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elm-writes-stories · 1 year ago

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Cuphead: Isle of Shadows(Rewrite)

*Hey guys! I'm back with another episode for Cuphead: Isle of Shadows rewrite. I seriously love doing this series so far. This is published on July 22, 2023. If you all like this episode, don't be afraid to heart it, reblog, and spam the comment section! That would be appreciated! Enjoy!*

Episode Five: Nightmare on Forest Street

“Are you sure you want to bring Melvin here?” Jack Cat asked while working in the secret lab somewhere in the middle of the city late at night with his best friend, Murray Cup.

“Yeah, Lily Rose has Cooper,” Murray said, carrying baby Mugman in his baby carrier strapped on him. “Elder Kettle is out to do his weekly mustache wax or whatever he's got going on.”

“Doesn’t he do it in the mornings though?” Jack asked.

Murray chuckled a bit. “I guess. I’m not sure how long his mustache wax usually take.”

“You should,” Jack teased. “You guys were in the military together.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I just don’t pay attention.”

“Ha, figures,” Jack said while writing down the ingredients. His red fur stood on its end when he came to discover something odd about the potion they were making. “Are you sure that this is going to prevent Tremaine from getting inside of people?”

“If used before being injected with Tremaine, yeah,” Murray stated in a matter-of-factly tone. Murray looked down and noticed baby Mugman staring at the potions with some interest. “See something shiny, Melvin?”

Baby Mugman tried to reach for the potions to drink it with a little whine, but Murray moved his baby away from the potions.

“These are not drinks. Unless you want to explode after drinking one of them,” Murray said with a chuckle.

“Seems your son is interested in science,” Jack said, predicting baby Mugman’s movements. “My daughter is more of a reading type. That kid tried to read before even knowing how to talk.”

“Well, maybe that’s her way of learning how to talk,” Murray replied with a tease.

Jack nodded his head. “At least, Shayna has Porkrind to talk to about all of this. I know I ain’t home often enough to help her through it.”

“You’re not thinking that she, um…?”

“What?! No! I trust Shayna. And I’ve met Porkrind before and he seems like a good guy, so I trust him.”

“You know that they dated once, right?”

“Oh, I know that. Shayna and I don’t keep secrets from each other,” Jack said.

“Except you being here.”

“No, she knew that too. She knew that’s the reason why I come home late. She knew why I’m doing this. But I think she doubts that a cure from Tremaine is going to stop this hatred of our kind.”

“Hey, we’re going to find a cure for Tremaine…then everyone here won’t hate you and your species,” Murray reassured his friend.

“But it’s more than that. It wasn’t just the Tremaine outbreak. Hunter had hired designers to make some awful things about us, creating stereotypes that only makes their hatred grow. Like this!” Jack showed a poster that had the red-furred felines with horns and spiked fur, dancing around the pit of fire like demons worshipping the Devil with the words in bold white letters that said "Stop the demons".

“It’s no wonder people tend to think we’re some kind of Devil worshippers.”

“That looks…really bad,” Murray uttered, speechless.

Jack sighed. “I’m afraid for Shayna and Cassidy. I’m afraid that they will get killed eventually and I won’t be there to protect them. I don’t think this cure will stop the growing hatred of my kind.”

Murray placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “That’s why you’re getting all the credit for this. Despite all the bad things that those posters show, you did one good thing. A big one, in fact.”

Jack shook his head, doubting Murray’s plan. “Murray—”

“There they are!”

Murray and Jack whirled around and saw a few hooded figures stomping into the secret lab. Murray managed to grab the potions secretly before hiding it his pockets in his slacks. Hunter stormed into the lab with a glare at both of the men.

“You got some nerve working on a cure,” Hunter growled.

Jack stepped between Murray and Hunter, also protecting Baby Mugman. “You need to stop this madness, Hunter. Before it’s too late—”

Before Jack could try to calm the situation down, Hunter pulled out a gun and shot Jack in the chest. Jack covered his bloody chest and collapsed onto the floor.

Baby Mugman cried in fear from the sound of a gunshot while Murray covered his son’s eyes to not see the bloody display of his best friend laying on the floor.

Murray didn’t have time to grieve for his best friend because he knew him and his son were next to the slaughter. No, he wouldn’t let them be next. Murray hurried out the door before Hunter could shoot him.

Hunter growled, showing his fangs. “After him!”

The two hooded assassins followed instructions and went after Murray and baby Mugman.

Hunter looked over at Jack, who was gasping for breath. The tiger glanced around at the assassins. “Rile up the angry mob. Have them kill every one of his species. Make sure not one of those red cats is left alive.”

The assassins nodded their heads and stormed out of the lab.

Hunter looked back down at Jack, who was struggling to survive. With a smirk, Hunter crouched down to get a closer look on Jack’s terrified expression when he realized that his family was in danger.

“Too bad you couldn’t save your precious family,” Hunter replied with a menacing chuckle. “But don’t worry, your wife and child will soon join you.”

Jack drew out his last breath.

Hunter stood up on his feet and headed out of the lab, leaving Jack’s body there to rot.

~.~

Fifteen years later:

It had been a couple of days since Hunter sent Bowlboy out to get Tremaine inside of Cuphead…or what Dice was assuming was Cuphead. However, Dice could tell that something was off with Hunter. Either because Hunter whispered something to Bowlboy that wasn’t part of the plan or…maybe Hunter wanted Bowlboy to do something more unforgivable than inject Tremaine into the cup’s body.

Dice gasped to see Bowlboy returning back to the Night Stalkers camp with a more guilty look on his face. Devil, Henchman, and Stickler noticed as well and walked over to Bowlboy.

Hunter smirked and walked over to the bowl. “Did you do it?”

“Yeah,” Bowlboy said without sounding sinister or maniacal like usual. Dice thought that Bowlboy somehow saw something that traumatized him more than any words could express. “What did I just inject into Mugman?”

“Mugman?!” Devil gasped in shock. “You’re supposed to get Cuphead! Not Mugman, you idiot!”

Hunter watched Devil stormed into the tent with Henchman and Stickler following him inside. But Dice stayed outside.

Hunter nodded his head with a smirk. “You better run…”

Dice sighed in discouragement and was about to head into the tent until—

“But you said to get Mugman,” Bowlboy pointed out.

Dice froze and looked over at Hunter and Bowlboy.

“I said…run,” Hunter growled, his hand gripping the gun.

Without another word, Bowlboy zoomed away from the Night Stalkers camp. Hunter turned around and looked at Dice, who stared at him with an arched brow.

“What are you really planning, Hunter?” Dice asked with a growl.

Hunter only smiled coyly. “You’ll soon see, Kingsley. You’ll soon see.”

Dice was offended when Hunter called his real name. Before he could snap at the tiger, he could see the intention of using that name in the tiger’s eyes. Should Dice be afraid of Hunter? He watched Hunter entered the tent, passing by him.

Dice needed to find Bowlboy and find out what exactly was going on, but he couldn’t do that if Devil knew he was gone. He had to pick a good time to take off and find Bowlboy.

~.~

Mugman had been blacked out for a couple of days and Cuphead could only stare at his brother on the bottom bunk bed near the door. Cuphead refused to get out of the room no matter how many times Elder Kettle would try to tempt him with ice cream or sweets. What happened the other day to his brother really affected Cuphead’s mood and sweet tooth. Cassidy would also come in and stare at Mugman almost a few hours a day, praying silently to herself that Mugman would be okay.

Cassidy came in today and sat next to Cuphead, watching Mugman sleep for a little while.

“Is Mugman okay?” Cassidy asked softly.

Cuphead could only shrug as an answer, earning a sad sigh from the red feline.

They heard footsteps and Cassidy looked up to find Chalice and Natalie entering the room.

“How’s Mugsy doin’?” Chalice asked both Cuphead and Cassidy.

“Is he gonna wake up?” Natalie questioned. “It’s been a couple of days.”

“I-I don’t know,” Cassidy stuttered. “I hope he wakes up soon.”

Chalice looked at Mugman laying on the bed and then back at Cassidy with a soft smile. “Hey, Cassi, I might need your help with something. You know, watching over Aurora and all.”

“Sure,” Cassidy said and stood up from her seat. She looked at Natalie, who stared at Mugman sadly.

Cassidy rubbed her arm nervously and walked past Natalie, following Chalice out of the room.

Natalie glanced down at Cuphead softly. “You feelin’ okay, shorty?”

“I ain’t short,” Cuphead droned.

Natalie smiled that she got a response from Cuphead. She sat next to him and watched Mugman sleep with Cuphead. “Um…I wanna thank you for, um, saving my sister the other day.”

Cuphead perked his head up and looked over at her with a tiny blush. “Oh, uh, it’s nothin’.”

Natalie frowned. “Well, it’s somethin’ to me. Sooo…thank you.”

Cuphead nodded his head. “No problem.”

There was silence for a moment until Cuphead thought of something that led him biting down his wobbling bottom lip. Natalie noticed it and wasn’t sure whether to ask him or not until—

“It’s all my fault,” Cuphead admitted.

Natalie tilted her head. “Your fault? How?”

“Mugman kept me alive when I owed the Devil my soul. He knitted the invisible sweater for me to protect me. I mean, he always has my back no matter what. He was my best friend and my brother all in one. And I…oh, nevermind, I bet you don’t want to hear a peasant’s rambling.”

Natalie softened her gaze and then looked down when she remembered how she met Cuphead and called him a peasant. Well, Cuphead was a peasant compared to her and her family, but a part of her felt…bad for some reason for calling him that.

“Aurora is like my best friend and my sister all in one too,” Natalie said, trying to relate to Cuphead. “I’d do anything to protect her from everything going on now. I guess Mom kind of left us and probably didn’t come back for us when the Night Stalkers situation happened.”

Cuphead turned to Natalie with an upset look. “Did she forget about you both?”

“Probably…or maybe she couldn’t go home…I like to think the best of her sometimes…but either way, Aurora and I are left to fend for ourselves…I can’t believe we’re in a situation where anyone now could find us and kill us. Like, look what happened to Mugman. Someone insane must have injected something into Mugman that caused him to be like this.”

Cuphead frowned at the reminder of what happened a couple of days. “Yeah…has Aurora told you what happened or what she saw before Mugman attacked her?”

Natalie shook her head. “She’s too shaken up to even tell me what happened…”

“I don’t blame her. I’m still shaken up too,” Cuphead said admittingly.

Natalie looked back at Mugman. “Yeah, me too.” She sighed and looked at Cuphead. “I know Mugman means a lot to you. But…why do you blame yourself for all of this? It ain’t your fault Mugman ended up like this.”

“It is…” Cuphead said sadly. “Long story short, I lost a game at the Devil’s carnival and owed him my soul and Mugman made sure that my soul was in tact until that contract was expired. I could’ve just live and let be if I knew my soul contract was expired after thirty days. Then I saw the Devil’s pitchfork and we were just horsin’ around. Devil showed up and demanded it back, but I was such a dummy that I didn’t give it back to him…so…he took Mugman. Mugman hadn’t been the same since Devil kidnapped him. Heck, Mugman wouldn’t even tell me what happened down there.”

Cuphead’s lips wobbled while tears edged out of his eyes. “Then the Night Stalkers came after us, Mugman is injected with whatever that thing was, and-and now I don’t know when he will ever wake up. I never thought Mugman would ever get hurt because he kept me alive for so long…I-I didn’t think Mugman would be the target. I-I didn’t think that Mugman would get hurt like this. I-I should have never taunted Devil…I should have never gone into that stupid carnival. I should’ve stopped while I was winning that stupid game. But I didn’t…I was so focused on winning big! I-I just—” That was when Cuphead broke down crying in front of Natalie, who seemed confused as to know what to do.

Natalie frowned to see Cuphead like this.

“If it weren’t for me…Mugman would never get hurt. Mugman wouldn’t have to save me every time,” Cuphead whimpered, wiping the tears away. “I-I’m such an idiot. I wish-I wish I could take back everything I did. I wish I could take back those stupid words I said before Devil abducted Mugsy…I-I wish…I-I wish…”

Cuphead’s body stopped shaking once Natalie placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Should’ve. Would’ve. Could’ve,” Natalie replied softly but firmly. “Your brother needs you now more than ever, just as much as you need him. And now with whatever is going on inside of Mugman, he definitely needs you to help him during this really hard time. He needs you, Cuphead. You can look back and think of all the things you should’ve or shouldn’t have done, but the reality is that Mugman would think the same for you as a brother and a best friend. So be his brother and best friend that he needed right now.”

Cuphead calmed down a bit and wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. Those words felt like a slap in the face, but in a good kind of way.

“Thanks, Natalie, I needed that,” Cuphead said with a blush.

Natalie smiled softly with a blush as well and nodded her head. They heard a knock at the door and they looked to see Elder Kettle and Cassidy peeking into the room.

“Hey, Cuphead, can I talk to you…alone?” Elder Kettle asked.

Cuphead looked at Natalie, who got up from her seat.

“I’ll, uh, go make sure Aurora is okay,” Natalie said while exiting out of the bedroom.

Cassidy rubbed her arm nervously once again. “I can look over Mugman and make sure if he’s okay.”

“That’s very sweet of you, Cassidy,” Elder Kettle said. “You can’t be too careful nowadays.” He shifted his gaze at Cuphead. “There’s something I need to talk to you about…something I should’ve told you boys a long time ago.”

“What is it?” Cuphead questioned.

Elder Kettle gestured to Cuphead for him to follow the old tea kettle. Cuphead moved off of his seat reluctantly and left Cassidy to watch Mugman.

Cassidy sat in the seat Cuphead was sitting and frowned at the mug. “Stay strong, Mugman. Please, stay strong.”

~.~

Cuphead followed Elder Kettle into the room that Elder Kettle resided in. It was an old dusty room that had the picture of an old lady teapot on the empty wooden desk across from the bed.

“Shut the door, please,” Elder Kettle requested.

Cuphead did so as requested. “So…what’s going on?”

“It’s…It’s about your parents,” Elder Kettle finally admitted.

Cuphead widened his eyes. “You’ve never brought them up.”

“That’s why I’m bringing them up now,” Elder Kettle said while sitting on the bed. He patted on the spot next to him to gesture Cuphead to sit next to him. Cuphead did so and looked up at Cuphead in curiosity.

Elder Kettle took out a note and handed it to Cuphead. “It’s probably faded, but this was given to me when you both were dropped off on my porch.”

Cuphead squinted at the words. He was never the best reader but the words in the letter seemed easy to understand.

Dear old friend. Please take care of our boys, Cuphead and Mugman. They are our pride and joy that we must sadly give away for their safety. Do not be alarm when you see those two potions in the basket. These potions are our gift to the boys once they’ve grown old enough. The potions will protect the boys. Thank you, dear friend. We trust that they will be safer in your hands. Sincerely, Murray and Lily.

Cuphead blinked in disbelief of the letter. “Murray and Lily?”

“Those are the names of your parents,” Elder Kettle said.

Cuphead looked up at his caretaker. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“Well…you see, I think I know what it is that Mugman has inside of him. It’s called Tremaine…it’s a chemical that causes people to become…how I should I say it? A monster. Your father tried to find a cure for Tremaine, but he only made these two potions for both you and your brother, hoping to prevent Tremaine from ever going inside of you both. Your father was a good man and he wanted nothing more than to keep you boys safe. I was suppose to give these to you once you boys were old enough…but…I guess fifteen years go by and there was no worry over Tremaine until…Mugman got injected with it.”

Cuphead frowned and tilted his head. “What’s gonna happen to Mugsy?”

“I’m not sure,” Elder Kettle answered sadly. “I mean, the potion was supposed to prevent Tremaine from going inside of him, not cure it. So…maybe it could prevent Tremaine from taking a complete hold of Mugman. I’m not sure how long that will last though. That’s why I wanted to give you the other potion.” Elder Kettle handed Cuphead the remaining potion. “This will protect you from Tremaine going inside of you if you take it before it does. I’m not sure what will happen, but I know that Tremaine will never get to you if you take a drink of the potion.”

Cuphead took the potion and frowned. “I wish Mugsy has the same opportunity.”

“I know. And I made the mistake in thinking that Tremaine is no longer existent. I won’t make that mistake with you,” Elder Kettle replied solemnly.

Cuphead stared at the potion in his hand. He looked up at Elder Kettle. “Elder Kettle, what…what were my parents like?”

Elder Kettle blinked and smiled warmly. “I think you got most of your father’s personality. Hehe, he was so reckless at your age. He likes to blow stuff up…kind of like you.”

Cuphead grinned and giggled at the thought of his father being like him.

“Your mother…well…I think Mugman has most of her personality. She’s protective over your father and you boys, wanting to make sure that you all were safe,” Elder Kettle said with a smile. “I’ve met both your parents while I was serving in the military. Your father was a soldier and your mother was a nurse. I don’t know how they hit it off, but they hit it off and once the war was over, your parents got married and had you boys. I wish they were here to see you boys grow up.”

Cuphead frowned and looked at the potion. He took a deep breath and popped the cap off. “Well…here’s to my parents then.” Cuphead raised it up like he was proposing a toast a bit. Elder Kettle watched his boy drinking the potion and taking a big gulp. Cuphead shook his head in disgust. “Ew, it tastes gross.”

Elder Kettle chuckled a bit. “It’s probably spoiled by now but it should work still-”

Without knowing, Cuphead’s fingers glowed blue and shot out of his hands before realizing what was happening. Elder Kettle ducked and covered for it once it blew up the table in front of him.

“Wow! That was an accident!” Cuphead shouted in fear.

“It’s okay. You were just given those powers. It might be a little hard to control them.”

Cuphead clenched his fists so that his fingers would randomly shoot out...this blue stuff. “Whoa...this is actually cool. Can I play with it?!”

“Well...if you are going to play with those newfound powers of yours, take it outside.”

“Wait, what about Mugsy? Will he be okay?”

“As long as someone is watching him, he’ll be fine.”

Cuphead opened his palms and looked at his hands with a bright smile. “Can’t wait to show Mugsy this.”

~.~

“Stay strong, Mugman. Please, stay strong.”

Mugman gasped and snapped his eyes open. He looked around to find that he was in a dark forest with a white fog around him. He couldn’t see what’s around him except for the dark willow trees rooted near him.

“Hello?” Mugman called while standing up from the ground. “HELLO?!”

His voice echoed through the dark forest, but no one responded.

Mugman frowned and rubbed his arms from the sudden cold. He was too afraid to move forward through any direction of the forest. What if they were ghosts? No, he wouldn’t have a nightmare about ghosts…right? Oh no, he thought he heard someone laughing maniacally. It was unfamiliar laugh.

“You little animal.”

Mugman tensed up once he felt someone’s presence behind him. Before Mugman could turn around and look at who it was, he was snatched by the arm. Mugman had time to look back to see a familiar tiger with green eyes grabbing him.

“You?!” Mugman recognized instantly. “L-Let go of me!”

The tiger threw Mugman across the forest and into the dark safe box. The door closed, leaving Mugman in crowded darkness.

“HEY! LET ME OUT!!” Mugman cried while slamming his feet against the door. “LET ME OUT!!! LET ME OUT!!! CASSIDY!! CUPHEAD!! ELDER KETTLE!! SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME!!”

He felt the walls closing in on him, squeezing him tightly.

“PLEASE!!! HELP ME!!!” Mugman shouted until he soon realized that he was just dreaming of all this. He shut his eyes, hoping he will wake up back somewhere safe. When he reopened his eyes, it didn’t work. Mugman blinked a few more times, but it wasn’t working.

“Trying to wake up from this place?” the unfamiliar voice crooned. “Too bad your friends and family won’t be there to save you.”

“HEY!!! LET ME OUT!!! PLEASE!!! I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE!!” Mugman cried, breathing heavily and tears streaming down his face. He felt paws grabbing his shoulders and yanking him back into the darkness through the wall behind him.

“I need something from you, Mugman. And you’re going to give it to me.”

The touch from the tiger’s paws burned into Mugman’s skin, causing Mugman to howl in pain.

“W-What do you want from me?!” Mugman screamed in agony.

“You were there when your father took those potions…what do you remember of that night?”

“W-What? What are you talking about?! I don’t even remember my own parents! LET ME GO!!”

“Oh, you do. It’s somewhere deep in your little liquid brain of yours.”

Mugman could feel his body burning up from the tiger’s grip. He could feel fur coming out of his porcelain body and his teeth sharpening. His vision turned orange and red while his fingertips grew claws.

“And I’m not going to stop until I get what I want,” the tiger growled.

“Whatever you want, you can have! I’m tellin’ ya! I don’t remember!” Mugman cried.

“Let’s find out, shall we?”

The tiger gripped to the side of Mugman’s head. Mugman screamed in more pain until he couldn’t anymore.

Mugman blinked and gasped once he stood in the living room of an unfamiliar house. Everything was a blur except for the crib. He walked over slowly to it and peeked over to find him and his brother sleeping in their crib together when they were babies.

“What the—?”

Mugman heard humming from the kitchen and turned to the humming sound. The hums came from the silhouette of a cup woman washing the dishes as Mugman tiptoed to the kitchen. He peeked in and noticed her. She was taller than he was with blonde liquid hair braided to the side. She had a skinny red handle on the back of her head along with a red dress that she wore a pink apron over. She seemed perfectly content with her life of having only two boys to raise.

Mugman recognized her instantly, tears forming in his eyes. “Mama…” He reached his hand out to touch her, hoping that she will turn around and recognize her own teenage son. But she was too far out of reach. He felt someone grabbing his handle, burning into his skin again.

“AAH!!” Mugman screamed in pain.

“Take me to the night where I killed your mother!”

“W-What?” Mugman uttered in tears.

“Come now, you do remember that night, don’t you?”

“N-No, I don’t!!! LET ME GO!!”

“You’re a liar.”

“I’m not! I’m not! Please, let me go!!”

“Not until you take me to that night—”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

The burn increased throughout the young mug’s body while Mugman cried in pain.

“MAMA!!” Mugman screamed in fear and agony.

Mugman blinked and was taken to another memory. The one where everything was all a blur except for his father. He watched his father running through the forest in the snow storm with the baby carrier attached to him. Mugman noticed his baby self crying in the baby carrier. Mugman might have witnessed something horrific when he was a baby. Why couldn’t he remember it? Mugman watched and saw a street sign…for some reason, it wasn’t blurred either.

“Forest Street?” Mugman uttered. “Why do I remember that?”

“Keep remembering,” the tiger’s voice growled behind him.

Mugman breathed heavily while following his father towards the unfamiliar cup house in the woods. His father entered the house and Mugman followed him. Mugman watched his mother turned around when his father entered the house.

“What’s going on?” Mugman’s mother asked.

“Remember what we talked about?” Mugman’s father questioned.

His mother shook her head. “No…”

“Yes, Hunter found out about t̸͚͗h̴̤͋e̷̺͛ ̷̬͠ċ̵̝ư̴ͅȓ̸͜e̴̖̓. He ḱ̶̺i̶͎̍l̵̳͠l̴͓͒e̶̙̚d̸̦̂ ̴͚̊J̵̨̈a̴̜̚c̷̙͊k̷͚̉ ̶͔̈́ and he’s coming for us! Take the boys to Elder Kettle. They’ll be safer with him!” Mugman’s father commanded while handing his wife the basket to put the babies.

Mugman’s mother shed a few tears before picking Mugman out of the baby carrier and placed him in the basket. Mugman watched with tears in his eyes while his mother put Cuphead in the basket. She covered the babies with the blanket and Mugman’s father hurried over and hid something strange in the basket. Mugman couldn’t see what it was and, frankly, he couldn’t see the two blue glowing lights either. What were those?

Mugman watched his parents hugging each other with the basket between them, earning sniffles and cries from baby Mugman and Cuphead.

“We’re so sorry,” Mugman’s mother sniffled while kissing the boys’ foreheads.

“So sorry,” Mugman’s father added, his voice croaked. They heard footsteps coming towards the door. His father glanced at his mother. “You know what to do.”

Mugman’s mother nodded her head tearfully.

“Don’t you remember what those potions were made of?! Do you even remember what happened before this?!”

Mugman felt the burning touch, causing him to scream in pain. “I told you! I don’t remember!!! Let me go!”

“You liar! I know your father would spill all the secret ingredients!”

“I WAS ONLY A BABY!!!” Mugman screamed at the tiger angrily. “I DON’T REMEMBER ANYTHING!!! AAAAAAHHH!!!”

He could hear a growl and grabbed Mugman’s arm again. This time, Mugman didn’t hesitate to bite down the tiger’s paw, causing Hunter to yelp in pain.

Mugman breathed heavily and witnessed someone kicking down the front door of the house. It…It was that tiger again…but he couldn’t see Mugman. Mugman gasped in shock and looked up at the tiger that was behind him before, but now…he disappeared.

“Go, Lily! Go!!!” Mugman’s father cried to Mugman’s mother named Lily.

Mugman watched his mother taking off through the back door while his father was fighting the tiger and the couple of assassins off. Everything was a blur after his mother left but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hear the voices.

“Leave them alone!” Mugman’s father barked at the tiger.

“You know, Murray, you should’ve think before showing your little Melvin the secret ingredients,” the tiger snarled. The sound of the gunshot scared Mugman back out of the house. Everything shifted around him and Mugman breathed heavily in fear.

Mugman looked up and saw his mother, running up to Elder Kettle’s tea-pot house. Lily, Mugman’s mother, placed the basket on the porch and knocked on the door harshly and urgently. She hugged her two boys, Cuphead and Mugman. Mugman stepped closer to his mother and the basket and started to sob. Lily placed her last forehead kisses on their heads before whirling around to hear someone coming for them.

“I’m so sorry,” Lily said while running into the snow storm. She waved her hands to draw the attention of the hooded assassins and the tiger. She ran away from the tea-pot as far as she could to keep the boys and Elder Kettle safe. The hooded assassins and the tiger ran after her into the darkness.

Mugman heard the door opening and looked behind him to find Elder Kettle standing at the doorway. He looked down at the baby cups in shock.

“Oh my!” Elder Kettle gasped in shock and picked up the basket. He took the babies in immediately and shut the door.

Mugman stood out there in the snow, his tears streaming down his ceramic cheeks. He clenched his teeth to hold in his whimpering until he heard a gunshot from the distance. Mugman whirled around and tried to see what was going on out there.

Once he squinted, Mugman could see silhouettes of the assassins and the tiger dragging out his now dead mother. Mugman started to breath shakily, whimpering.

“M-MAMA!” Mugman screamed for her, but he knew that she couldn’t hear him. He collapsed on his knees and sobbed uncontrollably, mourning at the death of his mother.

Mugman felt hands gripping his arms suddenly. The mug started to struggle in the tiger’s hold.

“You little animal,” the tiger growled behind him.

Mugman clenched his teeth in pain once he felt it burning his skin. “I’m going to kill you! You hear me?! I’m going to kill you for this!”

The tiger only smirked at Mugman. “My, my, I knew there was that lust for blood in you. I guess you and I are not as different as I thought.”

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THEM!!!” Mugman screamed while thrashing his feet. “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” the tiger said with a laugh. “I don’t doubt that one bit.”

Mugman could feel burn intensifying while he screamed in agony. He could feel his body shifting back into a monster he feared he was already.

“LET ME GO, YOU FREAK!!”

“Ah yes, you want blood, don’t you? You want vengeance for what happened to your parents, don’t you? Doesn’t their screams of pain satisfy you? Aren’t the sound of gunshots beautiful?”

“I…said…let…me…go!” Mugman growled while yanked his arm out of the tiger’s grip and slammed his fist against the tiger’s stomach.

The tiger released Mugman’s other arm while covering his gut. Before Mugman could leap to attack him, the tiger disappeared without a trace and everything went dark around him.

Mugman breathed heavily, his fists shaking from clenching them too hard. The blue-nosed mug collapsed on his knees and sobbed again, feeling his body shaking from the burns. Before he could close his eyes and let his mind take him somewhere else, he heard something in the distance.

“Hello?! Is anyone here?!”

Mugman lifted his head with tear stains on his cheeks. He squinted at the distance and noticed a mysterious shiny figure walking around the darkness.

“Hello?! Is anyone here?!”

Mugman reached his hand out to the figure and was about to say something, but he was soon cut off.

~.~

Mugman gasped awake, his eyes snapped open. He started to move around frantically until he felt a soft touch from a paw rubbing his arm soothingly.

“Hey, don’t get up too fast,” Cassidy’s angelic voice spoke.

Mugman glanced over to find Cassidy sitting next to him with her paw on his arm. He sat up and looked around to realize that he was in the bedroom where the kids had slept before.

“W-What happened? How long was I out?” Mugman asked her.

“A couple of days,” she answered awkwardly. “Give or take.”

“Oh…”

“Are you okay?” she questioned immediately. “You were crying in your sleep.”

“I-I was?” he said with a blush. “I mean…I-It was just a stupid nightmare.”

She frowned. “You wanna talk about it?”

“I rather not.”

She nodded her head in understanding. “If you ever want to talk about it, um, just know I’m here to listen.”

He smiled softly at her. “Thanks, Cassidy.”

They both noticed she still had her paw on his arm with small gentle strokes. They both blushed madly while Cassidy removed her paw from Mugman’s arm.

“Sorry, that wasn’t appropriate to keep my paw there…um…”

“Oh, it’s fine…you’re perfect-I mean, you’re okay. I mean…ugh, you know what I mean.”

Cassidy giggled and decided to tease him with a smirk. “Oh? Do you mean that I don’t have any flaws?”

He blushed at her teasing, but he decided to tease back. “Well, I don’t see any flaws so far. I know I’ll find ‘em eventually. Just you wait.”

“Hehe, my flaws are pretty obvious.”

“Really? Then I must be blind from your beauty to not see any flaws so far,” Mugman flirted, causing her to blush.

“Oh, so you think I’m beautiful?” she flirted back.

He blushed madly. “Hehe, well, what else can I say? You’re the cat’s pawjamas.”

Cassidy bursted out laughing at the cat pun used, causing Mugman to giggle along with her. She laughed harder until she snorted like a pig. She covered her mouth and nose with an embarrassed blush.

Mugman looked at her in shock and then wheezed in adoration. “Aww! That’s so cute! I wanna hear it again!”

She shook her head. “No, I hate my laugh.”

“Aw, I love it! It’s so cute.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is. And I don’t care who says otherwise,” Mugman said with a smirk.

Cassidy rolled her eyes playfully. “You’re such a goofball.”

“Ahem.”

Cassidy and Mugman looked up and saw Porkrind standing by the doorway with a withering glare and his arms crossed.

“Do you mind not flirting with my daughter?” Porkrind said with his brow arched up.

Mugman blushed and realized he leaned a bit too closely to Cassidy during their flirting. He backed up immediately. “Uh…we’re not flirting.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Porkrind said, unconvinced by Mugman’s statement.

Cuphead came into the room with a bright smile. “Mugsy, you’re awake!” He hurried and jumped onto the bed just to hug Mugman.

Mugman gasped in shock for a moment before hugging his brother back. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, bud. I miss you too,” Cuphead spoke softly.

Elder Kettle entered the room and smiled at the boys.

Cuphead broke away from his brother. “Oh, Mugsy! C’mon! I got something to show you! C’mon!”

He took Mugman by the hand and pulled his brother off the bed.

“Okay, okay, I’m comin’. I’m comin’,” Mugman said while being led outside through the kitchen door in Natalie’s backyard where Natalie played with Aurora and Chalice sat next to the goat grazing on the grass and watching them enjoying themselves until they saw Cuphead and Mugman running outside.

Aurora tilted her head and approached Mugman, looking up at him in confusion whether she should be afraid of him or not after a couple of days.

Mugman instantly remembered almost attacking Aurora with a quiet gasp in fear. “Uh…I’m sorry…I, uh, wasn’t myself a couple of days ago.”

“Id’s okay. I knew id wasn’d you,” Aurora replied while stepping back by her big sister for protection just in case.

“We’re glad to see you back on your feet, Mugsy,” Chalice said with a grin.

“Hold on, hold on, I got something to show you all. Hold on, ready?” Cuphead said while forming his hand like a finger gun. The blue glow was at the tip of Cuphead’s index finger. “Bang!” He released the blue glow like a bullet. The blue ball hit the fence and left a burn mark along with the other burn marks, indicating Cuphead’s little practice earlier.

Cuphead smiled in pride. “Awesome, right?!” He turned around to find Mugman, breathing heavily in fear. “Uh…Mugsy…you okay…?”

Mugman snapped out of his trance and shook his head. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Oh, okay. Try it out, bud!” Cuphead encouraged his brother.

“Wait, what?”

“We both got those potions inside of us!” Cuphead said. “Try it out!”

Mugman looked at his finger strangely and pointed his finger at the fence. The blue glow zapped out of his finger and hit the fence and left a burn mark there.

Cuphead brightly smiled and nudged Mugman’s shoulder. “See?! Isn’t that awesome?!”

Mugman chuckled at his brother’s excitement. “Yeah, it is.”

“Come on! Let’s do it again!” Cuphead said while using his finger guns to shoot the blue glow at the fence.

Mugman fired the blue bullets along with his brother with a laugh.

Chalice smirked mischievously and approached the boys. Once she got the boys’ attention, she formed her hands into finger guns and shoot a gold glow at the fence.

The boys beamed and the trio started to fire glowing balls at the fence, laughing in a good fit of fun.

When Cassidy came out, Natalie and Cassidy watched with soft smiles at the boys playing with their newfound powers with Chalice.

To Be Continued...

#cuphead #cuphead: isle of shadows rewrite #elder kettle #henchman #king dice #mugman #stickler #the devil cuphead #ocs x canons #porkrind #ms chalice

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theartofbeinganerd · 8 years ago

Note

If you have time to write please and thank you. Fic idea: framework fitz finds out Jemmas pregnant! And obvi its his.

Hi anon! Hope this is what you were looking for!

Note: I kinda skimmed over the more action-y stuff, because I have no earthly clue what’s happening on Tuesday, so hopefully it still reads right.

“There you are!”

Startled, Jemma whirled around to find Daisy just enteringthe Playground through the entrance from the hangar, looking more than a littlefrazzled. “What are you still doing here?” she demanded. “May told me that takeoffwas in an hour, no exceptions.”

Daisy scoffed, taking a few steps closer until they couldspeak in lowered voices so as not to be overheard. “Yeah, because I’m gonnaleave you here. C’mon, Jemma.” She paused, then asked worriedly, “Where did youdisappear to, anyway?”

Jemma bit back a grimace as she thought back on her little conversation with Alistair Fitz, butultimately decided that it wasn’t worth getting into at the moment. “Justsomething that needed to be done.”

Daisy’s worry didn’t disappear, and instead only seemed to increaseas she lowered her gaze, her brow furrowing. “Have you been feeling alright?”

Confused at the question, Jemma answered a bit uncertainly, “I’mfine…why? Are you alright?”

“What? Yeah, no, I’m fine, butI just keep seeing you with your hand on your stomach like that,” she gestured to Jemma’s midsection. “I’vebeen meaning to ask you about it. Are you sick?”

Taken completely aback, Jemma quickly dropped her gaze, andsure enough, her right hand was resting protectively over her stomach. Hastily,she dropped the hand back to her side and repeated, “I’m fine. None of this isreal, after all – how could I possibly get sick?”

Daisy scoffed. “This place may be fake, but man does it feel real – especially whenyou’re getting the crap kicked out of you.”

Jemma winced in sympathy, pointedly keeping to herself theway her back still twinged a bit from crossing paths with Fitz’s vile father. “Yes,I can imagine so.”

She could tell by the knowing glint in Daisy’s eye that herlittle white lies hadn’t gone over very well with one of the few people thatknew her best, but she was saved from further questions on the subject when thedoor to the hangar slid open once more and an impatient May gestured for themto hurry up.

Daisy shot one last look at Jemma, but ultimately let thesubject go and followed May back into the hangar, Jemma close behind.

Though her body ached from that morning (and truly, from allshe’d been through in the few days she’d spent in the Framework so far), atleast she’d left the nausea and bone-deep exhaustion that had so recently begunto plague her back in the real world. At least the secret she’d been keepingfor what felt like ages but was really just a short time now was safe, her bodylying undisturbed back on the Zephyr with Elena and the other agents watchingover it.

In a world where things had gone so quickly from bad toworse, at the very least she knew that no matter what her body went through inthe virtual world, her little secret was safe – well, except from the one thingthat none of them were truly safefrom, made so very real with Mace’s death.

When they touched down at the incredibly ordinary,unassuming warehouse that Radcliffe had promised Daisy would hold an escapefrom the Framework, it was with guns drawn and extreme caution. After all, ithad been Radcliffe who told Jemma that his backdoor had already been closed byAIDA, only for him to tell Daisy a different story the next day; they couldvery well be walking into a trap.

“We’ve got a lot of ground to cover,” Coulson told them inan undertone, “we want to clear this place as soon as possible and get you twoout so we can pull the plug on AIDA’s plans before she can pull the plug on us.”

“You all know what to do,” May added, giving them a firmnod.

There were answering nods of understanding, and then Jemmawas heading off into the semi-darkness, though she paused when Daisy calledlowly after her, “Jemma, wait.” When she turned back, Daisy offered with thinlyveiled concern, “You want me to come with you?”

Perhaps she hadn’t kept her secret as well as she’d thought.

Forcing back the anxious fear that Daisy had somehow figuredher out, Jemma tried to keep her voice even as she replied, “We need to splitup and finish this as quickly as possible, Daisy. I’ll be fine.”

Daisy chewed her bottom lip briefly, but then nodded. “Okay.Okay, just…call for help if you need it.”

“I’ve got this,” Jemma promised her with a sincere smile,touched by her concern. When Daisy gave her a tiny smile in response, Jemmacontinued deeper into the warehouse, scanning every shadow and listening foreven the tiniest of noises. She was on high alert for anything –

Which was why she nearly jumped out of her skin at the soundof a gun cocking somewhere close behind her.

Swallowing thickly and shakily lifting her hands over herhead, Jemma wondered wildly how the hell she was going to get out of this one.If she called for help, as Daisy had suggested, whoever it was would shoot herfor sure, but she didn’t have a whole lot of options – after all, she didn’tthink she could reason with a piece of code programmed to believe it was aHYDRA stooge.

Then, she heard it.

“Drop the weapon and turn around. Slowly.”

Her heart began racing in her chest, her eyes brieflyslipping closed as she allowed herself a moment to soak in the sound of him(had it only been days? It felt as though yearshad passed since she’d last heard his beloved voice) before she complied,carefully setting down her gun and slowly (so slowly it felt like an eternitypassed) turning to face him.

“Fitz,” shebreathed, stubbornly blinking back the tears that burned at the rims of hereyes. It was the most twisted of wish fulfillments, finally laying eyes onFitz, having the perfect opportunity to free him of the Framework’sbrainwashing, and it was with a gun in his hand that was pointed right at herheart.

“I don’t want to hear any of your lies,” he told her coldly,empty eyes narrowed, “I’ve already heard it all. I know what you are.”

“I’d never lie to you,” Jemma promised, shaking her head sadly.Though he didn’t remember who he was, let alone who she was or what they meantto each other, she didn’t possess an ounce of fear at the gun trained on herbecause she believed in and trusted the hand that held it to never harm her.

Perhaps she should’ve been afraid (she’d been positive,after all, that he couldn’t kill Agnes, and yet he had), but Jemma was notafraid of him, could never be afraidof Fitz. She knew his heart in a way no one else could ever claim to, knew itintimately and fully as though it was her own (and it was; she’d owned his heart for far longer than she’d even beenaware), and she knew that his heart didn’t possess the evil it would take topull that trigger.

“You need to remember,” she said gently, though her tone wasfirm, “please, Fitz. You need you toremember the man you are inside, the man AIDA could never take away or destroy,the man I love.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” he insisted sharply,though Jemma noticed that his hand had begun to tremble, his expression unsureand brow furrowed in mild confusion. Pressing her advantage, Jemma took acouple slow steps closer to him, but Fitz clearly did not like this. “Stay backor I’ll shoot,” he warned her tightly.

“Ugh Fitz, if youwere going to shoot me, you already would have,” Jemma informed him exasperatedly.

“Can you be so sure?” he questioned, eyes still narrowed ina tight glare.

Jemma, of course, wassure, but that didn’t account for accidents and Fitz’s trigger finger waslooking pretty shaky at the moment. “Fitz, please,listen to me: I want you to put the gun down, because you’ll already have somuch guilt that you don’t deserve for the things AIDA has made you do; I knowthat the guilt of this would breakyou, and you’d never forgive yourself for hurting me…” She paused then,inhaling a steadying breath, and went on, “Or our baby.”

Fitz took an automatic step back, eyes darting down to whereshe was protectively covering her stomach once more. He was visibly shaken, hisexpression so very Fitz for a momentthat hope began to bubble up in her chest. But then he shook his head sharplyand snapped, “I’ve never even met you, let alone impregnated you. No matter what lies you tell, it won’t stop mefrom stopping you.”

Though he was trying to put up a front, trying sodesperately to cling to his cold indifference, Jemma could see beyond his maskto the uncertainty and fear he couldn’t hide from her. She stepped closer,closer, until the barrel of the gun was pressed tight to her chest, then murmured,“Fitz, it’s time to come back to me.”

His gaze grew cloudy, and she wondered if he was seeing amemory he didn’t remember making, if he was seeing her bloody and beaten withher head on his shoulder, whispering those same words, the same desperate pleafor him to return to where he belonged.

“Come back to me,” she continued, “for our apartment withits breakfast nook and the fresh start we deserve. Come back to me forPerthshire someday and the little cottage that will be waiting for us to makeit a home. Come back to me, to our baby, because we need you – now more thanever.”

Finally, finally,as Fitz slowly lowered the gun, Jemma gently cupped his head in her hands andtugged him down to find his lips with hers. His body responded immediately, hissubconscious clearly remembering the feel of her lips against his even if hedidn’t quite yet, and it was the first time in the last (endless) few days thatJemma truly felt that everything was going to be alright.

She could tell the moment that something (whether it be memories or their unshakeable bond) kickedin, the clatter of a his gun hitting the concrete floor followed almost instantlyby his hands gripping her hips with a gentle desperation that was so completelyFitz (not the empty murderer AIDA andhis father had warped him into) that she smiled into the kiss, tightening hergrip on his neck.

Some time passed before Jemma could manage to tear herselffrom him (there was still an evil robot to stop, despite how much she wouldrather spend the next week or so just kissing Fitz), and when she did, Fitzwhispered brokenly, though with pure lovecoating the one word, “Jemma.”

Days had passed now since they’d all escaped from theFramework, successfully managing to stop AIDA and the upgraded Superior, andJemma had reached the end of her rope.

The first few days had been spent with everyone in and outof medical as the damage done to the Playground was assessed, and since thenFitz had been tied up in the resulting repairs while Jemma had had to first gether wounds fixed up, then help the understaffed medical team with the others thatcame through.

It was understandable that they hadn’t been able to spendmuch time together recently, let alone have a spare minute to talk when theywere both out cold as soon as their heads hit the pillow (usually at differenttimes). Yet, every time there was a chance to speak about a certain revelation she’d made in the Framework, somethingalways seemed to come up.

Truthfully, she wasn’t even sure he remembered said revelation – she’d found out from the others whohad been kidnapped and programmed with new lives and memories that what they’dexperienced in the Framework was mostly hazy and confusing. However, she wasalmost sure that his over-the-top concern for her after being awoken in theSuperior’s base was rather damning.

After a long day spent in the med bay fixing up the last ofthe injuries, Jemma had decided that she was done tiptoeing around the subject; they were discussing thiswhether Fitz wanted to or not. It wasn’t as if it was going away, after all.

She found him already in bed, his back facing the door oftheir bunk and his shoulder rising and falling as though he was already deeplyasleep – Jemma knew better. She’d known the man since he was sixteen, and shesure as hell could tell when he was faking sleep (she refused to think about why he might be faking sleep, not yet).

“Fitz,” she said firmly, walking around the end of the bedto sit on her side of the mattress, “I know you’re awake. We need to talk.”

There was no response at first, but then he released a heavybreath and without opening his eyes, asked, “’Bout what?”

“What I told you, in the Framework.”

Another stretch of silence followed. “What’d you tell me?”he eventually asked.

Not in the mood to drag it out any longer, Jemma repliedplainly, “That I was pregnant.” When his only response was another heavingsigh, she had her answer. “So you do remember.”

“Yeah,” he said lowly. He opened his eyes then, though stillrefused to meet her searching gaze, instead dropping them to rest on herstomach. “I…um…I’m sorry I haven’t… I mean, it’s just…I wasn’t sure if it was…orif you just said it to try and snap me out of it, or…” Abruptly, he rolled ontohis back and lifted both hands to drag over his face, muttering into them, “Iwas scared that it was true because…because I was pointing a bloody gun at you, threatening to shoot you,and it was my bloody fault you were in the Framework in the first place,putting yourself in danger. And of course, can’t forget the fact that my bloodyLMD was st…stabbing you and…”Apparently unable to go on, he just shook his head, his shoulders shakingslightly.

“Fitz,” Jemma murmured, reaching out to wrap her fingersaround each of his wrists, gently tugging them until his hands were no longercovering his face and he was gazing up at her with naked terror and shame. “Youcan’t blame yourself for anything that’s happened. You were programmed,brainwashed, and manipulated – and don’t even get me started on how what yourLMD did has absolutely nothing to dowith you.”

“Jemma,” Fitz said incredulously, shaking his head once moreas tears began to pool in his eyes, “I was going to shoot you.”

“You were never going to shoot me,” she said confidently,sliding her grip up from his wrists to cradle his hands within hers.

“How can you be so sure?” Fitz blinked a couple times, a fewof the tears managing to slip free. Jemma lifted one of her hands, still joinedwith his, to wipe them from his cheeks with the backs of her fingers.

She shrugged lightly, a warm smile tugging at the corners ofher lips. “Because you may have had a new, darker personality forced inside ofyou, but looking at your face, into the eyes of that shy, sweet, brilliant boyI met at the Academy all those years ago, I knew it was still you, hidden down deep. I knew that thatboy, who had grown into the man I love more than I could ever begin to express,would never ever harm me. It’s like Isaid before all of this, ‘we’re more than our programming’, and your heart isstronger than whatever AIDA did to you. I never doubted that, or you.”

Staring up at her in wonder, Fitz slowly shook his head,murmuring, “I dunno how, but…but thankyou. I should’ve known that when I lost faith in myself, you’d still havemore than enough to spare.”

“Yes, well, I amyour biggest supporter and cheerleader,” Jemma teased, giving his hands a littlesqueeze. “Just don’t let it go to your head.”

“Oh, it’s far too late for that.” Sniffling back the tears,Fitz gave her a little grin and used their joined hands to tug her closer. “So,uh…about that whole…pregnant thing…?”

Jemma rolled her eyes in fond exasperation and pointed out, “Therewas something else I said in the Framework that you seem to have forgotten – doyou remember me saying I’d never lie to you?”

“Yeah…” Fitz’s eyebrows rose, a cautious hope beginning tobuild in his eyes.

“That includes about something as huge as a baby, Fitz. You know me better thanthat.” He pressed his lips together, still looking unsure, so she put itplainly, “Yes Fitz, I am pregnant.”

The way his entire face lit up, a slow grin growing andgrowing until it reached his eyes, had Jemma’s heart filling with warmth, a softlaugh of pure joy slipping past her lips. “I’m…gonna be a dad,” he whispered tohimself, disbelief and happiness coloring his tone in equal parts. “We’re gonnahave a baby.”

“That’s what tends to happen, yes,” she teased, unable tohelp the answering grin curving her lips. Unexpectedly, Fitz used his grip onher hands to tug her closer once more, nearly sending her toppling onto hischest. “Fitz! What –” He dropped herhands in favor of grasping her hips, pulling her the last bit closer until hecould rest his head in her lap, forehead pressed to her still-slim stomach.

“Hi baby,” he whispered against the material of her shirt,thumbs absently stroking the skin of her waist beneath it. “I’m your dad, andyour mum and I are gonna love you so much that you’ll never know what it’s liketo be alone, to be scared, or unwanted, I promiseyou that.”

Choking back tears, Jemma grasped the back of his head,bending slightly to kiss whatever part of him she could reach, lips finding hisear, his jaw, his neck. She wasn’t sure of what was going to happen next, wasn’tsure what the future looked like now that things had taken such an abrupt andunexpected turn, but there was one thing she was certain of: Fitz’s heart,strong enough and full of enough love to carry them through whatever challengesfaced them.

Together, theywere strong enough to get through anything – and after ninety feet of ocean andcrossing the universe and brainwashing robots, dirty nappies and terrible twosand temper tantrums were going to be a piece of cake.

#shayna writes #fsfic #fitzsimmons #asks #prompts #guess who's back already???#i wanted to get this out before tuesday #lmao sorry for spamming everyone #Anonymous

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