Dusk stirred in the bed, hoping to feel the warm embrace of her lover. But as she stretched her arms out, the only thing she could feel was the bundled-up white sheets. Where did he go now? The raven shifted her gaze to the other side of the room, thinking maybe he went to the bathroom and would return soon. But as the second and third-minute mark ticked by, it became clear to her that that was not the case. He likely disappeared but to where?

She went to the bathroom across the hall to freshen herself up. She pulled her dark locks into a ponytail and wiped away the remaining mascara smudges before looking through the halls and calling out his name. "Klaus? You here?" She asked, hoping to find him picking the lock on one of the rooms. But with every call unanswered, she grew more and more worried. A door creaked open, and Dusk immediately stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Victoria?" She questioned, seeing the redhead holding Pennycrumbs in her arms.

"Have you seen Klaus anywhere?" The redhead shook her head, claiming that she hadn't seen him since his coming back from the dead. "You don't think he's been..." Dusk trailed off at the thought of her boyfriend being kugelblitzed. "I'm sure he's fine. But if it makes you feel better then I-" Before Victoria could finish her sentence, the sounds of running came out of the White Buffalo Suite and down the hall, followed by Lila's British accent.

"Dusk! Tori! Have you seen Stanley anywhere?" She asked rather panicked. The two women shook their heads, growing panicked as well. "He has to be around here somewhere," Dusk reasoned, attempting to calm the situation. Lila could only nod, hoping that he was okay. "You wouldn't mind checking for the halls for him, do you?" she questioned. Dusk and Victoria nodded before beginning their search, the little dog trailing right behind. Perhaps they would be able to find both Klaus and Stanley in one search. They did bond a few times during his cleaning punishment.

They walked into the Oasis and Spa, checking every nook and cranny to no avail. The search continued to the next floor, then the next, and so on until they reached the lobby. "Well shit, do you think maybe he left the hotel?" Dusk questioned. "If he did, where do you think he went?" Victoria inquired. With the Kugelblitz breaking the world apart, there were only so many places he could be.

"Maybe he went to the store? He seemed pretty eager to get some Slim Jims and slushies the last time," Dusk suggested. "Then, let's go check it out! Quickly!" The redhead crouched down to Pennycrumb's level, clipping his leash onto his collar before they walked onto the cracked and ash-filled streets. As they rushed down the streets, Dusk could see some buildings had partially collapsed, some even catching fire. The sky was no longer blue, instead, it was covered in thick gray clouds, the air filling with a smoky smell.

The smell was becoming so overwhelming that Dusk had to pull her sweater over her face. As soon as they saw the grocery store in their sights, they rushed towards the entrance, hoping to find Stanley there. "Stanley! You here, little dude?" the raven's voice echoed throughout the empty store. When Dusk approached the snack counter, she saw someone using all the slushie flavor machines at once, laughing and cheering at the color bursts.

"There you are, Stan! We've been looking all over!" the raven sighed, walking towards him. "What? A kid can't take time to get a Slim Jim and slushie?" Stanley raised a brow. "Well, the world's ending out there. We gotta make sure you're okay!" Dusk reasoned, before calling out to Victoria, letting her know she found him. Finding her nephew was a relief, but when she noticed Klaus wasn't with him, the weight of worry fell back on her shoulders.

"Stan, by any chance have you seen Uncle Klaus?" she asked, crossing her fingers for good luck. But the tween just shook his head. Victoria could sense her friend's worry and placed a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her that they would find him. "Well come on, let's get back to the hotel. Your mom and Diego are worried about you," Stanley groaned, claiming that it was getting boring there, but after some persuading from both the phoenix and redhead, he caved in, taking a blue raspberry slushie and his Slim Jims with him.

~~~~~~~

"Lila! Diego! We found him!" Dusk yelled as she, Victoria, and Stanley rushed to the White Buffalo Suite. But as they walked in, they saw the two pressed up against the wall, seemingly trying to keep whatever was behind them in place. What the hell is going on? "That's a lot of blood!" Diego shuddered, looking down at his hand. The raven's eyes widened as she saw two of her brother's fingers were missing, blood spurting out from where they used to be.

"Guys! Get over and help us with this!" Lila glanced over to the two women, and immediately they rushed over to where they were, pressing all their weight into the wall. The other side of the wall was pounding like someone was trying to get into the room. "Push harder!" Lila said worriedly. "I'm trying!" Diego insisted. The pounding continued a few more times until whoever was on the other end seemingly gave up. They all went quiet as the sound of low growls echoed before its footsteps subsided.

"Stanley! Where the hell have you been?" Diego demanded when he took notice of the tween slurping away at his drink. "We found him at the store. Luckily, he's just fine," Dusk assured. "But where in the world did you guys go?" Lila and Diego looked at each other, the looks on their faces containing both shock and terror. "Don't go in there. The only thing there is sushi and death," Lila answered. "Not to mention this dude with a freaking knife on a chain!" Diego lifted his injured hand, making Dusk squeamish.

Suddenly, the hotel shook as if there were in a minor earthquake. Then a bright blue flash blew through the hotel, another kugelwave, ready to take its next set of unsuspecting victims and blow apart more buildings. Seconds later, the wave came flying back, taking the screaming Stanley with it. The four adults all looked at one another stunned, and out of the corner of her eye, Dusk could see Victoria's upset face as she clutched onto Pennycrumbs a little tighter.

"Shit..."

~~~~~~~

"What are we going to do? Stanley's gone!" Lila panicked, pacing bath and forth across the room. Meanwhile, Diego searched the sheets of the bed along with the closet. Is Diego an idiot? Stanley's not hiding, he's been kugelblitzed! the raven thought to herself as she rubbed Victoria's back comfortingly. She could tell Victoria was beyond saddened by the tween's disappearance, though she was trying not to show it. 

"Whose fault is it he's been kugelblitzed, Lila? You're the one who brought him here!" Diego shouted. While the two pairs were either arguing or comforting one another, Five had returned and after hearing the situation Diego and Lila had been through, he stared at the secret entrance in the suite, blocking out the noises as he went deep into thought.

"Congratulations, you're both mildly terrible parents. Can we focus? How did this open before?" he asked. "I don't know. It was already kinda open," the Kraken responded. Five scoffed at his brother. That response alone couldn't explain anything. "You should've been an engineer, Diego. It's a lost opportunity," the time traveler spoke sarcastically. "Five, I wouldn't go in there if I were you. Apparently, it's full of sushi and death. Why would you want to go in there anyway?" Dusk spoke up.

"When Lila and I met future me in the Commission bunker, I warned myself about Oblivion. Now, Pogo told me-" The raven's eyes widened with shock, both surprised and relieved to hear the chimpanzee was alive, especially after witnessing his death during Viktor's breakdown at the academy. "Yes, he's alive. Different Pogo, but still. The monkey said Dad spent years training the Sparrows for some super-secret mission into..." Five gestured towards the door.

"Oblivion?" Lila finished. "Mhmm. So, I come back here and find that you two sentient STDs have actually been in there. Everything's leading to Oblivion, so we have to go in there," As he was about to try and open the door, Dusk quickly stood up and blocked his path. "I don't know about this. I mean, after seeing the aftermath of what happened to Diego and how terrified you both were, we wouldn't stand a chance against whatever that thing is,"

"Why are you scared about this, Dusk? If I recall correctly, you can shoot fireballs and burn that thing to a crisp!" Diego said, the tone of his voice getting under the raven's skin. "So what if I can? We don't know how strong that thing is, and we damn sure don't know if he's fire-resistant! You really want to take your chances?"

 "This is about more than petty reasons," Five bit back his frustration. "Says the guy with all his fingers!" Diego said, showing Five his now wrapped and still bloodied hand, explaining what happened to his missing fingers. "Diego may be 90% moron and 10% pelvic thrusts, but he does have a point about Oblivion," Lila pointed out. 

As the four continued to bicker about the Oblivion situation, Victoria could only sit back and stroke Pennycrumb's back and scratch his head. He was the only thing keeping her calm while the man who broke her heart was in the room, and the urge to kill him was starting to come back. "We're not just gonna waltz back in there just because you say so," Lila set her foot down on the matter. 

"Good. Because you're coming with us," They all looked behind them to see Luther and Sloane. "Where are we going?" Dusk questioned. "The Sparrow Academy. The world's ending, so I think it's time we put our petty bullshit aside and work together on the kugelblitz," Luther answered. "Yeah, or what? You gonna sic ice shit on our asses?" Victoria crossed her arms. "Or else Stanley won't be the last of us to disappear," Lila realized before following the Umbrella leader and his girlfriend, Five, Diego, and Dusk following behind.

"Ugh, fine. But I'll make blondie's life a living hell," Victoria muttered.