𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙀𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩: 𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝘼𝙣 𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣 ~

The Umbrella's eyes burned as they entered the long and narrow passage leading into Oblivion. The lights reflected off the mirrored tiles, making it brighter than it actually was. The passage seemed to go on for miles and miles, and it felt like there was no end. Was this all Oblivion was? Just a passage to God knows where?  Finally, they reached the door on the other side, they opened it to reveal almost an exact copy of the White Buffalo Suite back in Hotel Obsidian. "Let's never do that again," Viktor sighed as they stepped out of the passage. "What? Narrowly escape the apocalypse?" Five blinked, his eyes trying to adjust to the slightly darkened room.

As the siblings looked around, they noticed that most of the furniture remained the same. The only difference was instead of the mounted White Buffalo head, it was the animal's rear end. "Same suite, just ass backwards," Lila explained as Ben grabbed at the buffalo's tail. "This is some hardcore Alice in Wonderland shit," Ben commented. "Yeah, it only gets weirder," Diego responded. The door leading into the passage slammed shut, and everyone looked over to see Reginald with his back against the wall, panting. "At last, the other side," he spoke huskily. But as the Hargreeves looked amongst themselves, they noticed somebody was missing. "Wait. Where's Klaus?" Luther asked.

"Children, I'm sorry, but your brother... I did all I could, but he didn't make it in time. The Kugelblitz has claimed its last victim," Reginald's response made all the siblings look skeptical. First, Astrid was dead, and now Klaus? "No, he can't be. He was right behind me when I entered the tunnel," Five stated. "We need to go back!" Sloane insisted. But Reginald would not budge. "There's nothing to go back to. Children, there will be time for tears later. Right now, we have to keep moving," He walked out of the second White Buffalo Suite, and the siblings all stared at one another. "Astrid and Klaus? Who else could be next?" Viktor shook his head in disbelief.

Sloane's eyes started to get misty at the mention of Astrid's name, but as Luther patted her shoulder, silently assuring her she wasn't alone, the siblings followed their father to the lobby of the Hotel Oblivion. Just like the White Buffalo Suite, everything looked almost exactly the same but with a few minor differences. Instead of a fish tank and bar, there was a conveyor belt with different types of sushi. And the pillar lights weren't blue, but instead golden yellow. "It's magnificent," Reginald said in awe. "You guys should've stayed here. This place is way nicer," Ben smirked, his words directed at Diego and Lila.

"Lila and I barely got out alive last time. Remember?" Diego reminded. "But I'm here this time, and the numbers are in our favor," The Squid Boy bragged. "Well, whatever it was, it was strong, fast, and super pissed," Lila rolled her eyes. They walked over to the receptionist's desk, and Diego gestured to the bell and sign that looked like it was written in Korean. "Whatever you do, do NOT touch this bell. Unless you want to lose a finger or a tentacle," He warned. But as soon as he warned against using it, Sloane dashed to the desk and was about to slam her fist on it, before Lila grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Let me go! I want to take my chances!" Sloane tried to break free, but Lila's grip was strong. "To take out this thing, we need to be in the right state of mind," Lila spoke calmly. "State of mind? Do you mean, am I angry? Yes, I am angry. I wanna kill whatever it is that hurt Astrid!" Sloane choked up. "Astrid isn't the only one that's gone. We lost Klaus too," Viktor added. "I'm angry too, okay? We all are. But we have to be smart about this," Lila and Luther nodded in agreement, stating when the time was right, they would act.

Out of the corner of his eye, Diego looked over to the revolving doors, watching as Five stepped closer to them. "Don't even try it, Five. Doors won't let you out," He called out. "So what? We're stuck in here?" Allison asked. "This place is a test and a trap and a means of salvation, all at once," Reginald said as he flipped through the pages of his leather booklet. "Does anyone know what that sign says?" Viktor pointed to the sign right next to the bell. "Yeah, it says "Do not ring the bell." That's what that means," Diego quipped. "We get it, Diego. Bell bad. What do we do? Does anybody know?" Five asked as he rejoined the group.