"Go, Astrid! Faster!" Sloane looked to the side mirror as the kugelblitz loomed closer. "I'm pushing her as much as I can, Slo!" Astrid strained as she pushed the gas even harder, making sharp turns every so often as they continued their journey back to the Hotel. "Do you even know how to drive?" Five gripped onto the back of her seat, his seatbelt barely doing any good. "In a high-speed chase? No! What is this, Fast and Furious?" Astrid sounded both panicked and agitated. As she kept her eyes on the road, she could feel Sloane's hand stroking her leg, silently telling her it would all be okay.

This calmed Astrid a little, but the Kugelblitz was still on its deadly rampage. Finally, after what felt like hours, they were back in front of the Hotel Obsidian and ran inside back to safety. "Is Ben okay?" Luther asked as Sloane and Astrid laid him on one of the couches. "I think so. He's still breathing," Sloane nodded, checking Ben's pulse. Shortly after that, Ben's eyes fluttered open, and as he sat up, his hand went behind his head. "What happened?" He grogged. "Benny, you're in the Hotel Obsidian, we're safe," Sloane hugged him.

The gravity girl helped him stand up, but as Ben looked around him, he couldn't help but notice two people were missing. "Where... where are Fei and Chris?" He questioned. Sloane's face fell at the mention of their names. Even though it all happened so fast during their escape, it didn't make the pain hurt any less. "They're gone, Ben. They're gone," Astrid tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away from her. Ben never wanted to expose his emotions, so his face remained blank and empty like a white canvas. But Sloane and Astrid knew he just needed some time to process. And maybe just maybe, he'd be willing to accept some comfort.

Hours and hours went by as the Umbrellas waited upstairs in the lobby. For what they were waiting for, they didn't know. But eventually, as the night continued, Astrid and Sloane decided to retire and went up to one of the rooms. The women lay on the bed together, holding each other close as they tried to take their minds off the bad and focus on the good. "I may not get to see the world, but at least I'm with you," Sloane whispered, nestling her head against Astrid's shoulder. "Me too. And we've got however many days left that we get to spend together," Astrid stroked Sloane's knuckles, her fingers colliding with the engagement ring.

"I just wish I could give you the dream wedding you deserve..." The blonde sighed, looking towards the window, watching the orange and debris-filled sky. Suddenly, Sloane got an idea, and as she sat up with a look of excitement, Astrid returned her gaze to her. "Maybe we still can!" Sloane grinned. "We've got somewhere to hold the ceremony, all of our family is here. It's the perfect place, don't you think?" Astrid processed that thought, and she had to admit Sloane had a point. It may not have been the typical wedding they were thinking about having, but it was better than no wedding at all.

"Why not? Let's do it," Astrid smiled. Sloane quietly squealed and embraced her fiancée, already envisioning what their special day would be like. "So, how do you think we should break the news to our siblings?" Astrid questioned. "We'll wait until they've all calmed down from what happened, and then we'll tell them about our wedding. I was thinking we could give them crafty invites!" Sloane suggested. Astrid's eyebrows raised, wondering what her fiancée meant by crafty. The gravity girl got out of bed and excused herself before returning a few moments later with bags of string confetti and tiny jars from a closet down the hallway.

Suddenly, it all clicked with Astrid what Sloane was envisioning, and the two got right to work. They stayed up the whole night preparing every invitation, filling the jars and writing the words, "You're invited to the wedding of Astrid and Sloane, tonight at 6 pm," A wave of giddiness passed over the shadow girl as she couldn't wait until that special hour. She could already picture it and wanted it to be absolutely perfect. Not only for herself but also for her beloved.

~~~~~~~~~~

When the final invite was sealed and placed in a tiny wicker basket, the women joined their siblings downstairs, where they remained in the same spots since they last saw them. Viktor was dozing off in his chair, Luther hung his head over the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling, and Five looked down into the lobby from the balcony. "So, how is it that we're still here, but the whole universe is going the cosmic shitter?" Allison broke the silence. "Maybe we're the last ones to get flushed?" Astrid suggested. "I wasn't talking to you," Allison rolled her eyes at her sister.

Astrid's face twisted into one of discomfort, but Sloane rubbed her back as she swallowed the hurtful response down like a bitter pill. "Hey, has anyone seen Klaus?" Luther lifted his head from the couch. The concern quickly spread throughout the room, and Sloane looked to Astrid, wondering where her father was. "They'll be here," Diego assured. "Really? Did they hit traffic? Look people, we're alive because we're special. We're the only ones who can save this universe," Ben scoffed.

"Question, didn't we just try that and fail miserably?" Allison remarked. "Yeah, it's because his plan was stupid," Diego added. "You know, I've got a better plan for you," Ben rolled his eyes at the Kraken's statement, knowing exactly where this was going. "We go with the large hard-on accelerator. You guys do some science, and we launch the Kugelblitz into outer space," Diego suggested. "Didn't think I knew that, did you? It's in Switzerland," Ben did his best to hold back a chuckle, but the new plan sounded completely ridiculous. "It's 'hadron' not hard-on, you moron!" he hissed.

"Oi! At least he's trying, you shitty little squid. What have you contributed?" Lila bit back. "Actually, this little shit blew up half his family!" Diego pointed out. Ben quickly got defensive, and he tried to turn their little spat into a massive argument about whose family had more problems. Astrid and Sloane simultaneously sighed as they watched the fight. Even as the world around them was ending, their constant arguments and dick-swinging contests continued. Breaking the news of their engagement was going to be more complicated than they thought.

Eventually, as their argument looked like it would turn into a full-on fistfight, Luther and Five intervened. The time traveler whistled loudly at them as Luther got in between the childish adults. "You guys done?" Five asked annoyed. "The universe is disappearing outside. So, you can keep bickering and rearranging the deck chairs of the Titanic if it makes you feel better. But the fact remains that we are too late," The Umbrellas and Sparrows looked at him in surprise. It wasn't like Five to give up, not when he had dragged his siblings through hell to fight two ends of the world. Why was he giving up now?

"Five, come on. There's gotta be another way," Luther urged. "It's over, Luther. We failed," Five insisted. "It can't be over over," Viktor sat up in his seat. "How about we take a step back and look at the big picture? Most of us have spent the last 28 days trying to stop the world from ending. What exactly have we accomplished?" Five questioned. The group took a second to digest the question and form an answer, even though they already knew what it was. They were trying to deny the inevitable.

That was until Astrid spoke up again, mentioning the fact that they made some friends along the way. "Incorrect! You know what we've done? Nothing! We've made things worse every single time!" Five snapped but took in a breath. "When I went to the Commission, I had a conversation with my 100-year-old self. And my last words were, don't save the world," Don't save the world? Astrid repeated in her head. Five seemed to read her mind as he assured them what his 100-year-old self said was true. 

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Diego commented. "Is it? Well, whatever we're doing's not working. All we ever do is save the world for a day, pat ourselves on the back, and then everything goes to shit again," Luther spoke up. "Yeah, maybe we're the problem," Viktor nodded. Allison scoffed again, but Astrid and Viktor acted like they didn't hear her. "Your big plan is no plan?" Lila questioned. "Exactly, conscientious objection. Why the hell not? We've tried everything else. Maybe this is what the universe needs. I say we embrace the apocalypse, and see what's on the other side," Five nodded.

"But what if there's nothing?" Sloane asked quietly. "Then it's been nice knowing you all," Five sighed. "Whatever's on your bucket list, I recommend you do it now," he answered before retreating to the farthest end of the room. As the silence consumed the room once again, Sloane rested her head against Astrid's shoulder, her gaze shifting down to her hand as she remembered the plans they made before Ben and Diego put a damper on the morning. "Should we tell them now?" Sloane whispered. "Better now than never, right?" Astrid shrugged. Sloane nodded, and they both stood as Astrid cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention.

"Well, on that super happy note, Sloane and I have an announcement to make," Astrid grinned as she took Sloane's hand. On the silent of count of three, Sloane lifted her left hand, revealing the ring to everyone. "We're engaged!" She and Astrid cheered at the same time. Ben rolled his eyes as he took a sip from his flask, muttering under his breath. Allison's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and Five was both stunned but equally frustrated. "Wait a minute... Triddy, you're gay?" Diego stumbled over his words. "I'm bi, actually," Astrid clarified.

Viktor looked up at the happy couple and started smiling, as did Luther and Lila. "Congrats, you two! You guys deserve each other," Viktor spoke with genuineness. "I agree, and I'll be honest it's kinda hot the way you look at each other," Lila smiled. Astrid's cheeks turned pink with flattery at their support, as Diego and Luther walked over and embraced their sister. "So, you're okay with it, Diego?" Astrid questioned. "Hell yeah, you're my little sis, its pretty much my job," Diego nodded. As much as Astrid wanted to savor this sweet moment for as long as possible, someone had to rain on the parade yet again.

"Wait, y'all are getting married now?" Allison cocked her head, realizing that her attempt to break them up hadn't worked at all. She had been so blinded with rage at Viktor that she failed to see the continued love between the two women. "We realize the timing is less than ideal. But obviously, it's now or never right, Five?" Astrid looked to where the time traveler was still trying to isolate himself. "Please don't drag me into this, Triddy," He begged. "Whatever time we have left, we wanna spend it with all of you. So we're super pumped if you would join us in the banquet hall at 6:00 pm for a celebration of our love and the official union of what's left of our two great families," Sloane explained.

"Dress code is creative black tie," Astrid added. The gravity girl briefly pulled away from her beloved to grab the baskets of jars she carefully concealed behind the couch. One by one, she handed them out to everyone, and they accepted them graciously. "Wow! You did this all by yourself?" Lila gaped. "Astrid helped out too. We stayed up all night," Sloane answered. As the gravity girl handed an invite to Five, two sets of footsteps came up the stairs, and everybody ceased their conversations when they saw who just arrived.

"Dad? Klaus?" They all gaped. Klaus waved to them, unaware of the worries that he hadn't made it out alive. But to everyone's relief, he was perfectly fine. ""Gather round, children! Quickly now!" Reginald spoke, claiming that there was something important to discuss. But rather than listen to their monocle, they questioned Klaus on where he had been when everything went to hell. "The world's going to shit out there. What were you doing?" Diego questioned. "Reg and I got tangled up in a whole father-son end-of-the-world road trip kinda thing," the junkie explained.

Astrid's eyebrows quirked up with surprise. Since when did they start acting all buddy-buddy? Why would Klaus want to be around him? The Shadow Girl wasn't the only one thinking it. Ben was as well. "We laughed and played in traffic. And it turns out I'm immortal now!" The fourth Umbrella announced with a tiny smirk. "Klaus, have you gotten into the bath salts again?" Allison asked, having never believed his ridiculous stories.

Out of the corner of his eye, Reginald caught a glimpse of the jars the siblings were holding. "I think the more pertinent question is, why are you all playing with jars?" He questioned. Diego quickly threw the invitation onto a nearby pillow while Luther shoved his underneath the cushion he was sitting on. Remembering what Astrid told him about their father's homophobia, there was no doubt in his mind that this Reginald would have the same ignorant views. But Sloane smiled as she handed one of the jars to her father. "They're invitations, Astrid and I are getting married,"

Reginald turned over the tag and read the cursive, his eyebrows creased with disappointment. Klaus's jaw nearly hit the floor as his gaze shifted to Astrid. "Aww, that's so cute!" He gushed. "All of space and time is collapsing, and you lot are planning a wedding?" Reginald scoffed. "The thing is space is limited. So, it's a per-plate situation," Astrid stepped in, plucking the jar out of Reginald's hands. "This is not how I raised you, Sloane. I didn't teach you to fiddle around while Rome burns. And I certainly didn't teach you to be like this!"

"To be like what, Reg? Go on, say it," Astrid challenged, her fist clenching as she fought the temptation to deck him straight in the face. "Sloane knows damn well what I mean," Reginald squinted. Once a homophobe, always a homophobe. "Dad, have you been taking your pills?" Sloane asked calmly, gathering herself. "As a matter of fact, I haven't," Reginald replied. "You thought you could dope me up and slow me down, take control of my affairs, and squander my fortune? Well, Klaus here was good enough to wean me off that wretched poison."

Astrid mentally facepalmed upon hearing this. Anyone with enough common sense would know that you never tell someone to stop taking medications. Clearly, the medicines Reginald had been taking made him more tolerable and kept the Sparrows safe. And now, Reginald was back in dangerous mission mode. "Why would you do that?" Sloane gasped as she looked at Klaus. But Klaus just shrugged and looked at the ground as Reginald kept shining the unwanted spotlight on him.

"As for the rest of you, your training is to resume post-haste. We're running out of time, we have a mission to complete," Reginald continued. "I'm ready! Let's do this," Ben spoke up, standing by his father's side. Five cleared his throat, making Reginald turn to face him. "Let me guess, Project Oblivion?" Five inquired. "How did you know about that?" The old man asked. Five explained that he learned it all from Pogo and that he confirmed what Five always suspected about their dear old pops. "You're a sadistic lunatic who's planning on gambling all of our lives in another pointless mission," Five snarled.

"You're going to take the word of a disgruntled chimp over that of your own father?" Reginald took offense. Five blinked over to where Reginald was standing, glaring at him with the biggest smirk he could muster. "Every damn day," Five responded. "Nobody wants you here, Reg. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay far away from us. And don't even think about crashing my wedding," Astrid folded her arms. "You don't speak for all of us, blondie!" Ben piped up.

"Feel free to join him then," Luther glared, standing right behind Astrid and Sloane. "I see. So this is what it comes to, insurrection," Reginald sighed. "That's not the kind of erection we're driving for here, all right?" Klaus whispered in the old mans ear. "Everybody just needs to be cool. Clearly, you guys are on a different chakra frequency right now. Hey Pops, let's go have a nice cup of tea in the suite," Klaus wrapped an arm around Reginald's as he led them away. "Triddy, Sloane, I'm beyond thrilled. You guys are gorgeous and amazing! Send me your registry!" Klaus's voice trailed off as they went down the stairs.