For such a short chapter, at least at first, this chapter took forever. Tons of editing needed to be done, with lots of stuff both added in and taken out, while making sure everything still made sense by the end. I also have to type it up from very old rough draft that isn't always easy to read. Anyway, sorry for the delay! Enjoy!

65th Shot: Cascade Failure

Jing watched the world pass by through the rose-tinted lenses of Pharos's train. His right arm was in a sling, still tender and mostly immobile. The sun shone brightly though the rose-tined windows, giving everything inside a pinkish hue. Jing had never noticed that before. He wondered why he hadn't.

Everyone else was asleep, their drowsy breaths the only noise on the perfectly silent train. Kir was sprawled over Jing's lap. Dalios muttered in his slumber, gripping his seat, as Rolly twitched his legs like he was chasing something. Falcon and Cassis slumped against each other, both snoring loudly. Stir's head rested on Jing's shoulder, which would have distracted Jing more if he wasn't so mired in thought.. Razekar had his cap pulled over his eyes, with his feet on top of one of the other seats. Unlike the others, though, his breathing was regular.

They had only been stranded in Valium's fantasy for a few hours, but it felt so much longer than that. No wonder everyone was tired. The only reason Jing wasn't asleep was that he was struggling against it. Exhausted as he was, he didn't want to miss anything. Not when he could finally appreciate the world for what it really was. Not when he could finally appreciate who he really was.

What should he call himself now? Jing was a lie. So was the title of Bandit King. But Imazhou…that name didn't feel right either. Too much had changed for that to be right. That crying child was a different sort of specter. So many people knew him as Jing too, including these very companions. To constantly correct that would only makes things more awkward.

Let them name him whatever they wanted. He was himself, at last.

Maybe it was a mistake to go back to Pharos's palace, where they could all forget everything again. It seemed like that was a gradual process though, at least according to what Razekar had told him. Jing had never planned on staying there long anyway, but there were things there he couldn't leave behind. Stir's mother was still there, and so were the forest fairies Cassis wanted to save. Maybe he would pick up a few treasures while he was there…No, he shouldn't weigh himself down more than he needed to.

But…then what?

Dalios groaned out of slumber, still looking very tired. "Huh…?"

"Have a good nap?" asked Jing.

Dalios didn't seem to hear him, staring groggily ahead. "What…Something…"

"Hmm?"

"Something's…not right…"

The train started to shake. Its quiet rumble quickly grew so loud and violent that the others were jolted awake - or, in Falcon's and Cassis's case, thrown off their seats.

"What the? What's going on?" asked Kir, flying beside Jing. "Ack!"

The walls of the train were melting into dark multi-colored goo. It bled from the train like worms escaping mud.

Fantasy? thought Jing.

"Oh c'mon, don't tell me we're still in Valium's world!" Cassis exclaimed.

"No, this looks different," said Jing. "Feels different too. The fantasy before was terrible, but vibrant, lively. This just feels rotten."

"Is something wrong with Neirnyx?" Razekar wondered. "This is one of her trains."

"Maybe she ran too many at once?" wondered Falcon, though Jing could tell not even he believed that.

"Let's get outta here first," said Jing. "Kir!"

"Uh, Jing…" said Kir, pointing to Jing's disabled arm.

"…Oh, right…." said Jing.

"I'll handle this then," said Razekar, his body lighting up with electricity/

Several lightning blasts left a gaping hole in the side of the train. Everyone leapt out the opening before could seal back up. Luckily the train wasn't moving very fast by that point, so everyone was able to land mostly safely.

The train, which looked more like a dissolving slug than a golden locomotive, slowed to a crawl. It didn't make it far before it began nothing more than a blackened heap vaporizing into black smoke in the sun.

"Well, looks like we're gonna be walking back," said Razekar, as he and others watched the former train evaporate away. They were surrounded by orange wasteland, but Razekar didn't seem concerned about that. "The palace isn't too far from here, so we should okay." He frowned. "But something's wrong if one of the trains just broke down like that, so we better hurry back."

"How long would it take us to get there now?" asked Stir.

"Hmm…about three hours and twenty-seven minutes," said Razekar. "Assuming we don't take any breaks. Not too bad, really." He smirked. "Although…"

"Although what?" asked Falcon.

"Although it looks like the mailmen are about due to pass through, so maybe we can hitch a ride with them?"

Mailmen? thought Jing. His question was already answered by the sound of motorcycles. He couldn't help but chuckle. He really does have perfect timing, doesn't he?

Sure enough Postino appeared over the horizon, with Facteur to his left and Cartero to his right. Everything behind them was cloaked in clouds of reddish-brown dust. Together they pulled one big cart full of mailbags. Jing suspected that mail was solely for Pharos's palace, considering how many people lived there.

Jing grinned and waved. "Hey Postino!"

His old mailman friend stopped beside him. "Long time no see." He noticed Jing's arm/ "Looks like you got in quite a scrape."

"Long story," said Jing.

"What are you guys doing all the way out here?" asked Cartero.

"Getting some good ol' sun, obviously," said Facteur, before laughing heartily.

"Well, we were taking the train back, but…" Jing began, before gesturing to what was left of the train.

"Whoa, what happened?" asked Cartero.

"We, uh, still not really sure," admitted Falcon/ "But uh, you think you guys can give us a ride?"

Postino smirked. "Why not? After all, we're postmen. Looks like we'll just be delivering you along with the rest of the mail."

"Will we have to pay extra weight charges?" asked Jing.

"I'll send you the bill later," said Postino. "Since it's me, you know you'll get it too."

"Oh boy."

"Alright, just hop in the cart before you become lost luggage," said Facteur, pointing back to the huge wagon of mail behind him. "Then we're outta here!"

IIIIII

"Whoa, what is that?" said Postino, adjusting his goggles as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. He probably didn't. Jing and the others, unfortunately, knew all too well what they were looking at.

The almighty palace of Pharos, in all its gilded glory, was now dissolving into a slimy blackish substance. The ooze billowed black vapor, darkening the clear sky. Screams resounded from within.

"Jing! It's just like-" Stir began.

"Yeah, it's just like what happened to our train, and a lot like how the Uncanny Valley was too."

"We've gotta get inside fast! There's still a lot of people in there!" shouted Falcon. As he and the rest of the group dashed toward the sickened palace. The three mailmen followed, though they kept a cautious distance. "The walls make it impossible to leave without permission!"

"Well, looks like holes are forming in the walls now, so that should help a little," said Jing, noticing a few people leaping through the misshapen gaps. "It'll help us get in, anyway."

The closer it got, the worse it looked. The few people who had gotten out rushed past them in unquestionable terror. A strong burning smell contaminated the air. By the time they reached one of the holes in the wall, it was already sagging onto itself.

"Postino! Cartero! Facteur! Jing called to the three mailmen behind them. Stay here and help the people outside! We're going in!"

"Gotcha!" said Facteur, giving them a thumbs up and a toothy grin. "I'm too old to go diving headfirst into melting castles anyway!"

Cartero nodded, looking determined. "Of course! We'll deliver as many people as we can to safety. We are mailmen, after all!"

"Aw. I should've thought of that one!" replied Facteur with a laugh.

Dalios paused, before picking up Rolly and hading him to Postino. "Watch him, okay?"

"Okay, but watch yourselves," said Postino, as he took a whining Rolly. "If it gets too crazy, get out of there. I doubt this happened because someone forgot to check the plumbing."

"Right," said Jing, before he and the others leapt through the malformed gap one by one.

"You sure you should be going in with your arm like that?" asked Cartero.

"I've got friends with me, so I'll manage," said Jing with a small smile. "Besides, I have unfinished business there regardless."

IIIIII

Somehow the inside of the palace was even worse than the outside. Much worse. Nothing was recognizable, it was so dissolved. All the treasures and trinkets had slid off the liquefying walls, coated in dark muck. Statues were knocked over, broken and defiled. Some people ran around in delirious panic, while others stumbled around in disbelieving stupors. Some people didn't even who they were or how they got here.

"Holy hell, look at this place," hissed Cassis, dumbfounded.

"We need to find the source!" Jing shouted over the chaos. "Do you sense anything, Dalios?"

"Don't need to," said Dalios, surpassingly calm despite the bedlam around them. "Neirnyx is the one who controls the fantasy here, and I know exactly where she should be."

"Huh? How do you know that?" asked Falcon.

"This place is the same as Valium's," Dalios explained flatly, as if it should be obvious. "That's why I can understand it and see it for what it is."

That didn't surprise Jing. He remembered Neirnyx using fantasy against him back when she had disguised herself in the cave. It was strange, thinking that it had only been a couple months ago. It felt far longer.

Dalios summoned a ring of silver strings around himself. "I'll go deal with Neirnyx. You guys focus on getting as many people out as possible."

Soon after Dalios vanished, everyone scrambled apart to save as many people as possible. Stir went to rescue her mother while Cassis went to get the forest fairies. Falcon managed to hunt down his bunnies quickly, putting them outside with Rolly.

Jing had just escorted three disoriented cat-girls out when he heard a deafening, distorted screech. The palace trembled at the cry.

"What the-" Falcon exclaimed, staggering a little from the sudden shaking. "What was that?"

"I don't know," said Jing, frowning. He wished his arm wasn't useless right now. This would be the perfect time for some Kir Royales. "But it didn't sound good."

The dark fantasy writhed on the walls like salted slugs. Tendrils peeled off and lashed wildly.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Razekar, generating an electric barrier to protect himself and several other people. "What's making everything like this? Even Valium's fantasy wasn't this unstable…"

A bubble swelled on one of the muck-infested walls, until it popped like a zit. At the center of the burst bubble was a humanoid form. At first Jing thought it was someone trapped in the dark liquid, but the form then shaped itself into a lithe old man with long hair and a beak-like nose. He was grinning.

"J-J-Jing!" Kir exclaimed, pointing a wing at the familiar humanoid figure. "You seeing what I'm seeing?"

Jing stared. Valium? Here? But he had blasted him with that super powered Kir Royale.

Razekar noticed it too, and immediately fried with a bolt of electricity. It shriveled and fell apart, turning to black smoke even as it descended like old leaves.

"You think that was really him?' Kir asked Razekar.

"Hard to say," admitted Razekar. "But I think it's more likely that the fantasy reacted to me saying his name. It's fantasy, after all. It's affected by people's thoughts."

"Hmm…:said Jing. "Maybe that's what wrong with this place? If it is based on fantasy, then maybe it's breaking down because there are too many people here? It couldn't adapt to so many different minds and stay consistent?"

That's when Jing and Razekar noticed the pure black puddles pooling from nowhere all across the floor. They jumped away from the growing spots to avoid touching them.

"Now what's going on?" muttered Razekar. He fired electricity at the dark puddles, but it had no effect. "This is different from all the fantasy."

"I think it's still fantasy though," said Jing. "Sure feels like it, anyway."

"How can you guys tell?" asked Falcon. "It all just feels wrong to me."

Just then black plants erupted from the dark pools. Thick vines that coiled and thrashed as it erupted upward. They sucked up any nearby muck and gave off a dark, heavy mist that soon blanketed the floor. Riding one of the serpentine plants was Dalios.

"Hello," Dalios said flatly.

"Dal!" exclaimed Falcon. "These things yours?"

"Yes."

Jing frowned. "What happened to talking with Neirnyx?"

An enraged screeched tore across the room. A bird-like form also shot out one of the shadow pools. The plants chased after it ravenously, quickly wrapping around her.

"Tried that. Didn't work," said Dalios. "Now I'm fighting her."

"Stupid overgrown peacock," Kir muttered. "Why ain't she helping us? Ain't this her fantasy or whatever?"

"This is her corrupted fantasy, so she's corrupted too," explained Dalios.

"Oh great," grumbled Kir.

The monster plants were abruptly burned away by Neirnyx's blue flames, and they could finally see her clearly. She barely counted as a bird anymore, her body pale and featherless. Her head was more like a dragon's than an avian's, with ragged teeth inside a jagged mouth. Thin stands of yellowish hair hung from her cranium and neck. Tattered tan fur loosely hung from her body like a worn cape.

"Wow, and I thought she was ugly as an old hag," said Kir. "Yeesh! Eyesore of the year there!"

Jing said nothing at he stared at what Neirnyx had become.

Neirnyx turned and saw them. She shook with fury. "What are you looking at, pathetic weaklings?" She fired a red beam at them, causing everyone to scatter.

"Touché," said Kir, as they weaved around the dark plants and Neirnyx blasts. "But seriously, why'd she turn into that? Even when Valium messed with us, we never became monsters."

"…She's a Valefor," Jing said quietly, as if he still couldn't believe it.

"She's a what?"

"A Valefor," Jing repeated. "They're a very rare mythical bird. I've only seen pictures of them."

"That counts as a bird?" asked Kir. "what's so special about it anyway?"

"A Valefor gains the powers of whatever it eats," Jing went on. "Because of that, no two are alike. Because of that they are powerful, unpredictable, and abhorred. Also, because of their ability to steal abilities from their prey, they're known as the Bandit's Bird, the guardian of thieves."

Blue fire shot by them, barely missing.

"Real guardian of thieves she is right now, huh?" growled Kir "Seriously, why transform into that?"

"Hmm…" said Jing. "I wonder…"

Neirnyx screeched as Razekar hit her with a thunderbolt. She spiraled down, but recovered mid-air before spitting more blue fire at him. Razekar blocked it with an electric barrier.

"Lend me your wings, Kir," said Jing.

"You sure? Are you stable enough to handle it?" asked Kir.

"I think so," said Jing. "My arm's still out of it, but I think the power itself is stable. Besides, I only need it for a little bit. I just need to confirm something."

"Well, if you're sure…" said Kir, as he flew over to Jing's back. Kir glowed green, then blinding white. Power surged through Jing, and he started rocketing around uncontrollably.

Jiiiiiiiinng!

Okay, not what I had in mind!

Jing zigzagged through the air, struggling to regain control. He barely steered away from a head-on collision with Razekar, only to crash into Falcon instead. Even when Falcon went flying, Jing didn't even slow down.

Neirnyx dove away to avoid being hit by the blazing comet of a bird and boy. With a huff she summoned a web of silver strings to catch and entangle them.

With a little bit of effort, Kir managed to diffuse from Jing. "Whew! That was even crazier than I expected!"

Jing frowned. So even flight mode is beyond my control… He noticed Neirnyx flying up to them. Still, that does confirm something else.

"Hmph, what a fine mess you've made of yourself," growled Neirnyx. "Your reconstruction was going so well too. Are you happy with the truth you've found? Does it make you a better person?"

"I dunno," said Jing with a shrug, or what little shrugging he could do in the tangle. "That phoenix form you had was a lie too, right? Or perhaps someone you had eaten. Your forms aren't illusions of fantasy like Valium's. You had to have eaten something with transformative powers. Do your lies make you a better being?"

"Quiet, Bandit Boy!" Neirnyx hissed, smoke seeping out of her ragged jaw.

"Hey, why're tying to make her mad?" Kir hissed. "She's mad enough already!"

Jing, however, only kept his eye on the relatively calm dark fantasy on the walls. "Hmm…"

"What?" asked Kir.

Neirnyx screeched as some of black plants entangled her. While she was writhing, Razekar rode a particularly big plant up to where Jing was and cut some silver strings with his laser arm-blade.

"Huh, kinda surprised this works," admitted Razekar, as he sliced more away. "Doing alright, Jing?"

"Alright enough," answered Jing. Once he was free, he jumped to one of the dark plants and looked down to where Neirnyx was being dragged to. "Just need to confirm something."

"And what's-Hey!" Razekar shouted, as Jing dove down to where Neirnyx was. Kir shot after him, though he had no idea what was going on.

Jing knew that it would still be hard to hit Neirnyx, with all her thrashing in the knot of plants. However, one of her tattered wings was sticking out awkwardly, and that was all Jing needed. He summoned his arm-blade, and then slashed it as he fell past Neirnyx. The Valefor shrieked.

Another tangle of plants rose up to carefully catch Jing and break his fall.

"Hey, you got her!" said Kir, as he caught up with Jing. "Too bad you couldn't hit a vital point…well, a wing's pretty vital for flying though. Were you trying to cripple her?"

Jing's expression, however, remained stern. "it's not her."

"Huh?" asked Kir.

"Neirnyx isn't the source of all this warped fantasy," Jing said, before holding up his bloodied blade. "See? She would be bleeding fantasy if she was the source. And none of the fantasy has been reacting to her anger either."

"Hey, you're right!" exclaimed Kir. "But then what is the source?"

Neirnyx glowed blue and rocketed upward, eventually pulling free and burning away the plants holding her. The injury to her wing didn't seem to affect her flying. She glared below, smoke billowing out of her mouth and obscuring her face. "You! How dare you. Boy!"

"Watch out Jing!" Kir exclaimed.

Neirnyx swooped down, and Jing jumped to the side to avoid her attack. Only when he heard a cry behind him, however, did Jing realize he was never the target in the first place.

"Dalios!" Razekar exclaimed.

Neirnyx flew up again, the white-haired boy limp in her massive sharp jaws.

No… thought Jing, but not for the dreaded reason he was expecting.

Instead of blood, Dalios bled dark fantasy. The white-haired boy watched it ooze from his wounds, with muted detachment. Some of the dark liquid dropped off his arm and onto the floor. He gave Neirnyx a distant yet cruel smile. "Got a mouthful, Valefor?"

Neirnyx dropped Dalios, coughing and spitting. Her huge maw was smeared with the dark fantasy, which was quickly spreading. The palace started melting faster, any lingering bright liquid swiftly infected with the darker ones. She spiraled down until she crashed onto the floor.

Dalios was caught by some of the black plants. Some silver strings snaked out of the glistening floor, sewing up Dalios's wound. Dalios watched the process impassively.

"D-D-Dal," Falcon sputtered, before glaring. "Where's the real Dal?"

Jing glanced over to Razekar, whose expression was stony. So he must have had the same suspicions Jing had.

"There is no real Dalios," said the white-haired boy. "I'm fake."

"What? But that doesn't make sense…" said Falcon with a weak smile. "I mean. I know you. I've known you for years. How could you be…"

"Fake?" Dalios coldly finished for him. "I was woven into being by Neirnyx. I was made as a code breaker for all languages written, spoken, or unconscious languages like fantasy and memory. I was needed to make sure rival fantasies didn't taint the collective fantasy of the palace. It makes it easier to keep everyone happy too, if their wishes are kept similar. I just didn't realize it until we were trapped in Valium's fantasy."

"So even thoughts and wishes are controlled here, huh?" said Razekar with a frown. "Granted, I knew there was some manipulation going on, but not to that level…" He looked conflicted.

"That explains why people give up so easily on trying to escape," said Jing. Even he had felt comfortable at the palace surprisingly fast. He looked to the fleeing people. "Looks like that's no longer the case though. Did you fail your job by accident or on purpose?"

"Why are you guys so cool about this?" Falcon shouted angrily. "This…This is insane! Dal, stop saying that you're fake or a code breaker or whatever! You're real!"

Razekar sighed. "Falcon, you just saw him bleed fantasy..."

"Deny it all you want. It doesn't change anything," said Dalios flatly, before turning back to Jing. "Yeah, once I knew what this place was, and what I really was, I sabotaged it while on the train back. Fantasy travels very quickly from the trains to the palace, since they're just extensions of the palace."

"Why do it, though?" asked Kir.

"This place was going to fall apart soon anyway," said Dalios. "Two people were trying to run a three-man job with only a proxy like me."

"You mean that traitor," Neirnyx spat, struggling to get up.

"Traitor?" asked Jing, but he had a bad feeling that he already knew who it was/

"Ah, but who betrayed who now?" echoed an old voice from the dark puddle beside Dalios, the liquid rippling. The blackish substance rose off the ground and reformed into a lean old man with long white hair and a cold smile.

Neirnyx let out a noise somewhere between a squawk and a croak. "Valium!"

Everyone except Dalios was taken aback.

"What? But we blasted you to smithereens!" exclaimed Kir, "It was even a new-and-improved Kir Royale too!"

"What you obliterated was only a fragment of me, not my core," said Valium, calmly floating in the air. He smirked. "As you said, Bandit King, my ego is far too large to be contained so simply. By the time you destroyed that form of me, my core had already been transferred to Dalios."

"How?" asked Jing.

"All it took was a little bite when I was impersonating Rolly," explained Valium. "None of you saw that, and even Dalios didn't think anything of it at the time."

"I figured it out later though," said Dalios. "Between that and putting things together through the memories I saw, I know what was really going on, and knew I needed his power to stop it."

Neirnyx snorted. "Valium probably only wants to take everyone and everything here and make them his playthings again, stupid child. That's why we tossed him out in the first place."

Valium only chuckled.

Neirnyx hissed. Her face and stomach were almost completely black. "Now where is Pharos? What have you done with him?"

"Pharos's gone?" asked Razekar.

"Ah, I was about to go check on him," said Valium, He glanced over to Dalios. :Keep them entertained, will you?"

"Fine," the white-haired boy answered, keeping his gaze on the others. The black plants wove around him like a protective cage, growing thorns. Other vines rose up like snakes ready to strike.

"Much appreciated," said Valium, before melting away into the floor.

"C;mon Dal! You don't really want to do this, right?" asked Falcon. "Right?"

Dalios said nothing.

The plants whipped forward.

Razekar glowed and held out his hands, summoning an electric barrier. The plants threw themselves against it ruthlessly.

"Oh man, he's serious?" said Falcon with disbelief. "Dal! Cut it out! Don't make me punch you!"

"Dunno how long I can keep this up," grunted Razekar. "So we better come up with a plan fast."

"But why is Dal attacking us?" asked Falcon.

":If I had to guess, he's probably under Valium's influence," Jing deduced. "Considering Valium infected him in order to survive and get here in the first place."

"So we gotta just defeat Valium for good, right?" said Falcon. "Though, uh, we don't know where he went…"

"I can track him down," said Neirnyx. "I can't make fantasy - that's Pharos's job - but I can manipulate it and sense things through it. Normally I'd just do it myself, but in this condition…Well, I'll need Bandit Boy's help."

"I can help too," offered Falcon.

"No you can't," said Neirnyx flatly. "I need a certain kind of power to make this work."

"Then can I at least come so I can beat up Valium?" asked Falcon.

"Also no," said Neirnyx. "Again, only certain kinds of power can truly defeat him. Punches and kicks will do nothing."

Falcon glared, but said nothing.

:So, same for me then?" asked Razekar.

"More or less," said Neirnyx. "Stay here and deal with Dalios. We'll go and deal with Leonidas."

"Alright then," said Razekar. Unlike Falcon, he seemed fine with this. "You fellas get outta here then."

Neirnyx nodded, spreading her tattered wings. A swarm of silver strings slithered out of the floor and wove into a sphere around her, Kir and Jing. The orb then sunk into the semi-liquid floor,

Being inside the woven ball, all Jing could see besides his companions was shining silver. He knew, however, that the outside was engulfed in dark fantasy. Jing could sense the coldness of it just beyond the sphere. There were probably victims mired within it as well. The thought made Jing feel even colder. They had to stop this before Valium broke their minds. They couldn't guarantee anyone's sanity otherwise.

"How are we gonna find Valium if we can't see where we're going?" asked Kir.

"Like I said, I can use the fantasy to sense him," said Neirnyx with annoyance. "Valium may be good at casting illusions and confusing people, but if you know what you're looking for, he's actually pretty easy to find.

"Whatcha looking for?" asked Kir.

Neirnyx smirked. "His ego." She flinched. A bit of dark fantasy seeped through the silver strings, but was reduced to black mist shortly after.

"Whoa! The stuff's starting to get through!" exclaimed Kir. "I hope we're almost there! Are we almost there?"

"Soon," Neirnyx said with a growl. "However, there is something that needs to be addressed before we charge into battle."

"Are you even gonna be able to fight once we get there?" asked Kir, before something else dawned on him. "Wait, how're we suppose to fight? Jing's arm is all messed up!"

"Exactly," said Neirnyx. "So, first of all, do you know what your power really is, Bandit Boy?"

"It's some kind of fantasy, I'm guessing" said Jing, looking down to his bum arm. "Considering I've lived almost my whole life in a fantasy, I can't see how it could be anything else."

"Jing…" Kir began.

"Fantasy is a good chunk of it," answered Neirnyx. "When a Burdensome Gun first bonds with its partner, it absorbs many things, including fantasy. The blast it fires is fueled by a mix of energy, will and fantasy. Since you've been so fixed on your persona, Bandit Boy, dearie's Kir Royale uses more fantasy than usual, and therefore is more powerful than most."

"Just call me Kir!" Kir complained,

"Now why would I want to do that?" said Neirnyx sweetly, with what was probably supposed to be a saccharine smile. It didn't work with her new horrendous reptilian appearance, but she didn't seem to care. "Don't you want someone to call you honey or sweetie?"

"I don't want you saying it!"

"You said that fantasy was part of it," said Jing. "So what's the other part? What makes me special?"

"The power of fantasy and Burdensome Guns alike depends on the intention of the user," said Neirnyx. "Now, why do you do what you do? Why do you travel? Why do you steal?"

"To run from my past," Jing said bluntly.

Neirnyx sighed. "And that's why your arm isn't working right now. You're denying your power, ashamed of it even."

Jing frowned. "So, what are you saying? That I need to keep refusing who I really am in order to keep using Kir Royale?"

"Alright then, who are you?" asked Neirnyx. "Are you the Bandit King, or the boy orphaned so long ago?"

Jing stayed quiet. He still wasn't sure how to answer that.

"You need to figure that out before you can use your power again," said Neirnyx. "However, since we don't have time to wait around, let me arrange a little something. Hold out your arm."

Jing did so, holding up the limp limb with his working hand.

Neirnyx shot some fire upward, clearing the blackness form her mouth. With a quick snap she bit into his arm.

Jing sucked air between his teeth, pinching one eye shut. This probably would have hurt even more if his arm was fully functional.

"Hey! What're you doing?" Kir exclaimed, kicking at Neirnyx furiously with his taloned feet.

Neirnyx pulled away, but Jing doubted it was because of Kir. He noticed some of the blackness retreating from her body. So she was seeking extra power to heal herself with. Made sense, since she was a Valefor. Blood swelled up from the massive bite mark on Jing's arm.

"Keep holding it there," said Neirnyx. She pulled some silver string off the sphere around them, and wove them around Jing's arm. When she was done Jing had a Kir-like wireframe around the limb. "It's not a permanent fix, but this'll do for now."

.Jing studied the string sculpture attached to his arm. He noticed some of the string sucking up the blood from his wounds. "So this will let me use Kir Royale?"

"Normally I'd add some fantasy to reinforce it and make it stronger, but I don't trust any of the fantasy around here," explained Neirnyx. "Anyway, it won't be Kir Royale exactly, but it'll be close enough. The strings will siphon the fantasy out of you even if you can't actively summon it yourself. Now let's get going."

Jing still looked at the woven contraption.

IIIIII

A man in golden robes sat dazed in a gilded cage floating midair. Colorful fantasy pooled from him and cascaded out of the cage in small waterfalls. The pure fantasy was swallowed up by the dark mire of fantasy below, which stretched out in all directions. What was once several rooms was now just blank white space flooded with muck.

"Ah, Pharos," said Valium, drifting around the cage. "Your ability to make fantasy had always been astounding. You let it get to your head though. You and Neirnyx thought that you could run this place without me. You even thought you could eliminate me with only a proxy and a handful of your collected pets. You were sorely mistaken. What a mess this place is." He smirked. "I wonder if you realize that, even in your broken state."

There was a forced shift in the fantasy somewhere below. So they were finally coming. He looked forward to breaking them all.

IIIIII

Alright, and that finally wraps up this arc! Next up, the finale!