Here’s What They Need to Know

-Outside-

Natalia sat in the darkness. “Okay. How familiar are you with the ‘gate’?” The boys shook their heads. The angel took a breath.

“Right,” she said. How was she going to explain this? Natalia rubbed her forehead.

“There are certain angels that have a small burst of power,” she began. “And…” Masayuki gave her a strange look.

“Are you staying that Baby Doll might be a gate?” he asked.

“We hadn’t had the chance to confirm,” Himeko answered.

“And why is that?” Makoto asked. Natalia gritted her teeth and rubbed her forehead.

“There’s been so much going on,” she said. “Let’s move on. We don’t have time to linger on the details.”

“So… what’s going on here?” Ben asked. “Why is she like that?” They looked down at the dark open doorway. The angels all had nervous looks on their faces.

“She’s trapped in her mind,” Izumi said. “That’s all we know right now. We don’t know who is doing this or how.”

“We do have a guess that it has something to do with Baby’s power,” Liz added. Masayuki rocked on his heels for a bit.

“So how do we get her out?” he asked. A long pause lingered over the group. Natalia started to say something but stopped herself. Izumi glanced over at her.

“You can’t be seriously suggesting that!” she said. Natalia clenched her fists at her sides.

“What choice do we have, Izumi?” she asked. “If this keeps up, Baby could be lost forever!” The words came out bitter from her lips. The other angels narrowed their eyes.

“What is it?” Taro asked. The angels looked at their audience They looked at each other as if to dare one of them speak up. After what felt like a minute, Izumi stepped forward. She locked her eyes on Masayuki.

“You,” she said. “Come with us.”

“Huh?” the boy asked. Izumi and Liz grab him by the shoulders and drag him over to the corner. The rest of the group looked on confused. Masayuki shared the same look as them as he was pushed into said corner. The angels stand around him, backing his view of the group.