04x14 - The Only Way Out is Through

[bunniefuu]

♪ ♪

(SCREAMING, SCREECHING)

There you are.

Not so scary, are you?

Not yet. But I'm getting stronger.

(SCHOOL BELL RINGS)

MG: It's kind of weird
how everything feels so normal.

What, given that Hope's
been here less than hours

and hasn't put anyone
into a coma yet? Very.

Which is a good sign, right?

Ah, too soon to tell.

Call me paranoid, but I'm still waiting
for the other shoe to drop.

Unless there's not another shoe.

There's always another shoe.

I think Hope's humanity is flickering,

and we might be able
to help nudge it along.

Like, if there's a way
that we could force her

to have a profound emotional discovery.

Like, if maybe she were
to get trapped inside the, uh...

Therapy box?

I think this one's broken.

- Shoe?
- Shoe.

No desire to know what that means.
You know what?

How about instead of wasting your energy

trying to turn my humanity back on,
we develop a battle plan?

Battle plan? For what?

For b*ating a couple of gods
in immortal combat.

The sooner we do that,

the sooner I can go back to living
my lawless and carefree life.

We don't know anything
about fighting gods, Hope.

Yeah, no kidding. That's why I called

the closest thing we have to an expert,
who should be just showing up.

I hope I'm not interrupting.

HOPE: Not at all.
You were right on time.

JEN: We're not doing this.

I told you, dudes.
I am not talking about my family.

Plus, you two's vibe is a little...
mall girl for me, you know?

We're here to make amends.

Our previous request was impudent
and without proper reverence.

We came with a gift
to assuage your anger.

What?

What my antiquated friend
is trying to say

is we heard the gods are into offerings,
so we brought a bribe.

Shrimp tacos.
And some "special" brownies.

- Dude.
- AURORA: Please.

Hearing about your family is a matter
of great importance to us.

Fine.

But I'm gonna need all the brownies.

VARDEMUS: This...

is a Manticulum.

My own design.

It uses algorithmic magic
to calculate probabilities.

MG: How's that help us fight the gods?

HOPE: It can't, on its own.

We have to combine it
with something else.

Something like that game that you,
me and Landon played once.

That's why you're here, nerd.

Oh.

Oh! It's like a tabletop RPG.

Or, like, a super-accurate D&D campaign.

This thing is, like, smart dice

that will tell us the outcome
of any att*ck or defense.

We can use this to w*r game
what would happen in an actual battle.

All we need to do is encode our powers

into the Mant... the Man... uh...

- Manticulum.
- Manticulum.

So we need to rate
everyone's skills, then.

Oh, I've already done that.

NECROMANCER: This is a pointless

waste of time.

_

Well, we signed a contract.

We have to uphold our end of the deal.

A deal with a wish-granting jinni
who enslaves people?

We don't have another choice.

Behold. Another choice.

Look, I don't like it
any more than you do.

But we're still helping people
get to Peace.

And helping our insufferable overlord
get to Peace, too!

Which would free everyone
enslaved to him, including us.

We're doing this together.

All right,
I'll talk to the poor wayward souls.

But I don't think
you're gonna like what I say.

Meaning what?

Meaning...

you help them get to Peace...

while I present... a counterpoint.

Maybe it's better to not let things go.

To hold onto the past,
and your anger, yeah.

Forgiveness is for suckers.
That's what I say!

If we go back to the jinni
without any coins,

- we're gonna get...
- (CACKLES)

You're trying to get us fired.

Of course I am.

The only way to get out
of a terrible job is to suck at it.

(LAUGHS)

Buck up, lad.

We're already dead.

What's the worst he can do to us?

KALEB: Oh, hell nah.

You did me dirty.

They're just preliminary guesses,

which is why we need to do some tests
to confirm your stats.

Speed: ?

Mine's .

That's what I'm saying.
There's no way he's faster than me.

Actually, he might be.

(LAUGHS)

But your dragon powers
give you a plus- to defense

and a plus- for offense.

In a straight fight,
you can definitely b*at him.

MG: But... he's got to catch me first.

Let's do this.

And... go!

♪ ♪

(LAUGHING)

Aw.

ETHAN: My powers? Right.

I have the teleportation
and intangibility of a Pukwudgie.

I-I can also just turn invisible...
which must be from another monster,

but, uh, we haven't...
figured out exactly which one yet.

It's-it's kind of like I have
two different gas pedals,

and-and I'm not always sure
which one I'm-I'm pressing.

I see.

Well... whenever you're ready, please,
try to teleport across the room.

I am.

Well done, indeed.

My, uh, stat sheet is,
uh, a little out of date.

But, um, she's basically, uh...

Human.

I know I'm not as impressive
without using my magic, but...

I still want to fight.

I can't stand by and watch
while my friends are in danger.

I'd say courage plus-ten.

BEN: I'd like to help.

I'm sure we're all keen to see
what a god is capable of.

Demigod.

But I can't join you.

I'm forbidden from fighting
against my family.

It's the other side of the curse
my father put on me.

But I can tell you
what they would do in a fight.

I should play the side of the enemy
in this game.

Well, there's only one person
left to test.

No test needed. Right, Wayne?

Uh, well, I made up
a humanity-off sheet for her.

And she's basically the perfect fighter.

- Hmm.
- Uh, incredible magical power levels,

unencumbered by morality,

with no discernible weaknesses.

Except for one little thing.

She's seeing people
who aren't really there.

This is your field of battle.

You can't ignore me forever.

Vampires can move across the board
in one turn.

The speed of the gods varies.

And these... are your opponents.

I took the liberty
of creating some automatons

for the purposes of our game.

Hopefully, I did them justice.

I haven't used magic to sculpt
since the last Wizard Games.

Aurora de Martel.

My erstwhile student, Jen.

Her father, Ken.

The father of an entire family of gods.

And finally...

Elizabeth.

Lizzie wouldn't fight against us.

How much you willing to bet?

I'm afraid Hope is right.

To be sure of victory, you must plan
for the worst-case scenario.

And Elizabeth is a wild card.

WADE: But I scored her loyalty
to the gods pretty low.

She can still be flipped back
to our side.

The two sides will alternate turns,

with the Manticulum declaring success
or failure of your moves

based on the scores we've fed it.

We'll draw for first move.

Left one. Got to be the left one.

HOPE: Right one.

The first move is yours.

JEN: Here's all you need to know
about my family.

The gods are a bunch of douchebags.

Except for Chronos. God of Time.

Never once forgot my birthday.

(SNORTS) Get it?

Because... good with time.

They all thought I was a freak,
because I didn't fit in.

They were into w*r and destruction,

and I was more into... construction.

I was a blacksmith.

An artist.

My father hated me for that.

His name is Ken.

He demanded I make weapons for the gods.

But I was like, "No way am I gonna make
something that takes a life."

So I offered to make armor
to protect them.

My father cast me out.

Said I wasn't one of them.

Because I had the heart of a coward.

So I worked in my cave.

Alone. Forgotten.

(HAMMERING)

Until one day, out of nowhere,
my dad actually came to see me.

And he used a word
he had never said to me before.

Hello, Daughter.

Your skill at the forge is...
unparalleled.

Um, I'm pleased to find favor, My Lord.

Well, today it is your favor
that I seek.

You offered me protection once.

And for the first time... we need it.

JEN: I had never seen
that look on his face before,

so it took me a minute
to figure out what it was.

My all-powerful father was afraid.

What does an omnipotent deity fear?

Gods are only as powerful
as people's belief in them,

which had diminished over the years.

And then, the ultimate death sentence
for a god came along.

A creature that could make
the world forget you ever existed.

Malivore.

ALARIC: If we could just talk to Lizzie,

we can flip her back to our side.

Our first move should be
getting her to safety.

I'd listen to him.

You're wasting our first strike.

This is w*r, okay? People are gonna die.

She's valuable in w*r, Hope.

MG vamps to Lizzie.

Hey, beautiful.

Aurora att*cks MG.

Aurora kills MG.

Which turns Lizzie to your side.

Ah, so not a total loss.

WADE: In a rage, Lizzie kills Aurora.

My father att*cks Lizzie.

Lizzie dies.

Well, looks like we're gonna be going
to another Lizzie funeral.

VARDEMUS: The probability of success
has dropped to zero percent.

You lose.

Fascinating.

As soon as Lizzie d*ed,

there was simply no move you could make
that would lead to victory.

- Why?
- I don't know.

But I'd presume there's a reason
she is invaluable to winning.

Okay, so we have to save Lizzie.

Let's go again.

(TOILET FLUSHES)

(BOTH GROANING)

(GRUNTS)

♪ I fell so hard... ♪

Have I thanked you yet
for getting us fired?

This is way better.

How was I supposed to know Zied
had other jobs he could assign us to?

(SHOUTS, RETCHES)

We should give that a moment.

(DOOR CLOSES)

(GROANING)

LANDON: Elvis. What happened to you?

I was mugged, little man.

I was walking down Mulberry Street,

carrying a satchel full of coins
when these fellas...

man, they jumped me out of nowhere.

Did a number on the ol' moneymaker.

And they took my bag, too.

Yeah, pray that heartless Smurf
doesn't demote you to toilet duty.

Nah, nah, he knows it ain't my fault.

It's that gosh-darned bandit, man.

He's been bushwhacking Zied's couriers
for the last month.

You're saying there's a bandit
who's stealing from Zied?

Well, that's very valuable information.

Thank you.

(IMITATING ELVIS): Thank you very much.

Oh, yeah, that's real original.

I'm shook up, man.

- No.
- Oh! Whoo...

Whatever you're thinking, no.

You've already made
our lives worse once today.

Our enemy has an enemy.
What does that make him?

A thief and a bully.

He's stealing coins
that were rightfully earned.

What is the man
we're working for right now doing, huh?

You think by following the rules
that you're doing more good than bad.

But that's just
what people tell themselves

when they can't see
another way to do it.

Now, you can stay here
and suffer if you must.

I'm finding another way.

VARDEMUS: Your chance of success

drops to zero.

HUMANITY HOPE: You lose again.
You're going about this all wrong.

Your problem is that you've already lost
before you even make a move.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

Aurora's older,
so she's faster than our vampires.

Which means we should take her out
and then save Lizzie.

Except seeing any of us in danger
flips Lizzie back to our side,

leaving her all alone.

And if we try to save her first,
we still lose her.

It's almost like no matter
what move we make...

We've already lost.

The problem is that we're going first.

I mean, we're facing them all at once.

We should be forcing them to fight us.

I told you to pick the left one.

Okay. I decline the first move.

Aurora att*cks Hope.

I throw up a shield.

Aurora is knocked off her feet.

(ALL QUIETLY EXCLAIM)

Let's see how a vampire does
against dragon fire.

Kaleb kills Aurora.

- All right.
- Yes!

(ALL QUIETLY EXCLAIMING)

Now MG vamps to Lizzie.

My father att*cks them.

WADE: MG is just fast enough.
They make it out before he strikes.

(WHOOPS) Yes!

Lizzie is safe.

- (CHEERING, CLAMORING)
- KALEB: Let's go!

- That's what I'm talking...
- Yes.

KALEB: Let's do it!

All right!

Okay, let's k*ll some gods.

Still a mouth-breather, I see.

What are you doing?

Looking for a drink.

There's only so much
rah-rah camaraderie I can handle.

Brings out a side of me
I'm not exactly a big fan of.

Hence, something to make team building
a little bit more bearable.

You're gonna need more than you think.

Because... we just had a breakthrough.

Hmm. How many people did you lose?

None. Dr. Saltzman realized
why none of our att*cks were working.

Instead of using our powers,

we need to take theirs away.

Lizzie.

If we buy her enough time
to turn back to our side,

- she can siphon a god.
- That's why we needed to be saved.

She siphoned Jen.
And it weakened her enough

that I could teleport her off the board
and out of the fight.

I pulled off the jump that time.

Now it's just the big guy left.
And we need your help

because we don't know
what move to make now.

I know what I need to do next.

JEN: So, picture this.

My dad... king of all bros...

asks for my help
so that he can hide from a fight.

So that's why you made
the sarcophaguses.

It was genius.

My family would be spelled to sleep
until Malivore was destroyed

and, as an incentive,
my father promised a boon

to whoever defeated Malivore
and woke us up.

A boon is just god-talk for favor.

Interesting. A favor from the gods.

Wait, Malivore's dead.

So why didn't your family wake up?

Because... I lied.

The spell to wake them up never existed.

After a millennia, my father was finally

offering me a place in the family
by his side.

But all I could think about
was how he punished humans

for every little thing...

with earthquakes, fires, floods.

My family were the real monsters,
and I didn't want to be like them.

So I locked them up
and destroyed the key.

You betrayed your own family.

Big time.

And if they ever wake up
and find that out,

I'm in for a world of hurt.

So... I can't let anyone set them free.

Including you two dudes.

ALARIC: Down to just Ken now.

I think
this is where the Tribrid steps in.

Not yet.

I'm gonna soften him
with my pawns first.

Kaleb goes airborne.

(SHORT CHUCKLE)

My father pierces the sky
with lightning.

_

The lightning kills Kaleb.

Fine, MG att*cks.

MG dies.

My father moves forward.

You're up, Cleo.

Cleo dies.

Big surprise.

(SIGHS)

All right, now it's him versus me.

Skip to the end. Who wins?

I'm afraid he's still too strong.
Hope would lose.

Run it again.

Here's what I don't get.

If you wanted to rid the world
of your family,

you could've just tossed
those fancy coffins

into a volcano or something.

(MOUTH FULL):
I didn't want to lose track of 'em.

What?

(CLEARLY): I didn't want
to lose track of them.

Or... maybe you couldn't bring yourself

to actually close the door
on your family forever.

I totally get it.

I have this friend, Hope.
She has done some awful things.

But when I had the chance
to put her down, couldn't do it.

Which makes me assume
that it wasn't so easy

to betray your family
as you're pretending it was.

You never destroyed the key, did you?

Yeah.

(SIGHS)

Families...
they got a weird hold on us, huh?

I couldn't k*ll my family.

I definitely couldn't trust myself
with that key,

in case I chickened out.

So...

I had to put it
where I could never get it again.

I had a half brother. Ben.

My family treated him even worse
than they did me.

He was chained to a rock
to be eaten alive by monsters

and then come back to life
and do it all over again.

I used to sneak
bread and water to him if I could.

It was our little secret.

But this time, I had a secret
he couldn't know about.

It's just you.

(HISSES, GROANING SOFTLY)

Good news. Our father's asleep.

I can finally set you free.

That wasn't enough.
I had to get rid of that key forever.

(LOW GROWLING)

Quickly. (PANTING) Release me.
We can still outrun him.

I'm sorry. But the curse will remain
as long as Father lives.

You will still be hunted by monsters
every day of your life,

but if you can get absorbed
into Malivore, it can finally stop.

(SNARLING)

This is setting you free.

No. No.

No!

(RAGGED PANTING)

JEN: And then he was just...

gone.

Biggest bummer
is the Malivore forgetting spell

doesn't work on the gods.

I remember everything.

I remember the look on his face.

With Malivore dead... (SIGHS)

wherever Ben is,
he's there for eternity.

So, I'll never get the chance
to apologize

and explain that I hated
what I had to do.

But I had already gone too far.

Sometimes... (SIGHS)
the only way out is through.

Mm. So... sorry for your loss.

We now see that we were wrong.

If the key is lost forever,
there is no way to raise the gods.

Mm.

Well, thank you so much for your time.

You have been exceedingly generous.

Okay.

Hey, dudes.

This was a decent hang.

We could do it again sometime?

AURORA: Yes.
Yes, let's do it again sometime.

HOPE: They all att*ck.

(WADE SIGHS)

He kills them all.

But they do real damage first.

I att*ck next.

It's not enough. He defeats you.

- Need my help yet?
- Shut up!

We need more cannon fodder.

How many students are there
at the school?

- Hope!
- If the vampires and the wolves

att*ck him in waves,
k*lling them is gonna keep him occupied

- until...
- KALEB: No! W-We're done. Okay?

You've been running us into the buzz saw
all day like we're expendable!

You only care about yourself.

So just leave us out of it.

'Cause this version of you...
it ain't worth dying for.

Looks like it's just you and me, kiddo.

You wanted my attention?
Fine. Let's talk.

HUMANITY HOPE: Keep your voice down.

Otherwise people might think
you're crazy.

Enough. I've tried this your way
and it hasn't worked.

Or you didn't go far enough.

No. No more of these mind games
and riddles.

Okay? Leave me alone.

Have you learned nothing today?

Alone is the exact way you can't do it.

Like it or not, you need me.

Need you?

The weak little girl who was manipulated
by two different fake Landons

and then couldn't bring herself
to k*ll the real one?

No.

I don't need anything from you.

Except for a way to win the game.

For once, the almighty Tribrid
doesn't have the answer.

That's a scary feeling, isn't it?

You're gonna have to listen to me.

LIZZIE: Let's just talk about this.

We know where the key is.

But what we don't know
is if we should even be doing this.

You heard what Jen said
about her father.

We can't just wake that guy up.
He murders for fun.

Okay, we made an agreement, you and I.

An agreement to raise a god.

We're just changing which god we raise.

Jen said the god of time is decent.

So we wake him up instead.

Then we can go back
and fix what went wrong

without rolling the dice
on Dad waking up cranky.

We're trying to be better people,
remember?

No more revenge. No more bloodshed.

- (SIGHS) We just want our...
- (DOOR OPENS)

...family back.

(DOOR CLOSES)

I'm sorry about Elizabeth.

How did she seem? When you saw her.

Lost.

I think recent events
have left her a little adrift.

All the people she counted
on the most to help her

suddenly weren't there for her.

Including me.

Maybe this never should have been
our fight to begin with.

They're still kids.

Dealing with more than...
any kids were meant to.

True.

That's to be expected.

Every generation makes a mess of it

and has to pray the next generation
can break the pattern,

save the world.

These students are extraordinary.

If anyone can find their way, they can.

Including Lizzie.

(DOOR OPENS)

HOPE: I know what we should do.
I want to try again.

But this time,
run it with my humanity on.

WADE: All right.
I've adjusted her stats.

I'll be honest, I don't see how
this is much of a battle upgrade.

Much remains to be seen, Wade.

Your move, my dear.

I wouldn't send everyone in
to weaken him.

I'd put myself in danger first
because I can take it.

I hold the line as long as I can,
giving them the best chance.

I att*ck Ken alone.

You do damage. He's still standing.

My father calls down lightning.

- (THUNDER RUMBLING)
- You're wounded.

Your life force is down to %.

I vamp around him...

drawing his fire, distracting him.

My father keeps striking.

You're hit.

VARDEMUS: You can only run so long.
Life force to %.

I move into close-quarter combat,
inside the reach of his lightning.

WADE: Your blows do damage,
but you're too weak to block his.

My father keeps attacking.

He knocks you down. %.

Hope, you have to get out of there.

No. I don't run.

BOTH: I get back up.

VARDEMUS: He knocks you down again.

Your vision is blurring. %.

I get back up.

VARDEMUS: Five percent.
You have one move left.

I'll take the hit for her.

I take the next one.

We all do.

Lizzie would, too.

My father's alive.

- Calm yourself.
- I can't calm down.

My dad's already back, which means
this whole plan is pointless.

But if I don't go through with it,

then this stupid blood pact
will turn me into brisket.

No, it won't.

Because I won't consider you quitting
a betrayal.

Go to him.

If I could have Tristan back,

I wouldn't let some silly brand
keep me from that.

You're not just trying
to trick me into betraying you?

(CHUCKLING SOFTLY)

Look, once upon a time,
I absolutely would have, but...

we're trying to be better people,
are we not?

I can't deprive you of your happiness

when it's right there in front of you.

(SIGHS)

I will raise the god of time
to get my family back.

You go to yours.

Thank you.

And if raising him doesn't work?

Then I'll do whatever I have to.

But if you try to raise Ken,
I'll have to tell my dad.

They'll try and stop you. We all will.

Then I would consider that a betrayal.

Then I die.

You have a choice to make, Elizabeth.

Stop now, risk losing everything.

Or keep going.

Help me raise the better god
and see it through to the end.

WADE: They score another hit on Ken.

I don't understand. What changed?

She's giving them courage.

A belief they can win.

Having the real Hope as their leader,

it's increasing each of their powers.

It might just be enough.

My father retreats.

Yes. Let's go.

It's time to finish him.

We att*ck as one.

You succeed!

- (CHEERING, LAUGHING)
- Yes!

Yes! Yeah!

That was rather exciting.

HUMANITY HOPE: See?

We can win.

Just turn it all back on.
Let me out before you lose control.

This is all just a stupid game.

No, it's not real.
It's just a spreadsheet.

You are pathetic.

Little boys role-playing w*r.

And you're all gonna die.
Don't you see that?

You're just disposable.
I mean, you mean nothing to me.

(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)

- HUMANITY HOPE: Hope.
- And you.

You're a liar.

And a martyr.

And you're never gonna save
the people that you love

because you're just not strong enough.

What are you all doing?!

Don't you see
I'm about to k*ll you all?!

Someone take me out!

Someone take me out!

The therapy box is... good as new.

And I've added a few settings.
An upgrade, if you will.

I've heard you were
quite skilled at magic yourself.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

I'm afraid those days
might be behind me.

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

May I?

I find it rather curious

that you experience pain
when trying to do magic.

Most of the time,

when a witch
loses her connection to magic,

it's all or nothing.

We often associate pain
with something going wrong.

In reality, pain is merely a signal
that something is changing.

Hey.

Look, I know I'm not supposed

to be putting myself in charge
of protecting you,

but today wasn't cool.
I'm not okay with none of that.

- Now, I can't stand by...
- No, no, you're right.

I think it's time to figure out
what is happening with me.

Hey, man.

That was one hell of a jump
you pulled off in the game, E.

(CHUCKLES) Yeah, it felt good
to finally be in control for once.

But it also made me realize that,

if I don't get better at my own powers,
people might... die.

Um... or it...
it could happen either way.

Wade told me that,
in the final moments of the battle,

at least two of us would have d*ed.

There's no version of us winning
without losing someone.

I think you and I should make a promise.

That, no matter what,
it won't be Lizzie.

No matter what, it won't be her.

NECROMANCER: Whatever shall I do?!

This bag of coins is so heavy!

Hope my tired muscles are strong enough
to haul this take to Zied!

Laying it on a little thick,
don't you think?

Ah.

I see.

You're here to scuttle my plan
the same way I interfered with yours.

- (COINS CLINKING)
- No, I'm here to help.

With my bags full of all the coins
I earned today!

What happened to your high-minded ideals
about following the rules?

We're partners. The first rule
is you don't leave each other behind.

Though I still think this is a bad idea.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

What if this Bandit is,
like, I don't know...

Vlad the Impaler?

Oh, Vlad was a softie deep down.

Okay, just do me one favor...

if this Bandit guy
is worse than the jinni,

we find another way.

Deal!

I have no desire
to swap one tyrant for another.

(DARTS WHOOSHING, BOTH GROANING)

(TIRES SCREECH)

(MUFFLED): Get off me!

(GRUNTING, MUTTERING)

(TIRES SCREECH)

To theoretical victory.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

Ugh, I am so glad that's over. (SIGHS)

Thinking like my father

is one of the more unpleasant things
I've ever done.

Felt awful, having to k*ll you all.

Really? You feel bad about something?

Wow. Are you suggesting that I'm...

How do you say it? Uh, a downer?

(BOTH CHUCKLE SOFTLY)

Well, just, um...
not exactly an optimist.

But I did feel optimistic today.

For the first time ever,
I saw that there's... a chance.

However small and fragile...

that someone
could finally stop my family.

Silly to get my hopes up, I'm sure.

Well, today I got
a crash course reminder in...

how short and unpredictable life can be.

Made me want to appreciate
all the good things...

and the good people while we have them.

So I say hold on to that optimism.

It's worth protecting.

♪ Banging on a drum... ♪

You know,
I think if we're not careful...

you might wind up making me
a better person, Jed.

♪ Maybe I'm... ♪

Yeah. Same.

♪ But I'm rising... ♪

(FIRE CRACKLES)

(CLEARS THROAT)

I should, uh,
check up on Finch real quick.

Uh, she's been handling the pack for me.

But after that, refills coming up.

Okay.

(CHUCKLES)

♪ ♪

(SIGHS)

(TWIG SNAPS)

Hello, Ben.

Last time we met...

I didn't put up much of a fight.

I can promise you I won't be
so easy to defeat this time.

Well, of course not, darling.
That's why I brought help.

ALARIC: I've been worrying
about my girls today.

I'm glad you called.

No. Nothing from Lizzie.

I know.

I think you and MG
were right about Hope.

She's close.

So, whatever you're planning...

I think now's the opening
you've been waiting for.

(LINE CLICKS)

(SIGHS)