Keiko had no idea how much time had passed since she'd arrived with Arkady at the MGM Grand, but she figured that it had to have been a few days at most. As if being here hadn't been stressful enough already, she soon learned that she would be forced to marry the man in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of members of Lord Stingray's organization.

No matter how much she tried to convince herself that this wasn't real, that this wasn't actually happening, it didn't work. All she wanted more than anything was to be back home with her family, but that was starting to seem more and more like a pipe dream with each passing day. In fact, it seemed that her spirits were being crushed by the whole thing. Desperation clawed at her heart as she tried to piece together the fragmented memories of days past and cling to the mundane moments— family dinners, bedtime stories, her favorite cartoons. They were so ordinary, yet they felt like sacred treasures now. Each day spent here was like a relentless tide pulling her further from the safety of familiarity. The walls felt like they were closing in on her, suffocating the hope she was desperately trying to hold on to. She even had to force herself not to spiral by distracting herself with television, but it only seemed to remind her of her current situation. Was this her life now? It couldn't be, right?

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Keiko craned her head at the source of the sound, curious yet somewhat irritated.

"Who is it?" Keiko asked.

"It's me, Yevgeny," replied a disembodied masculine voice with a slight Russian accent.

Keiko just sat there at the foot of one of the queen-sized beds, confused. "Who?"

"Yevgeny? You know... Arkady's brother?"

"Oh. Come on in, I guess."

Yevgeny opened the door and stepped inside. Keiko felt herself slowly go into a nervous sweat as he approached her, but she quickly regained her composure.

"What are you doing here?" she asked coolly.

"I just wanted to talk to you," Yevgeny replied.

Keiko raised an eyebrow. "What about?"

"I just wanted to see how you were."

Keiko kept her composure. "I'm fine. Why the hell should you care anyway? If anything, you're just as much involved in this whole arranged marriage thing as your family is."

Her voice had a bite, one that was layered with frustration and an undercurrent of something more vulnerable. She glanced away, trying to mask the flicker of hurt in her eyes. Across from her, Yevgeny stood there unperturbed.

"Look, I know you don't want this," Yevgeny said. "You don't want to enter an arranged marriage with Arkady, I get it, but trust me. It's for the better."

Indeed, Yevgeny knew as much as Arkady and the rest of the family did that arranged marriages weren't just a matter of love or partnership. They were business transactions, so to speak; intricate familial alliances designed to solidify status and security. That was their family tradition.

"Keiko, I—" he was about to speak.

"Save it," she interrupted, raising a hand. "I don't need a lecture. Let's just get it over with."

Yevgeny just nodded. "Okay then. No need to tell me twice."

Yevgeny then gestured at Keiko to rise off the bed and follow him out of the room. Keiko did so. She didn't dare drag this out any more than necessary.

No one in the Mistress and Eddie's group had gathered any luck finding out about Keiko's whereabouts in Colorado Springs. If there was one good thing they could take away from this, however, it was that it was a rather pleasant place to visit. Still, time was of the essence. They had no idea how much time was left, but they knew that they had to save Keiko soon or it would be too late.

"So where to next, Mistress?" Aurelia asked.

"Las Vegas, finally," Mistress replied. "The sooner we get there, the better."

"Man, I hope so. I can't wait for us to find her."

"Me neither."

"Alright, everyone, we're about to take off for Las Vegas!" Mayumi announced. "Anything you want to do before we go?"

Everyone else responded with a "no" or an equivalent of it.

"Good," Mayumi said. "I don't want to waste any more time here anyway. Here we go. Three...two...one... and we're off!"

The plane proceeded to run along the ground before finally ascending into the sky. Eddie sighed with relief as the plane finally gained altitude, for once not seeming to care about the incoming motion sickness. He watched out the window as the beautiful landscape passed by below and the buildings shrank away. He knew that soon they would be in Las Vegas and one step closer to finding his missing daughter. In the meantime, he and everyone else decided to chat and sing along to music to pass the time, eager to find Keiko as soon as possible. Eventually, the plane had managed to reach its destination at the Harry Reid International Airport. The flight itself had only lasted for two hours, and yet it didn't feel that long.

"And... we're here!" Mayumi cheerfully announced. "Thank God, too! Now we can put our whole plan into action."

Everyone cheered and clapped as the plane finally landed. None of them could wait to start their adventure, and they were all thankful for the smooth journey. Now that they'd reached solid ground, they could finally start their rescue mission. All they had to do now was figure out where exactly Arkady had taken Keiko. They gathered their gear and set off, determined to find Keiko and bring her home. They had a lot of ground to cover, but they were determined to succeed. Upon walking into the airport, the passengers couldn't help but observe people as they were just going about their daily lives; talking, walking, sitting down, ordering some snacks to eat before their flight, and overall just existing.

"Alright, now what?" Aurelia asked. "Is there anybody around here we can ask for help?"

"I hope so," Eddie replied, still reeling from motion sickness. "Why don't we give it a shot? It'd be better than nothing, at least."

"Sure, I don't see why not." Aurelia then craned her neck towards her sister. "Flavia, see if you can ask anyone where Keiko and Arkady may have gone, okay?"

Flavia nodded in agreement and quickly moved away. Aurelia and Eddie watched as she approached a nearby group of people. They waited patiently for her to return. After a few moments, Flavia returned with an elderly woman who pointed the group in the right direction.

"Oh, wow, thanks!" Genie exclaimed. "You're a real lifesaver."

The elderly woman just shrugged. "It's the least I could do for my glorious leader and her comrades."

Flavia just smiled and waved goodbye as the elderly woman ambled away, her frail figure slowly disappearing from view as she moved towards the opposite end of the airport. There was something undeniably heartwarming about that simple farewell, a moment that seemed to encapsulate the kindness and warmth Flavia always exuded. Aurelia and Eddie exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of admiration and disbelief. It was hard to fathom how Flavia had managed to find someone in practically little time at all. Now that they had an idea of where exactly Keiko and Arkady were, the group could head out to the MGM Grand and hopefully rescue her from her plight.