the shadows, villainously laughing Cuphead’s face emerged and he positioned his mouth closer to Mugman’s ear. “My apprentice.” His voice was cunning and creaky like the door of a haunted house.

 Mugman took a deep inhale and closed his eyes while teardrops flowed out of them. “I’m sorry Elder Kettle.” He whispered.  

 In the surface far far away, he could hear Elder Kettle’s scream echo to the air. “YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!”

 More tears streamed down Mugman’s face, his slimy cold ran down his nose, and he sobbed with such dread at what he had become, while Cuphead, with now his normal body, just bubbly laughed at Mugman’s priceless face.

 Cuphead buddy-hugged Mugman. “Bro, it’s no big deal, you were hungry and you had no brekkie this mornin’.”

 Mugman sniffled. “Brekkie?...”

 “Yeah ya know…” Cuphead looked at the corner of his eyes in thought. “Pancakie for brekkie cuz you were hungry!” He looked at Mugman with a big grin.

 With the same gloomy eyes, Mugman stared at Cuphead in silence, and suddenly a snicker broke out from his squiggly mouth. “Stop that I still feel awful right now!” Mugman pushed cackling Cuphead away and folded his arms as he resumed his sobbing. “And that’s not even a word!” He snapped back at Cuphead.

 “Uhh, yeah it is!” Cuphead placed his fists on his hips and tilted his head on one side.

 “No it’s not!” Mugman punched his fists down.

 “Uhh, yeah it is!” Cuphead tilted his head again. “It’s said by those people from the down under.” He gasped, his eyes widened, and he smiled wider. “Or…” His eyes slyly looked towards Mugman.

 “Noooohuhooo!” Mugman stomped his feet.

 Cuphead snickered. “The underground!”

 Mugman growled and stomped his feet repetitively.

 Cuphead giggled just pulled his brother for a clink. “Bro, if it makes ya feel any bettah, I helped ya do it, so ya never did it on yer own.”

 Mugman gasped. “I-I didn’t?” He smiled.

 Humming an ‘uh-uh’, Cuphead shook his head and shook his brother’s shoulder. “You were starving, I wouldn’t let that happen to ya.”

 “Aww.” Mugman wiped a tear. “Thanks bro.”

 Suddenly, they both gasped, their straws extended vertically straight accompanied with a ‘DING!’ bell sound. “Ohhh…” They smiled at each other. “So that’s what it feels like!”

 “Jinx!” Cuphead booped Mugman’s nose again for a moment. “Ha! Ya owe me two hotdogs!” He held two fingers.

 Mugman gasped. “Heeey!” He smiled and folded his arms. “No fair, you ruined the moment!”

 “Uh-uh!” Cuphead wagged his finger. “Jinxing is non-biased and is unmerciful. No bro moment can be your saving grace here bro.”

 Mugman rolled his eyes. “Fine, ya win.”

 “Yes!” With closed eyes, Cuphead pumped his fist.

 They both turned around and walked towards the doorway behind them.

 “I like my hotdogs hot and spicy.” Cuphead formed a pinch using his thumb and index finger.

 Mugman smirked. “Ya like anythin’ spicy.”

 “Duh, cuz they’re hot. Like me.” He pointed his thumb to himself while smiling with his million-dollar smile.

 Mugman licked his finger and touched Cuphead’s right cheek.

 “Tsss!” They both said as if imitating the sound of steam.

 “Jinx!” Mugman yelled.

 Cuphead widened his eyes and his mouth o’ed in surprise, and then he shut his eyes, covered his face, and shouted at the thrill of losing.

 Mugman giggled. “Karma.” His voice bounced on the walls as they passed through the doorway.

 “Yeah yeah.” Cuphead lightly punched on Mugman’s arm and the latter giggled.

 Suddenly, the Froggit croaked, waiting by the right of the doorway. “Did you boys like the candy? You look pretty stuffed after taking one each.”

 The boys’ pupils shrunk. Mugman’s mouth started to scrunch and he started to tremble and sweat.

 “Y-yeah!” Cuphead’s trembling right hand made a thumbs-up and then he held it in place with his left hand to stop it from shaking. “It was really sweeeet!”

 The Froggit croaked. “I hope it makes up for our awkward incident awhile back.”

 “Aww.” Mugman smiled sweetly.

 Cuphead giggled. “No probby Froggy.” He placed his fists on his hips.

 “And…” The Froggit croaked and all four of its eyes looked at their lower corners in a moment’s thought. “I’d like to have that hug now.”

 Mugman gasped while he covered his big open mouth while Cuphead just smiled. Slightly uncovering his mouth, Mugman grinned at Cuphead and the latter just nudged his elbow with his own elbow and nodded his head at the former.

 Bubbly giggling, Mugman circled behind the frog with open arms. “Come here froggy buddy.” He picked up the frog in a hug.

 The Froggit squeaked in surprise as he was squeezed, and with all four eyes, he looked at Mugman above. Eventually, the Froggit’s eyes half closed, its crooked mouth smiled, and it closed all four eyes.

 With his head tilted slightly to the right, Cuphead smiled proudly at Mugman with his fists on his hips. He sighed regretfully, wanting to keep watching. “Come on bro. We’ve gotta find Toriel.”

 Mugman put down the Froggit and then ran over to Cuphead.

 The Froggit croaked twice. “Before you leave…” Its four eyes opened looking at the boys. “I have some advice about the rest of the monsters.”

 After a brief look at each other, the boys leaned closer, hands on knees, to the frog and smiled at it attentively.  

 “If you act a certain way, or fight them until they are almost defeated… then they may not want to fight you anymore. And if they do, please…” The Froggit closed all his four eyes. “Have some mercy on them, boys.” The Froggit ended with a croak.

 “Ohh!” Mugman’s eyes widened in realization.

 “Uhh… What did he say?” With a raised eyebrow, Cuphead scratched his cheek.

 “He doesn’t want us to hurt the other monsters here.” Mugman splayed his explaining hand.

 The Froggit croaked and hopped closer to the boys. “Can you do that, please?”

 The boys smiled at each other, and then at the Froggit. “Okay.” They nodded.

 The Froggit raised its closed right webbed foot, which was like a fist, reached for Mugman’s hand (which Mugman generously lent) with the other foot/hand, and dropped a clinking thing onto it (a clink which made Cuphead’s eyes widen). When the Froggit pulled back his hand, two gold coins were left on Mugman’s palm.

 Mugman and Cuphead gasped, though for Cuphead it was a very lengthy gasp of surprise with his pupils reflecting the shiny coins, and Mugman eyed Cuphead’s reaction with cringed up worried cheeks.

 “Take care boys.” The Froggit croaked.

 “Oh we will! C’mon Mugs!” Cuphead grabbed Mugman’s hand and ran off.

 “Whoa! B-bye Mr. Froggit!” Mugman waved as he was pulled to the direction behind them.

 The Froggit croaked and waved goodbye.

 The boys ran past a pile of read leaves on their right.

 “C’mon Mugs! We gotta earn more coooooiiinnss!!” Cuphead’s pupils changed into gold coins.

 “Whoa, whoa!” Mugman raised an eyebrow as he ran with Cuphead. “Being nice doesn’t always get us paid bro.”

 “Oh? Watcha call that?” Cuphead smirked as he pointed at the gold coins Mugman was holding.

 “Uhh…” Mugman looked at his coins with a sweat drop on his head and a raised eyebrow. "Ummm…” He bit his lower lip.

 “Yeah, exactly. C’mon, if we keep being nice to them we can get rich in no time!” Cuphead ran faster as they turned left to the next room, away from another leaf pile on the right.

 Mugman snorted. “That’s just silly, that’s not how things work. WHOA!!!”

 The boys stepped on soft sandy ground which crumbled and gave way, and the boys screamed (so loud that their uvulas trembled) hugging each other for dear life as they fell.

 “UGH!” They grunted as they landed onto a soft crackling pile of something.

 Quickly, they both rose to a sit and they looked around to see some red leaves falling from their face to the rectangular bed of red leaves that they are sitting on and rustled as they moved their hands.

 With a big smile at Mugman, Cuphead sprung his open hands up in the air. “Adventuh!!”

 Mugman giggled and playfully pushed Cuphead that it knocked him over with an “Oof!” lying back onto the leaf pile, and they both shared a moment of laughter.

 *RIBBIT*

 The boys gasped, Cuphead sat up, and they looked to the right (Cuphead’s left) where the croak came from.

 Suddenly, another Froggit pounced onto Mugman, who was screaming in panic while Cuphead shivered in fright with his hands spread and his straw forming an exclamation point. Cuphead yanked Mugman away from the Froggit, while the Froggit tripped onto the leaf pile.

 Cuphead points his glowing blue gun at the Froggit. “DON’T TOUCH MY BROTHER!”

 The Froggit squeaked in fright and it began to shiver.

 After calming down from his huffing, Mugman smiled. “Aww, it just probably wanted a hug.”

 The Froggit looked at Mugman and then started to blush. It dropped something clinking and then hopped away to reveal two more gold coins.

 The boys gasped, and Cuphead smirked at Mugman while the latter just glared confused at the gold coins.

 “Oh-kay…” Mugman raised an eyebrow.

 With a big greedy smile, Cuphead picked up the coins, and then opened his hand showing them to Mugman. “Huh? Huh?” He said teasingly.

 “If only you could get paid every time you were nice to someone back at home…” Mugman folded his arms as he smiled at his brother’s accomplishments, and then sighed. “Third time, then I’ll admit I’m wrong.”

 Cuphead laughed and then pulled Mugman to the right-side door to a running and laughing start. Through the door, they climbed up a set of spiral steps leading up to a small window that they fit themselves through their feet and they landed onto the floor which had the soft ground they fell from (which apparently did not have holes), and they ran towards the next room on the right.

 Slightly to the right before them was a single rock standing in the middle of the room, a square metal plate close to the rock, and a few inches after was a row of tall metal spikes that stretched to the walls of the room barring a passage through.

 Mugman huffed, smiled, and folded his arms. “This puzzle’s easy.”

 Cuphead snickered. “Ya call this a puzzle?” He smirked as he pointed his thumb at the rock.

 They stepped forward, when suddenly-!

 *RING!* *RING!* The CELLPHONE buzzed from Cuphead’s pocket.

 Cuphead picked it up, clicked a button and brought it closer to Mugman who brought his head closer.

 “Hello?” They both said.

 “Hello? This is Toriel.” Her voice spoke from the phone.

 “Hey Toriel!” They both beamed.

 “For no reason in particular, which do you prefer? Cinnamon or Butterscotch?” She asked politely.

 Cuphead and Mugman licked their lips.

 “Cinnamon!” Cuphead said at the same time.

“Butterscotch!” Mugman said at the same time.

 The brothers gasped and looked at each other as they realized they said different things, and then smiled at each other. “Cinnamon AND butterscotch! Jinx!” They pointed their finger guns at each other.

 “Ahh! I see!” Toriel hummed in thought. “Thank you very much!”

 The phone call ended with a beep. Cuphead put the phone back in his pocket and they both stepped forward until-

 *RING!* *RING!* The phone rang again, surprising both the boys, and Cuphead, after a groan, picked the phone, answered it, and brought it closer to Mugman who looked at it confused.

 “Hello?” They asked, more confused; Cuphead had a fist on his hip, while Mugman just brought his non-existent ear closer.

 “Hello! This is Toriel! Umm…” She paused. “Are you sure you boys… wouldn’t mind sharing the two flavors?”

 “No, we wouldn’t.” They said a little annoyed.

 “Well, I had to make sure because… I know you’re brothers and… It would be awful if you would fight over it and then turn up your nose if ever you found it on your plate.” She hummed in thought.

 “Watcha makin Toriel?” Mugman asked with a smile, which Cuphead smiled at too after listening.

 Toriel paused for a good long seconds. “Oh! That’s... nothing special. Thank you for being patient by the way!”

 The call ended with a beep.

 Mugman got the phone and put it in his pocket.

 “Watcha think she’s makin?” Cuphead smirked.

 “Hmm, bag of flour…” Mugman unfolded his index finger as he counted. “Cinnamon…” He unfolded his ring finger (no middle finger). “Butterscotch…” He unfolded his pinky. “Hmmm…” He tapped his tinking chin. “I think she’s bakin’.” He looked at Cuphead.

 Cuphead slurpily licked his lips.

 Mugman giggled. “I know. Thanks.” He started walking to the rock.

 Cuphead glared at Mugman as he started to walk too. “Hey, I didn’t say anythin’.”

 Mugman shrugged his shoulders. “Well, deep down you’re grateful.”

 Cuphead playfully pushed Mugman and the latter just giggled.

 Together they pushed the rock forward, not that they needed to, but it was out of habit of doing something together, and they didn’t mind. Once the rock reached the square metal plate, the spikes loudly sheathed themselves below the floor. Then, something fluttered near them.

 It had a ghost-shaped body, two transparent insect wings flapping on its back, two dropping antennae, slits for eyes, an upside down triangular mouth, and two thin arms and feet. “Oh… my…” It whimpered.

 Cuphead beamed and waved at the flying monster. “Hiya-!”

 “OHH!” Flinching backwards, the insect monster covered its mouth with its arms. “OHHHHHH!!!!” It flew away sobbing and leaving a trail of tears.

 Cuphead creased his eyebrows and reached his hand for the monster. “Heeeey! Wha-!” He sighed.

 “Aww.” Mugman looked at it pitifully as it flew out of the room. “It’s so sensitive!”

 Cuphead’s dilated and trembled. “My… money…”

 Eyes narrowing half-closed, Mugman glared at Cuphead with an open mouth. “Seriously?”

 A tear dropped from Cuphead’s eye, and he sniffled.

 Mugman snickered. “Aww, baby bro…”

 Realizing what he said, Mugman’s eyes widened and his smile opened wide in realization, while Cuphead’s eyes widened, his jaw slowly dropped opened in surprise, and his head slowly turned to Mugman. Holding back his laughter inside his mouth, Mugman bit his lower lip, covered his mouth with his giddy knuckles, and started to tear up of such fun.

 Cuphead’s open mouth started to smirk, and his upper eyelids closed into a sly stare. “What did’ja call me?” He rolled up his black sleeves, revealing his white arms.

 Mugman started to titter, tears poured down his eyes, his entire body trembled of laughter, and he bit his lower lip more trying not to laugh. “Y-you…” Mugman said as Cuphead stepped towards him, and Mugman lowered his knuckles to his chin while he shrank. “You have a soft spot…” He closed his eyes for a moment and bit his lower lip more, then opened to see Cuphead towering over him and wiggling his claw fingers. “… Baby bro!” He booped Cuphead’s tiny nose.

 With a big open mouth mischievous smile, Cuphead growled in a “RRRAGH!” and he attempted to pounce Mugman to the ground but the latter, after a shivering with such thrill, ducked below Cuphead, and the former instead landed onto the ground.

 With a bubbly, hysterical, and loud cackle, tears flying out of his eyes, and arms forward, Mugman sprinted for the exit over the spikes, but not before smiley and loud growling Cuphead tried to grab for Mugman’s legs only for Mugman to jump over Cuphead and make it over the spikes.

 “C’MERE!!!” Cuphead pushed himself up and chased after Mugman with a war shout of his own.

 Teary-eyed flailing-arms Mugman screamed and laughed for dear life (with some pig-snorting in between) as he ran through the narrow hallway away from smiling, snarling, and war shouting Cuphead. He turned to the right where the path was two-times wider, but he stepped into a spot of floor that immediately gave way and his scream of giddy laughter turned into terror as he fell flailing his arms around trying to grab something. Meanwhile, as Cuphead approached, he saw the hole that Mugman fell in, and then dove in headfirst with a big confident smile on his face.

 Mugman landed on his bum on a bed of crinkling red leaves with an “Ugh!” He looked up, and screamed in a “WAAAGHAHA!” with his straw turning into an exclamation point as he saw war-shouting smiling Cuphead diving after Mugman with arms held out ready to catch him. Scream of terror turning into giddy teary-eyed laughter, Mugman jumped up, pedaled the air three times with his legs, and then dashed out of the way before Cuphead landed with an “Ooof!” face-front onto the bed of leaves.

 Bubbly and hysterically laughing, Mugman stepped onto a thin bed of red leaves in the middle and then proceeded to run further, but then he saw a sign on the left and looked at it as his laughter calmed down into giggles. He read the sign “Please don’t step on-! JIMINY CRICKET!!!” As he looked to his left, he saw Cuphead sprinting after Mugman and he ran away towards the wall ahead, but also towards a couple of Froggits that noticed the boys.

 Mugman jumped over the first Froggit while he ducked the second which attempted to pounce on him. “CUTE FROGGITS! NICE FROGGITS!” He said as if he was trying to convince himself they were harmless.

 The Froggits squeaked and blushed as they looked at Mugman.

 “MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGS!” Cuphead war-shouted with his big smile as jump-tumbled over the Froggits who threw a total of five coins above them, and Cuphead snatched them with the straw-hand in the air as he tumbled. “THANK YOU!”

 The wall ahead was a dead end, and hysterically screaming and laughing Mugman turned around with his hands clinging to the wall to see Cuphead charging after him. Mugman ran to the left corner of the wall where the leaf bed was, picked up two fistfuls of leaves and threw them at Cuphead, but the latter just swatted them away.

 “END OF THE LINE YA MUGHEAD!” Cuphead wiggled his fingers at the ready.

 Cuphead attempted to catch Mugman in his arms, but Mugman ducked under the former’s legs (to which the former looked between his legs to see Mugman), bumped his butt against Cuphead’s knocking him over to the bed of leaves (to which Cuphead reacted in an “Ooof!”), and hysterically laughed with more snorts as he ran away. Taking a moment to smile in an ‘It’s on!’ way, Cuphead pushed himself up, turned around and continued the chase.

 Mugman sprinted through the red leaves, ignoring a seemingly zigzag path around the leaves, turned right, and then left running towards the door in the right which led to a set of stairs to the upper floor.

 On the upper floor, hysterically laughing Mugman popped out of a small window, landed onto the floor he fell from earlier, ran to his left to the spot on the floor where he saw a hole was, paused before the hole, and stepped onto the floor left of the hole, but it too gave way and he fell down bubbly screaming with a few bits of laughter towards the same red pile of leaves below. He popped his head above the leaves and saw that the room was empty.

 “I’M COMING MUGS!!” Cuphead’s screaming voice echoed from the stairs on the door, followed by footsteps that were running up.

 Mugman got up and hurried to read the sign he missed earlier (all while stepping on the crinkling leaves). “Please don’t step on the leaves. WHOA!” He looked around terrified to see the red leaves all around him.

 From the ceiling, Cuphead was bubbly screaming and laughing as he fell down to the bed red crinkling leaves a bit distant from fearfully looking Mugman… but then the latter raised an eyebrow.

 “Huh?” Mugman scratched his head in confusion.

 Mugman recalled that they’ve fallen at least two times each on the red leaves, but nothing happened to them.

 Meanwhile, Cuphead pushed himself off the bed of red leaves and playfully snarled as he ran towards Mugman, who then began to joyfully scream and run away to the wall again.

 “Oh no! Oh no!” The same ghost-like monster suddenly appeared and was watching them nearby.

 “RAGH!” Cuphead made a pounce for Mugman with a scary face that had his tongue out, but instead he had jumped over the monster.

 “AAAAGH!” The ghost-like monster screamed and covered itself as it shivered, but also dozens of clones of the ghost-bug monster flew out of it and fluttered towards the boys. In echoing “AAAGH!” “AAAAGH!” screams.

 Fluttering like butterflies, the ghost-bug monsters surrounded the boys both in a big circle, and Mugman stopped running before he could touch the ring. Cuphead looked around too noticing the ring, but smiled villainously as he noticed Mugman was trapped in the same ring as he was. Mugman screeched and shivered with the thrill of being trapped with the last person he wants to be. Cuphead ran towards Mugman and attempted to catch him with his arms, but the latter ducked it and ran away to the other side of the ring. Cuphead ran to catch Mugman, but the latter grabbed jumped over Cuphead, pushing his brother’s shoulders in the process for a boost, and Cuphead just gasped.

 “HEY! COME BACK HERE!” Cuphead yelled as he chased.

 Cuphead continued to swipe his arms at hysterically laughing Mugman who either ducked, jumped, or slid under his legs just to avoid getting caught by the former all while avoiding the fluttering ring of butterfly-like monsters surrounding them. At one point, Cuphead managed to catch Mugman in an arms-locked-tight hug from behind, which the latter reacted with an excited hysterical laugh and intense kicking to the air (meanwhile the butterfly-like monsters revolved around the boys faster accidentally complimenting the scene). However, using his trapped hands, Mugman poked Cuphead’s stomach and it caused the latter to laugh, and the tickles weakened Cuphead’s grip onto Mugman that it allowed the latter to jump out and run away again. Just then, the clones of butterfly-monsters flew back to the original monster, dissipating the ring in the process, and it allowed hysterically laughing Mugman to run away to the stairs.

 “SAVE ME! SAVE ME!” Mugman said loudly and energetically to the ghost-bug monster as he ran past it.

 “Ohhh! You’re playing!!...” The ghost-bug monster said as two coins fell from the monster to the floor. “P-please don’t hurt the other Whimsuns!” She said to Mugman.

 Cuphead swiped the two coins off the floor as he ran and chased after hysterically laughing and crying Mugman.

 Mugman looked around trying to memorize the path pattern that had no red leaves while he sprinted away from Cuphead and towards the stairs leading to the upper floor again. Arriving at the upper floor, Mugman sprinted until he neared the end of the wall (avoiding the two holes that were created), and then stopped to look at the floor. Massaging his head with both his hands, Mugman imagined the layout of beds of red leaves on the floor; on his right was a wide four-by-two rectangular bed of red leaves, and far ahead was a letter-p bed with a thin stem and a very large six-by-four rectangle. He looked back to see Cuphead popping out of the small opening on the wall, and then running after him.

 His straw turning into an exclamation point, Mugman shrieked and then bubbly laughed and ran downwards the imaginary vertical clear path avoiding the four-by-two bed of red leaves, then turned right after passing the open corner of the left wall, then as soon as he reached the wall at the end of his run he turned left running to the closed right corner far ahead, avoiding the large letter P of red leaves on his left. Once he passed the rectangle, he turned left, saw Cuphead following his running direction at least, and ran straight ahead, but then suddenly remembered there was a vertical thin bed of red leaves and turned left.

 “CUPHEAD STAAAHAHAHAHAP!!” Mugman yelled.

  “I’M GONNA GET YA! I’M GONNA GET YA!” Cuphead said with a big grin as he pushed himself to try to sprint even faster than he was already going.

 Hysterically laughing Mugman just continued running forward towards the exit ahead, without realizing that he stepped onto the floor beside a single square leaf bed and fell screaming again. Again, he landed on the leaf bed below, and again, Cuphead followed headfirst falling after Mugman with his screaming war shout. And again, hysterically laughing, but now coughing and then laughing again Mugman dashed out of the way, while Cuphead, after landing on the crinkling leaves, chased after him again.

 Along the way to the stairs, they met with a few more Whimsuns, which Cuphead would scare with his warshout yelling and Mugman would just bubbly laugh while asking them to save him. The Whimsuns would recognize they were playing, but in involuntary response, they would drop a few coins, which Cuphead would catch midair with his three hands (the third being his straw).

 All while escaping Cuphead, Mugman ran in the floor pattern he memorized: four squares down and five squares left both next to the four-by-two bed, down to the lower left corner of the room, seven squares right passing the P-bed on their left and turning before the thin vertical bed, five squares up next to the P-bed, four squares right towards the red square bed on his left where he imagined was the start of the L-shaped bed (three squares towards the wall on the right and five squares down), and finally three squares down, four squares right, and four squares up circumventing the L-shaped bed then turned right to the exit.

 In the next room, three mounds of rocks stood, each with a path to a metal plate ahead, and beyond the plates was a wooden bridge standing over a river and spikes were sticking out of it. Weakly laughing Mugman ran behind the leftmost rock followed by weakly shouting Cuphead who just stopped standing on the opposite side of Mugman.

 “P-PLEHEHEASE!” Mugman panted as he walked sideways trying to maintain his opposition of villainously laughing (and panting) Cuphead who was going around the rock to get to Mugman. “STAAHAHAHAHAHAP!”

 “Uh-uh!” Cuphead giggled as he continued shifting around the rock. “You’re gonna get what ya deserve!”

 “NO FAAHEHEHEAIR!” Mugman snorted. “THE ONLY TIME I GET TUH CALL YA BABY BRO AND YOUUHUHUHUHAHA!” He heaved.

 “No, you’re the baby bro.” With a mischievous smile, Cuphead narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger at Mugman.

 “NOO YOU!” With a smile, Mugman glared and pointed his finger at Cuphead.

 “No you!” Cuphead’s smile stretched to his cheeks.

 “NOO YOU!” Mugman pounded his fists onto the rock.

 Cuphead giggled. “No… You!” Stepping on the rock with his left foot, he jumped over it and pounced on Mugman who screamed with such thrill and began laughing hysterically.

 “NOO! NOOO!” Mugman laughed as he tried to push away Cuphead multiple times, but the latter kept on trapping the former in his hug.

 “Who’s the baby bro?” Cuphead teased as he pulled Mugman up to his head-level.

 “ME! MEEE! MEEEEHEHEHE!” Mugman squeezed his eyes shut.

 “Yeah, that’s right.” Cuphead then giggled as he noogied Mugman’s opposite cheek squeezing the latter towards his own cheek.

 Mugman moaned, frowning and squeezing his eyes shut as he was feeling a bit of discomfort in giggling Cuphead’s rough noogie.

 Cuphead let go of Mugman, and looked around the room to get familiarized.

 Mugman grumbled. “Iimmm waanninuh tickun.” He mumbled as he rubbed his left elbow while looking at it.

 Cuphead’s eyes lit up, and he mischievously looked at Mugman. “What was that?”

 Mugman grinned, his body stiffened, and a sweat dropped in his head. “N-Nothing! Nothing!”

 Something made a bubbly jiggly ‘BLUB, BLUB’ sound, and the brothers looked to their left following the direction of the sound. Two green slimy jiggly jello-shaped monsters stood rolling its bodies top to bottom like swimming jellyfish.

 “Woah!” Cuphead smiled. “Check out these guys!” He pointed his thumb towards the slime monsters.

 Slightly behind, Mugman walked up by Cuphead’s side, rested his elbow on his shoulder, and smiled at the monsters. Cuphead began bending his knees, causing Mugman to wobble in surprise at the sudden gravity which the former giggled at, and then stood up again. Mugman began to imitate Cuphead by placing his hands on his hips, bending his knees and then standing, bending, standing, bending, and standing over and over.

 The slime creatures started to roll faster and more intensely, and Cuphead and Mugman, after a looking at each other for a moment with a bubbly giggle, bended and stood faster and faster in sync with the slime monsters. Then, the slime creatures began squirting out slime balls out of its heads. The slime balls landed slowly towards the boys, as if gravity wasn’t affecting it.

 The boys looked at the balls with raised eyebrows, Cuphead with more confident intrigue while Mugman had more confusion and concern. The slime balls exploded into twelve smaller sludge balls flying in a radial circle, some of which flew towards the boys, and Cuphead and Mugman gasped (the former excited while the latter scared).

 Cuphead pulled Mugman’s hand as he ran towards the right, and the latter yelled with a ‘WOAH!’.

 Watching the flying slime projectiles, bubbly laughing Cuphead kept running until they closed in.

 “GET READY TUH JUMP BUDDY!” Cuphead shouted at Mugman.

 “O-Okay!” Mugman replied.

 The slime projectile closed in and they both jumped together in a front flip/somersault evading the crisscrossing slime projectiles (without spilling any milk from their cup heads). As they landed on their feet, Cuphead and Mugman looked at each other with big smiles.

 The boys looked at the slime creatures noticing that they squiggled away from the scene leaving behind one gold coin each.

 With a smiley gasp, Cuphead’s eyes glimmered with the reflection of gold coins and he ran towards the coins while Mugman watched with a smile, folded arms, and a head shake. Cuphead picked up the coins and ran back with both his open palms shown to Mugman.

 “Huh?” With a confident smile, Cuphead brought his right hand forward showing the gold coin to giggling Mugman. “Huh?” He brought his left hand forward while pulling back his right hand. He pulled up more coins from his pocket and unfolded both his hands that were full of coins. “Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?” He brought his hands forward-backward-forward-backward-forward alternatively while showing the gold coins to Mugman who started to laugh. “Huuuuuuhh??” He sprinkled the gold coins from his right hand to the floor. Next, he made a waterfall of gold coins from his left hand by pushing them off by ones, twos, or threes with his right hand like some rich millionaire.

 Mugman laughed and laughed, and a snort was inserted at the end. “Okay okay.” He pushed his ‘stop’ hands twice. “Ya get paid for bein’ nice. I’m proud of ya.”

 On the floor picking up the coins, Cuphead snickered. “Whaddya mean yer proud of me? I’m a nice guy.” He pointed his thumb to himself.

 Mugman giggled and knelt down to help him. “Nice?” He looked at the upper corner of his eyes while humming. “Nah.” With a teasing smile he shook his head.

 “Heeey!” With a smile, Cuphead very weakly punched (which was like a push with a fist) Mugman on his right face and the latter giggled.

 “Good?” Mugman’s smile stretched to his right. “Yeah!” He nodded as he put the coins in his pocket.

 Cuphead snickered. “Ya mean good-lookin!” He winked as he put the coins in his pocket.

 Mugman laughed. “Yeah!”

 They both jumped up and shared a loud high-five.

 “That co-homeback was so cool!” Mugman’s eyes glimmered with pride as he closed his fists in excitement.

 “Pfft!” Cuphead rolled his eyes. “Aw come on, I know ya set that one up.”

 Mugman gasped. “Oh yeah I did!” He covered his smile with his right hand.

 Cuphead giggled while he rolled his eyes and shook his head at how slow Mugman can be. “Just go push that rock and let’s get outta here.” He pointed to the middle rock.

 Happy Mugman went over to the middle rock and together Cuphead and Mugman pushed the leftmost and middle rocks respectively ‘til they landed on the metal plates and could not push them anymore.

 Mugman looked at Cuphead with mischievous smile. “Ya know… ya could’ve challenged me into a rock race.”

 Cuphead’s eyes widened and he face-palmed himself. “Argh! Damn it, why didn’t ya say somethin’!”

 Mugman giggled as he ran over to the third rock. “I didn’t want ya cryin’ like a baby bro!” His giggle turned into a laugh.

 “OH YOU’RE REALLY ASKIN FOR IT!” Cuphead ran to chase Mugman again.

 Hysterically laughing Mugman hid behind the rock to attempt to juke Cuphead again until-

 “WHOA there, pardners!” A male cowboy voice spoke.

 The boys shook, stopped what they were doing and looked around.

 “Down here boys!” The cowboy voice spoke again.

 The boys looked down on the rock.

 “Yeah! Now we see each othah.” The rock spoke, its mouth moved from the bottom.

 Cuphead and Mugman screamed in fright and they hugged each other in a clink.

 “WOAH there! Didn’t mean tuh scare the milk out of ya cups!” It chuckled. “But, if it stops ya from steppin’ over me, like what the red one did on one of my pardners over there, then a rock’s gotta do what rock’s gotta do.”

 The brothers smiled at the rock and, after a surprised look at each other, let go of each other.

 “Sorry ‘bout that, we were just… horsin’ around.” Mugman scratched his head, and he blushed a little.

 Cuphead snickered and he pushed Mugman and the latter giggled and stumbled.

 “Well, it does help tuh be polite. Whut can I do ya fer?” The rock tilted its mouth up, as if its face was looking at the boys.

 “Ya got any coins?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow. Mugman surprise-glared at Cuphead, and the latter noticed. “Oh yeah!” He turned back to the rock. “Ya got any coins? Please?” He clapped his hands together.

 With a nervous sweat on his face, Mugman chuckled as he scratched his cheek. “A-at least he got the polite part…”

 “Oh, sorry pardner! It’s not like an old rock would need anythin’ about coins.” The rock said.

 “How ‘bout just, m-move closer to that metal plate over there?” Cringe-eyed Mugman pointed his finger over to the metal plate.

 The rock rotated itself to look at the metal plate. “Oh! Alright, since ya asked so kindly, let’s rock and roll pardner.”

 Mugman and Cuphead chuckled.

 “Rock…” Cuphead whispered with his right backhand curved on his lips like he was telling a secret, and his left thumb pointing at the other. “…and roll.” He snickered with his eyes closed.

 “Technically, more like a rock and slide.” Mugman watched the rock casually.

 The rock slid halfway closer to the metal plate and then stopped.

 Mugman waved his ‘push to the side’ hand signal. “A little more.”

 “Huh? Alrighty then.” The rock moved a quarter closer to the plate.

 Mugman sighed and looked at it bored “A little more.” Meanwhile, Cuphead giggled at him.

 The rock slid off track to its left. “How’s that?”

 Mugman jolted in surprise at the rock’s unfollowing while Cuphead just laughed.

 “How’s that closer??” Mugman splayed his ‘what the heck’ hands.

 “Heh? You said ya wanted me closer to the metal plate, not standin’ over it kid.” The rock slid over to the metal plate. The metal spikes on the bridge sheathed down like resounding swords. “Did that help?”

 Maintaining his ‘what the heck’ hands, Mugman glared at the rock while Cuphead kept his laugh shut in his hand-covered mouth.

 “That is the cheekiest rock I’ve ever seen.” Cuphead whispered to Mugman.

 Mugman groaned. “Ya know what, yeah.” He smiled and put both his thumbs up. “Ya did great pardner.”

 “Yeah, rock on!” Cuphead winked as he rested his elbow on Mugman’s shoulder.

 “Hmm, if I had a pebble for every time I heard that joke.” The rock commented.

 With that, Mugman and Cuphead walked together towards the wooden bridge, but then suddenly, the spikes UNSHEATHED and the boys screamed in fright as they hugged each other.

 Rotating their heads 180 degrees, the boys looked behind them. The rock was apparently a quarter-distance off the metal plate.

 Cuphead and Mugman glared at the rock. “HEY!”

 “Hmm?” The rock’s mouth turned towards them.

 “Come on man!” Cuphead splayed out his hand but then retracted it to tap his tinking chin for a second. “Err-Rock!”

 “Ya almost killed us!” Mugman splayed out his hand as well.

 “Ohh, I see how it is.” The rock turned around and proceeded to slide back to its original start position.

 “WAIT!” Cuphead and Mugman reached out their hands.

  The rock paused and turned around. “Wha?”

 “Where’re ya goin?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow.

 The rock half-turned to the boys. “I give ya the help ya need and this is the thanks I get?” It faced back to the start position. “I’m goin’ back home.”

 “Wait wait!” Mugman walked towards the rock and sighed. “We’re sorry, we just need ya to stand on the plate. Could ya do that? Please?” He put his hands together and shook them.

 Meanwhile Cuphead just glared at the rock with confusion. “Its starting spot is its home???”

 “Well, I gotta say kid, you’re givin’ me a real work out here. But… since you asked nicely.” The rock slid to the metal plate and just remained standing there.

 “Thank you!” Mugman smiled, then turned around and buddy-hooked his brother’s arm. “Come on bro! Let’s cross before Mr. Rock changes its mind.”

 “Woah!” Cuphead said as he was pulled and he began running backwards. “Wait up wait up!” He chuckled.

 In the next room, on the right side, a round wooden table stood with a plate of cheese set on top of it. The boys approached the plate of cheese, sniffed it, and made some half disgusted and half amused smiles.

 “What’s it for?” Cuphead raised its eyebrow.

 Then, there was something squeaking behind them. They turned around, and saw a cute tiny mouse standing in the doorway of the mouse hole, but then suddenly walking shyly back to the darkness of it.

 “Aww hey little guy!” Mugman said as he approached it.

 The mouse just retreated back into the darkness.

 Mugman bent down to the mouse hole. “Ya like some cheese buddy?” He ran back to the plate, took a piece, ran back to the mouse hole and offered some. “Here!”

 “No!” Its tiny squeaky voice said. “Put it back! I… I wanna get it myself!”

 Mugman gasped and he had a familiar flashback of what he said earlier. Cuphead approached Mugman with an endearing smile, picked up the cheese from his hand, went back to the plate, and replaced the piece of cheese back. Mugman approached Cuphead and together they watched the mouse hole.

 “You know bro, I believe some day he’ll be brave enough to get the cheese.” Cuphead smiled at Mugman.

 “Yeah… me too bro.” Mugman’s smile stretched. “Me too.”

 They held their hands together, and unknowingly a yellow star glowed from between their hands.

-Progress Saved-

 -End of Chapter 3-

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Again, Merry Xmas! Take care!!

Toriel emerged from the arch behind her and walked on with a smile and hands held together in front of her lap as if she was praying. Not too far behind, Cuphead and Mugman raced each other bubbly laughing and trying to push each other out of their imaginary race track.

 “Children?” Toriel’s voice called.

 With one hand of each squishing the other’s face, Cuphead and Mugman looked attentively to Toriel as they were called.

 With her back quarter-turned, she glared at them strictly. “Please! Be careful!”

 Without letting go of each other’s faces, Cuphead and Mugman slid their glances towards each other for a moment, then let go, stood normally, and looked at her; the former looked with a raised eyebrow, while Mugman just looked with his eyebrows creased.

 “We are not out of the ruins yet! You could be attacked by monsters!” Toriel looked forward and walked on towards the giant dark shadowy doorway that stood one floor level above.

 The shadowy doorway was a giant cone-headed design with the summit of the doorway sharp-pointed up. On the left and right of the doorway were two sets of gray stone stairs; the first pair diverged to the opposite corners leading to a large midway stone landing and then the second pair converged leading to the second level. A rectangular bed of red leaves lay between the stairs.

 “Wow…” The two brothers whispered in sync as they smiled in awe and held their hands together as they watched the majestic view. Unnoticed, a yellow star sparked between their grasp of their held hands.

 They looked around them and saw that there were several towering and looming buildings, all with pink brick walls. Directly above them were two balconies, one on the left, and another on the right.

 “Children!” Toriel’s urgent but sweet voice called.

 The boys saw Toriel standing next to the bottom of the right staircase far ahead.

 “Make haste!” She nodded firmly.

 Cuphead groaned while Mugman just smiled endearingly. Hand in hand, facing the shadowy doorway, they walked forward together.

 “She’s like a mom.” Cuphead whispered while coning his right hand towards Mugman’s non-existent right ear.

 “Yeah! Isn’t that cool?” Mugman whispered back with a big smile as he gently nudged his brother’s elbow with his own.

 “Elder Kettle’s cool.” Cuphead whispered and smiled at Mugman, “She’s…” He darted his eyes at Toriel. “Kinda bossy.”

 Mugman chuckled. “A mom’s a mom bro, we finally get to have one.” He shrugged his shoulders and raised his carefree left hand and his right hand holding Cuphead’s at the same time. “And isn’t Elder Kettle kinda bossy at times, ya know, cause he’s our mumandad?” He raised an eyebrow.

 Cuphead smiled. “Well when ya put it that way…” He rolled his eyes.

 Mugman giggled, closing his eyes and half-covering his smile while at it, and then continued watching his way.

 Something shiny red thing sparkled from the lower left corners of Cuphead’s eyes, and he looked towards it. On the left and right along the path Mugman and Cuphead were walking on were two parallel lines of red leaves arranged in a royal runway style. With a big mischievous smile, Cuphead gently elbowed Mugman’s stomach, and the latter noticed.

 “What?” With a smile, Mugman raised an eyebrow at Cuphead.

 Cuphead pointed at the floor on the left line of leaves closest to Mugman and then to the right next to him.

 Mugman hummed and smiled. “Pretty.”

 With his right hand coned like a megaphone, Cuphead began exhale-screaming towards their left. Mugman just looked at him with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile.

 Cuphead then took a bow to the right with a hand on his stomach. “Thank you!” He then bowed to the left. “Thank you!”

 Mugman giggled. “Weirdo.”

 Cuphead let go of Mugman’s hand, buddy hugged the latter, and pointed his megaphone hand to the left while exhale-screaming “MUGMAAAN! MUGMAAAN! AHHH! YOU’VE GOT FAAAANS!”

 Mugman laughed and then bowed to the left. “Thank you!” and then to the right. “Thank you!” He gasped, picked up a leaf from the line, and sniffed it. “For me?” He looked at the empty left with sparkly eyes to the left as he held the leaf to his chest. “Thank You!”

 Looking at his brother mischievously, Cuphead giggled. He pointed his megaphone hand to the left and whispered. “He’s a big-nosed blueberry!”

 Mugman gasped. “Hey!” He smiled and glared.

 Cuphead laughed and pointed his finger at Mugman. “Look at your face.”

 “Oh yeah?! Well…” Mugman coned his left hand like a megaphone and pointed it to the right whispering “HE’S A TINY-NOSED JELLYBEAN!”

 Cuphead laughed out loud and pushed Mugman off the runway, and Mugman ran back in yelling and pushed the former out of the runway.

 Toriel sighed and smiled. “Children!” She called gently.

 “We’re coming, we’re coming!” Cuphead called back as he and Mugman ran to her.

 Toriel silently chuckled and climbed the stairs on the right. Cuphead ran to the left of the stairs, while Mugman ran to the right, and as their feet almost reached the foot of the stairs…

 “Whoa!!” They yelled as they felt their hands be anchored to each other, and they fell down sitting on the floor.

 Mugman and Cuphead looked at each other, the former with widened eyes and the latter with a scrunched eyebrow but both with open mouths. Then, they looked at their held hands, and then gasped.

 “Ohhh!” They both said in sync.

 They laughed; Cuphead with his hiccup squeaks and Mugman with his snorts.

 “Okay then-!” “Why didn’t ya say-!” Cuphead and Mugman both said at the same time, and they laughed as they noticed that they did.

 They stood up and ran opposite of their initial directions, but as their feet almost reached the bottom of the stairs…

 “Whoa!!” They yelled again as they felt their hands be anchored to each other… again, and they fell down sitting on the floor, again.

 They smirked at each other.

 “Yeah, this is why there’s such a thing as being too… ‘clingy’” Cuphead raised his free hand and wiggled his ‘quotation’ fingers as he said ‘clingy’.

 Mugman laughed, and he let go of both their hands. Meanwhile, Toriel snickered and covered her squiggly mouth.

 “Race ya to Ms. Toriel?”” Cuphead smiled, raised an eyebrow, and placed his fists on his hips.

 “I call dibs on the right!” Mugman pointed to the right stairs.

 “Oh you’re on!” Cuphead grinned, stepped a foot towards Mugman and raised his fist in front of his chest. “Onetwothree go!” He dashed to the left of the stairs, leaving a white dust cloud behind him.

 Mugman gasped. “Hey! No fair!!” He dashed to the right stairs leaving a white dust cloud behind.

 Toriel gasped. “Children!” She scrunched her eyebrows.

 The boys ran up the stairs with racecar noises spitting out of their mouths like ‘vrooom!’ ‘brrrrrrr!!’ Cuphead made it up on the next level first, while Mugman was determined and fiercely sprinting up from the middle landing. As Mugman landed on the second level, he sprinted to Toriel, while Cuphead closed in.

 “I thought I told you-! Oh my goodness!” Toriel jolted as Mugman suddenly clung onto Toriel’s leg.

 “Ha! I win!” Mugman pumped his fist.

 “Hey!” Cuphead glared at Mugman. “No fair!” He pointed his finger at Mugman. “That’s because Toriel was standing close to the right side!”

 “Yeah, well” Mugman glared back at Cuphead. “It goes to show cheaters never win!”

 Cuphead balled a fist, his milk boiled and his straw whistled out steam like a kettle. “Why I oughta-!”

 Toriel gently chuckled. “Quite the determined spirits you are, my children.” She placed each of her hands over Cuphead’s fist and Mugman’s head handle on his back.

 Cuphead huffed and folded his arms, while Mugman just stuck his tongue out.

 Toriel knelt down between the both of them. “Now children, it’s only a game.” Her eyes glanced towards Cuphead. “Winning and losing is part of it.” She looked at Mugman. “But… most importantly you both had fun. Right?”

 All at the same time, Cuphead and Mugman huffed, closed his eyes, and turned his head away from each other.

 “It wasn’t fun when HE got a head start.” Mugman’s eyes slid towards Cuphead for a moment when he said ‘HE’.

 “And it wasn’t fun that HE won because HE was closer.” Cuphead tightened his eyes shut.

 “Well it wasn’t fun when HE” Mugman glared and nudged his head at Cuphead “could’ve won because HE” Cuphead opened his eyes glaring from the lower left corner of them. “got a head start and HE didn’t warn me about it!”

 “Well it wasn’t fun when HE” Cuphead gritted his teeth and nudged his head forward at Mugman “won because HE got lucky because HE happened to be closer to you and HE-!” He pointed his finger to Mugman.

 “Alright alright.” Toriel said as she gently lowered Cuphead’s finger. “In that case why don’t you play fairer games then? Just a while ago you were pushing each other and laughing while at it.”

 Folding their arms, Cuphead and Mugman huffed and turned away from each other.

 “That was different.” Cuphead said.

 “Yeah!” Mugman nodded.

 Toriel scrunched her eyebrows to both of them. “Well…” She stood up and, with gentle hands, removed Mugman’s arms from her leg; Mugman widened his eyes as he looked at her. “I don’t want to be another opponent in this conflict.”

 For a moment, Mugman and Cuphead looked at each other, but then folded their arms and looked away from each other; they looked like mirror copies of one another if not for the blue and red shorts, the big and tiny noses, and the straight and bendy straws.

 “I had thought that you two loved to play together.” Toriel held her hands right over left hanging across her stomach like a hammock.

Cuphead and Mugman opened their eyes, and looked down at their own feet frowning.

 “You two can follow me to the next room once you’ve resolved your differences.” She turned around and entered the giant shadowy doorway behind her.

 Footsteps that started loud began fading down, and once they did, Cuphead and Mugman turned their eyes towards the other. Facing each other, they both sighed, looked down, and let their arms dangle.

 “I’m… sorry.” Mugman looked at Cuphead from the upper corner of his eyes.

 Cuphead folded his arms and his eyebrows were curved up. “I’m… sorry too.”

 Mugman tilted his head up slowly, and after a while Cuphead did too. They both started to smile.

 Mugman raised his arms. “Bro hug?”

 Cuphead grinned. “Bro hug.”

 They both ran to each other and gave each other a tough grab-tackling cheek-squishing clinking and cuddle moaning bear hug. Cuphead offered his right elbow to Mugman, and the latter hooked his left arm together with the former. With big matching grins they buddy-marched together to the next room.

 Beneath their feet was a lighter-pink path starting from the entrance, then about a quarter-midway across the room zigzag-arched to the left, then straightened back to the middle at the latter quarter-midway, and then ended on the steel-barred arrow-headed closed gate. Toriel stood in the middle of the room, next to the zigzagged path that seemingly avoided her.  On the right of the room next to Toriel, six large buttons were arranged in four rows: the first had a singular button, the second row had a pair, the third had a single, and the fourth had a pair; the first and third row of buttons were aligned in a column on a road, while the second and fourth rows were aligned in a column outside the path; together they all looked like two Mickey Mouse rings.

 “Wooow…” The boys said as they saw the buttons.

 Toriel chuckled, covering her mouth and closing her eyes. She tilted her head, and bent towards the boys a little. “It doesn’t take much for you two to forgive each other does it?”

 Cuphead giggled with closed eyes and rubbed the space under his nose with his free index finger. “We’re best buds.”

 “And we’re brothers!” Mugman smiled at Cuphead and raised their hooked-together arms.

 “So yeah… We fight sometimes.” Cuphead opened his eyes, shrugged his shoulders, and made a bigger smile.

 “But we’ve had more fun than we’ve ever fought.” Mugman grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “And we’ve always made up whenever we roughed each other up,”

 “Aw come on!” Cuphead nudged his brother’s side torso with his buddy-elbow, and Mugman giggled in reaction. “A bit of rough housin hurt nothin’.” He made a few weak punches to the front making their hooked together buddy-arms shake.

 “Well… it hurts a little.” Mugman splayed his free hand… but then looked away in thought.

 “Yeah…?” Cuphead smirked and raised an eyebrow.

 Mugman’s smiley mouth began to squiggle… and then he squeezed his eyes shut. “Okay so it’s a little fun.”

 “YEAH!” Cuphead carried Mugman in a hug and they both laughed in their respective hiccupy and snorty laughs.

 Toriel smiled at them, watched Mugman playfully push away Cuphead while the latter kept the former trapped in his hug, and a tear poured down her eye. While he laughed and pushed Cuphead away, Mugman noticed Toriel’s sudden sparkly teardrop drip from her chin.

Mugman stopped laughing, and frowned. “Oh golly…” He covered his mouth.

 Cuphead looked at the direction Mugman was looking at, frowned, and let Mugman stand on his feet.

 Mugman stepped towards Toriel and reached out his hand. “M-ms?”

 Toriel open-mouth frowned at Mugman’s concern, and then wiped a tear from her eye.

 “Excuse me.” Toriel chuckled, voice gloomy. “Something must have landed in my eye.” Toriel closed her eyes and smiled. “Well, shall we proceed my children?”

 Mugman and Cuphead looked in concern at Toriel, then to each other, and then back to Toriel.

 “Okay Ms. Err…” Cuphead swallowed. “Ms goat lady-“

 “Toriel.” Mugman whispered.

 “Toriel!” Cuphead’s head jerked straight. He scratched his head, and looked at her apologetically. “M-Ms. Toriel.”

 Toriel chuckled and looked at them. “Just Toriel, my children. You’re both very polite, but there’s no need for formalities.”

 The boys took a breath and then sighed.

 “Okay Toriel.” Mugman said.

 Cuphead nodded.

 “Well then…” Toriel closed her eyes and smiled. “Welcome to your new home innocent ones. And…” Toriel opened her eyes and pointed her showing hand towards the buttons. “I see you’ve noticed this puzzle next to me.”

 The boys’ eyes widened and they gasped slowly.

 “Wwooow!” Mugman’s eyes turned into stars.

 “Eh…” Cuphead giggled. “Not really my thing.”

 “Really?” Mugman raised an eyebrow. “There were lots of puzzles back at home. Especially when we fought those debtors.”

 “Yeah but…” Cuphead shrugged his shoulders. “Fightin’ is more of my thing. I mean, yeah we won, but I like zippin’ through ‘em by instinct.”

 “Well in that case, I assume you wouldn’t mind if I solved the puzzle.” Toriel said.

 Mugman gasp-inhaled through his nose and screeched reaching his ‘stop’ hand to her.

 Toriel walked to the right (her left), stepped on the second row’s left button then to the right button. Then, she went upwards, stepped on the rightmost button and then turned left to step on the left button on the same row.

 Meanwhile, as Toriel kept walking, Mugman’s face slowly frowned more and his eyebrows creased more. As he watched his brother, Cuphead’s smile stretched wider, turned more and more mischievous, and he snickered at Mugman’s final reaction.

 Toriel walked forward to the lever on the wall across the room, and pushed it down. On the left, the arrow headed gate slammed down open.

 Toriel turned around and smiled at the boys. “This is just one of the multiple variations of problems that you would have to solve in order to proceed through these ruins.”

 “Heeey!” Mugman lowered his stop hand as his eyes began to dilate. “I wanted to solve that.”

 Toriel’s eyes widened, then she closed her eyes and giggled while her right hand covered her mouth. “My apologies young one. We can solve the next one together as we navigate through the catacombs.”

 With that, Toriel turned around and walked towards the next room.

 “But… I wanna solve it on my own.” Mugman’s voice softened as he touched his index fingers together repeatedly.

 Cuphead giggled. “Uhh, you could still push those other two buttons over there buddy.” He pointed towards the two unpressed buttons on the first and third rows.

 Mugman’s eyebrows creased in worry. “I-I dunno, I mean… it could trigger something dangerous.”

 Cuphead groaned and rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

 “C-Cuphead!” Mugman grabbed his brother’s hand. “Wh-what if it o-opens a trap door er somethin’?”

 “Well, you can parry my ghost and bring me back like ya always do buddy.” Cuphead grinned.

 Mugman groaned, looked away, and folded his arms.

 “Come on, I thought we were runnin’ to adventah?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow.

 Mugman folded his arms and pouted. “Don’t make me go back on that Cuphead.”

 Cuphead giggled, let go of Mugman’s hand, walked to the button, and jump-stomped on it. Mugman squeezed his eyes and whimpered… but even after a few seconds, nothing happened. Mugman peeked an eye open to see Cuphead teasingly grinning at him and holding his fists on his hips.

 “Come on buddy, ya know ya wanna push the other one.” Cuphead raised an eyebrow.

 A sweat dropped from Mugman’s head and his mouth squiggled nervously. Then, he grunted, punched his fists down, and stomped his way to the button on the third row, and Cuphead snickered as he watched.

 Mugman’s mouth squiggled as he looked at the idle button, and right then an imaginary image of the button smiling and laughing villainously at him appeared on the surface. He growled at it and raised his right heel… but then shut his eyes as he whimpered again. He turned his right tiptoe towards the surface of the button, touched it, then slowly and gently pushed it.

 CLICK!

 Something poked Mugman’s sidestomachs.

 “AGH!” Mugman yelled, his straw turned into an exclamation point, and his hands spread out.

 He looked behind him to see Cuphead giggling with a cheeky grin and his index fingers were positioned on Mugman’s side stomachs.

 An involuntary grin crept up Mugman’s mouth and he stomped his right foot while punching his fists down. “CUPHEAD!!”

 Cuphead burst out laughing while closing his eyes, hugging his stomach with one arm and pointing his finger at Mugman with the other.

 “C’MERE!” Mugman attempted to grab-hug Cuphead, but the latter ducked under and ran towards the doorway Toriel exited to earlier. “HEY! COME BACK HERE!” Smiling Mugman chased Cuphead with his hands forward trying to catch his brother.

 Laughing giddily, Cuphead ran out from the doorway followed by smiley screaming Mugman who was chasing after him.

 “There you are ch- OH MY GOODNESS!” Toriel’s eyes widened and she frightfully raised her arms chest-level away from the boys.

 Her sight followed giddily laughing Cuphead who ran around her followed by joyfully-screaming Mugman who was swipe-grabbing the air in front of him while attempting to catch Cuphead. The boys ran around Toriel in a circle for about three times… until Mugman began jump-stomping the ground towards an open space while grunting and growling with a big smile on his face. Mugman turned around to face Toriel, folded his arms, sat cross-legged on the floor and pouted with a loud “Hmph!” and a smile on his face.

 Peeking from behind Toriel, Cuphead cackled while pointing his finger at Mugman. He looked at Toriel who was looking downward while smiling back at him.

 “Isn’t he cute?” Cuphead pointed to his brother.

 All at the same time, Mugman growled, shook his folded arms right then left, and then looked away with an ‘I’m not talking to you’ face.

 Toriel chuckled while closing her eyes, and then opened them looking at Mugman. “There’s a puzzle in this room waiting to be solved my child.”

 Mugman gasped and opened his eyes looking at Toriel with a beaming smile. “Really?!” His knuckles tightened under his chin (or base rather).

 With closed eyes, Toriel chuckled. “It’s just right across this bridge my child.” And with that Toriel walked towards the bridge on the right.

 Mugman squealed and squeezed his chin under his knuckles. “Bro, di-!” When Toriel’s body moved out of the way, Cuphead was not behind her. “Cuphead?” He turned his head to the right where Toriel was walking across the bridge, but Cuphead wasn’t there. He turned his head to the left and Cuphead was looking at a sign with his fists on his hips.

 Mugman stood up and ran to Cuphead with a smile. As Mugman jumped to a stop on his left, Cuphead smiled noticing his brother and then went back to look at the sign with a raised eyebrow. Mugman bent closer and squinted.  

 “Press [Z] to read the sign.” Mugman read it aloud. He scratched his chin. “Hmm… what’s a zee-EEEEE!!” Something poked Mugman’s right hip, and he stomped his right foot facing Cuphead with a smile. “CUPHEAD!!!”

 Cuphead giggled; his left hand was pulling back and its index finger was curved and raised. “What? I pressed the Z.”

 With a mouth-biting smile, Mugman gripped his fists while grumbling and then stomped his right foot while punched fists backward. “HOW IS THAT A Z?!?!” He giggled.

 “I pressed the tickleZZZ…” Cuphead poked Mugman’s hip (who jolted) as he said ‘ticklezzz’ and his grin stretched wider. “On your hipZZZ.” He poked Mugman’s hip again (who jolted again) and he giggled.

 “HOW ‘BOUT I GIVE YOU SOME TICKLEZZZ!!” Mugman jab-poked his right hand into Cuphead’s stomach and the latter yelp-laughed. “ON YER ZZZTOMACH!!” He jab-poked Cuphead’s stomach again and giggled, and the latter yelp-laughed again.

 Cuphead jab poked Mugman’s hip again making him laugh, and Mugman poked back his brother’s stomach.

 “Children!” Toriel’s sweet but strict voice called them over.

 Cuphead and Mugman looked behind them.

 Toriel was looking at the boys strictly while standing across the boardwalk over the small river. “You can play once we have reached home. Please follow close to me while you’re here.”

 For a few seconds, the boys looked attentively at Toriel… then their pupils slid back towards each other, and they grinned mischievously. At the same time, they jabbed a finger towards the other’s tickle spots (Cuphead’s stomach and Mugman’s hips) and they laughed and yelled battle cries to each other such as “Ya!”, “Haya!”, “Take that!” over and over as they walked to the wooden boardwalk and started to cross it. In the middle of the bridge, Mugman was smiley-growling and pushing Cuphead’s shoulders while the latter was wide-grin giggling and standing his ground on the bridge.

 “MAYBE I ZZOULD PUZZ YOU OVER TO THE WATERZZ!” Mugman looked at Cuphead with scrunched eyebrows and a big giggly smile.

 “AND MAYBE YOU ZZOULD COMEZZ WITH MEEEZZZ!!” As he said it, Cuphead grabbed Mugman’s hands and pulled them as he fell backwards.

 “WHOAAA!!” Mugman screamed as they fell into the river in a big splash.

 “CHILDREN!” Toriel shouted as she ran to the bridge.

 On the boardwalk, Toriel looked down and saw Cuphead and Mugman laughing with their symphonized hiccups and snorts as they floated on their backs on the slow-flowing river.

 They both stood up and Mugman splashed a wave at Cuphead who ducked his mouth into the water taking the splash head on, and then emerged to spit a mouthful of sprinkling water to Mugman who laughed and shielded his face with his arms.

 “EEEEEEHEEEHEEEWWW!!!” Mugman laughed. “YOU ZZZZPIT ON ME!”

 “AND YOU ZZZZZZZPLASHED ME!!” Cuphead laughed with hiccups on his voice.

 Their laughter was full of synchronized snorts and hiccups as they stood in the stream… When suddenly a woman’s voice cleared her throat from above them. They both stopped laughing and looked cautiously above.

 Toriel had a shadowy face with only her piercing and glaring red eyes looming above the boys. “Children…”

 Mugman glumly looked down and touched his fingers together, while Cuphead just looked down frowning in defeat.

 “Getzzz… Outzzz… of the waterzzz.” She said with her growly voice.

 From frowns, the boys looked up confused and they were staring at Toriel with surprised open ‘o’ mouths. As the boys looked closer, her strict frown curled into a smile on the right end of her lip (the boys’ left). In a loud eruption, the boys laughed pointing their fingers at Toriel who then also laughed with her eyes closed and her right hand covering her mouth. Toriel bent down, reached out her hand. Cuphead grasped it as he was pulled up to the boardwalk, followed by Mugman who waded towards the bridge and was pulled by Cuphead who bent down and helped him.

 Cuphead giggled and then faced Toriel with his fists on his hips. “That waz ffunz!!”

 “Do zzat againzz!!” Mugman pounded his fists down in front of him (as if there was an invisible surface) and he laughed in sync with his brother.

 Toriel chuckled, and when she was done she put her hand down and smiled at the boys. “The puzzlezz are waiting for you my childrenzz.”

 “Yezz ma’am!” They both saluted like soldiers with smiles.  

 Laughing, the boys ran across the short bridge over to the next island, and Toriel just watched them with a patient smile.

 She sighed. “Children will be children.”

 With a bit of pushing each other, laughing Cuphead and Mugman stopped in the middle of the island and looked around. Cuphead saw something on his left, gasped, and then stared at it with bored eyes.

 “You see where the puzzle is?” Mugman asked.

 Bored eyes still glaring, Cuphead grabbed his brother’s chin (or base rather) and turned it towards the direction he was looking at.

 Ahead of them, on the pink wall, was an idle lever pointing upwards and yellow arrows surrounded and pointed towards the lever.

 Mugman glared at it with bewildered eyes and a surprised open mouth, while Cuphead just continued staring at it with his semi-circle half-closed eyes.

 “I-Is that…?” Mugman pointed towards the lever.

 “Yyep.” Cuphead said unenthusiastically.

 Toriel let out a small polite giggle. The boys looked behind them and saw her smiling at them and standing prim and polite with her paws in front of her.

 “Go on. Solve it.” She closed her eyes.

 Cuphead smirked at Mugman, and the latter raised an eyebrow in reaction.

 “Yeah buddy, go on.” Cuphead pointed his eyes and nudged his head towards the lever.

 Mugman groaned, yanked his hand away from Cuphead’s and walked towards the lever.

 By the lever, Mugman looked up noticing that it is a bit higher than his head. He stood on his tiptoes, then pulled the lever down and it made a loud metal click.

 Toriel applauded, and after a moment’s observation at her, Cuphead did too with a smirk on his face.

 “Excellent my child.” Toriel said sprightly, like she was watching a child on a merry-go-round.

 “Yeah bro, grrreat job!” Cuphead winked!

 Slouching and groaning, Mugman walked back to his brother and folded his arms. With closed eyes and a giggle, Cuphead buddy-hugged his brother.

 “Well then,” Toriel clapped his hands. “The second part of the puzzle is on the next island, if we can proceed that is.”

 Cuphead and Mugman just walked across the boardwalk to the last island.

 Mugman groaned. “Mmm wumum solfifun muh woawn.”

 Cuphead giggled. “Aw come on, there’s probably another one. She did say this place was loaded with ‘em.”

 Mugman looked at his brother, and then smiled.

 They arrived at the next island and looked to their left. Two levers were on the wall, the left had arrows surrounding and pointing towards it, and the other had none.

 Cuphead smiled teasingly at Mugman and the latter just frowned back… and then smugged. Cuphead raised an eyebrow as he kept looking at his brother’s sudden smug. After a few seconds, Cuphead’s eyes then widened and he opened his smiley mouth as if he wanted to squeal. Mugman’s pupils slid looking towards the levers, then slid back to Cuphead, and finally at the same time he tilted his head and offered his buddy arm. Biting his squiggly and trembling lower lip as he snickered, Cuphead hooked his left arm onto Mugman’s arm, and together they giggled and ran towards the middle of the levers.

 Both of them stopped before the levers and glanced at the left and right ones at the same time.

 “Hmm…” Mugman scratched his chin and then looked at Cuphead. “I think it’s this one bro.” Mugman winked and gently elbowed Cuphead.

 “What makes you say that… bro?” Cuphead winked and elbowed Mugman back.

 “I dunno!” Mugman raised his carefree hands and snickered. “Maaaybe it’s because of the arrows pointing to it?”

 “Hmm, you make a good ‘poooint’ winky winky.” Cuphead winked twice, causing Mugman to giggle.

 Toriel giggled as she heard ‘poooint’.

 “Buuut…” Cuphead rolled his eyes and bent to the right as he did. “What abooouut THEOTHERONE!!!”

 Mugman and Cuphead sprung towards the right lever.

 Toriel gasped and reached out her ‘stop’ hand. “CHILDREN NO! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO-!”

 Jumping together with feet pointing forward, Mugman and Cuphead yanked the lever slamming down.

 “Pull, the other…. One.” Toriel closed her eyes and nervously smiled.

 They then laughed frightfully and energetically as they sprung away from the lever hugging each other with closed eyes. After a few seconds of nothing, they peeked one eye to the lever they pulled and then slid them to look at each other.

 “Aw man!” Cuphead slouched, letting his arms dangle.

 “Phew!” Mugman wiped his forehead.

 “Th-that lever does… nothing, my children.” Toriel’s smile twitched.

 “Oh….” Cuphead turned around along with Mugman. “So the right one was the wrong one?” He smirked, raised an eyebrow, and curved his back hands on his hips.

 Mugman snickered and it grew into a bubbly giggle.

 “Aaand the left one is the right one?” Grinning, Cuphead was pointing towards the lever with arrows.

 Mugman’s bubbly giggle turned into a snorty laugh, which made Cuphead look at his brother and giggle. Toriel snickered into a giggle as she covered her face with her paw.

 “Y-you know-!” Cuphead’s giggle interrupted him. “People should reeeally be decisive with their directions.” He bent towards his right as he said ‘rreally’. “Left, right” He pointed left and right. “Right, wrong” He flipped his left and right palm open. “Up, down-!” He pointed up and down.

 Mugman hollered in laughter, and it made Cuphead giggle again.

 “East, west, north, south.” Cuphead pointed right, left, up, and down.

 Mugman laughed louder, tears started to form in his squeezed shut eyes, and he fell chest front to the floor pounding his fists and kicking back the air.

 “D-dugh-!” Mugman’s rough inhale interrupted what he was supposed to say. “Don’t you mean…. ZzzzzZOUTH!”

 Cuphead burst out laughing to the ceiling together with his brother and he fell sitting on the floor, hugging his stomach, and kicking his shoe heels to the floor.

 Toriel also laughed louder, she covered her eyes with one hand, and she held her stomach with the other as she bent down.

 “M-maybe-!” Toriel inhaled. “Maybe they should… ‘switch’ it up.” Toriel laughed louder.

 Mugman and Cuphead’s laughter died down. “Huh?” They raised an eyebrow to Toriel.

 Toriel’s laugh calmed a little and she frowned. “B-because… ummm….” She held her hands together with her thumbs touching each other.

 Mugman’s eyes widened in realization, then he crawled over to Cuphead and whispered into his non-existent ear using his cupped telephone hand while the latter leaned in to listen.

 Cuphead gasped and widened his eyes. “Ohhhhhh!” He giggled while Mugman smiled.

 “Ssswitch!” Cuphead and Mugman pointed to the lever switches as they spoke in sync. “Them up!” They then started to laugh again.

 Toriel beamed and then joined in the laughter politely covering her mouth.

 “D-don’t you mean…” Toriel snickered. “Zzzwitch, them up?”

 All three of them hollered in laughter with giant open mouths pointing to the ceiling; Cuphead with his hiccups and rolling on the floor, Mugman with his snorts, back kicks, and fists pounding on the floor, and Toriel with her right hand politely covering her mouth, and her left hand hugging her stomach.

 Toriel sighed and wiped a tear from her right eye with her index finger. “Alright children.” She wiped a tear. “Please, solve the puzzle so we can proceed.”

 Cuphead giggled. “Don’t you mean-!”

 “NO!” Mugman covered Cuphead’s mouth and giggled. “Wehe’lll never get outta here.”

 Cuphead giggled and easily removed his brother’s hands. “Dramatic plot tiwst, Dun Dun DUUUUUUUUNNN!!!” He shook his hands as he sang.

 Mugman laughed again. “I’ll flick the switch before ya start to go bonkers again.” He walked towards the left lever.

 Cuphead snickered. “Don’t you mean-!”

 “I’M NOT LISTENING!” Mugman giggled as he closed his eyes and covered his non-existent ears.

 “Lizzening to me go bonkerzzz?” Cuphead giggled, raised an eyebrow, and proudly placed his backhands on his hips.

 Mugman unleashed a large holler of laughter as he pulled down the lever which then clicked. “STOOOOP!!” He ran back to Cuphead and covered his brother’s laughing mouth.

 The metal barred gate near Toriel slammed down and opened the way to the next room, and she quickly glanced at it as it did so.

 Toriel looked back to the boys. “I-hai’ll be waiting in the next room.” She walked to the next room while trying to cover her mouth of giggles.

 Cuphead and Mugman watched Toriel pass to the next room. Mugman’s hand was still covering Cuphead’s mouth… and then Mugman’s pupils shrunk as he glared at his hand where some drops of liquid started to drip out between his fingers.

 “EEEEEWWWW!!!” With shrunken trembling pupils, Mugman looked at his trembling hand like it was infected.

 Cuphead burst out laughing, his pupils were shrunk, and his hand pointing at his brother’s face.

 Swiftly Mugman took off his glove and then smacked it across Cuphead’s closed eyes.

 “AAAAHAHAHAOOOWWW!!” Cuphead yelled with his smiley mouth opened and his spread out fingers trembled.

 “OH MY GOLLY I’M SORREEEHEEEHEE!” Mugman hugged Cuphead.

 With a mischievous giggle, Cuphead pinch-picked-up the glove from his eyes and looked at his brother. “Oh you’re gonna get it.”

 Mugman’s pupils shrunk. “NO! NO!” He ran towards the next room laughing giddily.

 Laughing villainously, Cuphead sprinted after Mugman holding the latter’s drooly glove.

  In the next room, Toriel was happily watching the boys on the left of the entrance, and Mugman was in front of Cuphead backing away with his ‘stop’ hands raising and pushing towards Cuphead.

 “I’MSORRYI’MSORRYI’MSORR-!” The drooly glove was thrown splattering onto Mugman’s face. “EEEEEEHEHEHEWWWW!”

 Cuphead laughed. “You sound like you’re having fun more than you’re grossed out buddy.”

 Mugman pinch-picked-up his glove from his face. “Can I get your glove? This one’s got your drool in it.”

 “No way that’s yours!” Cuphead giggled as he pointed at the wet glove.

 “You’ve literally marked it with yer weirdness, now gimme yours!!” Mugman pointed towards his brother’s hand.

 Laughing, Cuphead took off his right glove and exchanged it with Mugman’s glove.

 Toriel chuckled. “Well, you two seem to be adept at resolving your conflicts with each other.”

 “Eh, it’s a bro thing.” They said in sync, and then they gasped at each other. “Jinx!” They pointed their fingers at each other and laughed.

 Toriel chuckled. “So it seems. Well, do you see the training dummy?”

 Cuphead and Mugman leaned slightly to their right to peek past Toriel and they saw a training dummy standing on a big space of road next to the path leading to the next room.

 “Well…” Toriel continued. “Just as that flower attacked you, other monsters may do so as well while you’re staying in the underground. But… have no fear!” She smiled. “Whenever you enter a fight, simply strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time, until I arrive to resolve the conflict.” She chuckled. “But, as far as I’ve observed, you have proven very exzzzeptional with this task in the previous room.” Toriel laughed.

 Cuphead and Mugman giggled in reaction.

 “Does that mean we passed the test?” Mugman pounded his fists in front of him.

 “Oh yeah!” Cuphead’s head jolted upright as he smiled at Mugman, and then he looked back at Toriel. “Do we Toriel, do we?”

 “Well, consider it as one of your final tests.” Toriel nodded. “It won’t be me whom you will always be talking to. Just imagine that this is a very different monster, a… stranger, as you call it. This dummy shall help you with that.”

 With raised eyebrows, the boys approached the dummy and just stared at it. Toriel walked with them and the stood in front of the exit.

 “So… we’re supposed to… talk to it Ms. Toriel? I-I mean Toriel?” Mugman looked at her as he pointed to the dummy.

 “Yes my child.” Toriel nodded.

 “Aww man, dummies like these make me want to give it a few wallops.” Cuphead punched the air in front of him with left-right jabs, and then an uppercut.

 “Oh my!” Toriel covered her mouth with her hands. “We wouldn’t want to hurt anyone would we?”

 Cuphead frowned at the abrupt concern. “But, didn’t ya say we would be attacked by monsters?”

 “Yeah, shouldn’t we fight back” Mugman formed a finger gun on his right hand.

 “Well…” Toriel scratched her chin while sliding her eyes left and right. “As well-reasoned as you are, I assure you that any form of violence won’t be necessary my children.” She bent a little forward to the boys. “Any form of conflict can be resolved with a proper conversation, and a few good jokeZZZ.” Toriel chuckled. “Would you like to hear my example?” She smiled patiently.

 Cuphead and Mugman smiled at each other. “Sure!” They placed their fists on their hips as they smiled at Toriel.

 “Well, what did the skeleton tile his roof with?” Toriel raised an eyebrow.

 Cuphead and Mugman giggled a little. “What?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, while Mugman spread his hands to the sides of his hips and stood on his tiptoes towards Toriel.

 Toriel snickered. “SHIN-gles!”

 She beamed to the boys, but as she looked at each one of them she saw Cuphead and Mugman staring back at her with creased and raised eyebrows. Sweat started to form on her head and her smile cringed… when suddenly Mugman gasped.

 “OHHH!” Mugman smiled and then giggled while closing his eyes and squeezing his fist under his chin.

 “I don’t get it.” Cuphead shrugged his shoulders. “What are shingles?”

 “They’re tiles for the roof.” Mugman raised his left index finger.

 Cuphead was confused; his right cheeked was squeezed up towards his right eye. “I still don’t get it.”

 “The bones under your knees are called shins.” Mugman knocked his knees together.

 Cuphead gasped. “Ohhhhhh!” He pounded his right fist onto his left palm.

 Mugman giggled. “You’re so slow buddy.”

 “Says the mug who couldn’t catch me.” Cuphead smirked and folded his arms at Mugman.

 Toriel sighed in relief. “Well, at least someone else thought it was amusing.” She smiled. “Now, go on, practice talking to the dummy children.”

 “Well… you heard her.” Cuphead smirked at Mugman. “Talk to the dummy.”

 Mugman snickered. “I already am.”

 Cuphead’s eyebrows scrunched. “No you’re-!” He gasped. “HEEEEY!” He beamed and pushed Mugman’s shoulder.

 Mugman burst out giddy laughing. “Well, I-I am the smarter one.” He placed his fists on his hips.

 “Ohoho really?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow, smiled snarkily, and folded his arms together.

 “Duh, I’m an A-student, and I help ya with yer math homework.” Mugman booped his brother’s jellybean nose.

 “Ohh? Then what’s 1 + 1?” Cuphead held both his index fingers up.

 “Two!” Mugman folded his arms.

 “Two plus two?” Cuphead unfolded his ring fingers; he has no middle finger.

 “Four!” Mugman proudly put his fists on his hips.

 “Four plus four” Cuphead opened all his fingers.

 “Eight!” Mugman closed his eyes as he beamed.

 Cuphead wiggled his fingers. “You asked for it!” He darted all eight fingers to his brother’s open armpits and tickled them, causing Mugman to jolt around and laugh while trapped in the arms of Cuphead.

 “NONONONOCUPHEAHAAAHAHAHA!” Mugman twisted and jolted his body around trying to avoid his brother’s fingers.

 “See, if I’m the dummy, then how come you were dumb enough to fall for that?” Cuphead giggled villainously as he put more pressure in his tickling fingers, and Mugman started to shout as he laughed.

 Meanwhile as it watched the brothers play, the training dummy grew a blush on its face, and Toriel was watching with a beaming smile and dilated eyes with the reflection of Cuphead tickling open-mouthed laughing and arms-flailing Mugman in them.

 “STAAHAHAHAP!” Mugman gasped for air. “STOOP I’M SOREEHEEEHEEHEEHEHEHAHAHA!”

 “Who’s the dummy?” Cuphead smirked and raised an eyebrow.

 “YOUUUHUUUHUUU!” Mugman squeezed his eyes shut.

 “Whoo?!” Cuphead pressed his tickles harder, making Mugman shout and laugh.

 “MEE-!” Mugman shout-laughed. “MEEHEEHEEHEHEHEEHEE!”

 “Yeah that’s right.” Cuphead giggled and just held laughing Mugman in his arms.

 As they laughed, Mugman pushed his brother’s head away while Cuphead just tightened his hug firmer as if he was trying to keep his brother trapped.

 Cuphead looked to his left and noticed that Toriel was looking at them with goofy goo goo eyes and a curly mouth.

 Cuphead raised an eyebrow. “Wh-hat?” He chuckled.

 Toriel’s face jolted into a frown and she shook herself awake. “Excuse me.” She chuckled. “You two are so adorable when you interact with one another.”

 “Aww, you hear that Mugsy?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow at the bubbly laughing and snorting Mugman who then smiled cheek to cheek back at the former. “She thinks we’re cute when I tickle you.” Cuphead tickled Mugman again as he said ‘tickle’, and the latter roared in bubbly and snorty laughter.

 Toriel giggled. “Children, if you can please just-!” She gasped and witnessed that the dummy was floating, and soon Cuphead and Mugman stopped and gasped as they witnessed it too.

 The dummy had pink blushing cheeks. It floated towards the wall behind it and phased through. Toriel, Cuphead, and Mugman glared at the wall bewildered and shocked. They stared at different directions in the corners of their eyes; in the last instance Cuphead and Mugman stared at each other.

 “The next room awaits!” Toriel smiled and then quickly turned around.

 Cuphead and Mugman stared at Toriel with one eyebrow raised each and then stared at each other. They shrugged their shoulders and just happily followed Toriel to the next room.

 Inside, two patches of vines hung on the pink wall far ahead of them.

 “Oh! Mugman?” Toriel smiled as she looked behind her. “There’s another puzzle in this room.”

 Mugman gasped. “Can I solve it?!” He beamed while cuddling his knuckles under his chin.

 Toriel chuckled. “If we can find it first.”

 Mugman excitedly mumbled and ran to the left-most vine on the wall, while Cuphead just watched his brother with a smile and folded arms, and Toriel watched with her hands held in front of her.

 “Cuphead, right?” Toriel looked behind her.  

 “What’s up?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow.

 “Who’s older?” She smiled patiently.

 “Right now?” Cuphead tapped his tinking ceramic chin. “I’d say I am.”

 Toriel frowned and raised an eyebrow. “Right… now?”

 Cuphead giggled. “Yeah, like a few minutes ago it was Mugs when he was the first one to apologize, and when he was looking out for me when I was crybabying.” He smirked. “Until a few seconds ago when I was giving him his tickles I snatched the older brother card right out of ‘im.” He pointed to his thumb to himself and showed his million-dollar smile with his eyes half-closed.

 Toriel’s eyebrows creased.

 “Ms. Toriel- I mean, Toriel!” Mugman ran back to her. “I checked both vines and there’s nothing here.”

 Toriel chuckled. “That’s not yet the puzzle my child, but you do have good intuition and initiative.” She closed her eyes.

 “What?! Aww…” Frowning, Mugman looked down and let his hands dangle.

 Giggling, Cuphead gave his brother a buddy hug and Mugman leaned his head towards Cuphead’s, making a clink as their heads hit.

 Toriel smiled apologetically. “Just this way my children.” She turned around and walked towards the path narrowed between thick walls up ahead.

 Together, maintaining their buddy hug, beaming Cuphead and frowning Mugman followed Toriel.

 “Hang in there Tiger.” Cuphead shook his brother’s shoulder.

 Mugman grumbled.

 Cuphead giggled. “Still think Toriel is a cool mom?” He raised an eyebrow.

 Mugman’s eyes looked towards Cuphead and he sighed. “Okay okay, so she can be a little naggy.”

 “I dunno….” Cuphead raised an eyebrow. “After those zee punz she pulled I’m zztarting to zee zah flip zide.”

 Mugman giggled. “How iz it zzat when I’m crozzing to zhe fip zide, you crozz over to the ozzer?”

 They entered through the path narrowed by the thick walls.

 Cuphead shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, balance?”

 Mugman laughed. “And yet we can stand to be one inch away from each other.” He laughed again. “Whoa!!”

 As Cuphead and Mugman stopped, stumbling their feet a little, before them was a giant frog-type of monster with three dots on its chest, two front feet, and two eyes blinking on its abdomen; its hind legs were probably blocked by its forefeet.

 The frog monster croaked loudly.

 Cuphead and Mugman’s heads dropped a sweat as they stared at it with raised eyebrows.

 “I-is that a-“ Mugman pointed to the frog.

 Cuphead’s left cheek squeezed up to its eye in cringe. “I-it kinda looks like a cuzin of Ribbey and Croaks.”

 The frog squeaked and widened its eyes, and next scrunched its eyebrows seemingly offended.

 Toriel stepped into the scene and glared at the frog, and the latter flinched clinging its webbed hands and feet to the wall behind it as it looked at the former.

 As it looked at where it stepped, the frog sidestepped to its right away from Toriel, sticking its hands closely to the wall. Cuphead and Mugman watched the frog as it kept sidestepping and then eventually disappeared behind the thick wall on the right of the mouth of the narrow path.

 The boys turned around and saw Toriel smiling at them. “Well done children. Just talk and stall for time.” She walked off.  

 Cuphead and Mugman looked at each other surprised, and then smiled. Hands together they ran and followed Toriel turning left at the corner.

 Far ahead as they ran, Toriel was standing before a bridge that was over a river. Cuphead mischievously grinned at Mugman, who just smiled back, and the former started to run faster while laughing, but then his hand was suddenly anchored back.

 “Whoa!” Cuphead’s body was turned towards Mugman as the force of the anchor pulled him back. “Hey!” He scrunched his eyebrows.

 Mugman was open-mouth looking at the wall on Cuphead’s right, and the latter turned to look at it.

 A stone placard sign hung on the wall.

 Mugman hummed. “The Western room is theAGH!” Something poked on his side stomach and he giggled in reaction. “CUPHEAD!”

 Cuphead giggled. “Ya forgot to press the Zee-EEEEE!” His stomach was jab-poked by Mugman, and it caused the former to giggle.

 “There! Happy?” Mugman giggled. He looked at the sign and cleared his throat. “The Western room is the blueprint of the Eastern room.” He hummed and scratched his chin (base) with his free hand. “Sounds like a key to the puzzle.”

 “Yeah, yeah, c’mon nerd.” Cuphead pulled Mugman’s hand as they continued walking.

 “Hey! I know deep down you’re glad to have me.” Mugman snickered.

 Cuphead made a vomit sound and Mugman just laughed out loud.

 As they reached Toriel, the sound of rushing water from the river filled their non-existent ears.

 “This is the puzzle my children.” Toriel said as she looked straight at the bridge.

 Cuphead and Mugman gasped and they both ran in front of Toriel.

 “NO CHILDREN!” Toriel pulled Cuphead and Mugman close to her.

 “Whoa!” Cuphead and Mugman yelled as they landed clutching onto Toriel’s legs.

 The bridge was lined with four very long rows and about two dozen columns of metal tiles with sharp metal spikes that sparkled at the tips as far as their eyes could see.

 “Ohh…” Mugman’s right hand trembled as he covered his mouth.

 “Cool!” Cuphead smiled at the spikes.

 “Would you like to solve it Mugman?” Toriel looked down to Mugman on her left.

 Mugman looked back at her and then back at the spikes. “Ummm… it looks kinda dangerous…”

 “Agreed.” Toriel stood properly and held the hands of the boys. “Well then, stay close to me children and follow my lead.”

 Toriel walked straight towards the third and fourth row of the spikes which were the only entrance to the bridge, and Mugman whimpered and Cuphead gasped with a big smile as her furry right foot approached the spikes when suddenly the spikes retracted into the smooth metal-tiled bridge allowing her foot to safely walked on it. As she continued walking, The spikes continuously retracted with resounding sword-like sheathing while the spikes behind them, as Cuphead and Mugman looked, sprung back up with resounding sword-like unsheathing.

 “Whoa!” Smiling Cuphead and amazed Mugman said in sync, and they both gasped at each other and pointed their free fingers at each other. “Jinx!”

 Toriel turned left on the third and fourth column of retracting spikes, going up perpendicular to the bridge.

 “Would’ve been cool if we solved this puzzle together eh Mugs?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow to his brother.

 Mugman chuckled half-heartedly smiling. “Would be cool if we actually get out clean when we do.”

 “Mugman?” Toriel peeked behind her left.

 Mugman smiled back looking up at Toriel. “Yes?”

 “Who’s older among the both of you?” Toriel turned right to the first and second row.

  “Right now? Uhh…” For a moment, Mugman looked at the river on his left. “I think Cuphead is.” He looked back at Toriel.

 Toriel glared at Mugman.

 Cuphead chuckled. “Told ya.”

 They turned right at the sixth and seventh column of retracting spikes, going straight along the bridge.

 She cleared her throat. “Pardon me but… I meant who was born first?”

 “Oh!” Mugman jerked straight up and his eyes widened. “Sorry but…” He smiled. “We don’t do that.”

 Toriel raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

 “I mean, we don’t know…” With a sheepish smile, Mugman scratched the back of his head. “And we don’t talk about that.”

 “We think we’re twins though.” Cuphead shrugged his shoulders.

 “Yeah, but sometimes we argue about it just because…” Mugman’s eyes slid left and right. “Just because we’re bros.” He shrugged his shoulders as he looked up at Toriel.

 “And fight about it…” Cuphead’s eyes slid left and right. “Badly.” He shrugged his shoulders as he looked up at Toriel.

 “But we decided to take turns instead and base it on some of the tiny things we see.” Mugman smiled at Cuphead.

 They turned left at the eleventh and twelfth columns of retracting spikes, going up.

 “Yeah like, I’m braver.” Cuphead pumped his right fist up.

 “I’m smarter.” Mugman tapped his tinking head with his left finger.

 “I’m buffer.” Cuphead’s right arm flexed, showing balloon-like muscles.

 “And I’m… a millimeter taller.” Mugman shrugged his shoulders and shrugged his shoulders.

 Cuphead humphed and raised an eyebrow at Mugman in reaction.

 “Ahh!” Toriel smiled. “So… it’s like a game!”

 “Yeah!” The brothers said in sync. “Jinx!” They pointed their fingers at each other.”

 They turned right at the first and second rows of retracting spikes, going straight towards the exit of the bridge.

 “So I don’t mind sharing the title of big bro.” Mugman shrugged his shoulders.

 “And I don’t mind taking it.” Cuphead pointed his thumb to himself and smirked at Mugman.

 “Hey!” Mugman glared and smiled at Cuphead, and the latter just playfully spit his tongue out.

 Toriel giggled.

 They all stepped away from the last column of spikes and over to the pink road of the ruins again.

 Toriel turned around. “Well as long as you-“

 “Take care of each other, you’ll be fine.” The voice of Elder Kettle said.

 Cuphead and Mugman frowned as Toriel said those words, and they felt a familiar loving warmth tug something in their chests as they looked with creased up eyebrows. At that moment, when Toriel spoke, they saw Elder Kettle himself.

 “Y-yes…” They both said glumly.

 Noticing their sudden sadness, Toriel blinked, frowned, looked away for a moment, turned around and walked on.

 Cuphead and Mugman watched her walk away, breathing slowly as they did. They looked at each other noticing each other’s matching dilated and trembling eyes and open-mouth frowns. After, they closed their mouths, watched their hands as they gently held each other, looked down to the floor at their feet, and then sighed. Together, they walked forward to the next room.

 Toriel was facing the boys as she waited for them to approach.

 “You’ve done well thus far my children. However…” Toriel looked at the corner of her eyes. “I’m going to have to ask you…”

 Cuphead and Mugman still looked at her with the same sadness.

 “You have to walk to the end of this room by yourselves.” Toriel shut her eyes. “Please forgive me for this.” She turned around and hurriedly ran towards the end of the room.

 Cuphead and Mugman gasped. “Wait!”

 They ran after her, but she was faster and soon disappeared to the far end of the room. The boys slowed down to a cautious walk and their eyes quickly paced left-right-left-right.

 “Cuphead?” Mugman looked at his brother as his trembling left fist covered his chin.

 Cuphead huffed. “Y-yeah?” He looked at his brother.

 “Wh-why did she run off like that?!” Mugman looked towards the direction Toriel ran to.

 “I-I dunno…” His shivering head turned towards the front as his eyes glanced left and right. “I-it kinda spooked me too.”

 They kept walking straight along the crooked zigzag lighter-colored pink road leading them towards the end of the room ahead… until Cuphead suddenly foot-stumbling stopped himself and hand-barred Mugman’s path and hefoot-stumbling stopped too.

 “Whoa! What’s up?” Mugman asked.

 On their left was a white Greek pillar standing by the wall.

 Looking at it, Cuphead hummed and raised an eyebrow. “Bro… you don’t think… that pillar is pretty suspicious do ya?” He smirked at Mugman.

 Mugman gasped and smiled. “You mean Toriel-?”

 “Yup!” Cuphead grinned and nodded.

 As they looked at each other, they bit their lower lips as they goofily curly-lipped smiled. They dashed towards the pillar leaving a cloud of white dust behind them. Peeking behind the pillar, they saw Toriel hiding behind it.

 With goofy smiles, they looked at each other and then gave a wink. They both bent their knees and readied their fists.

 Cuphead whispered. “One, two, three.”

 “BAH!” The boys yelled, spreading their ‘surprise’ hands wide.

 “OHH!” Toriel shrieked and stumbled away from the pillar.

 Cuphead and Mugman bubbly laughed, approached Toriel and gave her a hug.

 “Oh! Oh my.” Toriel chukled. “You’re not supposed to scare me like that.”

 “Heh. Well, technically ya scared us first.” Cuphead raised his carefree hands.

 “Sorry.” Mugman shrugged his shoulders.

 “Oh, pardon me my children.” She gently placed her hands on Cuphead’s right and Mugman’s left faces, and gently rubbed them with her thumbs, while the boys held Toriel’s wrists. “It was just a mere test to evaluate your independence. And it seems…” Toriel blinked and chuckled. “You both did excellently.”

 “Yeah!” They punched the air above, but then frowned confused and raised one eyebrow each. “Wait… independence?”

 “Well you see… I must attend to some business, and I will have to leave you alone for a while.” Toriel looked at the corner of her eyes.

 “Aww…” Mugman frowned and let his arms drop. “Can’t we come with you?”

 “No, no!” Toriel’s eyes widened and she shook her hands. “Please remain here. It is dangerous to explore by yourself."

 Cuphead and Mugman sighed. “Okay.”

 Toriel smiled, and hummed. “I have an idea!” She pulled out a device from her pocket and handed it to the boys. “This is a CELL PHONE.”

 Cuphead and Mugman gasped. “Whoa!” And they both held it together with starry eyes.

 “What’s it doooo?” Cuphead’s star eyes looked up to Toriel.

 “Well…” Toriel knelt down. “It allows you to call me whenever you need anything. Just press this button to call me.” She pointed towards the button that had a phone picture on the left. “Like so. “

 Cuphead pressed the button and Mugman watched. Something rang from Toriel’s right pocket rang and she picked up another copy of a phone from her pocket.

 Toriel pushed a button from her phone and placed it on her ear. “Greetings! This is Toriel!”

 Cuphead and Mugman heard the same voice from their phone, and they gasped as they looked at each other. “Cooooool!”

 “It’s like our telephone tin cans!” Mugman gently tugged the phone a bit as he leaned a millimeter closer to his brother.

 “Yeah!” Cuphead did the same.

 “Hey! Can I hold it?” Mugman scrunched his eyebrows and frowned as he tugged the phone again.

 “No way I’m not done!” Cuphead looked angrily at his brother as he yanked the phone close to his chest.

 “Aww come on!” Mugman angrily tugged the phone close to his chest. “You already called her!”

 “Hey!” Cuphead tugged the phone and stood taller than Mugman. “I’m the older brother here!!” His face towered over the latter’s face while Mugman leaned back defiantly avoiding it.

 “Hey no fair!” Mugman pushed his forehead onto Cuphead’s head, and the latter pushed back; their noses were being squished together in the process. “You can’t use the big bro card like that!!!”

 The two brothers began loudly and open-mouthed arguing, roughly tugging the phone to themselves, trying to over-push the other by squishing their noses, and towards the end of their banter they started to push the other’s chest.

 “Ah-ahem!” Toriel put her fist in front of her mouth.

 Hands on each other’s shoulders as they stopped pushing and arguing, Cuphead and Mugman looked at Toriel. Gently, she sandwiched her hands on Cuphead and Mugman’s hands which held the phone.

 “Share. Alright?” Toriel smiled at both the boys each.

 Cuphead and Mugman looked at each other and then smiled apologetically.

 “Okay.” They said in sync as they looked at Toriel.

 Toriel nodded and stood. “Be good, alright?”

 “Okay!” They grinned.

 With that, Toriel turned around and exited the room.

 Cuphead and Mugman waved and smiled at her until she turned the corner… and as soon as she did, Cuphead gently tugged the phone they were still holding, and Mugman tugged back. The boys glared at each other and then started to do a back and forth tug o’ war on the phone.

 “Come on it’s my turn!” Mugman tugged the phone.

 “No! It’s mine!” Cuphead tugged it back.

 “Mine!” Mugman tugged it back so strong, that he got the phone, and he looked at it curiously.

 Cuphead gasped, and then growled. “Mine!” He pounced Mugman.

 The two began to wrestle over the phone in a round dust cloud, and the two grunted and kept yelling ‘Mine!’ as they rumbled.

 Mugman growled. “ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!” He stood up, spreading his ‘stop’ hands to the sides, while Cuphead leaned away staring in shock at Mugman.

 “HERE YOU CAN YOU HAVE IT!” Mugman slammed the phone onto Cuphead’s hands, pushed it to Cuphead’s chest, looked away, and grunted while folding his arms and closing his eyes.

 Cuphead blinked, and then looked at the phone he was holding. “Wait… really?” He raised an eyebrow at Mugman.

 “Yeah!” Mugman glared at Cuphead. “I’m not fightin’ my best bud over some stupid phone, you can have it!” He then turned away again, and glared at the corner of the wall.

 For a few seconds, Cuphead stared at his brother with open-mouth surprise, and frowned as he looked at the phone; he felt an empty cold feeling creep up his chest. Cuphead sighed, and then tapped his brother’s shoulder.

 “What?!” Mugman glared at Cuphead, but then gasped as he was showed the phone.

 Cuphead smiled. “Here.”

 Mugman looked at the phone, and then at Cuphead.

 Cuphead chuckled. “Hey… you earned it big bro.” At the end, his smile turned into a frown.

 For a few seconds, Mugman looked at Cuphead, and then smiled endearingly. He placed the phone onto Cuphead’s hand, and gently pushed it equidistant between them. “Share.”

 Cuphead looked at the phone they were holding together, and then smiled at Mugman. He then gently folded his fingers at the phone. “Share.”

 They then tackled each other in a tight cuddly clinking and cheek-to-cheek smiling bear hug.

 “Come on, let’s go!” Cuphead walked towards the exit of the room.

 “Whoa whoa!” Mugman held Cuphead’s hand, anchoring him down (the other hand held the phone). “Where’re ya goin?”

 “Whaddya mean?” He raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t we follow her?”

 “You heard what she said. Stay,” Mugman pointed his finger down to the floor. “Put!” He pressed that same finger down.

 “What?!” Cuphead’s eyes widened. “No way!” He scrunched his eyebrows and wiped his hands outwards. “That would be boring!” He folded his arms.

 “Cuphead, she said it was dangerous to explore on our own!” Mugman spread his explaining hands. He creased up his eyebrows. “Bro, be reasonable, and please don’t run us into trouble again.”

 Cuphead’s eyebrows creased up too. “B-but…”

 Cuphead looked at the crack on Mugman’s head, and flashbacked to the time a bullet seed hit his head, and the time they fell from the chasm.

 Cuphead sighed and smiled. “Okay. You win.”

 Mugman smiled gratefully and hugged Cuphead again.

 “Well… since we’re stayin’ put whaddya think we should do?” Cuphead raised an eyebrow.

 After a chuckle, Mugman held his hands up, as if waiting for Cuphead to clap them. Cuphead smiled in silence for a few, snickered and then clapped his brother’s hands with his own.

 “Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s men! Bake me a cake as fast as you can!...” They sang as they clapped their hands together in a series of patterns in their all too familiar game.