Hotel Oblivion | Time's still not a thing

[knife_bender]

Diego and Annie rushed back into the lobby, breathing like that had been running for their lives. Of course, they had been. But at least the guardian was nowhere in sight for now.

What was in sight, however, was a very pleasant surprise. "Klaus?"

Annie	"Oh my God, Klaus," Annie sighed -- maybe a little bit because she was out of breath, but also because of the relief -- upon seeing him. "Finally, some good news." Other than the good news that she and Diego (and their baby or babies) were alive, anyway.
Viktor	Everyone else regrouped in the lobby shortly after, looking bruised and battered but alive. "Klaus, are you okay?"
Klaus	"Yes, yes, I'm alive and amazing, despite Dad's attempts to bash my brains in, but tearful reunions later," Klaus said. "What you guys need to know right now is that Dad killed Luther. And he locked me out of the tunnel, and he rang that stupid bell!" Needless to say, it was an awkward time for Reginald to make an appearance.
Five	"What's your plan, old man?" Now was his suspicious time to shine!
Reginald	"We don't have time for this." Which was true. You guys saw the guardians, right?
Sloane	"You killed Luther!" Sloane shouted.
Reginald	"I had no choice," Reginald insisted. "You refused to come together as a team."
Ben	"All of your stupid myths and stories. There were never seven bells or Norsemen. You brought us here to die!" Oh you knew you screwed up when dickhead Ben was mad.
Reginald	"That's not so. Somewhere in this hotel is the key to resetting the universe," Reginald said. "We need to find the sigil!"
Sloane	"I don't care about your sigil!" Sloane said, sounding almost hysterical now. "None of us do!"
Annie	"How can we believe anything you say?" Annie pointed out angrily. "If we manage to survive this stupid guardian and his scythe, apparently you're lurking around the corner to pick us off anyway!"
Viktor	Viktor looked over at Allison. "The guardian we killed had an ax."
Sloane	"The one we killed had a sword," Sloane said. That meant the one Diego and Annie hadn't managed to kill was out there. "We have to go after it."
Ben	"Oh, that worked out so well for us the first time!" Poor Ben's tentacles were never going to be the same!
Klaus	Klaus was still holding the back of his hand where Reginald had bashed his brains in. "You got any painkillers or could you all shut up?"
Five	Almost everything coming to light there was exactly what Five had been going for, which freed up his brain to think about his father's supposed plan here. And things finally came together as he stepped away from his remaining family up to the second floor of the lobby to look down at that. "Hey, I found the sigil!" he called, looking at the stars laid into the marble floor beneath them all. "It's on the lobby floor! It's the stars--" Now they could figure out what to do that wasn't whatever Reginald wanted!
Guardian	Information that would have been useful before the scythe-wielding samurai crashed through the glass ceiling of the lobby. Again, this place could have been better designed. The samurai whipped it's chain-attached scythe through the air, aiming for Five since he was the one shouting.
Five	Well, that was just rude. The scythe moved with the same kind of accuracy that the weapons of the other guardian he'd faced did and a good majority of Five's arm was left on the floor. A bit of a whoopsie. But Five was nothing if not resilient as he was already yanking his tie off with his one remaining hand to make a tourniquet so that he could teleport down to join his siblings in the fight. That was the plan, at least. But he teleported and did not reappear in the lobby, unfortunately.
Guardian	Nailed it. Riding high on that success the guardian hit the ground running, immediately gutting Klaus who hit the floor hard. It then threw something in the vague direction of Annie, Lila and Diego before moving to slice up Ben.
Diego	Hey, no one got to slice up Ben except him! Diego pulled himself off the ground and hurled himself at the guardian, trying to choke him out from behind. He was rewarded with a punch straight to the face that sent him reeling.
Annie	And nobody punched her husband and got away with it, asshole. Annie pulled all the electricity she could into her body as she pushed herself off the ground, yanking on the power so hard and with such force that if there'd been more available, she might have flown. As it was, sparks flew out of the overheads and the pillars as she flung a pair of blasts at the guardian, hoping it would actually do something other than just look cool.
Sloane	Unfortunately it just looked cool. But it looked super cool. The guardian approached Sloane, who held up her hand to try to steady or slow his scythe like she had done to his sword-wielding friend. She had been pretty badly hurt during that fight, and didn't have the same power she had then. The guardian had its arm reared back, ready to slice Sloane's head clean off when he was stopped by a hand on its arm.
Luther	Luther's hand, surprisingly enough. "Nobody hurts my wife, you son of a bitch." He hurled the guardian away, using all the strength he had, which ensured when it hit the ground it burst into about a billion cockroaches. Gross, but cool. Luther didn't even notice that part, too busy embracing Sloane.
Annie	Super gross, but also super cool, yes. Annie covered her mouth with a hand -- not, surprisingly, because she was going to puke yet again at the sight of all those bugs. For the first time maybe all week, Annie wasn't at all aware of her stomach. She was trying not to cry, or say anything that might interrupt, because she'd spotted Klaus, and she suddenly understood how Luther was here at all. God. Luther really was gone, wasn't he? That's what it meant, if Klaus was making this happen.
Luther	Luther's happiness at seeing Sloane again quickly switched to rage when he spotted his father. "All those years I stayed loyal to you. You wasted my life on the moon, and for what? To use me on this stupid mission?"
Reginald	"You did have a purpose," Reginald replied. "I left you to guard the most precious thing in the universe."
Luther	"And what's that?" Luther asked.
Reginald	Probably wasn't good Reginald smiled again, was it? "You'll soon understand. You all will."
Luther	Or maybe Luther wouldn't. Luther looked down at Sloane again and frowned when he noticed his hands were fading out. He turned back to Klaus who looked like he was struggling to use his powers. And to breathe in general. "Klaus--"
Klaus	"I'm sorry," Klaus choked. "I can't hold it."
Luther	Luther understood he didn't have much time. Seconds, maybe. He held Sloane's face in his hands. "I will love you forever. Okay?"
Reginald	Then both Luther and Klaus were gone again. Though Reginald knew Klaus was only gone momentarily. Which was good, because he needed seven people. "Children, find a star on the sigil. Stand on it," Reginald said. He noticed everybody wasn't exactly filled with hustle, so he turned to the child who listened to him the most. "Ben, now's your time boy, quickly!"
Viktor	"Seven points, seven of us?" Viktor asked even as he went to find a star to stand on. "We're the bells?"
Annie	"Of course we're the bells." Annie's comment was a realization, exhaustion tinging her words because they really should have realized that earlier. Seven Umbrellas, seven Sparrows. It was always seven. ...even in her universe, it was always about seven people. Maybe there was something to the idea it was a magic number. She looked over to Diego, a little doubtful but unsure what other options they had, and moved to stand on a star. Annie had always been good at hitting her marks.
Diego	Diego shared Annie's worried look as he stepped onto a star. Something told him this wasn't going to end well, but at this point it was go with Reginald's plan or live in this lobby forever. His worry increased when he noticed Reginald telling Allison not to step on a star. The reason became clear when Sloane became the last person to step on her mark. Immediately the room was filled with bright light and Diego yelled as he was filled with searing hot pain. He tried to move for Annie but found he was basically glued to the star he was on.
Annie	Annie couldn't even scream, she hurt so much. Her arms drew around her midsection on instinct, like she could somehow protect the baby if she just curled in on herself -- but that was fruitless, and her arms went slack at her sides as -- She didn't even know what was happening. Her arms went slack as whatever was happening to them, happened. They should never, ever, have trusted Reginald. Even if it was the only plan, they shouldn't have.
Allison	Allison watched in awe as the hotel melted away, turning into...she couldn't even describe it. Everything was alive with light and a futuristic computer appeared which Reginald immediately started fiddling with. Then she noticed what was happening to her family. At first it just looked like they were bathed in light but now she could see their skin turning gray and their faces go gaunt -- almost like the life was being drained out of them. "This wasn't part of the deal," Allison said, turning to Reginald. "You're hurting them."
Reginald	"I can't stop now," Reginald said, not looking away from what he was doing. "It would shut down the machine."
Allison	"What machine?" Allison asked, utterly confused. "I don't understand." She had made a deal to get her daughter back. She didn't need to ask questions before agreeing to that. Now she wished she had.
Reginald	"The hotel was just a façade," Reginald said. "We're stuck inside a machine in another dimension. Whoever created the universe built this place." That make sense?
Allison	"What does that have to do with them?" Allison asked, gesturing toward her siblings. The machine let off a little pulse that caused everyone trapped on the stars to scream in pain.
Reginald	"The particles inside their bodies are the only things that fuel the machine." Thank god the blonde one had been impregnated otherwise he would have been short one marigold-infected child to abuse.
Allison	"Okay, you need to stop!" Allison shouted, looking over worriedly at her family. They were fading fast.
Reginald	"I'm almost done," Reginald assured her, hitting a couple more buttons on the computer screen. "And when I am, you and I will get what we came here for."
Allison	She hadn't wanted this. "You're killing them!"
Reginald	"Everything in life has a price," Reginald murmured. Killing seven people seemed like a small price for the perfect reality.
Allison	Allison rushed up to where Reginald was standing, using all of her power to shout, "STOP!" Only...it didn't work. Allison's powers have never not worked before. What the hell was this man made of? Searching the room frantically she saw the scythe that the guardian had dropped after Luther threw him. She grabbed it, not even sparing a moment between having it in her hand and slicing her father's head in half. When the head slipped off his shoulders and blue blood started spurting out of the body, she realized that maybe he wasn't a man after all.
Viktor	That was a relief, though Viktor could barely feel anything other than blinding pain. He watched as Allison dropped the scythe and approached the computer. A bright red button was just begging to be touched. "Allison, don't," Viktor said, using the last bit of his strength to power up. "We don't know what it does."
Allison	Allison turned to look at her brother, eyes softening. "Do you trust me?" This had to be done. She had stopped Reginald before he could kill them, maybe there was a way that she could save her siblings and get what she wanted. She smiled softly as she watched Viktor power down, relieved to still have that trust after everything she had done. Allison pressed the red button and everything turned white.

Annie	One second, Annie had been sure she had been about to die, for about the dozenth time in a week. (Though this had felt much realer than all the split-second calls she and Diego had gone through before -- something about having your body seemingly drained of its actual life force over the course of several minutes had the effect of making you really confront what was happening to you.) The next, it was all over, and she -- along with Diego, Viktor, Lila, Klaus and Ben -- was...stepping through the hotel's elevator and into a park. "Are we in Heaven?" Some old habits died hard.
Lila	"Cool," Lila laughed, peering around as she took in their surroundings. She probably wasn't responding to Annie, considering that she'd already clocked where they probably were, at least superficially. (Answer: almost certainly not Heaven, don't be stupid.)
Luther	Guess who was also stepping out of the elevator to Not-Heaven? That's right, Luther. Looking much more svelte than before.
Viktor	Viktor clocked the change first. "Luther?"
Luther	"Oh, shit," Luther said. "You can see me? I'm alive?"
Viktor	"Yes!" Viktor immediately found himself picked up into a bear hug...which felt different than before. "Wait, that's not all, big guy."
Luther	Luther put Viktor down so he could look at himself. He was still tall, yeah, but his hands and body no longer looked like a gorilla's. He was, in fact, a real boy. "My body! I look amazing!"
Klaus	"Luther's all svelte now," Klaus said approvingly.
Diego	The shock of seeing Luther alive and better than ever had distracted Diego from the obvious change for him. But he did notice after a moment. "My fingers are back."
Annie	"Look at that!" Annie beamed, reaching out to actually touch Diego's newly-restored fingers with her own. Hang on, though. Hang on. "Wait -- Five's not here." Annie hadn't thought to do a headcount, but they were down a few people.
Luther	Luther had been looking around to show his wife his hot new bod...only his wife wasn't there. "Where's Sloane?"
Klaus	"Oh, uh, she was right behind me," Klaus said, pointing back towards the elevator. "When Allison pushed the button."
Diego	"She's gone too," Diego noted dryly. That one he wasn't so surprised about.
Annie	Honestly, that one was probably okay by Annie, for the moment. "And your dad's not here. Or -- well." Annie caught sight of a bust in the middle of the park, and crossed over to it. "Unless you count this." Of course there was a bust of Reginald Hargreeves in this park, along with a plaque saying it had been established on the first of October, 1989. Why the hell wouldn't there be?
Viktor	"I think the old man really reset the universe," Viktor said, almost awed.
Luther	Luther was not having it. "I don't care about any resets, I want my wife back."
Ben	"Something's wrong," Ben said, frowning.
Luther	"No kidding, my wife is missing!" Along with two siblings. But his wife!
Ben	"No, I mean my powers." He had felt something was off when he first got off the elevator and it didn't take long for him to try out his powers to make sure those were working. "It's not working."
Diego	Diego huffed, figuring Ben had performance anxiety or something. He flicked a knife out of his harness, spinning it--and having it flying out of his hand. "Huh. That's not good."
Annie	Annie watched the knife fall, frowning, and immediately reached out with her own powers, and sent a lamp post a short ways away humming with an answering surge from her eyes. "Mine are fine," Annie offered unsurely, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. Okay, that was weird, that she had her powers but the others didn't, but maybe even weirder -- "But are all my earrings gone?" she asked, feeling stupid as she traced her fingertips around her ears and felt...nothing.
Klaus	"My tattoos are gone," Klaus said, looking down at his hands. He threw them out as if to summon ghosts. "Alakazam ghosties...oh man, does this mean I'm mortal again?" Bummer.
Ben	"How do we get them back, you idiots?" Ben asked.
Luther	Luther really couldn't give a single fuck about powers right now. "I gotta go. I have to find my wife."
Klaus	Klaus immediately went to follow Luther. "Wait, you were dead five minutes ago! You're fragile!"
Ben	Ben headed off in a different direction. "I'm out, bitches."
Viktor	"Come on," Viktor said. "We should stick together and figure this out. What are we supposed to do?"
Diego	Diego looked over at Annie. No powers, no tattoos, but kids were in the future. That sounded kind of familiar.
Annie	It sounded incredibly familiar, actually. "I guess we just live our lives," she suggested, looking up at Diego with a little smile. And they could start by going home, please.

[And we're all done except for the fallout so more spam incoming sorry not sorry. NFI, NFB but OOC appreciated. Taken from TUA 3x10 Oblivion and preplayed with the wonderful apocalypsehow and defenderofdesmoines who were real champs about finishing this even while the last couple months sucked ass]