"Since when have you been a pushover Death? Unbelievable!" I scolded my eldest whose ghostly form wavered before me.

I noticed the link to his back was also showing an inconsistency.

"Adams-san was your lover. So what?! Since when has love been a crime?" I softened the tone of my voice when I saw the conflicted emotions on his ghostly face.

"Did you ever think of using the Power of Null to destroy our home?"

"No," Death whimpered.

"What have you got to feel guilty, sorry or ashamed about then?"

"But Shuso, I felt something wasn't right."

"Stop stubbornly punis.h.i.+ng yourself for something you didn't do! Didn't Shuso always tell you to think 'the right you do is good to others'?" I pressed my argument further.

"Right now, telling my brother he did nothing wrong is the right and good thing to do."

"Famine," Death said with a sensation of swallowing tears.

"Haven't we suffered enough?" I begged him with my own tears flowing out.

Death's ghostly form exhaled a heavy sigh. He faced me with his usual brotherly smile.

My heart raced with relief when the light to Death's back disappeared. His hollow eyes were filled with his usual tender blue and his countenance showed a more natural skin color.

The ego link was broken.

"Freend, me glow stronger." Small Cap's voice reminded me of his presence.

I placed the guns to the ground, called him to my shoulder and held up the glowing crystal shard to the place where Death's heart would be.

A new link was formed between the shard and Death.

"What'd we do now?" I asked, clueless.

Small Cap answered for me when he cradled the shard, making the light intensify into a blinding ray.

I gasped with fright when I saw Death's ego get sucked into the shard then flow out of it and into Small Cap.

Both Small Cap and the crystal shard stopped glowing. I held his unresponsive body in both my hands.

"Small Cap?" I called out, hoping to hear his voice.

"Freend? Me still here!" Small Cap answered with joy and stood up.

My chest pounded with fear of not hearing my brother's voice.

"Death, please tell me you're also here."

"This is amazing Small Cap. My eyes are seeing a lot of different things. An example is the fuzzy outline of your face Famine." Death's voice perked up in my head.

I could hear the banshee banging against our barrier and caught sight of Colin continuing to hold out against Big Mama Banshee, but his form was looking ragged.

I had taken too long with the ego porting.

"Stay safe in the belt pouch Small Cap," I said as I placed the crystal back into the pouch with him and readied my guns for action.

I said the spell Colin had taught me, to reverse the barrier and repel the oncoming banshee attacks.

"Come on you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!" I shouted, letting out some hefty gunfire on the dwindling banshee numbers to re-join the fight.