Hope Caught

“So you mean we can use any method, just as long as we get you the answer?” I ask slowly, stepping towards the Abbot. Hope, Yui, and Khanethael seem on edge as I walk.

“What are you planning?” Khanethael asks, but I ignore him, giving my full attention to The Abbot.

“Yes,” he says, seeming undisturbed by my questions. “I encourage creative thinking.”

“So nothing’s off the table? If I can think about it, then can I do it?’

“You’re welcome to try if nothing else.”

“Then,” I say, stepping up right in front of him, pulling down the lower band of my Niqab to just above my nose and batting my eyes. “Would you please give us your Bible?” I ask, bowing as low as I can, almost dropping to my knees. I consider placing my forehead on the ground, but feel that if he were willing to press Yui’s face into the ground, he would be moved by this much or not at all. I remain bent over, eyes closed, waiting for a response. I can feel Yui and Hope’s shocked stares, but I ignore them. All I’m focused on is his response, waiting in eager anticipation till I feel a tap on my head.

“You can’t receive the word of God bent over like that now, can you?” I look up, and he’s holding the book in front of me with both hands like a prized business card. I eagerly take it in both of mine, but as I do, he pulls back a bit. “Just remember what I said. I value this more than my own life, so I expect to get it back.”

“Yes, of course,” I say, and he releases it. He steps back and takes another look at the three of us.

“Just remember, I need your answer by midnight,” he says, giving a shallow bow, and then disappears in a plume of smoke. As the plume dissipates, I hear his voice whisper in my ears.

“You can read Greek and Hebrew, right?”

“Huh?” I ask, but he’s already gone. I look at Yui and Hope, and we gather under a streetlight to read the note.

“Give glory to the Lord, ye children of Israel, and praise him in the sight of the Gentiles. Because he hath therefore scattered you among the Gentiles, who know not him, that you may declare his wonderful works, and make them know that there is no other almighty God besides him. He hath chastised us for our iniquities, and he will save us for his own mercy. See then what he hath done with us, and with fear and trembling give ye glory to him: and extol the eternal King of worlds in your works. As for me, I will praise him in the land of my captivity because he hath shewn his majesty toward a sinful nation. Be converted therefore, ye sinners, and do justice before God, believing that he will shew his mercy to you. And I and my soul will rejoice in him. Bless ye the Lord, all his elect, keep days of joy, and give glory to him.”

Yui and I looked at Hope, who, upon seeing our eyes, looked shocked. “Why are you looking at me?” She asks

“Don’t you know it?” Yui asked.

“Not off the top of my head,” Hope says. "Why would you think I know it?”

“Well, you are the most book-smart of the three of us,” I say, joining Yui.

“I don't have the whole Bible memorized,” she says, grabbing fistfuls of her hair from her sides and pulling them over her face. She stomps back and forth for a minute and then crouches down and squeals a bit. After that, she stands upright, parts her hair like a curtain, and looks upward.

“I’ll assume you can’t just tell us what verse it is?'' she asks her guardian, or so I assume. “No, of course, you can’t,” she says, resuming her stomping. “Can you at least give me a hint?... ‘Not one I’m familiar with.’ Well, no duh!' ' she cries, becoming more distressed. “Couldn’t have been an easy one like ‘Jesus wept,’ or at least reference someone other than God. I guess that rules out Esther because God is never referenced in that one. We should also rule out everything before at least 1 Samuel because it references ‘God’s kingdom.’So then maybe-.” As he ponders, her pacing slows, and her agitated stomps become an anxious pace. “Let me see the page,” she says, releasing the right side of her hair and reaching for the page. I hand it to her, and she continues pacing. “It’s written in the first person, so it could be one of the New Testament letters… No, it talks about a ‘land of captivity,’ so that has to be the exile in Babylon…” As she continued reasoning out the problem, Yui tugged on my sleeve.

“Do you have any idea what she’s talking about?”She asks.

“Kinda, but I’m mostly lost, too,” I reply.

“What books are even in that part?”

“I think that’s where the books of the prophets are, but I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean, like Moses and Abraham?”

“No, no,” I correct. “That’s more in the beginning, I think. I’m pretty sure she’s talking about like Jeremiah and Ezekiel.”

“What about Isahiah?”

“Yeah, Isaiah is in that section too.”

“Feel free to join in whenever you’d like,” Hope says, drawing us from our sidebar. “I’ve just ruled it down- no, narrowed it down to the Old Testament after 2 Corinthians- no Chronicles,” she corrects, nearly tripping over her tongue.

“Could it be Isaiah?” Yui asks without thinking.

“I’ve already ruled out Isaiah. Were you even listening?! AHHH!” she screams again, continuing her pacing. Eventually, once she calms down enough, she reaches out a hand towards me. “Just hand over the Bible,” she ardently demands. “It may not be ideal, but I’ll just skim through the books of the prophets and pray we get lucky.”

“Are you sure you’ll be able to do it in time?” I ask, handing her the Bible.

“No, but this is our best chance,” she said, opening it. “If anything, we may have to- AHH WHAT THE HELL!” She screams, looking into the Bible. I’m confused by her outburst until I take a look inside. All I see on page after page is a weird mess of scribbles in regular intervals and shapes.

“What is this?” Yui asks, just as confused as I am.

“IT’S HEBREW!” Hope yells, resuming her stomping from earlier. “THAT BASTARD GAVE US A HEBREW BIBLE!” Her yelling is even louder than before. She stomps around, her face as red as her hair, breathing like she just ran a marathon, and stares down at The Bible. “WORTHLESS BOOK!” she yells, raising it above her head. Just as she begins bringing her hand down, it’s caught by a gloved fist.

“You shouldn’t call any Bible worthless under any circumstances,” says an oddly robotic voice. I look dumbfounded as the Iron Cross stands before us. She is holding Hope’s hand in a death grip, preventing her from moving. She squeezes it, and Hope drops the Bible, and the Iron Cross catches it smoothly. “Least of all one given in such circumstances. I’ve never known him to be a murderer, but disrespecting this,” she says, shaking the book like a wagging finger. “Just might tempt him.''Hope snatches her arm back and glares at the red circles in the gas mask that pass for eye holes.

“Where did you come from all of a sudden? And what do you want?” she barks.

“I came from the narrative's blind spot, but that’s not important right now,” she says casually. “What is important is the advice I came to give you.”

“What do you mean by ‘narrative’s blind spot’?” Hope questions.

“I just told you it’s not important. Come on, Hope, listen better than that.” The Iron Cross says, waving her hands to brush off Hope's question. “Do you want advice or what?”

“I’m sick of you people; I don’t want your advice!” Hope shouts.

“Gosh, so hostile,” The Iron Cross says, putting an aghast hand on her chest. “My sister in Christ, I understand that this whole ‘fight demons in a life or death struggle’ may seem like a radical change for you, but for me, it’s Tuesday, so please tone it down a little.” She says, tapping Hope's head before she swipes at her like a hissing cat. “See what I mean? I’m just pointing out that he never said all of you needed to go into the complex, just that the answer you needed was in there. No need to fight me, save that for the demons.”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Hope demands.

“Geez, fine, I’ll go,” she says, throwing her arms up and walking away. “Oh, before I go,” she says, pointing to me. “Thanks for referring to me as a woman in this chapter, Yukki. It saves me a lot of time fixing that later on,” I stare at her blankly, trying to figure out what she means by that. As I stared, astounded, she quickly pointed behind us. “Dear Lord, what's that over there?” she cries. As we all look behind us, I don't see anything, but when I look back, I see she’s gone.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? INSANE, ALL OF THEM!” Hope screams, huffing and resuming her stomping pace. As she paces, she grasps her hair with both hands so hard that I think she’s about to yank it out at the roots. Her breathing was so hard for a moment that I considered what to do if she was having an asthma attack and forgot her inhaler. I look at Yui, who seems strangely calm, considering all that’s happened.

“Why don’t we just go up?” she whispers, leaning into me. I consider the idea, weighing the pros and cons.

“Hope clearly didn’t want to go in, and Yui was the only one with actual combat experience. Yesterday, she showed that she could handle herself, too. At this rate, Hope could just helplessly cling to me while Yui fought the ghosts, so was there really a need for us to go in?”

“Yeah, I think she should stay out here, but I don't want to leave her alone.”

“I can go alone; it’s fine,” Yui says, patting my shoulder. Before I can get another word out, she’s already marching through the door. As she turns a corner, I see her making the sign of the cross, and she disappears in a flash of light. I’m left standing there outside with Hope, who continues her pacing, unaware of Yui’s departure.

It takes a while, but Hope eventually begins to calm down. Her stomps become softer, and she stops tugging at her hair like she’s trying to rip it out, and her breathing softens. “Are we calm down yet?” I ask, realizing how antagonistic that sounded only after the words left my lips and instantly regretting it.

“CALM!” Hope shouts, nearly sending herself into a coughing fit. “How am I supposed to remain calm in this situation?!”

“Well, wouldn’t your med make it easier to control your emotions?” I ask.

“MEDS!” Hope screams, staring directly at me with a look that could kill. “We’ve been dragged out here to some creepy abandoned hotel in the middle of the night by strange lights CLAIMING to be angels and told we have to fight DEMONS by some FREAKS cosplaying as a ninja and SS officer, and you think the reason I’m not calm is because I forgot to take my GODDAMNED BIPOLAR MEDICATION?!” With each shout, she draws a step closer. I’d known Hope long enough to know she wasn’t the violent type. She was more likely to shut down and withdraw when things got tough, but if there was ever a time she was going to hit me, this was it. “I get that ignorance is bliss and that you can just galavant through life without a care in the world, but for the rest of us, death is real.” By now, she’s right in front of me, so close I can see her individual dimples. She lets go of her hair and points a finger at me so close that it brushes my Niqaba and nearly scratches my lips. “And I don’t care how strong you think you are; neither you nor Yui can-” she says, turning to point her finger at Yui, but can’t find her. “Wha-... How come…Where did Yui go?” she asks, looking at me, confused.

“She went inside,” I say nervously.

“Alone!?”

“Well, she has her guardian with her, so is she really alone?”

“Why didn’t you go with her?” Hope demands, her anger quickly turning to panic.

“Because we didn’t want you to be alone.”

“Well, wouldn’t I have my guardian with me, so would I really be alone?” she demanded. The thought had already occurred to me, so I had a retort ready.

“I thought you wouldn’t want to be alone with the one who had to drag you here by your hair. Was I wrong?” I said, much like my father, in an argument.

“Well- I.. You-” Hope stammers, scrambling for words and grabbing her hair again. I approach her as she squats down and begins to cry, remaining unmoved as I embrace her. “I didn’t ask for this!” she moans.

“It’s okay,” I say calmly, stroking the hair she hasn't latched onto.

“I didn’t ask for any of this; why is this happening to us?” Without looking up, I feel Khanethael’s disapproving gaze upon us, but I ignore it and continue to comfort Hope.

“We’ll be fine. Yui’s going to head up, find the answer, and we’ll be on our way out of here in no time.” As I speak, I can hear the faintest sounds of a fight. I hear the sound of stone cracking and glass shattering nearby. I look to my left just in time to see a wall crack and small pieces of debris fall. “See,” I say, pointing over at the new crack. “She’s beating up the ghosts and will be back out here in no time-” My words are cut short when another blow comes out from the wall. Yui was there, wearing the same gi and mask she’d worn the previous night. She was struggling and straining against a massive tentacle. Its suckers were as big as my palms and covered in thorns like a rose bush. It pushed Yui all the way into a tree behind us. As it tried to pull her back in, she clung to the tree with her claws, but a second tentacle wriggled from the same hole and pulled her back inside, tearing chunks from the tree as Yui’s claws released. Hope clutches onto me harder, her knuckles white and her skin paler than usual.

“What was that?” Hope, and I scream in unison, looking up.

“What else but the foe before yee?”Khanethael answers nonchalantly.

“She has to fight that?” Hope exclaims.

“Only if you two do not join her,” Khanethael says, looking down at me.

“But what can we-” Hope begins, but a creaking behind us cuts her off. The tree Yui had clung to was now missing a massive part of the trunk and was leaning towards us. I pull Hope along like a dog on a leash. Running away from the tree as it came crashing down where we were. It’s not till we’re through the hole that Hope finally pulls back.

“What are you doing?” I ask, tugging her forward.

“What are you doing!?” she demands right back, digging her heels in to prevent me from going any further.

“We had to get out of there,” I declared, pulling her forward.

“Then why not run away from the hole?” she demands. “It’d be smarter to run to the side instead of directly in its path.”

“Well, we can’t just leave Yui in here!” I declare. “We have to help her!” I give one last mighty pull and manage to get her forward. She stumbles and almost falls on top of me, but from our new spot, we can see around a wall and into the plaza. It’s a square box surrounding a pool. In the pool are dozens of massive wriggling tentacles. Over to the side, I can see Yui desperately struggling to move, but two or three tentacles hold each limb. Despite this, I can sense the fire in her eyes as she pushes off against the wall, straight for the main body, only to be deflected at the last moment. I can tell Yui’s been doing this for a while, and she’s starting to show signs of weariness. “We have to help her,” I say, racking my brain for anything we can do to help.

“How!” Hope screams, slamming her fist into the concrete and alerting the tentacles to our presence. They begin swarming us, grabbing me and Hope by our legs and arms and pulling us apart. I try to run, but they’re too fast and swarm me.

“Why are you here?” A loud, gurgling voice calls from the center of the tentacles. “I only took this post because Shino-sama said it would be easy.” The tentacles wiggle more furiously, shaking me all around. From the corner of my eye, I can see Yui struggling harder now that Hope and I have been captured. Flashes of red tell me Hope is being shaken just as furiously as I am. I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach; the jerks are like the worst roller coaster ever. “Once I’m finished with you three, I’ll have to go to his shrine and get a new post. Such a pain.”

“The cross.” That is all I can think of as I desperately reach for my chest. I can still feel it shaking around under my clothes, but I need to get it. “If I can just grab hold of it, then -” Suddenly, the tentacles shake me harder. I clamp my eyes shut and nearly bite my tongue off in shock. When I slow down, I look to see I’m at least seven stories above the ground. It’s all too much as I pass out.

The next thing I feel is water on my face. “AIR!” I think, springing up and gasping for one last gasp of air, but I’m not in the pool. There’s no water aside from what’s in my eye, and the tentacles that constricted me a moment ago are gone. When I rub the water out of my eyes, a familiar covered face and visor greet me.

“Welcome back,” he says, corking a small flash.

“What happened?” I ask, rubbing my eyes to see clearly.

“You got caught by tentacles, dropped from a high spot, passed out, and I woke you up with some holy water.”

“You caught me?” I think, rubbing the last of the water from my eyes.

“I didn’t,” he says, stowing the flask and pointing. “She did.” I look, and I’m stunned by what I see. Rushing at the mass of tentacles in the pool is a mass of red hair. It zigzags around, dodging tentacles as they strike the concrete like pickaxes. When one tentacle finally hits its mark, it’s instead caught between two massive cat paws. The force is so great that the red mass is sunk into the cement, but the body doesn't falter. Instead, claws burst from the paws, slicing into the tentacles like a toothpick.

“AH!” The tentacles scream, trying to pull back. But that just leads the cat to clamp down harder and slice it like calamari.

“Who is that?” I wonder, watching the cat regain speed. Once it shifts its angle, I can see the front. A lion's head helmet sits upon the person’s head, with the mouth serving as an opening to see through. A thick red mane spurs all around the head and reaches further than the arms and claws. Below the chest, it’s more human, sporting a skirt and bare feet that also have claws. She weaves around as she charges the tentacles, leaping over them as they slam on the ground before her and slashing at them as they try to spear her like a harpoon.

“Stay still, you furball,” he screamed, launching more and more tentacles at her. “When I get ahold of you, I’m going to- AAHHH!” He hollers. I see tentacles fly away from the lion and back to where Yui is pinned. As I look closer, I can see she’s squeezed her chin under the tentacle wrapped around her neck, and it is tearing into it with her teeth. Chunks of squid go flying in every direction as she desperately frees one arm. With it free, she began ripping out even larger chunks than she had with her teeth, making her look more like a demon than the one she was fighting.

“THAT’S IT!” A booming voice screamed from the pool. It began bubbling and growing from the base. Four massive spikes emerged from the pool, surrounded by the tentacles. “No, they weren’t spikes!” I thought, watching as they continued to rise. “Those were teeth!” I watched as a massive gaping mouth rose above the water. It looked like a hippo’s mouth, but instead of four rather ordinary tusks, it had an array of spikes at every corner like a thorn bush. I watched in horror as the tentacles around Yui suddenly swung her towards it. Jerking her head and disorientating her enough to get her between the jaws. At the last moment, she stretched out her arms and legs, pressing against the jaws as they tried to squash her. I saw blood leaking from her hands and feet where the spikes had cut her, and I saw her back arch backward, forcing her stomach toward the sky.

“Almost,” The Abbot said, placing his hand on his sword and fiddling with the cross guard with his thumb as if itching to draw it.

“How can you just stand there and watch?” I thought. “You could be doing something, anything to help, and you’re just standing there doing nothing!” But she turned towards me, and I felt a condescending look spread across his face.

“You mean like you’re doing now?” He asked.

“How’d he read my thoughts?” I wondered, not realizing I’d said that part out loud.

“Don’t worry, GoKegawa-san,” he said, taking a step forward. "Everything will be over soon. Have a little hope, ehh?” He said, leaning forward and placing his feet as if he were ready to charge.

“What do you mean by-?” I begin to ask, but my eyes are again drawn to the Red Lion. She’d managed to get right on top of the tentacles. Her claws weren’t slicing through them anymore, given how thick they were, but it didn’t look like she was trying to. Instead, it looked like she was trying to tie them up with her mane of hair. It flowed and wrapped like a million independent fingers, coiling and tying the tentacles up. After circling a few times, she stomped on the base and pulled, squeezing the tentacles together like a bundle of straw. She pulled, hand over hand, bringing them all closer together. In a single move, she’d managed to eliminate the threat of the tentacles.

“How’d she know how to do that?” I wondered, watching her pull the bundle tighter. “To come up with that kind of plan, she’d have to be a genius on Hope’s level or-.” My thoughts were cut short by my realization. The Red Lion was Hope. She was pulling the tentacles together, and when she couldn’t pull them any tighter in the front, she turned and pulled them like a large bag of laundry over her shoulder. She pulled it so tight I swear I saw some of the tentacles bursting from the pressure, all except one. That one single tentacle managed to wriggle its way around, and just when Hope had turned her back to pull, it slammed her into the water below. All the tentacles were instantly freed and dove down after her, trying to drown her.

“Come on, say the line,” The Abbot mumbled, gripping his sword handle, ready to unsheath the blade at any moment as he stared down the bubbling water where Hope was held. I watch with bated breath as the bubbles slowly dwindle. I’m just about to scream at him to save her when he grips his blade and begins a quiet prayer.

“Bring forth the waters of the Jordan. Grant my enemies baptism by my blade,” he prays, drawing out his sword. It’s double-sided and no longer than his arm, shorter than I was expecting. It’s thickest at the hilt and tapers down to a fine point at the tip. As he drew it out, the water that had been splashed around us was drawn into the blade like a vacuum. The moisture on my clothes from when the tentacle had grabbed me was drawn in, and my mouth, nose, and throat felt dry as a desert. As the water was drawn in, his blade began to glow a faint aqua blue, like an ocean wave. Water dripped from the blade, making it appear as though it were made of water. Then it was gone; he was gone. My eyes were just fast enough to follow him as he dashed across the plaza. He was at the base of the tentacles before I, or even the demon, realized it. In a flash, the mouth trying to crush Yui is severed. With how short the blade is, it had to have taken nearly a slash, but I only saw one.

“AH!” I’m sure the demon wants to scream, but with his mouth severed, all that comes out is a gurgled thrash, like blowing a horn full of water. Yui instantly pushes the jaws apart, now that they aren’t trying to crush her. She’s about to fall into the water, but he grabs her arm and throws her to the side of the pool, where she slides before landing on her feet. The Abbot, in contrast, dives in, sword first, followed by all the remaining tentacles. They thrashed and wrapped, leaving little doubt there was a struggle going on beneath the water’s surface. I finally find the strength in my legs to move and rush to Yui, stumbling as I go. I look her over, and she seems fine, aside from the cuts on her hands and feet and the strain on her back. A sudden wave jolts me back to the battle going on just below the pool next to us. It’s cold and smells dirty like it hasn’t been cleaned in years.

“How dirty does it have to be for glowing bacteria to-?” I begin to think when I realize it isn’t bacteria but the water itself. It was faint at first, but each wave seemed to be glowing brighter and brighter, like his sword. As it glowed more and more, the thrashing and gurgling screams became even more violent. Whole tentacles began floating at the surface as steam climbed from around them. I start to worry about burns from the next wave, so I grab Yui’s hand to pull her away, but not fast enough. A steaming wave crashes over us, but it’s just as cold as the others. “We should still get away,” I thought. “No way of telling why it’s glowing and steaming.” I look down at Yui to tell her we should move again, but her hand stops me. It’s completely healed from earlier. A moment ago, it looked like she’d shoved it in a wood chipper, but now there wasn’t so much as a scare.

“But how?” I ask aloud, only to be met with a loud *Flap* from the pool. I turn and see Hope, still in her lion outfit, slumped on the side of the pool. A black hand releases her back collar and drops back down to the bottom of the pool. “Hope!” I call, racing to pull her further away before a tentacle can drag her back. I grab her arm, but can hardly move her. Yui grabs the other hand, and together, we pull her with ease. As we pulled her, the massive paws slowly changed back to her normal hands. The lion's head helmet also disappeared, leaving only her natural hair. We set her on her back, and I placed my ear on her chest to listen for breath. “Hope! Hope, come on, talk to me!” I cry, rubbing her sternum. With a hard push, she coughs once, then twice, till she’s in the midst of a coughing fit. I turn her over on her side as she spits up mouthfuls of water. I begin checking the rest of her body, but there are no signs of any injuries. Once she’s finished coughing up all the water she’d swallowed, Hope sits up on her own and gasps.

“What happened?” She asks, looking back to the pool. I follow her eyes and see that there aren’t any tentacles flailing anymore. Only a few steamed at the surface. There’s no sign of the Abbot either.

“Did he slip away again?” I wonder till a hand reaches out from under the pool. It slaps on the side and pulls his body out, the sword still glowing in his hand. He swiftly climbs to his feet, turning back to look into the pool, scanning from one side to the next. Once he’s satisfied, he makes the sign of the cross and returns his blade to its sheath. As soon as it snaps shut, the glow disappears from all the water. As he begins to walk towards us, a rock flies in, striking the ground right in front of him.

“YOU NO GOOD SON OF ADAM!” A harsh robotic voice calls from the rooftops. I look at its origins, but it’s so dark that all I can see are two small red circles glowing. “I spent all this time setting up the MG 42, and now I can’t even fire off a shot?” The voice holds as much rage as the modulation can, but at this distance, the impact is dulled.

“You’ll get another chance,” The Abbot calls back, placing his hands over his mouth to call back.

“NAH!” so calls in return. “Next time, all I’m bringing is a pea shooter for suppressive fire, and you can figure out the rest.”

“You do that,” he calls, shaking his head, clearly not believing a word she said. The Iron Cross makes a few more inflammatory calls, but The Abbot ignores them as he finishes approaching us. His footsteps sloshed with pool water on each step. As he finished his approach, he lifted the cloth from his right wrist. “Mission completed at 23:37,” he says, snapping the fabric back. “A new record.”

“Huh?” I ask, unsure what he meant.

“What does he mean by ‘new record’? Is this a standard mission for new Maidens?” I thought. He didn’t give me any time to ask, though, simply looking up at our angels.

“Await my next set of orders, no combat, no engagement. Understood?” he asks in a commanding voice, quite different from the one he’d been using while waiting for Hope to go under. He pointed a finger down at Hope, who was still sopping wet; her normally poofy hair was stuck to her head and skin, making her look more like a ghost with a red sheet than anything else. “And make sure she has a bath. Can’t let a cold derail our training plans.”

“Training plans?” I thought, scrunching up my nose. “Was this a part of our training? What kind of insanity was this?” I wanted to ask, but he moved so quickly that I never got the chance

“Thank you for your hard work,” he said with a bow. “I pray the Lord to watch over you till we meet again.” He turns on his heel to leave and takes a few steps before he’s stopped by a call of “Wait!” It was Hope who called, stretching her arm out as if to grab him. He stopped and turned an ear to us, but didn’t say anything.

“Who’s Tobit?” Hope asked, lowering her arm. The Abbot didn’t move; he didn’t shift his body in any way, but his aura did, shifting from a rigid commander giving orders to something more lighthearted.

“Oh, to know so much about Biblical history and so little about Bible history,” he said as a total non-answer. Before Hope or any of us could say anything else, he took off. Dashing away out of sight and leaving us sitting in the plaza.

“That’s not an answer!” Hope laments, grasping her hair and wringing out plashes of water as she tugs it.