As Keiko and Arkady made their way through the bustling crowds of the MGM Grand, Keiko couldn't shake off that sense of unease that lingered in the back of her mind. Despite being captivated by the opulence and excitement surrounding her, she just couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that something wasn't right. The lavishness of the casino floor seemed to mask an underlying tension in the air, making Keiko's anticipation for meeting Arkady's parents even more fraught with uncertainty.

Honestly, she just wanted this whole meeting with Arkady's parents over with as soon as possible. The sooner, the better. At least then, she'd know what exactly they had in store for her.

As Keiko and Arkady boarded an elevator and made their way towards what Arkady had told her was his parents' hotel room, Keiko couldn't help but notice the glances they were receiving from some of the other guests. It seemed as though their presence was causing a stir among the crowd, much to Keiko's growing unease. Despite Arkady's insistent reassurances, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something ominous loomed ahead. Still, she figured that it was best to steel herself now before she came face-to-face with whatever was setting off the gut feeling.

Eventually, they had managed to arrive at the door displaying the hotel room number, Keiko having already stepped ahead of Arkady by that point.

Keiko looked back at Arkady, uncertain. "You want me to go up here and knock on the door?"

"Sure," Arkady replied. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Keiko audibly gulped before knocking on the door. She then waited just a few seconds before someone opened the door. Keiko briefly looked up and stared into the stingray-shaped mask of one of the most fearsome supervillains the world had ever seen.

Keiko let out a nervous laugh. "You're Arkady's father, right?"

"Yes, I am him," he replied.

"Okay, good to know, I guess. You look like someone I should know. What exactly do you call yourself again?"

"Lord Stingray."

"Okay, gotcha." Keiko looked around for a moment, trying to let it fully sink in where she was and what was happening at this moment. "So what exactly do you... do around here?"

"This is where we do business."

"Uh-huh, can you be more specific?"

Lord Stingray just repeated himself as if out of habit. Keiko decided not to press on further. She figured that that was just the answer she needed anyway. She warily stepped into the hotel room and spotted whom she could only presume to be Arkady's mother sitting on the edge of the queen-sized bed.

"And who are you?" Keiko asked the mysterious woman sitting there.

"Mistress Killda," the woman simply replied.

"You're Arkady's mom, right?"

"Da."

Keiko nodded. "Yeah, I can definitely see the resemblance here."

Mistress Killda nodded back. "Da. Anyway, why don't you and Arkady stay here a while? We have wine if you want some."

Keiko had never had wine before (or any sort of alcohol, for that matter), so she wasn't sure how to feel about Mistress Killda suggesting wine. Keiko tried to keep her composure, but the woman's offer made her heart race slightly. As such, she decided to keep her expression slightly blank, hoping that Mistress Killda couldn't tell she was too scared to say yes, let alone even take a sip of the alcoholic drink.

Mistress Killda chuckled. "Sorry. I didn't sound too ominous there, did I? That wasn't my intention."

"I-I guess not," Keiko replied. "I'm just a bit jumpy, that's all."

"You want a drink to calm your nerves?" As if out of hammerspace, Mistress Killda produced a glass of Sovetskoye Shampanskoye. "One sip won't kill you."

"Nah, I'm okay."

"I insist."

"No, really. I'm okay."

"I insist."

Keiko had the feeling that Mistress Killda was trying to wear her down until she caved in and drank from the glass. So feeling as if she had no other choice, she gingerly took the flask and then drank the entire liquid with trembling hands. Immediately, perhaps too much so, she felt a wave of calmness wash over her. Her fear subsided as she looked up, meeting the woman's gaze.

"I don't know what was in that drink," Keiko said as she began to slur her words. "But I think I liked it."

With that, Keiko's vision started blurring, and her body grew limp as if she were a ragdoll. She then tipped sideways and fell to the ground, having already lost consciousness at this point.

Miles and miles away, miles and miles up into the air, the Mistress and Eddie were aboard a private jet piloted by Mayumi. They'd both taken up the two front seats, with Mistress sitting right beside him as a precaution. Behind them were Genie, Delilah, Iggy, and Aurelia and Flavia.

"Something's wrong," Eddie said. "I can feel it."

"You can say that again," Delilah replied. "I don't know what Arkady or the rest of the Stingray organization have got planned for Keiko, but I know that it's going to end in disaster if we don't stop them."

Eddie solemnly nodded. "Yeah. I can't believe we didn't do a background check on him first. I thought we were smarter than that."

"Apparently not," Iggy deadpanned.

"Yeah, pretty stupid of us," Aurelia chimed in. "So what's the deal with this Lord Stingray guy anyway? I know he's a bad guy running a terrorist organization and all that, but why is he going after us?"

"I think he sees us as competition," Mistress replied. "He wants to rule the world like we are, and he won't stop until he's wiped us off the face of the earth."

Aurelia pursed her lips. "Okay, but what's Keiko got to do with all this? Why did he need Arkady to lure her to Las Vegas?"

"That, I'm still trying to figure out. I suspect that human trafficking might be involved, but that's just speculation on my part. We won't know what's going on until we actually get there."

Aurelia gulped. She wasn't sure she liked that answer.

When Keiko woke up, she noticed almost immediately that someone had changed her into a white bathrobe. Once she'd become more aware of her surroundings, she noticed that her hands were bound behind her back with what felt like and she could only presume was a plastic shopping bag. She then looked up to see Arkady staring right at her.

"What happened?" Keiko asked slowly. "What did you do to me?"

"Don't worry about it," Arkady replied.

"I'm serious, Arkady! Why did you bind my hands behind my back?! Why did you change my clothes?! What was in that wine your mom gave me?!"

"I said 'Don't worry about it,' Keiko. Now shut up and don't say another word. You've got a busy day ahead of you today."

"Doing what?! What are you talking about?!"

Almost as quickly as the words left Keiko's mouth, Arkady gave her a backhanded slap across the face, leaving a red mark on her cheek. The shock alone was enough to make her start crying.

"I already told you not to say another word, bitch," Arkady said. "Now get dressed. We're supposed to be having breakfast in a few minutes."

"How am I supposed to get dressed when my hands are tied behind my back?" Keiko asked, still crying.

"Good point. Let me take care of that real quick." Arkady proceeded to unbind Keiko's hands and set them free. "Alright, now you can get dressed."

Keiko proceeded to subtly roll her eyes at him. She couldn't believe the situation she was in right now. She could only hope that her family would realize that something had happened to her and head out to save her.