The boys moved on to the next relic. Taako's relic. She wondered if even that would remind him. The sash didn't seem to have done much for Merle.

She learned that this world was getting close to figuring out what IPRE had discovered - this Lucas fellow had made some pretty impressive progress in understanding the planar system. His stuff with the crystals fascinated her, and she dropped her meditation to pay closer attention.

Then Barry came, in his Lich form. If she could have, she'd have wept. He was okay! And he hadn't given up on them. He was trying to explain, he was trying to help. He showed them the Hunger, tried to explain how it worked, but the boys just weren't getting it. How could they, if they didn't remember?

And then he stopped mid-sentence. "Taako! Taako, where did you find that umbrella?"

She could have sung. Barry found her! He knew her! He would tell them, he would get her out, he would know what to do. "Barry! I'm here - I'm in the umbrella, Barry, let me out!" If she could only do something!

Taako shrugged. "Yeah, I took it off this dead thug with a red robe."

The boys kept talking, but Lup didn't hear. She was shouting at Barry, and he was shaking, and losing control of himself.

"What? WHAT? You - you - YOU FOUND HER?"

And he was gone in a burst of flames.

And she sunk against the curtains in her prison, feeling more alone than she ever had, even through all those years in Wave Echo Cave. He hadn't understood. He hadn't let her out.

Barry's appearance both energized and terrified her her. She meditated fiercely, hardly paying any attention at all to what Taako was doing. He was a clever wizard, she told herself. He would be fine. She had to figure out a way to get him to realize what was going on and let her out of this damn staff. It had gone on long enough.

Her opportunity came when Angus brought his flavorless macarons to Taako as a thank-you for teaching him magic. She liked Angus, and she felt guilty for using Taako's spell against him, but this was more important. Channeling all the energy she possessed, and some she really didn't have to spare, she blazed her name into the wall - L U P - then collapsed against the curtains.

Come on, Taako. Come on.

But he didn't understand. It was like he'd never seen those three letters together in that order before. Lup wanted to scream, but she didn't have the energy for it. She only sighed, and went back to her meditation. She would have to try something else.