Our Brotherhood's battle with the Devil Skins took an unexpected turn. The Devil Skins lost their leader and mentor, White Sky, in a conflict with a newly formed gang called the Psy Nation. The Devil Skins were left disorganized and unsure of their next move. Much of the Skins' territory was taken over by the Psy Nation overnight. This was a major opportunity for our group, but we had to act quickly before the situation got out of hand.

A debate raged within the Animal Mansion. The majority of our Brothers wanted to take advantage of the Devil Skins' weakness and attack immediately, but Death Smoke, our wisest Brother, persuaded Ghost Wolf to make peace with the Devil Skins instead. Ghost Wolf went alone to the Skinyard and negotiated a truce with the remaining Devil Skin leaders. The Skins didn't agree immediately, but after a long discussion they finally relented. Ultimately, they had little choice in the matter. We formed an alliance, a combined force of Animals and Devils to push the Psy Nation out of the Pit.

Our unified forces struck hard and fast. It didn't take long to retake the territory the Skins had lost. Although the Psy Nation fought back fiercely, it wasn't enough. We pursued them when they retreated and dragged them into a chaotic brawl. Their strongest fighter, a psychic named Annihilator, killed dozens of Brothers and Skins with his powers before we finally had to retreat ourselves. We fought again the next day, and the day after that. The Psy Nation was clearly holding its ground, but we had the advantage of numbers and better leadership. It was only a matter of time until our victory was decided.

I returned to the Mansion after a long day of fighting. I found Death Smoke in the backyard with a fat cigar in his mouth. He was always skinny, but after he became obsessed with increasing his psychic power his body transformed into a skeletal husk of what it was before. He didn't seem or care about his appearance or health at all anymore. His ribs were visible now and he'd developed a persistent cough.

"Good evening, Smoke," I said.

"Cough... Rex..." he replied, turning to me with a smile. "The Skins... they sent us some Dust... A little thank you for fighting their battle. I was waiting for you... cough... so we could try it together..."

He got a small bag of red powder out of his pocket, waving it around playfully. I couldn't help but grin. Death Smoke's cheerfulness was the one thing that never failed to bring a smile to my face.

"Let's go, my friend... cough..." he said, flinging the back door to the Animal Mansion open with a grand gesture.

I followed him upstairs to his bedroom where we'd be able to enjoy a little privacy. The glow from the computer monitor filled his room with a sickly blue color. He poured the Devil Dust onto his desk in lines, then he opened his desk drawer and pulled out two tiny straws. I felt a little jittery just looking at the red lines of Dust. Some people died of heart attacks from taking this. Others took it and fell into a mindless rage. Then there were the rumors of how dangerous it was if you took it with other drugs.

"Here we are... cough... shall we?"

Death Smoke was already hunched over, the straw crammed into his nostril. I snorted a line together with him. The Devil Dust burned inside of my nose and brought tears to my eyes. I snorted the second line quickly, trying to mask the pain. I could feel the strange powder's texture in my nostrils as it slowly started to take effect. I could taste it, too, a sharp and grimy flavor in the back of my mouth.

I took a deep breath and sat down on Death Smoke's bed. My mind raced with a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts. I didn't know what I was feeling. I think I might've even been a little scared. Death Smoke was quiet. He looked at me with worry in his eyes.

"Rex... are you alright?"

A wave of heat swept through me. I felt incredibly hot and sticky. I took off my coat to cool down, but it didn't seem to help. I could feel an uncomfortable itching sensation all over my body as I started to sweat more and more.

"I'm fine. Isn't this stuff supposed to turn you into a killing machine? I don't feel any stronger. I just feel confused."
"Hahaha. That's because... you're not much of a fighter, little Rex... cough. Just relax. Try to enjoy it... focus on your thoughts. For me, it's the best feeling in the world."

I looked at Death Smoke. He really did look happy. He was leaning back in his chair with arms crossed, watching me with a smile on his face. The skinny young man was wearing a sleek white jacket and ripped black jeans. His greasy dark hair fell in front of his beautiful green eyes, but he flicked it back with a wave of his head. He still had a handsome charm to him even with how much skinnier he'd become.

I leaned back onto his bed and tried to focus on my thoughts. My memories blurred together chaotically. I could make no sense out of them. My heart was racing. I closed my eyes for a moment in an effort to try and calm myself down. I imagined a great procession of people from my past. I saw faces, scenes, events; conversations I'd had, people I'd met, situations I'd been in. My younger sister, my roommate Trapjaw, a Devil Skin whose name I didn't know, the first time I smoked Nuke, my first time using my psychic ability Soul Vision, Ghost Wolf stomping on my chest, one of my many fights with my mother. Pain. I saw pain. People in pain. People hurting others and people hurting themselves.

I didn't try to shut the painful images out of my mind. I accepted them and considered this experience with Dust a rare opportunity to learn from my mistakes. I let the memories drift before my eyes in calm serenity. The images blurred and shifted like figures reflected in water. It was beautiful. It was entrancing. Slowly but surely, the parade of faces came to an end. I felt cleansed, as if by reliving my past I was purified of something. My heart rate lowered and the uncomfortable sweating sensation went away. I opened up my eyes and saw Death Smoke writing something in a notebook. Maybe he experienced something similar to what I did and he felt inspired enough to write about it. I caught a glimpse of a smile on his face.