Once upon a time, in a magical place called Inkwell Isle, lived two brothers, Cuphead and Mugman, under the watchful eye of the Elder Kettle. One day, despite the Elder Kettle's many warnings, the two brothers ended up at the Kraken's Disco. Soon the two brothers found themselves at a hot streak on the dance floor. 'Hot Dawg!' exclaimed King Mirror Ball, the Disco's sleazy DJ. 'These fellas can't stop!'.
'Good job, boys.' said a newcomer. The brothers gasped. It was the Kraken himself! 'Let's have a dance off. You win, and all the punch at the refreshments bar is yours. If you lose, I'll take your souls. Deal?'
Cuphead, blinded by easy riches, nodded and started pulling off some of his best moves. 'Good Gosh, Cuphead, no!' exclaimed Mugman, for he understood the danger. But it was too late.
The brothers were no match for the Kraken's dab. 'You lose!' he yelled, slamming the door. 'Now, about those souls...'
'Please, there must be something we can do!' begged Mugman, on his knees. 'Yes, p-p-please, sir!' stammered Cuphead.
The Kraken looked thoughtful. 'There IS something you can do.' he said. 'Here is a list of my runaway debtors. You have until midnight tonight to get all of their soul contracts back to me. Otherwise I'll be the one collecting yours!'
'C'mon, Mug!' said Cuphead, as they ran towards home. 'Let's go find the Elder Kettle! He'll know what to do!'
...
'Well, well! Not only did you bust up my good-for-nothing lackey, King Mirror Ball...
But I see you have all my soul contracts, hand them over, and join my team!'
'You're mine! MINE! And we're gonna have a whale of a time down here!'