After our disastrous failed assault on the Psy Temple, the Brotherhood was left severely weakened. We lost many of our strongest members in the fighting including Brother Serpent and Brother Elk. Many more of us would likely have died had they not sacrificed themselves to secure our retreat. We were forced to reorganize and drastically scale back our operations in the face of our sudden lack of manpower. At times, we found ourselves stretched dangerously thin. The situation continued to deteriorate in the months that followed.

The Psy Nation took advantage of our weakness by launching raids on our territory non-stop. They destroyed businesses under our protection, beat up anyone they caught wearing our colors, and even brutalized our girls. They never directly attacked the Animal Mansion, but they sure showed up in force everywhere else. We couldn't do anything to stop them.

The worst of it came when they cut us off of Nuke by destroying our supplier's labs. Our main source of income disappeared into thin air and our Brothers started to suffer from withdrawal symptoms within days. I was barely able to sleep at all anymore without the drug to calm my nerves. We all tried to make do with nasty low-quality substitutes, but nothing we tried worked particularly well. We needed Nuke. We needed money. We needed more members. We were falling apart.

The Brotherhood was dying and we knew it. The Psy Nation was getting stronger. There were rumors that they had us outnumbered now. As if things weren't bad enough, our leader Ghost Wolf started acting strangely. He became sullen, reluctant to work, and easily driven to anger. Our defeat at the Psy Temple had broken him. He never showed up to meetings. He rarely even left his room. On the rare occasions that I saw him wandering around the Animal Mansion, he looked miserable and crazed. His hair was unkempt and he'd developed a scraggly beard. His muscles were starting to wither away from lack of use. He looked more like a hermit than the leader of a gang. It pained us all to see him in such a sorry state, but our group needed a decisive plan of action if it was to survive. Something had to be done.

A meeting of the Brotherhood's inner circle was called in the Animal Mansion's courtyard. All of us were gathered there except for Ghost Wolf who chose not to attend. The rest of the Brothers waited anxiously in the Mansion while we decided their fate. The Brotherhood's second in command, Nightmare, was the first to speak. He wore a black robe and an ominous metal mask.

"Our leader has not been acting himself lately," said Nightmare grimly. "We won't survive the way things are now. Brothers, I ask for your ideas on how we should proceed."

Death Smoke coughed and hopped to his feet. His skinny body and strange way of moving around made him look like some kind of weird human-sized puppet.

"Cough... Brother Nightmare, our dear leader... cough... he's only human, after all... all of us are in pain and all of us are hungry for Nuke to smoke... cough... haha... but, our leader, he feels it more than the rest of us... We should try to be understanding of his pain... cough."

I cleared my throat and stood up.
"What do you suggest we should do then, Brother Smoke?"

"I say we should leave him alone... rrrggh... let him recover... hide him away here in the Mansion... hahaha... I see strong Brothers here... They'll keep him safe. We will have to fight on without his help for now... cough."

I took a deep breath. Ghost Wolf wasn't fit to lead us anymore. I felt we should ask him to step down as leader and let someone else take charge, but Death Smoke wished to spare him the humiliation and preferred to keep him on as a figurehead instead. I didn't agree with his opinion, but it would be nearly impossible for any of us to take control of the Brotherhood without Death Smoke's support.

I sighed and nodded slowly.
"Brother Smoke has faith in our leader, and I have faith in Brother Smoke. Yes, he will be safe here while he gets as much rest as he needs."

Death Smoke let out a brief cough before smiling.
"Thank you... Brother Rex. You are truly kind... haha... I ask for everyone's understanding... cough... and their patience. We shall guide this Brotherhood until Brother Wolf is well... cough... COUGH!"

The skinny man sat back down in his seat and coughed hard into his hand. Everyone watched and waited for Death Smoke's next words. He took a moment to catch his breath. Slowly, he raised his shaking head and looked around the courtyard.

"Thank you, everyone..." he said, nodding slowly. "We are kind... to each other. We cherish each other... cough... even in our moments of weakness. I can see that... from your concern for me... right now. Thank you..."

Death Smoke coughed again, but his breathing was beginning to steady. He looked straight at me and smiled.

"Brothers, our situation is not as bad as it seems... cough... the Psy Nation is powerful, but our Brotherhood is stronger. They cannot attack us here... if we lie low and find a new supplier, we'll recover in no time. Our allies the Devil Skins are in worse shape than we are, and before long... they'll be forced to join us... we've already taken control of their turf... just... just waiting for them to realize it... hahaha... cough!"

Death Smoke's voice was becoming harsh. Nightmare stood up to help him, but Death Smoke waved him off.
"I'm fine, I'm fine... I just need... a moment..."

As Death Smoke's psychic abilities got stronger, his body was starting to deteriorate more and more. His skin was grayish and cracked, his body emaciated and skeletal... even his hair was falling out. I could see the pain in his eyes, but he never stopped smiling. His cheerful spirit never faded. Death Smoke was undefeatable, eternally optimistic, a perfect representation of what it meant to be an Animal Brother. He was what kept me going.