Note: Warning, still some body horror.

…..

You are fools. You have always been fools in this, and now look what you have done. Look what you have driven us to.

Yet in all this, the murderer still smiles. He is about to vanish, but free, more free than we are. And he speaks the truth.

He DARES accuse us. This mortal with blood on his hands. This worthless spineless wretch! We do not need his anchor now that we have his soul in hand, we will disperse his spirit.

He STOLE from us.

He stole nothing. He provided guidance and care for the one we failed.

We FAILED NOTHING. Kitsunes are tools, we can make a thousand!

Wrong. We can make a thousand, but there is only one of the one he calls Mystery. We put a piece of us in that one. And so he thinks, he wills for himself, he judges right and wrong. He does not need our direction, as these animals do.

And he will return to us. The glasses have been corrupted by the fool wizard's meddling, but without the influence of the human he cares for, Mystery will return. He is once again fit for our purpose, and we will not lose him to darkness again.

And this is why you failed and do not deserve to retrieve him. We see now. How have we allowed it to come to this? You would rip from him the thing he cherishes most, when we ourselves placed in him the ability to choose something to care for, to watch over!

HE WILL SERVE JUSTICE. That is all he needs care for. There is evil in the world, we must cut it back by any means necessary!

This may be your duty, but not ours!

HOLD WHERE YOU ARE!

Release us!

WE WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE!

WE ARE NOT KITSUNE TO BE COMMANDED!

There is laughter. Who is laughing, and why does the human spark in our hand weep with joy?

It is the daughter of the lake that laughs, and with her, the spark of our soul. Can you feel what they have done?

No.

They are so like us. But they have chosen well.

NO.

Can you sense their unity? Can you see them? They are coming for us.

SHE HAS STOLEN HIM AS WELL. NO ONE MAY HAVE OUR CREATION!

Daughter of the lake, hurry.

…..

It is different. When she cleansed me, I felt light, and every sense had sharpened. This is something else entirely. Every corner of my being is singing, and I cannot keep my paws still. She is gliding toward Inari Okami, and I am like wind over the meadow. Callie veers to the right, and I to the left.

They have Arthur. For a moment, I am alarmed. But it is overwhelmed. There is no room for fear. They will not have him for long. Callie will rescue Arthur as I distract Inari Okami. I marvel as the plan unfolds seamlessly between us without speech. I zip toward Them, yipping to draw Their attention.

Their whole head splits apart, one half of the face turning toward me, the other turning toward Callie.

The plan shifts. Distraction is not possible now. Inari Okami has never shown Themself to me this way. Their appearance is horrible, like some kind of eldritch creature. Eyes appear and disappear all over their split half-face and roots are springing out of their ears, their mouths. Thorns push through their skin.

And I realize what I am seeing, and what I have always seen. I have always spoken of Inari Okami as They, but now I know. They truly are They, but even more than Callie and I have become. I wonder how many, but the plan is simple now. Inari Okami must come apart.

The kitsunes wander aimlessly, Inari Okami can no longer focus Their commands. If the kitsunes are no threat, we need help. "Sire! M'lady!" I bark for the attention of my deceased masters.

Inari Okami screeches and burrows roots deep in Arthur's spirit. His light is flickering, fading. He should be gone, but clever Vivi has weakened Them enough to slow Their justice.

But the King is there, Sire wraps his arms around Arthur's ghost and pours strength into him. And Callie is plunging from the sky like a hawk, and I am lunging from the left, driving my forehead hard into Their side as Callie strikes directly down the middle of the split head.

They release Arthur, and the King flees with his spirit, Lady Guinevere right behind him. Lancelot circles warily, warding off the aimless kitsunes.

Callie rises again, and I dart away from Them as They turn toward me. The ground around me ruptures with growth, dragging at my paws and legs. I am slowed, but not stopped. They must be weaker than I thought. I curve around for another attack as Callie drops, this time aiming for Their back.

They haven't moved from their place, but They appear to be struggling to run. Their feet are rooted to the ground.

"STOP!" They scream, but They do not speak to me. "THIS WILL CHANGE NOTHING, LET US RUN! WE WILL RETURN AND WHEN WE ARE STRONGER, WE WILL PREVAIL!"

But their feet are rooted deep with twisted, knobby roots that dig deep and continue growing. There are now five mouths on their splintered face. Two are shouting, but the others are each saying something different. I strike the center of Their chest as Callie strikes the center of Their back, and five distinct voices cry out in pain as they drop to Their knees.

So. It is true. How could I, made by Their hand, never have seen it?

And as Callie and I part in opposing directions again, Merlin approaches from behind. He grasps Their shoulders and speaks in words that should tear a mortal's tongue apart.

"Come apart," he commands in the high speech.

Thorns begin dropping off Their body, but still They hold together. Two of the mouths open to retaliate, but Callie is there, and she wraps her arms around Their face, filling every mouth with water. They raise their hands, the red lotus glowing, but I dart forward, closing my jaws around the flower and crushing it.

"Come apart!" His demand grows in compulsion. I can feel it, and my own body weakens. I release Them, sinking back on my haunches. I do not understand, why is his speech affecting me? Is he trying to destroy me as well?

I feel Callie's thoughts turn to me. She abandons Inari Okami, Merlin will have to finish this himself. She curls around my neck, wrapping herself around my head.

She is giving me strength, as the King gave Arthur. I can stand again. Neither of us understands why Merlin's words affect me, but she will not allow me to suffer for it.

"COME APART!"

And Inari Okami cracks apart under Merlin's command. Their body splits into five parts, all tumbled in a heap. I rush forward, Callie still clinging to me, and crash through the pile, sending them flying. They must not reunite.

They are moaning all around me. They have been separated by force. I snort, shaking my head. I have no sympathy for Their pain, not after what They have…

Callie, you cannot be serious.

My mind is in shock as compassion flickers in my chest. Callie unwinds from me and glides over to one shivering lump. Water pools up from under the earth all around the form. She runs her hands carefully along the form, little waves from the puddle washing along it. The moaning from that one subsides, and it looks less like a lump and more like a small human form. It growls, raising its hands threateningly. The puddle coalesces around the form up to its neck, immobilizing its body entirely as she turns, gliding to the next moaning lump.

I am frozen, my paws planted firmly in place as I watch her administer healing to the second, then the third, and the fourth. A part of me wants to join her, but I cannot move. I cannot unsee the thing Inari Okami has done, and the things They made me do.

Callie does not approach the fifth form. She turns, instead, to me, and hovers at the tip of my nose.

"You will never be free of Them this way." I hear her words through my bones, my sinews, in every muscle and ligament. It is as though the words are coming from me even as they are being spoken to me. "They will always have a hold on you if you cannot release them."

I turn my head aside, flicking a glance at her sidelong as I cannot fully meet her eyes. "And you? Have you released the King?"

"I have," she replies softly, "and he will know that soon enough."

I do not need to ask if she has released me. She did that the second she chose to cleanse me. And if she could do that, I can do this. I lift my legs, approaching the fifth form, full of apprehension.

"I cannot heal," I warn her. "I was lucky with Arthur, but I have no gift in this."

Her laughter is warm and immediately my spirits lift. "You are wrong, Mystery." My ears lift, and warmth fills me. She spoke my name again. "That was not luck. It was raw and untrained, but what are your creator's attributes? What do They look after?"

"Justice," I recite, "fertility, foxes, agriculture-"

"Agriculture. Growing things?"

The fur on the back of my neck bristles in shock as I reach the connection.

"What is growing but an aspect of healing?" Callie beams, pulling my face down toward the shivering, groaning form. "And healing, but an aspect of growing correctly?"

I shift, still hesitant.

"I will teach you," she persists, and I touch my nose to a piece of my creator.

Inari Okami never touched me after forming me, and I understood I was to keep a distance. And as I touch Them-her, this one is her-there is a sharp flare of heat at the back of my throat, and I understand. This is why Merlin's words affected me, because Inari Okami placed a piece of Themself in me.

Callie nudges my mind back to focus, and I feel the tearing like fault lines all along the body of this one. This is the one, I sense as I prod deeper, that brings life and growth. This is the one that first brought the idea of me to mind, presenting it to the others. This is the one that was grieved most when I left. I find myself laying down next to her, licking her ragged wounds gingerly. And as I do, Callie shows me how to knit the edges back together, how to smooth them so they don't scar, how to wash the agony away and leave no trace of injury.

And when I pull back, this one is whole. She looks up at me, and I am cut to a raw place by the gentleness on her face. She is no bigger than a small child, but she is a fully formed female with a tiny cherry tree on her head. She reaches up a hand and places it on my nose.

"We're so… I'm… so proud of you."

I can hardly see or breathe as Callie immobilizes her. This one does not struggle or fight, only bows her head in acceptance.

I look to the others. I see another one whose head is bowed. One stares at me in fascination. Two are struggling, cursing Callie loudly.

"What will you do with them?" Merlin approaches cautiously from the side.

"Me?" I tuck my ears back. "Judge Them?"

"Who else?" Merlin folds his arms.

I begin to pace. What do I know of judging Them? They were always the ones meting out judgment, and I do not want to be like Them. What They deserve is destruction, but I will not become Them. Their justice was cold, cruel and ever without mercy.

Mercy. That is it.

"Reunite justice and mercy," Callie repeats, sing-songing.

And I know what to do. I sit back on my haunches, facing Them.

"What are your names?" I ask first, needing to know who They are apart from each other.

The two that struggle only turn their cursing to me. The curious one answers, "We don't remember. We have been too long together as one, and some of us were silenced for eons."

"But you remember what you did? Every judgment?"

Now even the curious one bows his head. "Yes."

I turn to Merlin. "If I hand them over to you, will you take them, each one, to places I will tell you about? I would have you bind them to victims of Their justice. Some have been spirits, who will still be roaming the earth. Everything they cared for was torn from them. Perhaps, with someone new to care for, they can find healing. And maybe, with someone to care for Them, Inari Okami will learn."

"Learn what you did?" Merlin's smile wrinkles his face. "I would be honored." He glanced back, and his smile widened. "It seems you continue to learn."

"Congratulations!" Callie twirls above my head, and I glance back.

Eight tails lie spread out on the ground behind me.