Gone.

This was beyond loss. Loss was when he saw Lewis hit the spikes on the cavern floor. Loss was when they told him there wasn't even arm left to save. This time, something was irreparably torn in his soul. He could feel her absence wrapped around his lungs, squeezing them flat. Was it because he'd been in sway to her, or because it was Kay?

Does it really matter?

His bones buzzed with the echoes of earlier pain, and he turned his full focus toward counting them for a few seconds of relief. One-hundred-seventy-six bones, not counting one robotic arm. The prosthetic implant had shifted. He could feel it had locked in deeper, anchored to more bone than before.

He didn't bother to question how he knew the number and position of every bone in his body, as he did not question how he knew his soul was torn.

Nogitsune.

Concern and anger rolled off the damp dog scent to his left. Somewhere nearby hovered the worried, irritable smell of burned rubber and used oil. Saltwater, snot, and a sorrow to match his own pressed suffocatingly close on the right.

Dulcie's hand clenched his. How long had she been there?

How long had he been there?

The wet dog smell shifted closer. Of course, the kitsune would know when he was awake.

"Arthur. I know it hasn't been long, gods know a day isn't enough to recover what you've been through, but we are in desperate need of answers."

His lip curled at all the fallacies in Mystery's sentence. Firstly, he wasn't Arthur. How could he be? He was simultaneously less and more than Arthur had ever been. He now carried an entire history nearly thirty times his own lifespan, and darker than any he would have ever chosen for himself. Also, should he give himself over to that history and become fully this creature, a day would be ample time for recovery. His bones buzzed, but the only thing keeping him immobile was the shred of humanity that grieved Kay. Lastly, nobody was truly desperate for answers. Not as desperate as he had been, or they would have had the blasted decency to listen to him in the first place!

Small hands on his remaining arm, kneading his forearm gently. The shred of humanity shuddered at the contact, both needing the comfort and horrified at the thoughts already rising from the dark corners of his mind. No, he was still desperate. Desperate enough to beg help. Whatever had happened to him had to be undone. And of all the gang, Mystery had never plowed past him. There just hadn't been time.

He reached under-covers? He was in a bed?-to his pants pocket. His eyes snapped open. These were different pants, a different shirt. He was not wearing his vest. Of course, he'd shredded his clothing and the curses were out there somewhere.

He bolted up, struggling with the covers. Mystery and Uncle Lance flanked him, pushing him back down.

"Easy, Artie. Don't start up a fuss now."

"Have to find it! Where's my clothes?" Arthur-the panicky part was definitely Arthur-nearly flung Uncle Lance off.

"Is that all? Calm yerself, Artie. I grabbed the scraps ta cover yer birthday suit on the way in." Lance walked to the corner, reaching for a heap of cloth in the corner.

"Don't touch it!" His voice was something out of a horror film, and it felt like snakes wriggling around in his throat. He clamped his hands over his mouth, eyes wide.

Lance straightened slowly, eyeing Arthur. "Alright, fine. Not gonna."

A hand rested on his shoulder, and Mystery's voice was at his ear, questioning, "Arthur?"

Arthur shut his eyes. "Go," he spoke through his fingers, his voice sounding more like his own this time. "Someone should get to bury their dead. They're in the pocket."

Mystery crossed the room, passing Uncle Lance and reaching into the remains of Arthur's clothing. He withdrew two pendants, sucking in a short breath as he did.

"Don't hold them too long," Arthur said, hunching forward. "They're incubating curses."

"Curses?" Mystery turned to him, stricken. "How do you-"

"How do you think I know?" Arthur snarled.

Tense, Mystery took one step toward him. "Is he still… with you?"

Something cracked, and Arthur collapsed back on the pillows, laughing helplessly. He clutched his arms and roared until tears streamed down his face. The smell of peppers and regret wafted past his nose, but he didn't care. Let Lewis and Vivi know exactly what their impulsiveness had done to him. He hoped it hurt, though he doubted it.

"Is he with me? He is me!" Arthur gasped through the laughter. "I am the Shiker, and the Shiker is me. Duet killed him inside of me, and now I am the Shiker."

Fire crackled to his right, and his body relaxed. Yes. That is the way. Burn it away.

"Hold that fire!" Mystery barked. He paused, licking his lips, then moving them. Further words failed to meet his efforts.

"You know," Arthur extended a hand, pointing an accusing finger at Mystery. "You know how. Say it. You told me from the start you could do exactly what the Shiker did. You could possess me too. Say how."

Mystery averted his eyes. "You know how. I can enter your mind and assume control if I wish, as long as there is a link present-"

"How else?" Arthur's fingers knotted in the quilt. Vivi had pulled Dulcie back. A brief pang in his chest reminded him that he was probably frightening Dulcie, but the splitting pain was outscreaming any other thought. "Say it."

Mystery faltered, setting a hand against the wall for support, still cradling the two pendants in his other hand. "I… the same way I change shape… my body rearranges down the the molecular level… I could infiltrate your body with every part of my own. Becoming you until I choose to leave."

"What am I, Mystery?" Cords strained in Arthur's neck as he grinned down at the quilt covering him. "What is the Shiker?"

Silence.

"Must I do everything?" Arthur burst out. "Fine! If I must do every damn thing for you! A Nogitsune! I forged my own path away from the rest of you and fell from Kitsune to Nogitsune. And I may as well say, Mystery, you're a long-familiar face! Pack-mates much? Who do you think I hunted down first? My pack! All of them! They're all gone!" He paused just long enough to correct himself. "He hunted them. He used his own soul to incubate the first curse that laid waste to a certain siren's life, then stole everyone else's Hoshi no Tama. Are you happy?"

Vivi's hands crawled with pink flame. The tips of her hair had turned a rosy pink and floated around her head, her eyes smoldering. From the center of her torso, Arthur could see thorny vines spreading out to clutch her around the ribs. Lewis was fully present alright.

"What do you want?" Arthur seethed. "Here to ask me what you want to know? Here to finally see what the missing pieces were? Why the hell do you want to know now? It's too late! It's all too late, all of it! We had a shot to fix this. We could have done something but no, please, by all means. Roast me alive and ditch me by the side of the road. But hey, what the hell, I've had a horrendous couple'a days, how about I clue you in 'cause I'm such a nice guy." His eyes narrowed. "Or, maybe I just want to drive the spike in a little further."

Vivi's body spasmed forward, then recollected itself back in place.

"You're an ingredient, Lew. That's all you ever were, one piece of the pie needed for a curse. A child's imagination, so the curse can adapt itself wherever needed. But you can't just take imagination, you have to break the host to remove something that vital to the human soul. Imagination, memories, the life experience of a child." Arthur eyed them balefully. "You have to break them far enough so they can't tell if the actions they take for survival are just that, or if that's who they really are. So, tell me, Lew." He leaned forward. "Which are you?"

The flames went out, smoke curling up from Vivi's sleeves and hair. Her eyes cleared to a cold blue. "Don't ask that, you know what that means to him!"

"Oh, and now she speaks. So dead set on rescuing Chloe you won't take two minutes to get more information. How about this, 'Hey, Vivi, guess what? I got a few more fragments and unicorn horn is one of the ingredients in the curses used on the Pepper family.' Think that would have rung any bells?"

Vivi took a step back.

"He couldn't!" Mystery was rigid, his fingers clamped like death around the pendants. "They're sacred! And even if… even if... they're too protected!"

"Yeah, well, I had a high ranking customer who hand delivered me a herd." Arthur blinked, touching his fingers to his lips. That was the second time he'd slipped, but it made sense. The Shiker's thoughts and memories were his now. He may as well have done it, even if he wasn't present, right? That's how it worked.

"Arthur."

His shoulder rose up to his ears. That voice had no right to call him Arthur. He looked at Vivi, her eyes pink and unable to meet his now.

"How did… what… what happened to my sister, Arthur?"

"Oh, now she's your sister." His teeth scraped the insides of his mouth again, but he didn't care. "Now she's your family. She matters now that it's too late. Now you want to know?"

"Please." The next plea came from Dulcie, stopping him cold. "Please. What happened to Kay?"

Arthur turned his face away, drawing his knees up to his chest. "Go away, Dulcie. I'm not safe."

"Arthur, what happened to Kay?"

Arthur hid his face in his knees, a tremble working its way up his arms. "You shouldn't have to know."

"Mommy tried to poison me yesterday, Arthur. I'm not a baby."

Arthur's guts twisted at the factual sorrow in her voice. What eight year old had to say that?

"She's dead," he whispered. "She got between Aji and me, and she's dead."

The sorrow and regret swelled so large in the room, Arthur thought he would suffocate in the smell.

"I can't save you, Dulcie." He kept his face in his knees. "I tried."

"Enough!" Lance stood at the end of the bed, fixing Arthur with a scowl. "Everyone out. Ya'll have other business ta take care of with each other, so take care of it."

The edge returned. Arthur's lip lifted in a smirk as he assessed Uncle Lance. "And what, you'll give me a pat on the head and tell me it'll work out?"

His smirk faltered under his Uncle's withering glare. "Nah. I'm gonna tell you to get yer arse outta bed. There's a van downstairs that needs fixin'. So get."