I hope that everyone has a Happy New Year and a Fantastic 2017! Thought I would surprise you by updating again with a new chapter. I really appreciate that so many of you are following the story, or have listed it as your favorite, but if I could ask that you also please leave a review on occasion as otherwise I cannot judge how the story is being received and whether or not I should continue. It would mean a lot and is a nice courtesy towards the author to keep them writing! Anyway- enjoy!

Riki rode his new air-cycle with abandon. When Iason had presented him with the keys to the air-cycle he had assumed there would still be limitations on his freedom. He'd expected to be stopped at the gates of Eos as he walked the bike out, those same gates that Daryll had opened to allow him a moment of freedom when he had been Iason's captive. But the doors opened for him without incident and then as he rode through the streets of Tanagura, he expected again to be stopped at the city entrance, but once more he was waved through. Iason really had allowed him the freedom to ride and that was a staggering thought.

At first, he had just wanted to take off somewhere, get away from Eos and his life there and feel the wind in his hair. The bike handled like a dream and he pushed it to it's limits on the stark and isolated highways outside of the major cities. With no deliberate destination Riki continued to ride, to run, perhaps to see how far he really could get before someone came after him.

A flicker of rebellion rose within him once he was outside the city limits, the idea of finding some hole to crawl into so he would never have to go back to being a pet of a Blondie, but he knew that Iason would find him again no matter where he went. Besides, he couldn't be without the Blondie anymore, he'd already accepted that- hadn't he?

He wasn't paying attention to where he was driving until he recognized the dilapidated city outline of Ceres. Pulling over to the side of the road, he removed his helmet and stared at the place where he had grown up. He knew now that he wasn't a slum mongrel, that he had not been born in Ceres, but it was still his home and the place where he had spent most of his life.

Did he miss it? No, he realized, he didn't miss it at all. The first time that Iason had freed him, all he could think about was getting back to the slums, because that was what he knew and what he considered safe. It didn't matter that he'd spent most of his life previously trying to run away from Ceres, when he'd been given his freedom he ran straight back to it.

He pulled a cigarette out of the pack from his pocket and lit it. What an idiot he had been. There had been nothing for him in Ceres except Guy and Bison, but even they had not been enough to keep him there, or he would never have taken that job with Katze. He would never have gone looking for a Blondie who'd only had to touch him once and he was addicted.

Seeing the city where he had grown up from a distance, when compared to the bigger, brighter structures of Tanagura was depressing. Why did so many of them have to live in squalor and in fear for their lives when the Elites and those who worked for or with them lived in the lap of luxury? It wasn't a fair system, but it was the only system he knew. On Avalon everyone seemed to have more than enough food to eat and the ability to work hard without needing a registration. They had real families, children were not abandoned and forced to get by on their own. After seeing the life on Avalon, even the idea of Ceres was repulsive.

He felt the swell of his anger and grief well up before he could think to control it and he stumbled off the bike just before it expunged itself into the hard, dry pavement of the roadway. Another powerful and painful urge hit him, driving him to his knees as he continued to empty the contents of his stomach as he thought of everything he'd had to do, every person he'd had to fuck and allow to fuck him just so he could get food for a day.

He thought of the beatings he had taken before he became smart enough, fast enough to outrun the bullies, and then big enough to beat them back. The hot blazing days with no relief where he was forced to work from sun up to well past sundown in the factories until his fingers bled and his legs were numb. The freezing cold desert nights curled up on a cot that had far too many broken springs to ever be comfortable after a dinner of cold, tasteless soup and a piece of bread, and with only a raggedy blanket to keep warm. The bigger boys would huddle together and find another way to keep warm, and several times one of them would climb onto Riki's cot as well. Riki would have no choice but to let them do as they wanted, or risk freezing to death.

Then there had been the rats, the four-legged variety. Rats were every where in Ceres and there was no getting rid of them or keeping them out. They were part of the landscape and you just got used to it. If you were lucky you could trade a blow job for a small vile of Incine Liquid, which would keep the rats away from your room, but the smell could induce vomiting in Humans; at least until you got used to it. It was still better than waking up and finding an ear or toe had been gnawed off by a rat while you slept.

Slowly, Riki got to his feet, lit another cigarette, as he'd lost the first one when he started wrenching, and inhaled deeply. The tobacco seeped into his heaving lungs and he almost wept with relief. Life in Ceres had been intolerable, but he needed to get over the idea of what had been lost, had he not been taken from Avalon. He had to stop comparing his life here with what could have been, because there was no way back.

Making his way back to his bike, he slid a leg over it, realized his hands were still trembling slightly and so he took another hit of nicotine. The slums had made him what he was, and regardless of whether he was a pet or Prince, he was and always would be Riki the Dark. He had survived when so many others did not. He escaped when so many remained trapped in the day to day drudgery. Granted that escape had come in the form of an abduction and torture, but he was mostly over that. Mostly.

It wasn't like he was ungrateful for what the perks he did have living with Iason, either, because that wouldn't be realistic. He could still be resentful of what he'd had to do, what he'd had to become to get such advantages, and Iason didn't understand that. Iason only saw that he could give his pet whatever it desired and take what he wanted and it was a fair trade. Well, Riki supposed it was a fair trade, when one considered the alternative, but at least in Ceres he still had a modicum of freedom and choice.

So, what was he doing here, really? Was he going to betray Iason, run away and hide again? Go back to using his body to get what he wanted from others, instead of just giving it to Iason? Did he even want to go back to this life? Or maybe he'd take a transport back to Avalon. He smirked, now that would really piss Iason off, but he doubted that his freedom to ride would get him that far.

Tossing his cigarette, he pulled his helmet back on and rode towards Ceres. Almost immediately a recognized stench permeated the air he drove through. Drunks littered the sidewalk, a few male prostitutes lingered around the corners. He received a few cautious stares that Riki knew was not an interest in him but more toward his bike, which would be coveted in a place like this.

He pulled up to Duken's Bar and shut down the engine, then sat back on the seat and soaked up the atmosphere. The hard core, grainy music of the bar assaulted his eardrums even through the helmet he wore and while he was still ten feet outside the door. The paint of the building was peeling and someone had shot out two of the letters in the sign so it said Uke's Bar instead. Nothing had changed since the last time he had been here. He would have found that comforting once upon a time, now it was just sad.

Tossing a leg behind him he stepped off the bike and pressed the security seal on his key fob, a sizzle of current hummed over the vehicle to prevent theft. Stepping over a guy who was slowly sliding into a drug addicted coma he pushed through the western style doors of the bar.

The air inside smelled of sweat, alcohol, some foreign spice and sex. Riki inhaled deeply as memories filled him, and tried to picture Iason in a dive like this. A smile slowly formed and he headed for the bar.

"Yeah, whaddya want?" the burly bartender spat, his face mirrored in the visor of Riki's helmet.

"A bottle of Juke."

A dark colored bottle was opened and slapped on the bar. "Money or trade?"

He slid his hand in the pocket of his jacket and came out with his pack of cigarettes.

"These work?"

The bartender snatched the pack, looked over the label and took out one cigarette to sniff the tobacco; his eyes rolled in appreciation. "This'll do." he began only to have Riki grab the pack back.

"The whole pack for one bottle?" he asked. "I don't think so, these are prime. I'll give you two."

"Five."

"Three, and you throw in a bowl of curls."

The bartender's eyes were glued to the pack of cigarettes that no one in Ceres could afford. "Gimmie six, I'll give you two bottles, the curls and a hand job."

"Not interested, but tell you what. I'll give you four for one bottle, the curls and the privacy booth in back. Final offer."

"Done." The bartender grinned, showing only three teeth and slammed his hand on the bar. He set a small bowl of fried Hada, which was a root vegetable that had been fried until crispy, then tossed a palm plate to Riki. "Booth is yours for an hour. You wanting company? Lotsa guys will do you for those prime sticks."

"I'm better off alone."

Riki grabbed his drink and food and headed for the dark interior of the booth. He slid inside into it, set everything but his helmet on the table, his helmet he set in the seat beside him. Placing the palm plate in the center of the table he pressed his hand to it and immediately a shaded veil came down over the booth. He could still see everything around him, but no one could see him. Being recognized could cause a hassle, he decided, and his hiding in the booth had nothing to do with the shame he'd felt over his recent life choices.

He wondered how his gang was doing, he knew Guy was doing well, but what about the others? This was one of the bars that they frequented, so he might see them if he sat here long enough. Knowing they were still alive and okay would be enough for him, he decided. It would have to be.

Quietly he sipped his drink slowly, ate all of the Hada and let himself drift into his past memories at this bar. There had been several fights in here as well, with other gangs, or just idiots making a play for someone they couldn't really handle. Blood on the floor, a knife wound to the shoulder. More than once one or all of them had put someone in the med center, a few of them had ended up there a time or two as well.

A lot of bad times, a lot of dark times, but there were some good memories too, Riki realized. There had been some very good times with Guy, with his gang; memories that he had forgotten because his mind had been overwhelmed with only anger and resentment.

He remembered Guy spilling a bowl of food on himself then laughing so hard that they were all bent over with aching bellies. Or how flustered Norris was when the much older Maxi had started hitting on him, and how much they teased him about it later. How many times had Luke challenged Riki to a game of Gigooloy, hoping to win a quick bout of hot sex with their young leader, and Luke always lost.

Then there were the special, private moments with Guy, moments that Riki had forced himself to forget because while he was trapped by Iason such memories had been too painful to recall. He remembered the way Guy tried out different food combinations in an effort to improve Riki's palate, and sometimes the experiment would go horribly wrong. It didn't matter if it tasted awful, Riki would still eat it because Guy had made it, besides food was limited in Ceres so they wasted nothing.

The soft, protective touches that Guy always gave him, the kind that no one else ever dared to or risk Riki's wrath. Every time Guy petted him or stroked his hair the members of his gang would often stare in either horror, resentment or envy, Only Guy had been allowed to touch him in such a gentle way; anyone else tried it and they'd receive the toe end of Riki's boot in their face.

He sipped his drink and let himself remember how it felt to be held in Guy's strong arms, what it was to completely trust someone and know they would be there for you, always. Guy had been the best of the best, loyal and giving, hard-assed when he needed to be and so unerringly sweet. Riki could feel the tears welling up and for once didn't try to push them back. No one could see him and it was time he finally said acknowledged what he and Guy had, and said goodbye to it for good.

When Guy had betrayed him so horrendously, he'd understood Guy's reasoning and had forgiven him for it, but then Guy showed up again and again, seemingly causing more trouble. He still understood the reasons, but he could no longer forgive them. Guy had loved him, and Riki had cared about Guy as well, though he couldn't define it as love. Riki had realized that love was something well and beyond what he had felt for Guy; and it had taken a Blondie to show him that. Still losing the trust he'd invested in Guy had been devastating and he couldn't continue to let it eat away at him.

Maybe that was why he ended up here in Ceres? To finally say goodbye to his old life, his old friends and truly wipe away his past. He lifted up his nearly empty bottle and offered a toast to his old pairing partner Guy, to his old gang Bison, to his old life. "So long Riki the Dark," he murmured. "May you rest in peace."

He finished off the bottle, then glanced up at the sound of a familiar voice as a tall hulking man walked into the bar with two others. Sid! Riki had to force himself to remain in his seat as he watched former Bison member lumber towards the booth opposite his and drop down into it with two younger men. His old friend did not look well, in fact, even though Riki knew Sid was only in his twenties, he looked like he was at least forty.

"Why we gotta come here?" the young blond boy whined. "I thought we were goin' back to your place, Sidi?"

"Gotta meet someone first."

The brunette on the other side of Sid and slid his hand into the large man's lap. "Is he gonna be our treat? You promised us one?"

"No, and don't be comin' on to him neither. He lost his partner awhile back and he's still feelin' it, so don't be crawling all over him. Clear?"

Riki wondered who Sid was talking about, and a moment later he spotted his answer. Maxi wandered up to the table, two beers in each hand and a permanent scowl on his face. Sid had said the person coming had lost their pairing partner, did that mean that Norris had broken up with him? Riki didn't think it possible, they had been as perfect a match as could be found in Ceres.

"Yo," Sid greeted accepting one of the beers as Maxi settled in the opposite side of their booth. "Where ya been?"

"Settling a score."

"Ah, shit, you didn't?" Sid sighed heavily. "I told you to wait and I'd come with you, man."

"I didn't need you. I'm not helpless and I got it done."

Sid studied Maxi quietly. "You hurt?"

"Few bruises, is all. They didn't get a chance to do much else."

"You get all three?"

"Yeah. All of 'em." Maxi took a long swallow of his beer, but Riki noticed the older man's lip trembled when he set the bottle down. "Norris woulda wanted it that way."

"Norris would have wanted you as far away from those murdering bastards as possible, man."

Maxi shrugged. "I owed them. I owed them for what they did to Norris."

Sid nodded sadly. "Yeah. Yeah, I know." He nudged his two playmates. "Scram for a while."

"But Sidi!"

"Go on, just give us a few minutes to talk, then I'll take ya home and give ya the treats I found, okay?"

Both young men grabbed their beers and wandered off.

Sid lifted his bottle in toast. "To Norris, at least he don't gotta be in this shit hole no more."

Maxi stared into his beer. "What happened to us, Sid? We were good once. Bison was the top gang in Ceres."

"Riki left, he was the brains and the negotiator, then Guy disappeared." Sid shrugged. "Luke got himself killed over a fucking game of Chase and Norris…" He broke off and lowered his eyes.

"We're going to die here too, aren't we?"

Sid shrugged. "Probably. Only the lucky ones get out, man, and we ain't lucky."

Riki finished off his drink, pulled his helmet on over his head then turned off the privacy screen and rose from the booth. He walked to the bar and pulled out the pack of cigarettes he'd used to barter with earlier. "You want the whole pack, right?"

"What I gotta do?" the bartender demanded, his eyes gleaming.

"Give this to the two guys at the table over there." Riki pulled out a sealed envelope and a data stick. "You tell 'em it's to repay a debt."

The bartender's eyes flickered sideways towards the booth, then back at Riki. "What's on it?"

"None of your business, and if you open it I'll know and I'll be back to collect." Riki flipped the visor of his helmet up. "You don't want me to come back here."

He watched with a small sense of satisfaction that the bartender recognized him. "You…you're…"

"You give them this and you don't tell them where you got it, or mention to anyone that I was here." He set a second unopened pack on the bar. "Deal?"

The bartender snatched the cigarettes before Riki could change his mind. "Ya, I'll do it." He picked up the items. "I'll do it right now. You can watch me. I ain't stupid enough to fuck with Ri…" He gulped as Riki reached across the bar and grabbed him by the shirt collar. He put his finger to his lips and the bartender nodded emphatically. "Right. Right I got it. I'm good. We're good. You and me,"

Sid glanced up as the Bartender appeared at their table and loudly cleared his throat. "Yeah?"

"This is yours. Payment of a debt." The bartender dropped the envelope and data stick on the table. "Don't ask me nothin- I don't know nothin'." He scrambled off as Maxi reached for the envelope and pulled it open.

"Holy…" He glanced around and quickly lowered his voice to a whisper. Holy fuck!" He tossed it to Sid so he could see prize inside.

"This…" Sid thumbed through the vouchers that were rarely seen in Ceres. This was Midas casino currency, it could be spent anywhere and this much was more than either of them had ever seen.

"Is it a raid?" Maxi demanded suddenly rising and glowering at everyone about them. Was the money a plant and they were about to be arrested?

"What's on the stick?' Sid demanded reaching for it and pulling out his well-used data pad. He plugged it in and saw that it was coded. "It's got a password."

"Give it here." Maxi grabbed the pad and pulled out a small hand held device, which he placed atop the pad, immediately letters and numbers started scrolling to search for the password and less than a minute later it beeped.

Sid watched Maxi pale and grabbed the pad. "What? What is it?" He pulled off the decoder and stared at what appeared to be back door security specs for a casino in Midas. "Fuck me, this is the jackpot, man! With this we could…" When he looked up he saw that Maxi was not paying attention, instead he was standing and scanning the room with his eyes. "What is it man? You think it's a trap?"

"The password," Maxi whispered and then spotted a form moving towards the door. "The password was Bison."

Sid stared at him blankly for a moment, then at the data pad and envelope money. There had been a biker in here earlier, he'd seen the guy rise out of the privacy booth and walk over to talk to the bartender. There had been something familiar about the guy. He'd had a helmet on hiding his face, a black and red leather jacket black jeans. Black…leather.

"Fuck me!" Sid grabbed up the envelope, shoved the data pad in his jacket and bolted across the bar, shoving through the door and almost smack into Maxi just in time to see the mysterious rider drive off. "Shit! Shit!" He ran to his air-cycle. "Get on!" Maxi complied and the moment he had a leg over the bike they darted off down the road.

"Who is it?" Maxi shouted over the roar of their refurbished machine. "Do you think it's a rival gang?"

"Why would a rival gang give us money and a way to break into the biggest casino in Midas?"

"A trap maybe? Remember what that shit Kirie did to us before?"

"No. I don't think so."

"Then why…?"

"I gotta know!" Sid screamed back. "I gotta know if I'm right."

"Who do you think it is?"

"Riki!"

Maxi jolted so hard he almost fell off the bike, but he quickly regained his balance. "Why the hell would Riki be back here? He belongs to that fucking Blondie doesn't he?"

"I dunno. Maybe be escaped, maybe he's free. I dunno but we gotta catch him, man. It's Riki. It's Fucking A Riki!"

They roared through the streets at break neck speed, then suddenly lost sight of the rider in the front. Sid slowed the bike, looking down the alley ways for where Riki could have gone. Not seeing him they continued on. They rode around the city for an hour and could not find their former leader.

"If it was Riki, he's gone, man," Maxi stated quietly as they pulled to a stop.

"Why would he run? Why wouldn't he stop and talk to us?"

Maxi shrugged and pulled the envelope full of money out of his pocket. "Maybe this was all he wanted to say."

Sid glanced back at his friend, considered what they could do with that much money. And how much they might get from the Casino. It might even be enough to get them out of the slums for good. "He's still playing leader."

"He's still Riki." Maxi squeezed Sid's massive shoulder. "He didn't forget us, man." Maxi wiped away a tear that escaped his left eye. "Now we have to do the right thing."

"The right thing?"

"We have to escape like he did. He believes we can, or he wouldn't have left us this money."

Sid considered Maxi's words, then slowly nodded and turned his bike around. "He coulda stayed and let us see him, though. Let us thank him, or tell us how he's doing."

"Riki isn't one for that kinda thing, never has been."

Sid nodded again. "True. So, we'll do right by him then. We'll get the fuck out of here and do what he done."

"Wait."

Sid glanced back at Maxi.

"Where are we going?"

"Home."

"Why?"

Sid blinked. "Huh?"

"What the hell have we got to go back too?" Maxi reminded. "There's enough in here for a few days of meals and a nice room. If we can get into that casino, we might even have enough for two tickets off planet. Let's just go, now, before someone finds out we have it. Let's just disappear, like Riki and Guy did, man. It's the best way."

Sid nodded and turned the bike back towards the highway. "Yeah. Fuck it. Let's just go." He squeezed the throttle and the bike zipped off into the night.

Riki quietly moved his air-cycle out of the shadows and watched his friends ride away. He'd been carrying his winnings from the casino around in that jacket since that trip with Iason months ago; and he had intentionally changed into his comfortable clothes and that jacket before he left, knowing the money was in there. Preparing the casino specs had been more of a hobby, to see if he still had the touch to pull off a job and it had been kind of thrilling to carry it around with him without anyone knowing. Subconsciously he had probably intended to use both to run at some point, but he belonged to Iason, belonged with him and nothing could change that now.

Remembering how concerned the Blondie had been when Riki accepted the air-cycle as his gift played in Riki's mind often enough that he knew if he did run, he wouldn't do it today. He wouldn't hurt Iason that way. Just like he wouldn't leave Iason when the android couldn't walk, Riki used recent events as a reason to stay a little longer.

It wasn't until he actually found himself close to Ceres that he realized he wasn't going to use the money, that he wasn't ever going to run again. He didn't want to come back to the slums, and he wasn't ready to go to Avalon, or off planet either. He just wanted to be with Iason, and he had to finally face the fact, the true fact, that he loved Iason and had forgiven the Blondie for everything that had been done to him.

He didn't need the money, and maybe giving it to what was left of his gang would help erase some of the debt he owed them. They had been his family after all, they had believed in him, fought with him. They had loved him, in their own way and Riki would forever be grateful for that. Yeah, it was time to accept things the way they truly were. Time for Riki the Dark to finally grow up.

"Good luck, guys," he whispered, then slapped his visor down and rode off in the other direction.