The Last Drop of Hope, Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Exhausted, bloodied, and empty handed, Tina watched as the first hovertank pulled out of the Axel Security station, armored blackhats marching alongside it, drones hovering in the air above it. The sleek, black, ominous lines of the armored carapaces of all three gleamed dully in the neon lights of the city, and another tank rumbled off the transport, ready to be loaded.

“All this for a couple of little girls?” Claire muttered, looking confused and irritated as they stood outside the station. Her armor was scorched, as was her hair. Both of them had not come out of that exchange favorably. “Even for Crimson Demons, this seems a bit much.”

“It’s what’s happening in space,” Tina said with a heavy sigh. “We heard on the radio, remember? The Second Orbital War has kicked off.”

“We all knew it was coming. Damn ChimeraCorp keeping all the food to themselves,” Claire grumbled.

“YOU TWO! GET OVER HERE!”

At the bellow of The Chief, Tina and Claire both straightened and turned, saluting crisply despite their injuries. “Ma’am!”

Swatti stalked over, wearing her old power armor. It was an exo-suit that had several dark stains on it that at first looked like rust, but further inspection proved they were definitely not. The armor itself had dark green plating with a lime green underside and was emblazoned with Swatti’s clan marking, which consisted of an iron gray fist with the top half stained red with blood.

“You two girls look like hell,” Swatti grunted, looking down at the both with a frown. “Which is about what’s to happen here.”

“It’s war then?” Tina asked, feeling her heart sink.

That earned her a nod and a scowl. “Seems like it. I don’t know if that business in space started it or what, but it’s going to be bad. We’re fully mobilizing against ShopWiz. As you can see, the heavies are already here, and Santomon is staging on the other side of Axel.”

“Chief…they were just kids. Do we really need to fight a war to take the eyes of little girls?” Claire asked, sounding exhausted.

“You’ll shut up and do what you’re ordered. They killed our people, or did you forget? No? Good. Now. The CEO wants to talk to you.”

That made Tina and Claire both look around, feeling frightened. No one wanted to talk to Beldia. Besides he had a…reputation. One that Tina did find exciting, and perhaps at another time she would have been excited at the thought of being forced to perform lewd acts by her boss. Now though…now she wasn’t certain she wanted a part of this.

“I thought we signed up to protect people,” Tina said, meeting Swatti’s eyes. “Not to terrorize innocent civilians.”

Expecting a chewing out, Tina braced herself. Instead, Swatti’s eyes darted from side to side, and she licked her lips, sniffing the air with her snout. “Between you and me kid…I don’t like this either. Picking up perps and stopping gang wars is one thing. Fighting another corp, blowing up all the food…it’s going to be ugly, and without much honor. Now shut up and smile, because you’re my best, and the boss wants to see you.”

With that, Swatti turned and stomped off. Tina looked at Claire, who schooled her face into a neutral expression but nodded. Taking a breathTina put her arms around Claire and gave her a quick squeeze. She wasn’t surprised when Claire rested her head on her chest and hugged back in turn. But they could stand that way only for a moment before they broke apart and turned as one to face their next trial.

The Security Station had been completely overhauled. A number of walls had been ripped out, and the floor and walls had been given a hasty buffing that had left them clean and shiny, but with obvious scouring marks. High-tech monitors, processors, and other gear were everywhere now, as were blackhats in dark armor with heavy weapons, their faces obscured by dark blast masks with white skulls etched into them. Most of them were as tall or taller than Tina, and they stood absolutely rigid and motionless, not even shifting slightly.

It was eerie and unnerving, and Tina wondered if the rumors she had heard that the highest echelons of NyteTech’s elite forces were actually cyborgs, or even more disturbing, androids. There was no denying what Beldia was, however.

The CEO of NyteTech stood at the center of this new nexus of power, his hulking armor nearly scraping the ceiling. If his head had rested atop his shoulders instead of in the tank at the center of his chest, it wouldn’t have fit without hunching over. In addition to the cannons and missiles, he now had a massive black sword that he held by the pommel, blade touching the floor. Where it rested, a spreading puddle of rust and rot sprouted, as something about the metal tainted and corroded everything around it. Tina shuddered but snapped to attention and saluted.

“Sir! Officers Ford and Shin, reporting for duty!”

The cyborg CEO half turned toward them, the head floating around in the tank so that the baleful red eyes regarded them. “So. You are the ones that failed in their mission. Give your report. In detail.”

“Sir!” Tina barked, and trembling slightly, began to do just that, with Claire chiming in to provide details from her end. They spoke of loading up, following the trail of destruction, the bodies they found, and so on. To Tina’s surprise, Belida interrupted her as she was describing the injured operative she’d saved.

“Had he been injured with magic, or a weapon?”

“Magic?” Tina asked, feeling uncertain. “I…I’m not certain what you mean, sir.”

“You know perfectly well. Were the injuries caused by a weapon, or by powers you can’t understand or explain,” Beldia growled, taking a clanking step forward. His head was at eye level for Tina, and the rest of him towered over her.

“I’m not certain…” Tina said, looking up and shaking slightly. Would he pin her to the wall? Torture and violate her? The thought was distressing, but also exciting.

“Not sure about him, sir. But Ms. Wiz did some things I sure as hell didn’t understand, and so did the one they called Aqua,” Claire reported, standing shoulder to shoulder with Tina.

Belida shifted his gaze and frame. “So. You heard her name then. Describe her to me.”

“Blue hair, beautiful, shot water out of her hands, got frozen by Ms. Wiz,” Claire reported.

“She has returned,” Beldia muttered, his head floating away from them in the liquid, his gaze unfocused. “How? It’s been over 1,000 years…this should be completely impossible. But Wiz froze her… why?”

“I don’t know sir. We left when it was clear ShopWiz had the situation in hand. We were on their turf,” Claire explained. “What they did with those kids and Aqua…I don’t know. But I assume they put them on ice for…something.”

“Yes…so, it was Wiz you saw using magic then. Perhaps she’s recruiting Crimson Demons, trying to rekindle their magic,” Beldia muttered. “That would be a disaster. But Aqua…Wiz should have killed her on sight. Unless…unless the rumors about Sylvia are true…”

“Uh, what rumors, sir?” Tina asked, feeling lost.

Belida looked up, as if surprised to see them there still. “Ah. What of Axis Cultists? Did you meet any?”

“Cultists? From the Church of Serenity?” Claire asked, and she and Darkness shared a confused glance before turning back to face Beldia, who had stepped so close they had to resist the urge to lean away or step back themselves.

“What does it mean when I say, ‘You can run away from unpleasant things! That doesn’t mean you’ve lost!’?” Beldia growled, his red eyes boring into Tina and Claire.

Swallowing, Tina cleared her throat. “No offense sir, but it sounds like nonsense to me.”

“We know we lost, sir. You don’t have to rub it in. We won’t fail you again,” Claire said, sweat beading on her brow.

Beldia smiled and suddenly laughed, patting Tina and Claire both on the shoulders. “It is! Good, good. You’re still loyal, then. You know, I could use two knights with such… assets…as you.”

Tina flinched as cold metallic hands reached down and squeezed her rear, even though they didn’t do more than scrabble along armor, and when they trailed up to unfastened her armor. She shivered as Beldia fondled her breasts, then glanced at Claire and shook her head. Her partner was seething and looked ready to murder Beldia, but hastily wiped her face clean of expression when she saw Tina’s panicked look.

“I don’t even feel anything anymore, but I remember,” Belida chuckled, doing the same to Claire, which made Tina want to spit nails herself. “If I can capture Aqua, drain her mana…I could make new knights. I’ve looked at your service records. Impeccable. Beyond reproach. So very, very rare these days. Corrupting pureness such as yours…that used to be a hobby of mine.”

“S-sir?” Tina stammered. “If you must…take me, not Claire.”

“Ha ha! Yes, that’s it, exactly!” Beldia laughed, stepping back. “But I can barely raise a zombie these days, forget a higher level undead like a Death Knight. But with mana…Yes. Yes you would make excellent knights of mine. Just like Sir Tenlee here. I raised him, oh…1500 years ago?”

The blackhat in question turned his head, and raised his blastguard. Tina stared in horror. There was a skull, one decaying, rotting eye, and a hole from which a maggot wiggled. “I serve eternally, master.” His voice was like the rattle of bones in a dry tomb.

“You do, you do. Wouldn’t you two like to live forever? Ah, time enough for that later. Yes…one last goddess to claim…the ultimate prize,” Beldia laughed again, and pointed. “Go. Bathe yourselves, and come back wearing something lacy under that armor. We move out at 0900 hours.”

Feeling dirtier than she ever had before, Tina picked up her armor and scurried out with her face flaming red, with Claire right behind her. They dodged the now horrifying blackhats with their macabre masks, and made straight for their squad car, then headed straight home, hardly daring to breathe or speak. When they arrived, they tossed their gear in the corner, then headed for the shower.

“You first, or me?” Tina asked, pausing in the middle of stripping off her sodden and bloodstained undershirt.

“Get in there,” Claire said, shoving her forward, and Tina reluctantly complied, stepping into the small closet and turning on the hot water. She still couldn’t decide if being molested by Beldia turned her on, or horrified her, or both.

When she turned to close the door behind her, however, Claire slipped in as well. Her eyes were downcast, and she was hugging her arms to her naked chest, trembling slightly. “I don’t want to be alone. I feel…dirty, Tina.”

Feeling her heart in her throat, Tina nodded, and made space for Claire. It was close confines in their shower, especially since Tina was a giant of a woman and Claire wasn’t petite either: both were muscled and scared from years of service, with sturdy frames. Tina privately thought one of the reasons she didn’t have a boyfriend and wasn’t likely to get one was that she had the physique of a gorilla.

Claire didn’t keep her distance though, stepping into the shower and leaning her head between Tina’s breasts, much to Tina’s befuddlement. She knew perfectly well that Claire was a lesbian and more than complimentary of her, but this was far more forward than her lifelong friend had ever been.

“I need a hug,” Claire said quietly, her voice almost drowned out by the spray of the shower on her head.

Gingerly, Tina wrapped her arms about Claire, only for Claire to grab onto her and cling for dear life. She increased the pressure and rested her chin on Claire’s head.

“Tina. Are…are we evil?” Claire asked, looking up at Tina. Claire’s eyes were red, and it was hard to tell the tears from the water spraying on her face. “We work for a monster. We hunt children. That woman, Aqua…what evil did she do?”

Tina swallowed, unable to formulate an answer. Tears filled her own eyes. At last she managed, “I don’t know. But I don’t…I don’t want to end up like one of those…”

She couldn’t finish the sentence, but Claire jerked a nod. “If that’s what immortality looks like…I hope I die young.”

“Claire! Don’t say such things!” Tina chided, horrified.

“Why!? Who cares, Tina!? Who would care if I died? If the line of Symphonia was wiped out, once and for all?! Would the world be a better place?! What kind of protector am I, to make little girls scream and cry when I approach!?”

“I would care,” Tina said softly, putting a finger under Claire’s chin and lifting it up. Claire looked away and tried to lower her chin again, but Tina grabbed it and made Claire meet her eyes. “I’m your friend, Claire. And…and I…”

She couldn’t say it. She wanted, no, needed, Claire to be the one to take that step first.

“...I love you,” Claire whispered. Tina gasped and shuddered, but didn’t let go. She expected Claire to kiss her, but she didn’t. Instead, she turned her back. “Not…not anything more. Not now. Just…know that I love you, Lalatina Ford Dustiness. You’re the only reason I have to keep trying. But right now…I feel…so dirty. Please. Wash my back.”

Nodding, Tina did so, washing more than Claire’s back, but her hair, her arms, her legs, even…well, the rest of her. Then she let Claire do the same for her. They used an entire month’s worth of hot water and soap, and how they would pay for it was anyone’s guess, but they needed it oh so badly.

When they were both clean, Tina turned the water off and hugged Claire again. They stood there, shivering and dripping wet, feeling no less dirty when they’d stepped in it. No amount of hot water and soap could wash away a lifetime of sin and pain. Not this water, anyway.

“I think I might love you too, Claire,” Tina said quietly.

That earned her a snort. “I thought you weren’t a lesbian. You like men, don’t you? A big strong man, to spank you and call you a bad girl.”

“That’s…perhaps,” Tina admitted. She kissed Claire’s forehead and closed her eyes. “But you’re the only one I care about in the world too. If you’re the only person I protect…that’s alright. And, well…for you…maybe we should be more than friends.”

Claire laughed, and broke away, scrubbing at her eyes as she hiccuped and shook. “Hell of a time to say it! Why couldn’t you do this years ago? Now…now we’re both going to die, and, well..I just…I feel too dirty right now, Tina. Especially for you.”

Tina could only nod, her throat too raw to speak. She felt filthy as well. Normally, she didn’t mind feeling degraded. But right now…she felt worthless.

They dressed, then lay down for a short nap. They awoke only four hours later, but it was time. On a whim, Tina dug out their safe, and removed their amulets. She looked at hers, the winged shield of House Dustiness, a sigil she barely knew the meaning of, the house that had been broken and forgotten. She was a disgrace.

But, for the first time ever, she put the amulet on, tucking it under her undershirt. She gave Claire’s hers as well. “We may as well. I don’t think…I don’t think we’re coming back here, Claire.”

“No. No, I guess not,” Claire agreed, looking at her fiery blade pendant for a long moment. She held it to her forehead for a moment, then tucked it under her own shirt. They put on their armor, and went to their hovercar, getting in where they sat for a long moment.

“Well?” Tina asked, swallowing and looking to Claire

Claire put on her helmet, and strapped it down tight. “Well what? We still have a job to do, and people to protect. There’ll be a war. The people of Axel still need us. We’ll do what we can.”

Nodding, Tina put the car into gear, and lifted off into the air, heading for NyteTech Security Headquarters, tears running down her face. She held out a hand, and Claire took it, squeezing it tight.

Whatever came next…they’d do it together.

After the Battle of Farm 514, as it had been deemed, Aqua began to go around to various other farms and summon forth water that instantly caused the crops to grow. This time, however, she was a little smarter about it (or rather, Rain was) and bestowed classes and powers on the workers BEFORE the crops turned murderous when they ripened. Within hours, ShopWiz had harvested enough food to feed Axel for months, and had more clean water than had existed on the planet for years, as well as a formidable farming force. Which in Historical Belzerg was the same thing as a highly trained elite military force since farmers had always been the highest level and most powerful citizens in their communities.

On a normally functioning world, producing a few thousand tons of vegetables and providing clean water for a town would be seen as nice, or perhaps a mildly lucrative venture, and not a revolution. To the dying planet of Belzerg, it was enough to launch a new religion. To go from a hopeless, tortured existence dying slowly of toxic air and heavy metals in your food and water, or  quickly from being beaten to death and harvested for your organs or shot in a gang war, to  experiencing better food and water than you’d ever had before in your life, but also incredible new powers, well… to say that the reborn Axis Cult was full of Zealots was an understatement.

It would have been more than enough to provide the populace with clean food and water to ensure a rabid following. Aqua went beyond that. She healed the sick and injured, including what should have been terminal cancer or lost limbs. She created works of art almost by accident, painting a mural of the Battle Farm 514 during a lunch break with nothing but some paints she mixed with a few things laying around. So beautiful and striking was the mural that battle hardened mercs broke down and wet at the sight of it, swearing themselves to Aqua.

And of course, she raised the dead.

Samantha and the other casualties of Farm 514 were just the start. Aqua was taken to the morgue by an incredulous chief medical officer, where the recovered corpses of the NyteTech blackhat strike team were being autopsied. Megumin took one look at them, and turned to Aqua.

“Ok, look. Helping these Outsiders? Fine. ShopWiz is helping us and I get you need more followers. But you can’t seriously be thinking of resurrecting these guys! They literally have been trying to kill us, Aqua! What will you do if they come back to life and try to kill you again?! I’ll have to put them down, and we’ll be right back to where you started!”

Aqua bit her lip and looked at the bodies on the cold steel tables, covered with white sheets or lying there with their armor half cut off. Behind her, the head medical examiner argued with Rain.

“I respect what you think you saw, Director Rain, but what you claim is an utter impossibility! Those people were merely injured, and appeared dead! Rapid regeneration of wounds is possible, if expensive and difficult. But once brain function ceases, you cannot bring the dead back as anything but a cyborg puppet!”

“And I’m telling you that they were DEAD, Steven! I saw someone with their head cut off, stand up and walk away with no impairment of brain function!” Rain shouted, her face beet red and her eyes sparkling with passion.

“You exaggerate!” Steven the Medical Examiner turned to Aqua, his jowls trembling. “Look, I don’t know what stunt you pulled, or why Ms. Wiz believes your chicanery, but that will not pass in my medical office! Bringing the dead back to life is IMPOSSIBLE.”

Slowly, Aqua’s expression went from hesitant, to a pout, with her lip stuck out. She shot a glare at Megumin, then walked over to a table where an orc woman lay. Half her chest was missing, and she was clearly not only dead, but had been so for some time, the blood having congealed and rigor mortis already setting in. “Is she dead?”

“That one? Yes, obviously. I just examined her myself. We’ll pull out the tech in her and use it to improve our- what are you doing!?”

Screwing her face up, Aqua put a hand on the corpse and began running her fingers over the wound. Muscles and organs regrew, and even scratches vanished, and a tatoo of a bloody fist reappeared. In moments, instead of the nearly blown in half orcess, there was a whole body that looked like it was sleeping. Aqua pointed. “Is she still dead!?”

“How…” Steven went over and looked over the corpse, muttering. He got out a stethoscope and listened to the heart, then quickly hooked up some wires and did a scan with a full medical array. “Yes. No heartbeat, no brain activity. She’s not even a vegetable. She’s dead. Though how you repaired the tissue…I don’t…”

Aqua put a hand on the orc’s head. “Daughter of battle, be reborn! Resurrection!”

“MOMMY!” the orc screamed, and sat up, panting, her eyes wild. She looked around breathing heavily, confusion on her face. Steven met her eyes, let out a moan, and his eyes rolled up in his head. He fell to the ground with a loud thump, and lay still.

“What…where…YOU! You’re the one I was hunting!” the orc growled, her tusks trembling as she pointed at Aqua and Megumin, her eyes narrowed in anger. Megumin had Gram out, and was poised to strike, but the orc suddenly wilted, putting her head in her hands and weeping. “I was hit…the missiles! Hurt so bad, then I was…nowhere. I had no body! I wanted to scream, to cry, to beg, but I couldn’t! And then…and then a voice…it was…it was you! You called me back…”

Aqua nodded, putting a hand on the orc’s shoulders. “I did, but you have to promise not to try to kill me or my friends again, OK? I know orcs work for the Devil King, but-”

“Devil King?” the orc looked up, confused. “I work for NyteTech Security. I’m Brunhilda Swattisdotter. The Devil King is just a bedtime story.”

“But are you going to kill Aqua?” Megumin growled menacingly, her eyes glowing with a sinister light.

Meeting Megumin’s gaze, Brunhilda slowly shook her head. “No, I…she saved me. How…why? I was…I was your enemy…”

“I have no enemies,” Aqua said gently. “Not amongst mortals. I fight only evil. Are you evil, Brunhilda?”

The orc shook her head mutely, then slowly got down off the bed and knelt, wrapping the sheet that had shrouded her corpse about her like a toga. “Aqua…you…you’re what I’ve been looking for my whole life without me knowing it. I, Brunhilda Swattisdotter, swear to serve you faithfully for the rest of my days.”

“Then rise, and join the Axis Cult!” Aqua cheered, and helped the much larger woman to her hooves, handing her a sign up sheet. Brunhilda scrawled her mark immediately, then gasped.

“I…I am a Warrior! I am a Warrior of the Axis Cult!” Brunhilda roared. She grinned, then her expression suddenly fell as she looked around the morgue. “These men and women…they were my brothers and sisters in arms. Please, Lady Aqua…I know they were your enemies, but…please…”

“I told you, I don’t have enemies!” Aqua said, then turned and clapped her hands, just as Rain was helping a groaning Steven back to his feet. “Alright everyone, time to wake up! Nobody dies today!”

All at once, the wounds of the dead closed, and they all sucked in a breath, opening their eyes. There were various shouts and exclamations, and Steven could only goggle as Brunhilda went around passing out Axis Cult sign up sheets and proclaiming the glories of Lady Aqua. The goddess turned to him, an impudent grin on her face. “Well? Do you see now? Raising the dead is easy for a goddess like me!”

In response, Steven fell face first onto the ground, though intentionally this time. “You’re amazing, Lady Aqua! I worship you! All praise and glory to Lady Aqua and the Axis Cult!”

While that was happening, Megumin noticed that one suit of armor was still laying still in the corner. She nodded to it, and Komekko frowned at her. Together, they went over, then slowly raised the visor. The interior of the armor was nothing but burned out ashes, with not even bones left. Most of it was actually gone, and the chunks that remained were nothing but carbonized bricks.

“That was Maddie the Elf,” Brunhilda said behind Megumin, which made her jump and turn with a glare. The orc wasn’t angry though, just sad, and went over, putting a large green hand on the blackened helmet. “She got hit by three missiles at once. Not even enough left to fill an urn. Bad way to go. Lady Aqua, can you?”

Aqua looked divested, and began to cry, coming over to touch the helmet. “No. There’s no body. I can’t…without a physical body to tether her soul to this world, she’s gone completely. There’s nothing for me to rebuild. And…and if they’ve been dead for more than a day or two…the soul will pass on anyway, and I can’t bring them back.”

“So…is that how you lost the war? The CEOs destroyed so many bodies you couldn’t bring people back?” Megumin asked. This didn’t change anything for her really; she’d always known she was going to meet a violent end one day, all Crimson Demons did. She just wanted to cause as much damage as possible on her way out.

“No,” Aqua said quietly, more tears running down her face. “Gods can die too. And when we die…there’s no bringing us back. All my friends…my family…they’re gone. Forever.”

Brunhilda stiffened. “Then we must do everything we can to safeguard you, Lady Aqua! Let us become your elite Cadre of Bodyguards! I would give my life a thousand times to protect you!”

“That's my job, pig. Back off,” Megumin snarled, using Zephyr Step to put herself at eye level with Brunhilda.

If she had been expecting a fight, Megumin was disappointed, Brunhilda looked her over consideringly, then nodded. “You Crimson Demons are the best fighters in the world. Everyone knows that. If anyone can keep Lady Aqua safe, it’s you. You might be runts, but you beat us in a straight fight when we had you outnumbered. We will entrust Lady Aqua to you.”

“I…yeah! And you’d better believe it!” Megumin snapped, not used to anyone, especially not an outsider, trusting or respecting her.

“As for me…Lady Aqua, I have family back in NyteTech. Please, let me go to my mother and the rest of my clan. They should know that you live! That they fight for the wrong side!” Brunhilda pleaded, falling to a knee to put herself at eye level with Aqua.

“That sounds like you want to be a traitor,” Komekko said, flipping her knife in one hand as Hoost turned a baleful gaze on Brunhilda from his perch on Komekko’s head. “You know what we do to traitors?”

“Peck their eyes out!” Hoost cawed.

Brunhilda looked horrified. “No, never! I would rather die! But the world must know of Lady Aqua! I know if people just knew the truth, they’d see how amazing and beautiful Lady Aqua is, and worship her!”

“No member of the Axis Cult ever betrayed me! Not even Wiz, 'cause she was a spy!” Aqua bragged. She hesitated despite her words and licked her lips. “But, Hilda…if Beldia catches you…he can rip your soul out. Not even I can bring you back if that happens…”

“To save my family and clan, to spread the sacred word of Lady Aqua…I am ready to die. I already did once for nothing but filthy money. To die for Lady Aqua, how could there be greater glory?!” Swatti demanded, and the other risen mercs all roared their approval.

Hanging her head to hide her tears, Aqua nodded. “Then…then go. And know that I love you, each and every one of you. And it’s OK that you like to do that thing with the dogs, Karl. As long as they consent, all love is good in the eyes of the Axis Cult!”

Karl wilted as everyone looked at him. “I, uh…yes, Lady Aqua. I’ll um, get consent…”

“Great! Then go do it, because the Axis Cult gets things done!” Aqua cheered. The mercs shouted, then picked up their damaged gear and went off at a trot.

Aqua watched them go, and Megumin looked at her. “ You’re sending them to their deaths, you know.”

Aqua nodded miserably. “Yes. But…at least now…they have at least one drop of hope.”

Megumin considered that then shrugged. “No red from my eyes if some Outsider mercs die. And if they help take down NyteTech…good for us.”

Patting Megumin on the back, Aqua gave her a sad smile. “It’s OK, Megumin. We’ll find some hope for you, together. You’ll see.”

Then, as if she forgot to be sad, Aqua smiled and bounced off to throw a party for her new converts, even as her enemies closed in.

“Forget about tomorrow if it might be sad, and live for today! Take every moment for yourself to be happy, it might be your last!”

Foolish words in most times. But on Belzerg? A rallying cry of hope.