Boogie Wonderland

by Aldrean Treu Peri

Spike survives his confrontation with Vicious. That's only the beginning of the continuing adventures of the Starship Bebop and its crew whose ongoing mission is to explore new cities, seek out new bounties, and ultimately to search for some meaning to life, the universe, and everything. If you've read my previous Bebop stories you might recognize some parts salvaged here! Enjoy!

13. Chapter 13 Go Down Gamblin

Days After Ed's Race

Docked on Venus for Small Fries

"Faye, your… uh... top is a little crooked," Jet called out to the immodest woman sunbathing on the deck of the Bebop.

She opened one eye to glance down at herself, glance over at Jet - who was blushing and had his face averted - and then quirked an eyebrow at Spike who was grinning at her lasciviously. Without bothering to fix her attire, she closed that eye again.

"Well, you're welcome, I suppose," She said with a hint of a shrug.

"Jeez! Spike, can't you do anything about her?"

The lanky cowboy laughed out loud. "Her body, her choice. But… I mean… would pasties help?"

Turning even more red, Jet yelled back "No! Pasties will absolutely not help!" He was clearly finding these two impossible to deal with. Throwing a hand up over his shoulder in a combination of surrender and farewell he stalked from the deck towards the dock, shaking his head.

"You know, you do have an audience," Spike told her quietly. "Some happy little fishermen out there."

Faye grinned wickedly and went to tug the strings of her top completely loose when a piece of fabric landed over her face and chest. Opening her eyes and sitting up, she discovered Spike's shirt had fallen in her lap. She looked over to where he was innocently stretching nearby and rolled her eyes at his antics.

"Okay prude, I won't give a free show. Nevermind that those boys would have had something amazing to tell all their friends about and keep as a fond memory long into their boring little lives."

"Sweetheart, you go ahead and go bare - if you wanna be featured in their spank bank that's your prerogative." He chuckled.

"Dammit, Spike! You made it so dirty!"

"Sorry Romani, that's the way male minds work." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as he continued to stretch and noticed she was enjoying the show. "Seems to me maybe female minds work the same,"

"Mm, I'm too hot out here," Faye complained with a sly look. "I'm going inside to shower,"

He turned to watch as she swayed down the deck and back into the ship. She'd taken his shirt along with but he didn't need it anymore.

Once she was beyond view, Spike turned back to face the docks and the assorted teenagers and fishermen scattered along its length. He lifted his chin and scowled at everyone who caught his eye, making several folks look away embarrassedly, and then he too sauntered inside.

xxx

Later That Day…

Faye flipped the woolong card around along the fingers of one hand, trying to emulate the way she'd seen Spike flourish a playing card over his knuckles. It never hurts to train oneself in nimble finger moves whenever possible. At the moment the little trick made her feel a few degrees cooler than usual which was good because she was amping herself up for something she'd never imagined herself willingly doing.

Putting some money towards her debt.

Unlike Spike and Jet, who'd simply bet that Ed would place in her pentathlon, Faye had taken things a step further and made the bold and ballsy bet that Ed would be the first place victor. Thanks to Ed's success, Faye herself was considerably richer now - although sadly it was still just a drop in the bucket of what she owed.

Watching Spike make changes in his life - seeing him face down his past so he could put everything behind him and start fresh… It was kind of inspiring.

She wanted to do the same.

Pay off all her debts. Be a free woman who owed nobody a damn thing.

It was an alluring prospect and suddenly she had a much safer gamble than the slots, the dogs, the ponies, or anything else she'd given a whirl. Before she'd left the Bebop on her mission, she'd been talking to Ed about it all. Ed was gonna be her financial salvation. Putting her money on the young hacker was the smartest thing she'd ever done and she was gonna keep betting on Ed for as long as the wild child wanted to play around in the sports world.

If she played her cards right, she'd be debt free in no time. Starting today with the payment she was on her way to make.

The weather here on Venus was stifling and she could not wait to get back to the ship and hopefully off planet soon. Of all the planets, Venus had become her least favorite, which was impressive considering some of the bullshit she'd been through on Mars. But, Mars was also home to some of her best memories so it had that going for it anyway.

Venus, meanwhile, was a gross shit show. The elite upper crust living their best lives while countless poor folks struggling to make ends meet out of sight and out of mind - it was a planet of staggering contrasts. Prostitution was legal but highly dangerous. Sex dens were scattered all over. The Grey Ash black market thrived. Unlike Mars, with its violent and bloody syndicate rivalries, Venus was a corrupt planet that hid its nastiness under the guise of being a pleasure planet. It had everything a person could want if they could only pay the price.

Faye felt somehow safer on Mars with the warring syndicates than she did here surrounded by affluence, avarice, and the other tragic side of that coin: the desperate and the destitute. In fact, she was crossing into that borderlands now, between the bustling city streets and the murky back alleys that led to all the true power here. There were no syndicates officially established on Venus as far as Faye knew, but there were definitely competing gangs, a mob or two, and, worst of all in her opinion… quite a few influential families pulling strings from the shadows. Her friend Sherri had hinted at such on her last visit when she'd warned her about Ebenzer, though Faye had still been surprised and overtaken by the crazed asshole.

Sherri had been convinced the man murdering sex workers had been tied to one of the prominent Venusian families but she hadn't a clue which or how. The man had been a mystery until his bounty - which had been not particularly informative - and even since his incarceration Faye didn't think anything had come to light about his possible familial connections. She'd been keeping an eye on his criminal file to be sure he was still behind bars. That was one bounty Faye had no desire to come up against ever again. She hadn't told anyone about his voice in her nightmares, talking in tongues. She'd certainly experienced worse physically from other evil folks, but for some reason the disturbing things he'd chanted at her continued to haunt her despite it all being pure religious gibberish.

But fuck Ebenzer and his role in her nightmares. He wasn't the only thing that kept her from sleeping easy. Knowing there was a mountain of debt waiting to collapse on her was starting to put genuine strain on her mind. For so long now she'd been staying ahead of her collectors but she knew it couldn't last. Eventually she'd slip up and she had no desire to spend any time in jail due to her dire financial straits. It wouldn't be safe for a bounty hunter to get stuck in a place with a bunch of bad people she'd put away in the first place. Which brought her around once again to the decision she'd made even if she was currently dragging her feet on getting around to it.

Curiously enough, despite the fact that Faye had initially been frozen on Earth, then woken on Mars, her medical debts these days were all tied up on Venus. Her cryo tube - and those of others as well if she remembered properly - had been bought and sold a handful of times over the years as various companies emerged and went under. She'd been around the galaxy twice before ever even being reanimated, actually. The nurse had gone through her known history while helping her get dressed before Whitney had taken her out. Since then, her debt itself had been passed around until it was recently acquired by a company here on Venus.

She wondered sometimes how insidious the medical system on Mars might be. Dr. Bacchus had been a con man but also an actual doctor - how many of his coworkers and associates were dabbling into schemes like his or worse?

It was just one of the many things in the universe that needed to be addressed and corrected. But Faye had her hands full just wrangling up criminals so she'd leave the justice of the medical field to someone else. It would no doubt amount to a bunch of boring paperwork and endless court nonsense compared to the adrenaline thrill of cuffing bad guys. No thanks, but still it was something that needed to be done by someone.

Reaching her destination at last, she heaved a sigh and pushed open the door to Ackbar's Liabilities and Losses to make her way inside.

xxx

Later That Day…

On Board the Bebop

Spike sauntered into the living room. He was shirtless and had a towel around his neck, en route for the shower now that he was done with his workout.

Ed was sitting on the floor with her goggles on and her entire world narrowed down to the computer in front of her. There was no telling what she was up to.

Ein was nearby, curled up against her back, and together they made a roadblock for anyone trying to walk past that particular side of the couch and table.

The round door opened up to reveal Jet as he entered with a paper bag in each arm. Judging by Ein's immediate hop up to all four paws, there was food in the bags.

Spike gave his partner a wave as he stepped over the excited data dog and continued on his way to wash up.

"Bernadette sure gave us some good grocery cash!" Jet enthused.

Bernadette had been a murderer whom they'd collared in the outskirts of one of the Venusian floating islands earlier that day. She'd put up a token fight but ultimately had been no match for the Black Dog and Spike Spiegel. All in all it had been a very quick mission that hadn't even gotten Spike's blood pumping, hence why he'd opted to work out afterwards and let Jet collect the woolongs for their hard work.

Spike could hear Ein's toenails scrabbling across the metal floor as the dog followed Jet into the kitchen. He stepped into the shower and let himself get lost in his peaceful thoughts. Having happy reminiscences was something he was still trying to get accustomed to, but he was certainly not about to complain about it!

This was turning out to be a great day. He'd gotten to see Faye get Jet all flustered earlier, got to spend some *ahem* personal time with Faye when they'd frugally shared a shower, got to bag an easy bounty with Jet which meant there'd be a feast for dinner, and he'd even snuck in his work out. Between that, the bounty chase, and the delightful intermission with Faye, he was really feeling all of his muscles right about now. It was one of the best ways to feel. Worked out in every way, freshly clean from a shower, about to eat and pass out. Life couldn't be better.

Which of course meant it was about to go to shit.

Spike followed his nose to the kitchen after dressing in his usual suit. There he discovered Jet and Ed, with Ein underfoot, getting various foodstuffs plated. Salivating, Spike stared in awe at the spread. There was roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad greens, hot buttered rolls, and even gravy!

Gravy that Jet was whisking by hand!

When Spike had anticipated a hot meal earlier he'd privately thought the word 'feast' but he'd never actually expected it to be exactly that. "What's all this?"

Jet spared him a grin as he kept whisking. "Told ya she netted us a ton of grub! Where's Faye? I thought she'd have been in here trying to sneak something a while ago - it's been hours since breakfast after all."

Pleasantly awash in all the decadent scents of the meal that Ed was now starting to carry towards the living room, Spike moved to help haul some of the dishes. Of course Faye wouldn't be here to help bring everything out - when had she ever shown up to pitch in on chores?

"Haven't seen her since earlier… after you took a walk to cool down," Spike snickered. He'd left the kitchen by then so he couldn't see the withering look he was sure Jet gave him in response.

The ex-cop joined the other two a few minutes later with the rest of the food and the gravy now in a gravy boat Spike would have sworn they hadn't owned previously. By this point Spike and Ed had nearly finished their first portions of the meal and Ed paused before refilling her plate to put a dish on the floor for Ein, who had followed Jet out to the living room too.

Ein's plate held a huge hunk of chicken that she'd liberally slathered with gravy.

Spike shared a glance with Jet as they both dug into their meals, but neither man was entirely certain how good or bad gravy could be for a dog. Anyway Ein was smart enough to be able to tell for himself so they decided to trust the dog's judgement and let him chomp away.

It was only later, leaning away from the table and feeling almost too full, that the absence in the crew was noted again.

"Well, hell, guess Faye will have to be happy with the leftovers." Jet mused as he leaned back on the chair opposite Spike's place on the couch. "Kinda weird though. Wonder if she's doing that good at the track where she forgot about us."

Spike snorted. "She doesn't ever do that good at the track. I don't know why she even bothers when she'd make plenty if she just stuck to cards or dice." Of course, she did well at those because she was adept at sleight of hand tricks and had her tech jewelry to nudge the odds in her favor, but Spike still wasn't sure if Jet was wholly aware of that and didn't feel like giving away all of Faye's secrets while she was gone.

"Faye-Faye isn't at the tracks today!" Ed informed them. She was sitting cross legged at the end of the table but leaned back until she was laying on the floor. "She's trying to change her colors!"

Spike and Jet shared a baffled look. "I didn't think she was the hair dye kinda gal," Jet said after a moment.

Lighting up a cigarette, Spike inhaled with relish. "No way, man, she's so vain about her hair. That can't be what Ed means." The lanky cowboy looked over at the drowsing hacker. "Ed, what are you talking about? Do you know where Faye went?"

"Mmmhmm! She told Edward all about it! She said if Spike-person can put his past away and move forward… so can she! Anything you can do she can do better! And debt free is the way to be so she's gonna pay what she owes."

This time the look Jet and Spike shared was one of pure astonishment and disbelief.

"No kidding! Well, good for her!" Jet declared. And then, a moment later, "It's about damn time. Those collectors weren't gonna let her parade around the galaxy forever."

Lazily smoking his cigarette, Spike let his head rest on the back of the couch. Faye hadn't mentioned her plan to him but he wasn't surprised by that. Possibly she was trying to avoid having them tease her about it. More probably she just wanted to make a good dent in her debt before she tried to show off her newfound maturity. It was just like her to need to come up with proof to wave under their noses first.

They were a lot alike in that regard. Sure, they could communicate their intentions better with others but instead they were always rushing off on their own to handle things their own foolish way. Even Jet had been guilty of this on occasion. It had gotten Spike in trouble countless times and he'd personally seen it happen to Faye in innumerable ways too. Which probably explained why there was a feeling of unease growing in his guts.

"Ugh. I don't think I'm used to eating this good," He complained, clutching his stomach. "Jet, you sure you cooked this chicken all the way? It's not like beef, you know."

Jet gave him a lazy glare. "I'm feeling just fine, Spike-o. Besides, you're welcome to try cooking any damn time you want to buy the groceries to waste yourself."

"Spike-person isn't sick, just worried!" Ed announced, sitting bolt upright so abruptly that both men flinched in shock at her motion.

"Worried about what? About Faye?" Spike asked. Was he worried about Faye? He had been thinking that they were magnets for trouble. When had she left the ship? How long did it take to put some money on a bill? Ah shit, if he hadn't been worried before he was starting to be now.

Dammit.

This was exactly why he loathed caring about others.

He activated the monitor on the tabletop and tried to raise Faye's comm a couple times with no success. Of course, there was no guarantee she'd brought the damn thing with her in the first place. "Do you know when she left, Ed? Or where she was going?" He asked the hacker.

Jet grunted. "You are worried!"

Spike put out his cigarette. "It's Venus, Jet. You know she hates it here."

"Faye-Faye left after your joint custody shower!" Ed supplied helpfully.

Spike turned red.

"What?" Jet asked.

"Spike-person and Faye-Faye! To save on water!" The young hacker revealed gleefully.

"Nevermind, Ed!" Spike said loudly. "That was… shit, that was before we even took out that bounty, Jet. No wonder Faye didn't show up to 'help' and screw it all to shit." He used quotations on the word help. How many times had her intervention thrown things off? But then again if they'd just involved her in the first place that could all be avoided… though truthfully they'd long since stopped leaving her out of bounties and all tried to work together. It had been her absence alone that had gotten her left out today, not any attempts at secrecy on their part.

"Ed, this is important. Do you know where she was going?" Spike asked, sitting tensely now. "I don't know who all she owes money, Jet. No clue what collections agencies she might have to answer to. There's so goddamn many."

Whirling around to face her computer, Ed cracked her knuckles vigorously. "Edward is on the case!"

Ein had finished his food and moved to plop next to the young hacker. His sharp eyes darted across the text on the screen just as quickly as Ed's. For several minutes there was no noise except the clacking of the keypad as the older pair quietly watched the strange duo at work.

The food in Spike's belly was not sitting well at all. Of fucking course. The day couldn't have been going better and should have ended with him pleasantly gorged and in a state of utmost relaxation. Fuck, if Faye hadn't decided to leave the ship he'd probably be napping in her lap right now - a position he'd recently decided was the best way to properly utilize both the couch and his curvaceous crewmate. But naturally his life couldn't ever go that smoothly.

"Aha!" Ed exclaimed. "She went to Ackbar's Liabilities and Losses!" Her fingers were flying across the keyboard. Ein barked and pawed at something on the screen. "Oooh. She got picked up by a police car! Look, see! Ein found bodega surveillance across the street to hack." She sent the video over to the monitor screen on the coffee table between the two cowboys.

Spike frowned. "I don't understand, Jet. Cops? If it's for her bounty, why wasn't she kept when we were in jail on earth? They had our names and everything. It's not like her bounty didn't exist back then, that shit's been following her for a while."

Jet rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, about that… They might not have had your actual names when they arrested you that night. Have you looked at your ID card lately? Hell, Spike, you're technically dead. As far as any records go at least. And Faye? Yeah, she's still deeply in debt and most definitely an active bounty head! Why do you think we've still been cashing in all our perps with my card? I've been trying to keep you both out of trouble!"

Spike pulled out his card to consider it. Sure enough, at some point Jet had updated the information to read… Spike Black. Well, zero points for creativity but it was probably better than whatever Ed would have come up with.

"So… the jail on Earth thought we were other people than who we are. All right, sure. But... These folks definitely knew who she was. So why would they arrest her when she was just, for probably the first goddamn time in her life, trying to do the right thing? They should want her to start knocking down her debt but instead they call the cops on her? It makes no sense. Especially in her case - even if they were trying to cash in on her bounty what would be the point when she owes so much more? They could live off her interest payments alone I bet."

Jet looked down at the dirty dishes on the table top. "Yeah, something doesn't add up. Collection agencies don't use cops - or at least they didn't in my day."

Spike watched intently as the video segment Ein had discovered looped through again. He frowned at the cop car as it came onto the scene. "Is that even a legit police vehicle?"

Jet peered at it closer also. "Doesn't really match what I'm familiar with on Venus. Close though, most folks wouldn't think twice."

"Fake cops? What the hell is going on here?"

"It's because because because… her debt was bought!" Ed informed them. She scooped up Tomato, stood up, then twirled back towards the table to carelessly shove aside the dirty dishes to set her own computer down on the table before them. "Look, look!"

Jet and Spike shared a troubled look before they both leaned in over Tomato's screen. Ed clicked through a few windows to pull up several different web pages and images.

There was assorted surveillance footage from businesses near other shady collection agencies - footage of people being snatched from all over the sketchy parts of Venus, just like Faye had been. Mostly it looked like people were being snatched straight off the street or out of dimly lit alleyways like in Faye's case. It all looked highly suspicious, except for the fact that the vehicles grabbing people resembled police cars enough to allay any concerns witnesses might have had. Certainly the cops wouldn't be hauling innocent folks in after all.

"Apparently most of these folks had substantial debt purchased by a company called Advocates for True Justice. Their business plan is… strange, to say the least. Supposedly people are to be given the chance to compete in a series of televised games for their debts to be erased or forgiven. But judging from the videos of the abductions, none of these folks were entirely on board with the whole set up." Jet read aloud.

Faye in particular had gone kicking and screaming into the faux police car. It took three brutish men struggling together to finally get her into the back of the vehicle and by the end of it all three men were limping or bruising up or bleeding.

"Huh. Yeah, she definitely doesn't look like she signed up willingly." Jet sighed. "It sounded like the kind of offer that might have caught her attention but… no, yeah, that's definitely a kidnapping."

"Faye-Faye put up a fight! She used moves you showed us, Spike-person!" Ed's mad grin was frightening. There was considerable respect in her eyes as well. "Edward shall track that car!" She moved to take the computer back but Spike stopped her by putting his hand on the device.

"Hold up. You might not need to. Wherever it goes isn't the end of the line from what I can tell. An 'off the grid and under the radar' arena is mentioned here, see?" Spike grimaced as he read over another web page, pointing out what he'd read. "Shit, this doesn't sound good. Some of these games have names like 'Kill or Be Killed'." He paused thoughtfully. "Ed, can you get me into this somehow? Make me up some debt maybe?"

Jet shook his head. "Wouldn't do you much good, Spike-o. You'd be competing against her in that case. The only way to be on her team is to be affected by her bills. See? Some other folks aren't alone - there's husbands, wives, an elderly parent or two, a couple kids. Basically anyone who was with the debtor at the time they were abducted. Yeesh this is gonna get brutal if they're all made to compete."

Staring at the computer screen with narrowed eyes, Spike considered what they knew. "Hmm. I'd have to be personally affected by her debt, huh?"

"Yeah and not just because she's made off with our money a handful of times. Unfortunately that wouldn't be enough even though it's happened plenty." Jet grumbled.

Spike ground his teeth and kicked at the coffee table in frustration. "You know, I hadn't planned to move this fast or ever fucking marry to be honest. Dammit Faye, the fucking shit you put me through…" He groused, looking to the floor for a long moment as if it held any answers and then he glanced at Ed, resignation in his voice. "Okay kiddo. Can you make it look like Faye and I got hitched? Maybe something recent to explain why she hasn't had time to change her name."

Jet leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "Awfully old fashioned thinking of you, assuming the woman will take the man's name."

Spike smirked at the older cowboy. "Well she is a lady from an old fashioned time after all," He drawled.

"Ed, give him her last name," Jet told the hacker. Spike opened his mouth but Jet went on before the lanky cowboy could protest. "I told you already, you're dead, Spike. She can't marry a dead guy. We'll make you… hmm… I don't know, I guess some average Joe who got caught in her scheme. Maybe she thought you were gonna inherit riches but learned the truth and made off with all the money folks gave you for getting hitched. Hmm, yeah - that'll explain why you're after her in the first place."

"Oh man, Jet. She is not gonna like that cover."

"Well, they say the best lies are built on a grain of truth." Jet told him philosophically.

Spike stood up to pace. "I don't think that's quite it." He pulled out his cigarettes and lit a fresh one. "We got any trackers? I should try to smuggle one on me so we can figure out where the hell this is all going down. Maybe some hidden cameras or something too..."

"Right? Quite a bit is left vague. They claim the game shows are live broadcast so at least it's not like they can hide much."

Spike scoffed. "Are you kidding me, Jet? Television is all editing and artifice. And why haven't we ever heard of this shit? X-Treme Justice the Game Show? 'Make Your Own Movie Magic - Control the Chaos for Contestants!' It can't even be viewed unless people buy in? There's something real fishy about all of this."

"I dunno, Spike-o," Jet said musingly. "Boxing matches and wrestling exhibitions have always been pay-per-view. What really makes this any different?"

Spike puffed on his cigarette in thought. "There's rules and regulations with all that. I mean, I guess there's rules to this but… did you notice how there's no mention of how many games are to be played? No guarantee of survival - in fact that part is stressed. Shit, Ed, this is all from the dark web huh? Yeah, Jet, no way this is a legit thing. I don't know what the fuck she got herself into here but it doesn't actually seem like there's a way out. I haven't seen any previous winners mentioned. It sounds more like just a bunch of people playing games until they die."

Jet frowned and Ed looked momentarily stricken. She sat on the couch where Spike had been and began surfing through the pages on her screen more intently. Ein barked from the floor and Jet picked him up from the floor to put him on the table so he could also decipher the information.

"It's the inaugural run." Ed announced after a few minutes. "Look, see? These encrypted emails were sent out to syndicate folks and to billionaires. Ed can't follow back to see where they originated from but it's easy to trace some of these since they don't know how to adequately protect their online information. Hmm. They were allowed to submit people to be contestants if they so desired. Wonder if any took that offer…"

"Having a hit man play shoot'em up games with a bunch of broke bums doesn't seem fair to me," Jet remarked. "There's no list of participants up yet, hey? They must still be collecting players. We might have to move fast to get you involved, Spike. Who knows how many more they need for this thing."

"Edward will look back at the other videos we found. Maybe there's a familiar face out there - maybe there's someone famous! Faye's trouble only matters to us, but someone else might be a bigger concern…"

"Good thinking, Ed." Spike told her.

"Edward has another good idea." She cackled in a way that made Spike and Jet quite nervous. "Wedding bells ring, are you listening? In this game, the truth is missing… a dangerous time, for you and your bride, fighting through this obstacle course wonderland!" She sang as she worked.

Her lyrics caught Spike's attention. "Ooh, is one of the games an obstacle course? This could be fun after all. I've always wanted to compete in one of those." Spike confided with a boyish grin.

"The real obstacle is going to be getting them to take you for the games. What are you going to do? Storm into the agency demanding answers about your runaway bride? What's to make them involve you?" Jet pondered. "Those other folks were all taken at the same time… and the majority of them were stolen right off the street."

Spike stuffed his hands into his pockets and spoke around the nearly spent cigarette in his mouth. "Oh don't worry, I've got something in mind for that…"

xxx

Unknown Location

Unknown Time

"What the fuck are you doing here? And what the FUCK is going on with your hair?!"

"Why yes, my dear, it's good to see you too," Spike slurred. It was hard for even Faye to understand his sentence but she'd had plenty of practice over the years. This had sounded like "yezm'deer, s'good s'yahoo" but she translated it automatically.

She backed away from him, holding her nose. "You reek! Were you rolling in trash?" She gagged and it wasn't entirely for effect. He truly stank. And looked like utter shit.

A guard, features hidden by their suit helmet, had shoved Spike into Faye's cell with no preamble and simply let him collapse into a stinky heap on the cement floor in front of her before departing.

Spike was in his blue suit, sporting a few new rips, and he was missing his tie along with several buttons from his shirt. A trail of blood splattered in a thin line down one side of the pale yellow shirt from a cut - still leaking blood - he had on his forehead. His pants were soaked. His shirt was a bit damp and from the heavy odor of bourbon she could only assume he'd spilt a considerable amount on himself. But that didn't entirely explain just how wet his pants were or the other odor she could detect.

Faye grimaced in renewed disgust. "Yeesh, did you piss yourself?"

He glared up at her from the ground and shouted something completely unintelligible even to her. She felt her eyebrows climbing to her hairline. This was by far the drunkest she had ever seen Spike and she didn't know what to do about it.

Well, fuck. Add that to the list.

Waking up after being drugged or unfrozen was always a terrifying ordeal because your most immediate memory is jumbled or gone so there's that initial confusion. Next is… where are you? Why? Who else is here or knows where you are? Who brought you here? What is going on?

She'd very loudly demanded answers to those questions and more when she'd woken up on the cot in the corner of the cell earlier, but no one came to even try shutting her up. She couldn't be sure if anyone was listening or watching.

The cell was not especially large - she could walk from one end to the opposite in two large strides. It featured a toilet in one back corner, a cot in the other, and a door squarely between the two empty front corners of the room. The door was a swing open style on hinges that had very secure sounding latches. There was no knob on this side and she didn't have her lockpicks anyway. There were no vents or windows anywhere but a camera sat in the center of the ceiling between the lights which were flush with the concrete ceiling above them. It might be possible to shatter the light but what good would that do in the long run?

Her gun was missing and her comm as well. In fact she had only her own dirty clothing as possessions. Oh, it was such a cute outfit too. Her clothes today had consisted of a pretty pale purple sundress over a pair of black spandex shorts, a pair of short black socks, and brand new super cute black ankle boots. She hadn't been able to keep herself from a teensy bit of shopping before trying to pay her debts and then…

There had been only one man present when she entered the collections agency. He'd been sitting at a desk behind a short wall that was flimsy wood from the ground up to the bullet proof glass portion that people were expected to interact through. With no one around to need his assistance, he had taken the opportunity to watch porn on his computer. Seeing her enter had made him do a double take which always felt like a compliment at first - she was smokin' hot after all - but these days she tended to worry that it meant someone recognized her and knew she had a bounty.

The trouble had begun when she wasn't allowed to pay anything on her debt. The agent told her that her debt had been acquired by an undisclosed third party and that her presence was therefore required in a non-negotiable series of games. He had pressed a hidden button and the door had locked ominously behind her.

Not about to play along with the nonsense the agent was saying, Faye had used her gun to shoot the thin wood wall beneath the bullet proof glass and then kicked her way through to the other side to hold her gun to the man's temple and demand a better explanation.

That was when a back door she hadn't noticed swang open and several toughs crowded the doorway until realizing she held a gun on the agent. Who had, in her distraction when the door opened, grabbed a syringe she hadn't seen on the desk and jabbed her with it.

Alarmed, she'd automatically shot him. Of course, then she had no hostage, an unknown substance in her veins, a lot of yuck splattered on her, and the brute squad descending in force just to put the cherry on top.

In short order she'd been hustled through the back door and outside where she'd thrashed violently and screamed as long and loud as she could until whatever had been in the syringe started to take effect and the world had gone dark around her.

And then… the cell. And now - Spike. Drunk and disorderly. Dripping blood on the floor. Also literally shedding garbage. She thought he might have some limp lettuce in his hair - which was still the most ridiculous part of his entire ensemble… filthy as it was, she suspected it had been dyed blonde of all things - and, yes, that was definitely a sauce of some kind smeared on his sleeve. Mustard maybe? Had he gone dumpster diving behind a hot dog stand?

Cringing, she tried to take a deep breath without smelling the nastiness and grabbed some of the tissue paper from next to the toilet. Moving over to his side, she pressed the tissue paper to the cut above his right eye. Holding it there with her left hand, she used her other hand to try and push at his suit jacket until he understood that she wanted him to take his disgusting clothes off.

She stepped back and gave him some space to take off his shoes and disrobe, then, when he was standing just in his boxers, she handed him the tissue paper to hold onto his cut to staunch the slow bleed. Head wounds always oozed for so long. She used her own foot to gingerly toe the pile of discarded clothes into the corner of the cell furthest from the cot.

Spike was swaying noticeably on his feet. She tilted her head towards the cot and he reached out for her hand as though to lead her there.

"C'mon sit sit sit," He urged, still sounding wasted. He managed to hook her fingers with his and tugged her over to stand beside him without knocking them both onto the floor.

Well hell. It wasn't like there was any other place to sit and he wasn't *quite* as awful smelling now with most of his clothes in the pile. The boxers would definitely have to go too, though. She was not about to tolerate that.

"Hold your horses, cowboy," She used her free hand to tug the sheet loose from the thin mattress. "Here, use this like a toga or a sarong or something. Just, please, lose the fucking piss pants."

"Already tossed those," He grumbled at her, though he did wrap the sheet around his waist and soon added the boxers to the gross corner heap. That done, he sat grumpily on the naked mattress and when she came to sit beside him, he pulled her in front instead. He wrapped his arms loosely around her from behind and rested his head on her right shoulder.

"Think there's audio recording devices in here?" His voice was so faint whispering against her shoulder blade that she almost thought she'd imagined it.

She leaned back against him, shrugging subtly as she did. Her eyes flickered up. There was the camera in the center of the room but Faye wasn't tech savvy enough to know whether it could also record sound. From her fruitless search of the cell earlier it was the only camera in the room. There were no outlets and no furniture aside from the metal bed frame that the mattress sat on and the metal toilet.

"Block me from the camera," He uttered under his breath as he tensed up and shoved past her abruptly to crouch over the toilet. Faye frowned in confusion as she moved to stand between him and the view of the overhead camera, and then she gagged when she realized he was dry heaving over the toilet.

With a moan that sounded only partially feigned to her ears, he slid to sprawl on his ass on the floor between the toilet and cot, still half wrapped up in the sheet. He gulped and swallowed like he was trying to control an unruly stomach. But there was sweat beaded on his forehead also - was this real or for show?

Faye was getting antsy for answers. She waited impatiently for him to gather himself, tapping her booted foot on the floor repeatedly until he waved an arm in her direction trying to get her to stop.

"Ugh, you lunkhead," She muttered. What the fuck was going on?

"Fuck you, Faye," Spike snarled at her from the floor. "You should be grateful I chased you down! You'd be stuck here on your own and then what?!"

"Yeah! Then what? What the fuck is going on? Do you know?!"

He sighed tiredly and let his head rest between his knees. "Your damn debt, woman. Whatever. It's not important." His hand was tapping something under his leg. It seemed familiar. Like something she could almost remember from… her youth? Passing messages to her friends was dangerous but if there was no evidence…

Morse code. That was it!

T-R-U-S-T

Hmm... okay, time to see what scene this was supposed to be. Well, Faye did pride herself on her acting skills and improv was her bread and butter.

Spike jerked his head up to yell at her. "I can't believe you'd do that to me. I don't even know who you are anymore. And where are our wedding rings? Did you pawn those? Dammit, Faye, you gave me your name and gave me all your troubles too!" He paused to choke briefly on more stomach bile then spat it onto the floor next to the toilet. "Bet you weren't expecting me to realize you were gone so soon! But you took all our money, you took everything, and you were just gonna abandon me! Stick me with your debt and bail on our marriage! Why? Just because they cut me out of the will? You greedy bitch!"

Well fuck, that was a lot to unpack. Something about a will - so rich family involvement...

"You could have stayed the fuck away, you lunkhead!" She screamed back at him. "I never asked you to follow me! Your family would have taken pity on you and gotten rid of that debt anyway."

"It wasn't about the money! I loved you! You ruined me, you witch!" Spike sobbed. Faye almost fell apart in hysterical laughter - this was just so unbelievable coming from him. "How could you do this to me?" He blubbered.

"I was trying to protect you by running away!" She decided to yell. So far this cover story sounded a lot like she was the bad guy and that wasn't fair. Time to turn this around so she came off better. "I loved you too! I knew your family would take you back if I was gone… I'd be debt free, they'd take care of you… it broke my heart to run away but I knew it would be best for you!" She spun away from him to bawl noisily into her hands.

She could hear him scramble clumsily to his feet behind her and then he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face along the juncture where her right shoulder met her neck. She pretended to cry for a little bit longer. It was actually helping with the smell in the room because her nose was starting to run in response to her eyes watering and it would stuff up in no time giving her some relief from the odors. Spike squeezed her gently and she could feel laughter rumble in his chest but to any onlookers - if people were in fact monitoring their cell - it probably looked like he was shaking from tears too.

"I'm so sorry, please forgive me!" She wailed, spinning around in his arms to wrap her own arms around his neck and pepper his face - thankfully cleaner than the rest of him - with kisses.

"Oh my darling! I'm so glad! I just couldn't let you do this on your own," He exclaimed in response. "You and me, we can beat this together!" And she still didn't know what the fuck was going on or what he was talking about, but it felt like his last sentence was directed at her in regards to their actual situation. It wasn't just whatever newlywed nonsense he was spouting for a potential audience. And, while it was hard to handle how badly he still smelled, she found herself almost overwhelmed at the realization that he had come for her. Heedless of whatever danger or consequence she faced… he had involved himself. She trembled for a moment, nearly undone as the significance weighed on her, but this was no time for a breakdown - she'd have to shove this down until she could afford to be emotional.

She pulled his head down toward her own, cheek to cheek, letting her hair shield them to some degree from anyone seeing their lips.

"Spike," She breathed, trying to speak without moving her lips. "What is happening?"

"I jinxed us." He replied just as quietly. "Shrugging off your bullshit baggage like it wasn't gonna be a concern basically made it one."

She rolled her eyes. "And you claim you're not superstitious…"

"Somebody bought your debt, Faye. Sold it to a company that's making people play games to win their freedom. Some weird kinky elite shit I think - there's shady stuff everywhere you look with this one. Debtors get a chance to get out of their debt, but I wanna know who is betting on these games behind the scenes. The crap Ed was finding online was… fucking freaky."

"We have to play games? Like… slots? Dice? Poker?" She remarked, puzzled. The agent she'd killed had mentioned games as well but he hadn't had a chance to explain what sort or why. Gambling her way to debt-free seemed like a trap but it's not as though they'd given her a choice in the matter. There had to be something illegal in that - she was a human being! She did not consent to being locked in this cell and pitted against other broke ass folks like herself!

"You think if it was casino games I'd bother to back you up? Nah, this is something else. Hey," He interrupted her thoughts. "They let you keep your headband? The one you told me has a secret compartment? I...uh… got something I need you to stash in there. You're probably not gonna like this idea but… if this is at all like jail I don't think they're gonna turn the lights off ever. I can slip it under the sheets if you wanna go under and pretend… to… uhhhh… to be making amends to me?" He cleared his throat. "After all, ahem, you put this poor guy through the wringer here, a little oral appreciation would probably make a lot of sense about now…"

She stilled in his arms. A low laugh threatened to escape. She could feel herself start to shake with a combination of restrained amusement and incredulity. "Are you kidding me right now?"

"Shhhh, you don't have to do anything down there, Faye," He chuckled and began moving them in shuffling steps toward the mattress. It likely looked as though they had made up from their lover's spat and he was succeeding in convincing her to cuddle… or more. "I just can't think of a more… believable way to get this device hidden…"

"All right, cowboy," She huffed. "Get on that mattress, let's get this ridiculous show on the road. Ugh, I fucking knew you were faking being drunk."

He grinned at her sleazily. "No faking, wasn't sure when I'd be able to drink next. This is au naturale, baby."

"Oh shut the fuck up,"

xxx

Meanwhile on the Bebop…

"Okay! Let's see what the tracker has to say! Huh? What's this? The hell!" Jet frowned at the computer screen in front of him.

Ed's head popped up from behind the couch and she looked at the monitor as well. "Hmm no signal? Uh oh! They must have a device to deactivate or nullify!" She slithered over the back of the couch and onto the floor by Jet's feet, snaking her way towards the Tomato. "We shall find out which in... just… a… moment… there! Haha, not deactivated or nullified… just broken! Shoes might have been a bad call, Spike-person does love to kick!"

"Wait, Ed, if he damaged that tracker how'd you get a signal through?" Jet turned from his screen to look over her shoulder.

Her grin stretched ear to ear. "That was just the tracker we put in his shoe! We don't have long for this one though… only good til the flush, ehehehehe!"

"Oh… Ed… you made him eat a tracker?"

"Actually it was his idea." Ed replied with a shrug. "He wanted to eat a few of Ed's devices…" She typed for a moment. "Okay! Information is sent to the bridge, mon capitan! We can follow the signal and hopefully that's the end of the line."

"What do you mean, Ed?"

Another shrug from the hacker. "If they're on a ship being transported somewhere and it takes too long… well… anyway, we'll just have to do our best to stay on the trail if that's the case! If this is right and the signal leads all the way… hmm… to the asteroid field? How'd they get so far so fast?"

Jet rubbed his chin in thought. "It'd have to be through freight gates or dark gates. Great. And the asteroid field, you say? Well, that could be. There's some good sized chunks out there that have artificial atmospheres. Suppose someone could have terraformed something for this specific purpose. Money can accomplish anything it wants to."

Ed nodded thoughtfully. "Not much law in those parts, cowpoke." She imitated Jet's pose and tapped her own finger on her chin. "Perhaps we can find help! Edward shall get us into the game as investors!"

"Smart thinking, Ed. I'll go set our course and see what I can drum up about this nonsense. Maybe Bob knows something. Could be the cops are already well aware."

"Could be the cops are well involved," Ed added darkly. "Could be some government is behind this too."

Jet rose to his feet, shaking his head. "Don't go borrowing trouble, Ed. Let's try to follow this up the chain of command instead of jumping to conclusions about who's at the top. But, well, you're right to be suspicious of 'em both." He sighed heavily and left the room.

xxx

Back in the Cell

"Well, you killed the guy at the place you went - I kinda had to improvise." Spike was laying down on the thin mattress on his right side, Faye tucked behind him against the wall. She was still in her blood stained clothes while he was in none but he'd adjusted the sheet to cover them both instead of just covering his modesty. They'd gone through a whole fake 'under the sheets blowjob' scene a little bit ago to cover Faye taking off her headband to slip a tiny computer chip inside. Their captors had clearly dismissed her headgear as just another article of girly clothing and not a risk of any sort, which was understandable. Not many women were like Faye and had tactical accessories.

He had his left arm flung up over his face to cover his mouth and his eyes. It hid what he was saying just in case anyone on the other end of the camera could lip read but it did nothing to provide enough darkness for him to be able to get any sleep. What kind of torture was this? But, then again, he'd never been in a jail where they'd shut the lights off. Darkness could hide too much.

Faye, spooned up behind him and with her own left arm flung over her face in the same manner, was grumping irritably. They were pretending to sleep until they could actually fall unconscious and were passing time by discussing their situation as discreetly as possible. There wasn't too much to relay to her though. Or at least not much that he really wanted to relay to her.

Faye groaned. "That hadn't been my goal. Fuck. I'm probably gonna have a murder charge after all this now too."

"Dunno 'bout all that. Place was wrecked when I stopped down there - that's why I had to change my plan. I doubt you'll take the heat for that, something tells me whoever is running this shitshow is adept at sweeping bodies under the rug. Literally some of the games you're supposed to play are life or death stakes. Though, Ed said most sounded tame like a karaoke or cooking competition,"

"We'd be fucked there, you know," Faye wasn't wrong - neither of them could cook worth a damn and singing wasn't exactly something either did well.

"Or an obstacle course? C'mon, now that sounds fun right?" He cajoled.

Faye was quiet for a long moment. And then, "Are you… enjoying this?"

He realized he actually was. "I mean… it's better than being bored?"

"Well, let me assure you that you went above and beyond to get yourself locked in here with me. I can't believe you pissed yourself."

He scowled even though she couldn't see it. "Look, realism is important to any role. I was trying to show a man on the ropes thanks to the financial fuckery of the con-woman he'd made the mistake of marrying."

She was silent again and he realized in retrospect how harsh that probably sounded to her.

"Faye, I…"

"None of that explains the hair, Spike. What. The. Fucking. Fuck."

He growled. "Fucking Ed. Actually, shit, this bit is pretty important, Faye… um… Jet got worried someone might recognize me even though I'm technically dead. We don't know who is betting on these games, we don't know who is behind all this. So… Ed gave me Andy's identity to use."

There came a sound from behind him that was unmistakably Faye choking on laughter.

Ignoring her, he pressed on. "Tomorrow or whenever they release us from here I guess we'll see how popular we are - if we get put into any games or shows or whatever. I don't know what they do to debtors no one cares about. I don't want to find out either. Ed suggested we go for drama to keep things interesting but I'm not sure yet if that's the right way to go about this."

Faye sighed heavily. "All I wanted to do was start to make things right. I just… wanted to get to a better place, you know?" Her voice was small and made him sigh too.

Rolling over, putting his back to the room and door now - which was terribly disconcerting and had his anxiety amped uncomfortably - he pulled her arm down so he could look in her eyes. Her expression was sad but her eyes were dry. If anything she seemed more defeated than upset.

"It's not your fault this happened, Faye." He told her. "It's just our luck, sure, but when have we let this kinda crap keep us down? You wanna pay your debt? I think that's a good thing. It's not like you brought it on yourself in the first place but here you are trying to take care of it. That's fucking admirable. What's bullshit is that some assholes want to use people in debt for their own amusement. It's bullshit that there's folks out there struggling and being dragged into this and no one even knows it's happening because no one cares about those poor bastards." He snapped his mouth shut. He was getting too fired up talking about it. It was the same scenario that led so many fools into life in the syndicate on Mars. When you had no other options, when you were in over your head… you took any help offered. Regardless of the strings attached.

He shifted restlessly and she managed a slight smile. "Face front, cowboy." She told him, pushing his right shoulder to twist him back around the way he'd been laying. She draped her arm back over her eyes. "We'll get to the bottom of this and save the fucking day for everyone. Fuck it. What else is there to do anyway?"

She settled in against him when he rotated back and despite the obnoxious light overhead it didn't take long before her breathing had steadied into the slow inhale and exhale of sleep. Which was kind of impressive. They all joked about Ed being able to sleep anywhere or about how much Spike himself slept, but Faye was just as lazy and lethargic as either of them. Maybe even moreso… there's no way he was going to be able to sleep.

The booze Spike had drank to get properly wasted for the role he played had long since worn off and the hangover was knocking at his temples now. It hadn't been the smartest move, admittedly, and he hadn't needed to get quite so stinking drunk to pull it off… but the thought had crossed his mind that he didn't know when he'd get another chance to imbibe. So, he'd pounded through more than he should, smoked two whole packs of cigarettes, and then gotten in several tussles outside of sketchy Venusian collection agencies - ones near pawn shops, which he also went into, shouting about his wayward wife and demanding to know if she'd hustled their rings there - and eventually it had worked out. Someone pieced together his story, which was basically just defamation of the non-present Faye's character, and word must have reached the right ears because a couple familiar looking toughs came to lay him on his ass.

It had been satisfying to put up a token protest. Fighting back had let him get in some blows to make up for the rough treatment they'd shown Faye earlier. Of course, it had also resulted in him getting more knocked about than necessary but the gentleman in him was okay with how it all went down.

Except the part when he'd been thrown into a dumpster, he could have done without that. And sure, maybe Faye was right, maybe he hadn't had to piss himself but on the other hand, perhaps it had sold the act in a way that his words and aggressive behavior simply couldn't.

Ultimately, as usual, he had no real regrets. Not even now, huddled naked under a sheet on a thin mattress in some cell somewhere with a world of uncertainty to look forward to. Who could regret living a life of such exciting adventure? Not Spike Spiegel anyway!

xxx

Back on the Bebop

"Found it!" Ed crowed.

Jet leaned out of the kitchen doorway to look down the hall to the living room where Ed and Ein were operating a few computer screens simultaneously. "Oh?"

"Buy-In is out of this world, chief!" She announced. "No wonder the collections agencies were willing to look the other way - all these people had their debts handled in full. Faye-Faye included! The richy riches are buying entire teams of players. To bet on the games… or even just to watch the games… not for the faint of heart nor empty of bank account! These people don't feel the hurt buying up all this debt! Gosh, how much wealth does a person need anyway?"

"Never that much, Ed." Jet called to her. He grabbed up the plates of food he'd been making and brought it all out to the coffee table. Even Ein got a plate today - mostly because he wasn't sure where all the dog dishes had wound up. Ein usually brought them to the kitchen himself so their absence spoke more about Ed's probable involvement than anything else. What she could be doing with a handful of dog dishes was best left to the imagination, he decided.

"So.. what it all boils down to is that they're buying people. They call it 'acquiring their debt', but there's no getting around what it truly is. And… truthfully, Ed, we wouldn't be able to say shit if that's all it was. We're damn lucky they've been kidnapping people instead of getting permission. I don't know why they'd leave themselves wide open to legal action like that but it's one of the only things we have going for us."

She slurped noodles off her plate, splashing tomato sauce on everything nearby. "None of them matter."

"What's that now?"

Ed sighed sadly. "It's all bums. The lowest of the low. People no one will miss. Well, except Andy now."

"Are we sure that was the right way to play this?" Jet wondered. Too late to change anything but still.

Andy Von De Oniyate was not a nobody.

The one-time cowboy came from wealth and his family was quite active in the galaxy - no doubt word would trickle along the grapevine and reach them eventually about the young heir to their vast fortune who was apparently now wed to a flimflam woman who'd gotten him roped into a potentially lethal underground competition.

The trick to this illusion lay in the fact that Andy himself had been MIA for months now. Jet had run into the fool himself before getting rescued from Earth by VT. The last he'd seen of Andy he'd been arguing with some heckling oldsters at a rundown Earth motel.

Even Ed's searches - aided by MPU - had not turned up anything about the errant young man. Hopefully the kid was fine. He was annoying as hell but Jet still didn't wish him ill. Andy's views of himself and the world were just…odd, and fairly self-involved. But at least his heart was more or less in the right place.

And to be frank they needed someone stirring up a fuss. Right now, no one was aware of what was happening except the people directly involved such as the folks - syndicate most likely - who'd arranged all of this, and the various elite who could pay to be involved. It was all under the radar despite the fact that it was literally being broadcast across the galaxy. Of course, since you had to pay to even view these games, you became complicit by participating that way and then who would say shit if it meant they'd be in trouble too? It was a smart tactic, if shady.

The live feed had been a tough stream to track down. Ed had reached out to MPU, her AI friend, once she and Ein had realized their combined skills wouldn't be quite enough to achieve all that they needed to. Creating an ID card to pass Spike off as Andy was easy enough - Jet had done that same thing quite a few times now for his not-quite-legal shipmates - but everything else the tech crew had been up to was far beyond Jet's own rudimentary hacking skills.

With no personal income to utilize, they'd had to tap into actual accounts infrequently used by people with too much money to ever notice a couple hundred thousand woolong gone for a moment now and again. Rotating money in and out of a few bank accounts gave them no trouble, which made Jet a bit uneasy about the security of banks in general. It just shouldn't be this easy for a teenager and a dog to manage what they were doing, even with the help of a rogue AI program.

The hardest part was apparently tricking the system that permitted betting and voting, but even that was eventually sorted out. They created countless more fake accounts to bounce between once there. This would help later when the votes were tallied. Having a bunch of accounts would let them vote multiple times and ideally would let them influence which games Spike and Faye had to play.

"So we'll be able to watch and vote, huh?" He balanced his plate on one knee so he could eat with one hand and use the other to scroll through the information dancing colorfully on his screen. Ed had found a list of the current game choices being presented for votes. They weren't sure if Spike and Faye were going to be participants in the upcoming round so they were holding off for now since every vote was expensive. The list of games themselves sounded like someone rattling off all the crap tv shows on the air these days.

OPERATION! - these are real people suffering from real ailments being operated on by other real humans! Blood warning!

ALPHA-BETA-ZETA-JONES! - college hijinks ensue when these coeds try to get into the frat!

LIFE'S A BEACH! - get swept away by this beachside bash! Volleyball, boardwalks, sharks and tsunami are the name of the game here!

KILL OR BE KILLED - hunting the most dangerous game!

TO THE PAIN - how much pain can they take? You decide!

HARDCORE PARKOUR - it is what it is

THE HAUNTING - paranormal lovers this one's for you!

THE RAP BATTLE - man versus machine, machine versus computer, computer versus woman, woman versus child!

GO FOR THE GOLD - watch normal people try Olympic sports!

KNIFEY-SPOONY - one has a knife… one has a spoon… only one can win!

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR LOVER? - put them on the spot! Watch 'em sweat!

MURDER MYSTERY MANSION - who done it? And who else is going to die?!

SHOOTOUT AT THE SALOON - western themed cops and robbers

CHEF'S DELIGHT - watch as contestants put their culinary skills to the test!

SIREN'S CALL - who doesn't love karaoke?!

"There's at least some variety here. Not everything is gonna result in dead bodies." Jet said.

The screen he'd been scrolling through suddenly went dark. Alarmed, he looked up but Ed was still surfing on Tomato just fine. He realized the voting portion was over with. But what game was going to be played? Who would be involved? He knew Ed was hard at work trying to hack into any of the camera feeds on the asteroid itself. Near as they could tell, it was indeed an asteroid that was going to host this odd tournament.

It had taken them less time than it normally would to get through the gates and this far out into the solar system, but VT had let them use her ID to sneak the Bebop through the freight gates. She'd been happy enough to see Jet when he'd dialed her up on the comm but unwilling to get involved to any degree beyond letting them pretend to be her truck. Claiming helping bounty hunters was only going to get her in trouble was not a stretch of the truth by any means as helping Spike and Faye in the past had nearly destroyed her vessel. Jet understood her hesitation and anyway he wasn't sure how she'd be able to help beyond how she already was. Though she'd suggested a way to help him personally de-stress, which had intrigued Ed who had been listening in on their conversation, and Jet had to blushingly end the call without any sort of confirmation to VT or a goodbye. He'd have to reach out after all this to apologize… perhaps in person.

"Oooh curiouser and curiouser!" Ed giggled. "Ed can follow their IP addresses back to see who voted for what. Not for everyone, some were smart like us and everything leads to dead ends. Most of the syndicates don't know how to cover their tech tracks and very few of the billionaires bothered to pay anyone to do it for them." She laughed again and pointed to a chart she'd made. "Most of the gangsters opted for the lovey dovey stuff! Guilty pleasures? Secret desires! Soft and creamy insides like Spike-person. It was the people who've never killed that wanted to play the killing game. Not a threat but still a threat."

"Well… I guess it's good to know they won't be up against a serious challenge there."

Ed blew both her cheeks out very large and then slapped both abruptly to release the trapped air. "Not skilled, but their bloodthirst is icky."

"No kidding, Ed. Is that the game that's going to be played? The Kill one?"

"Uh uh! Gonna start off with the obstacle course! Ooooh, look - Spike-person is gonna be in this one! Wonder what Faye-Faye has to do instead…"

The screen Jet had been watching came back to life. An aerial camera panned across the length of the obstacle course. Hardcore Parkour was a relatively accurate name for what would no doubt be required of the contestants. It started with a rope climb to a platform where a series of ledges at varying heights and varying widths ran along an otherwise sheer wall. Some could be stood upon, some could only be gripped by the edge of fingertips. Once a person reached the end of that wall, there was a series of railings at various heights which were to be scrambled up to reach another platform for a breather. There was a horizontal ladder spanning several meters that folks would have to proceed across hand-over-hand. The platform reached at that point wasn't so much a platform as a replica of a narrow stairwell on the exterior of an apartment complex. Working their way down, contestants would end up at the edge of a pool where they had to try to hop on logs and roll their way to the next platform where they had to be alert for the foam scythes that swept down to knock people into the water. If they made it all that way, and they'd have to do it at a good speed, they could try and make the leap to the top of a concave wall.

"Oh ho ho! What luck! This is just like what we did to get back to the campsite!" Ed seemed pleased. On the screen, most of the contestants looked slightly ill as they took in the course they'd need to complete. Of the players present, only Spike and a few others looked eager. It was hard to tell if any of the other players were there because their debt had been bought or if they were there because their syndicate had paid for them to play. Everyone was wearing similar bodysuits - black in color but with bands of color at the sleeves to differentiate each contestant. There were easily dozens of players slated to play this round.

"It's a good thing Spike is in this and not Faye," Jet decided. He was familiar with Spike's acrobatic skill set but hadn't ever seen much from Faye to lead him to believe she'd get far in this event. It immediately turned into an elimination for the majority of contestants. Even the rope climb would have been obnoxious - Jet had done those a time or two - but the log rolling was exceptionally ridiculous. Except… somehow Spike was able to stay on his feet. Ed kept saying things about the camp trip and Jet began to wonder if he should have asked the duo more about their hike back after tumbling down the river. Surely it couldn't have been as wild as this course.

Then again…

xxx

Hardcore Parkour

Spike bounced on his feet in anticipation of the klaxon to begin the event. As expected, he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before but he wasn't worried about that. He was no stranger to a lack of sleep and had gone far longer than this. In fact he wasn't really worried about anything right now - he was super stoked! Most of his opponents seemed too thin, although he couldn't say much about that. He was still too thin himself. But he was made of muscle whereas most of these folks seemed… weak.

The course itself was going to be an absolute blast. He was jazzed about this. But it made him uncomfortable that so many others were going to fail in their attempts. What did failure mean in a game like this? Probably not death, that seemed over the top. But what? He wouldn't find out today, that's for sure. Maybe Faye would discover something - they'd been separated during breakfast which had taken place in a large communal room with other contestants. The food itself had been a mix of highs and lows. It was predominantly beef - BEEF! - with a side of gruel. Or maybe that was in the case of vegetarians? Either way, Spike had scarfed up all his food and even Faye had eaten hers without much complaint.

He wondered where she was now. Guards in suits - space suits, with helmets firmly in place - had arrived while plenty of people were still eating. They'd begun directing people to one side of the room or another and that had been when Spike and Faye had been sent in opposite directions. There hadn't even been time to tap out a message to her, not that he had anything useful to say. They certainly hadn't learned anything new since the previous night.

The first contestant made their way to the rope when the klaxon went off. There was no real order to their lineup, it was pretty much whoever entered the course room first became the first in line to make an attempt. Spike had held back to try and find out what the other group of people was going to be doing, so his own place wasn't very near the front. It wouldn't take long to get to him though - already the first guy had made it up to the initial platform and someone else had taken his place on the rope climb.

The only thing Spike knew for sure was that he'd almost lost a bet to Ed. It had been on the tip of his tongue to challenge her about Faye's presumed subconscious skills, but thankfully he hadn't actually spoken up. Bets with Ed tended to be a dangerous thing. That conversation with the young hacker and Jet had been the last thing he'd done before leaving the ship.

"A top secret way to communicate? Ed knows! Morris's code!"

"Uhhh you mean Morse, Ed?" Jet asked.

"I know that. You know that?" Spike glanced between the pair and got nods from both. "Huh. You think Faye does too, hey?"

"There was a flashcard about passing notes! But Faye-Faye was tapping her fingers strangely. It makes Ed suspect she knows without knowing she knows! Edward has been researching amnesia. It makes sense… Stuff she learned, she knows. Stuff she experienced is different."

"So… for example, because she was trained in weapons before the cryo-sleep she still remembers how to clean and shoot guns." Spike offered.

"Yup! It's the same with languages. Why else would she have woken up able to speak yet not knowing a thing about herself? She forgot experiences and people, not ingrained lessons. Lots goes deep without us knowing. She doesn't remember anything about cars except that she can drive. Her first one? Her favorite one? Blank. But put her behind the wheel and she's fine."

"Man, that's tricky." Jet muttered.

Ed nodded. "The human mind is a mystery and memory is… even less understood. Muscle memory - is it more reflex or is it tied to repetitive motion? All we can do is keep learning!"

Spike sighed. "Well… I doubt we'll have any other way to communicate. Even if they air audio from the games it wouldn't help. At least this way we can try to tell you things if you're able to hack into the video feeds."

"Better than nothing but I still don't like this, Spike." Jet grumped.

"You think I do?"

Jet gave him a look that spoke volumes.

Called out by Faye once he got there, called out by Jet before he left… he wasn't that predictable, was he? He wasn't happy to be in this position by any means, but he wasn't exactly upset about the way things were going at the moment. Sure, being locked in a cell sucked. Having no booze, no smokes, no gun - he'd left his Jericho on the ship rather than risk it getting confiscated - and no idea of how to break out… yeah, not ideal. But he couldn't lie to himself - this was exciting. Chasing bounties was always a mix of outthinking the enemy and often pushing oneself to the limit physically. That's how it should be at least, which was why he hated going after the boring bounties like hackers. This nonsense was much more up his alley.

And… ah shit… it was time to go!

xxx

Spike stepped into the cell with a swagger that belied the fact that he was voluntarily re-entering a tiny prison. Faye was on him in an instant, pulling at his arms and poking at his midriff and kicking at his feet. It was comical.

"Worried about me, my dear?"

The look she gave him was scathing but her words took the animosity away. "So what if I am?"

"It was a pretty easy challenge," He admitted. This was not entirely true. It had been a feat to reach the end and he was one of only a few who did so.

"Yeah we got to watch from the laundry room," She muttered, crossing her arms. She was in a bodysuit much like his, with the same sky blue accents on the sleeves. "They sent us to an incinerator first and made us toss in all the clothes we'd come here in." His eyes flashed briefly to the headband still in place in her hair and she shrugged as if to admit she didn't know why she hadn't been made to torch that as well, her hand was tapping idly against her arm and he translated her movements to understand that she'd been able to plug the USB drive hidden inside into something at least. "So much for those brand new clothes," She gave a sad sigh.

"Faye, they had blood and brains all over." He reminded her. "You're lucky I didn't make you strip down out of that shit last night."

She turned her head to the side and sniffed. "Hmph."

"They're doing another match in a little bit," He told her. "The finishers from the obstacle course I did, we're all exempt, but you might be stuck doing this next event."

She uncrossed her arms with a sigh and faced him fully. "Any idea what it might be?"

"Nah, but I don't think they're starting us off on the really hard stuff yet." Then again, that parkour challenge had been extremely hard for most of the folks who'd had to try it. Spike certainly couldn't visualize Faye making her way through it. Better not mention any of that to her though.

She sat on the cot for lack of anything better to do with herself and patted her lap invitingly. Spike shrugged to himself and moved to lay on the cot with her. It was no Bebop couch but the pillow was pretty plush at least…

xxx

Back on the Bebop

"How did they do that?" Jet asked out loud. He and Ed and Ein were watching the third game of the second day. Spike had survived his obstacle course round, Faye had lucked out with a bulls-eye shooting competition, and various other folks had made their way through a round of hide and seek. No one had died yet as far as they knew. The first two rounds this day hadn't had Spike or Faye, which had been alarming until Ed revealed that Faye had been able to plug in their secret spy device which enabled Ed to access just about any camera feed on the asteroid, but now both Spike and Faye were looking pleased as punch as they sat back at the fold-out table they were set up at, waiting for their efforts to be judged.

This was Alpha-Beta-Zeta-Jones, the coed college competition. It was actually a series of mini games when you got right down to it. The idea was to achieve enough success that you and your partner gained admittance to the frat house that was actively recruiting. The first challenge was to break up weed and roll it into a smokable joint. Naturally, Faye's attempt had been very well done. They'd watched in horror at Spike's fumbling and were in just as much surprised awe as the rest of the contestants when at the end of it all Spike flourished a very well rolled joint.

"No way he did that himself," Jet continued. He wished there was a way to rewind the live stream but it wasn't possible. Somehow they must have combined their sleight of hand skills to win this round. But next up was keg standing and beer bonging and there was no way to assist each other here.

Only a few contestants were booted after the joint rolling round, but no one was knocked out of the drinking portion. Aside from Spike and Faye, most of their competition for this event seemed to be alcoholics. Aside from? Including Spike and Faye. She managed to score the longest time for the keg stand, but most of the others weren't built for upside down vertical poses for long.

It had turned into a party more than a competition. Smoking had eased everyone's competitive edge and drinking on top of that only made folks friendlier. If it had ended there, no winners could have been determined. But there was more, of course. A slip'n'slide which ended in a painful pile up of intoxicated individuals. A game involving balancing a book on the head while walking a balance beam. A game that seemed to consist of just… jumping from a second story into a bush - it seemed as though the person with the best shout before their attempt was the winner of that portion. A game of slapping one another - Faye took that championship with pride. And lastly, the classic college standard: beer pong.

Everyone was delighted to be back to drinking. In fact, people tried to lose just so they could have more cups to drink. It was a debacle and Jet was still not sure exactly how anything was going to be determined in this competition. Ed claimed it was all down to the votes but they still hadn't wanted to waste money buying votes. These games were still all child's play, after all.

"Why is this a game? There's no point to this!" Jet groaned.

"Mm, it's not just about the game aspect. It's ENTERTAINMENT." Ed said with emphasis. "It's got to do with the showmanship of it all… anyone can gamble on fighters, or racers. All that gets humdrum! This, now, they can control other people's lives. Wanna see 'em in a rom-com? Doable. Wanna see them in a courtroom drama? How about a parody of your favorite movie? There's so much content on tv but the viewer doesn't have control there. Here… pay the price and you get exactly what you hoped for."

Jet made a thoughtful sound. He understood what Ed was saying but it still made no sense to him. For one thing, why waste your life watching other people fumbling through theirs? For another, he'd never been comfortable betting on people's lives or successes. But this whole setup hadn't been made to appeal to someone like him. He wondered if being that rich really changed the mentality of people so much… chances were good he'd never have to find out. Nor did he want to. Jet was a simple man who didn't ask for much in life - all this was just ludicrous and unnecessary.

At least Bob had seemed just as befuddled by it all. So it wasn't just Jet who couldn't see the value in all of this. Bob had no insight as to what was going on, but had confirmed that quite a few slum neighborhoods on Mars had recently seen a loss in occupants. No one was saying much, but out of fear? Out of uncertainty? Once again it was people who wouldn't be missed - not even by their fellow street rats apparently. But it all made Jet incredibly uneasy.

They were lurking in the vicinity of the asteroid where Spike's signal had been transmitting from. It was relatively huge, probably slightly larger than Phobos, and sheltered by the presence of quite a few Deimos-sized chunks. The Bebop was out of sight and out of radar beyond a large asteroid further away. They'd seen no signs of activity in the vicinity but where else could everything be taking place if not on a terraformed asteroid in the middle of nowhere? Besides, Spike's signal had indicated he was there until it stopped functioning.

It had to be here. But here was no man's land. No law ruled here because no government had any authority over the asteroid field. No one on Mars cared because the Martian government was too busy trying to deal with all the syndicates. No one in the Junkyard cared because they all lived out in the boonies specifically to be left alone. Technically anything goes out in the borderlands here. Which meant even insisting that people being kidnapped and held hostage until playing games… wasn't a violation of human rights. It was, but it wasn't. Who would bother to come out here to shut it down? Who would bother to try making any arrests?

No one knew about this place except the people in the know. Bob had been no help - in fact Jet had given him more information than he'd gotten out of his old friend. Though, at least now someone in the police force knew something was going on. It'd take a while for Bob to be able to gather enough evidence to present in order to get a case going. Right now their best hope still rested in Andy's family discovering his supposed presence and reacting dramatically. That or Spike and Faye somehow completing enough games to be released - which seemed unlikely if only because there was no set limit to games required and no real way to gauge how much of your debt had been met by your participation.

No, this was not about financial freedom. This was people being bought to be toyed with until they broke. There was no winning, just a slow destruction playing out reality tv shows. How well a person did depended on their abilities, sure, but just as much on their appeal to the voters.

And Spike had been quite right about the editing, Jet had to admit. They'd watched enough now to be able to very clearly lipread their shipmates during some of these challenges and the dialogue played over the speakers was as far from a match as possible. For one thing, Jet hadn't heard a single swear word this entire time. Which was unlikely considering how articulately some of the contestants seemed to handle losing. There was just no way a two minute rant actually boiled down to "Shucks! I'm out?!"

But why edit that? Who cared about swears?

It didn't matter. None of this mattered. The screen went dark as Spike and Faye sloppily raised solo cups to their vanquished opponents before the feed ended.

Jet shook his head. "Well. At least they're doing okay." He needed to go smoke a joint himself. It was frustrating being in a watching position. How could the rich folks even handle it? "Lemme know if they post another list of games to vote on. Maybe we'll try to sway things for tomorrow's events." Edward gave him a distracted wave. She was typing away madly on Tomato while Ein sat next to her wearing her goggles, both very busy doing who knew what. Well, at least that made sense to him.

xxx

OPERATION!

""Are you fucking shitting me? I'm way too hungover for this shit!" Faye could hear Spike's angry tirade from across the room. She wasn't exactly feeling fantastic herself, but it actually worked well for her in this instance. They were in a medical bay with a dozen other participants, well, two dozen if you counted the patients. She was pretty positive that the people on the operating tables were other participants who had gotten injured in the course of the competition so far. Thankfully, her only ailment was how rough she was feeling after their crash course in college life the night before. Much unlike the whining man who was reclined on the table in front of her awaiting stitches for a fairly serious couple of lacerations.

She'd been hungover and stuck stitching Spike up plenty, even though Jet was usually the one in charge of that. Trust Spike to fuck himself up while healing often enough to require things being stitched multiple times. So yeah, poking this wimpy asshole with a needle and thread while trying to not blow chunks… old hat.

"FAYE! WILL YOU PLEASE FUCKING TRADE ME?!" The panic in Spike's voice made her fuck up and jab her patient slightly below where she meant to go.

"Sorry, darling!" She called back with a grin. "Not sure if that's allowed, my sweet!" She'd been trying her damndest to remember that he was supposed to be Andy Oniyate while they were here. To prevent slipping up, she had long since decided to only address him by pet names rather than any actual names.

A woman's wail echoed through the medical bay. It was one of many sounds of pain but the proximity led Faye to believe it might be the patient Spike was dealing with.

"Faye, you fucking trade me patients right this fucking second! This is women's work! I've never even been around a kid younger than Ed!" Definitely distress in his voice… and if Faye was putting the pieces together properly… then that meant… oh for fuck's sake. That poor woman!

Still, she couldn't just give into Spike's demands. She hadn't been joking when she said she didn't know if that was allowed, and more importantly she had no idea what to do if she was in his position. Faye didn't want to ever be in either of those positions, thank you kindly.

"Oh what, you think I've been running a daycare on the sly? I don't wanna touch a baby either!" She hollered back at him. The man in front of her whimpered. "Oh please, like you're going through shit right now, have you heard that woman?" She muttered to him. In fact, just for that - she jabbed him again.

The unseen woman was panting heavily. Faye and her patient both flinched when she gave a very long, very loud scream that ended in Spike's startled "Oh, YUCK!" and then the sound of the woman's hoarse voice yelling at him "Give me my baby! I'll cut the cord my fucking self!"

Cringing, Faye bent to her work and tried to focus on the task at hand.

xxx

"I don't ever want to see beef again." Spike muttered, forcing himself to eat more of the meal.

"I feel like there's cheaper food they could be stuffing us with," Faye said thoughtfully. She was spooning up the gruel without much enthusiasm.

"Someone told me there's a secret cow level. That's why all the beef." He mentioned.

Faye paused in her eating. "If I'm kept out of another game to slice and dice a bovine… well actually I guess that doesn't sound too bad."

Spike knew his face had gone pale and he shakily pushed the beef plate further away. "Shut the fuck up." He closed his eyes but he could still see the scene from earlier in the operating bay and snapped his eyes back open. Focus on the gruel instead - no, uck, he'd seen similar nightmares to that today too. He looked at Faye's face and she seemed to realize he was in distress. She puffed up her cheeks and then crossed her eyes and then exhaled so she could curl her tongue and then touch it to the tip of her nose.

"You're such a goof," He told her, but he was grateful for her silly distraction.

"Let's see you touch your nose with your tongue then," She challenged.

Their dialogue and dinner was all distraction really, meanwhile their hands were communicating through a series of bored looking taps. It took a while to get anything said, but it was certainly the safest means of sharing information. They'd been separated a handful of times now, sometimes because one or both was participating in a game, other times to assist with various manual labor chores like the laundry burning, but at no point had either of them come across any control room type area. Spike's fingers told the tale of having guards tease him about the BJ the first night, which at least told them they were indeed under constant observation. But, the guards hadn't revealed if they'd been able to hear what was going on in the cell.

"I've been trying to hold back but I might literally kill someone if I don't get a cigarette soon," Spike grumbled. "How long have we been here? There's been fucking nothing for us to go on."

"Mm, four days maybe? Same food every meal of the goddamn day. What I wouldn't give for some fucking bell peppers."

"If you're gonna dream, at least dream of something higher on that pepper heat chart." He admonished her with a smirk.

A klaxon sounded overhead, making everyone in the room flinch. From one corner came the thin wail of a newborn and Spike's eyes got large.

"Yeah, I thought the patients might be other participants," Faye mused as they stood up and waited for the guards to come through and direct who went where. "That's so fucked up though - what are they gonna do about a baby here? I can't imagine that's good for the kid or the mom."

"But what about the ratings, Faye? Maybe people wanna see babies."

A guard directed her towards the wall away from Spike.

"The cute factor fades real quick," She told him. "Add that noise and the adorableness is negated even faster."

"You know, Faye," He began with a chuckle as he moved to the wall opposite her.

"You don't wanna finish that sentence, honeybuns." She told him firmly.

"But just think how adorable people would find you!"

"I hope someone punches you if you're in a game!"

xxx

Back on the Bebop

"There's something strange in the neighborhood," Ed announced. "Look, look! The System has been around for a while! It formerly operated the deepest levels of the Core - that's the terraformed pocket inside the center of the asteroid! It was a haven for the richest folks but something went wrong and the robot servants revolted and the people vacationing all died. So they sealed it up. Started working in the other levels and gave up on robotics. They'd gone to all the trouble to build this station, they couldn't just abandon it. They switched gears and decided to still cater to the wealthy but in safer ways. Letting them choose who plays what gives them a chance to live vicariously at no personal risk. And that way they can make bets too! Humanity is forfeit here not because these people are bad… but that too…"

"What's the trouble, Ed?"

"MPU is afraid. It's the System itself which is starting to take over. We're locked out of voting. If Ed tries to get back in… might be taken over too. All we can do is watch and see what game the computer wants to play."

The combined efforts of MPU, Ed, and Ein had been leading to all sorts of terrible discoveries. Jet hoped they'd finally gotten to the bottom of it all. Ed had been babbling about a computer system that oversaw all the operations on the asteroid base, which was literally cored through the asteroid. Someone had started mining, hit an empty cavity that dropped them deep into the interior of the asteroid, and then realized it would be easier to escape by continuing to mine through to the opposite side. Afterwards, funding had been acquired to build a destination resort which was to be in the center of the asteroid with various sections above and below.

Ed had found a very helpful schematic that had detailed the abandoned centerpiece and all the outlying layers in both directions. One half had been dedicated to the furnace for heat or the destruction of clothing, the artificial atmosphere simulator that worked for providing thin air to the very outermost section of the asteroid itself, the tank for water that was used and then recycled, and at the very crust of the asteroid on that side there was a parking garage for the vehicles used by the people coming and going. Then there was the ominous void in the center that had supposedly been completely cut off from access on either side, which naturally Jet did not trust to be all that separate from the rest of the construction.

The other half was where their attention was focused. At the outermost portion was a building where trucks driving over from the parking portion of the asteroid carried all the unconscious players when they were first processed into the system. Access deeper was granted by either an elevator, a freight elevator, or a staircase. Beneath the building is where the workers were quartered. Underneath that level was one that boasted the expansive medical bay and the equally spacious cafeteria where people ate in shifts. Between that layer and the two layers of cells allowing for up to four hundred inmates, if each cell housed two individuals, was the layer where the cows were kept and slaughtered - though neither Faye nor Spike had yet made that bloody discovery. Beneath the cell levels and the secret cow level was where things got interesting. There were several floors between the OFF LIMITS core of the asteroid and the prisoner cells and each level had been designed to cater to one or several of the games being played.

Ed had been able to hack into the video feed for most of the asteroid, except the center itself. What they had seen so far didn't appear too terrible - harvesting of the beef aside - but it also didn't bode well for their shipmates. There was no command force in charge anywhere. No headquarters to storm. Jet wasn't even sure where the mainframe that ran the place was located, though he had an awful suspicion. It was a complex being run by a very sparse crew, mostly dozens of guards but also a few herd handlers and some actual medical professionals.

There seemed to be more doctors on the crew list than was necessary, which was also setting off alarm bells for Jet. All of this was adding up to a real fucking problem. Part of which was being caused by Spike at the moment. He'd been assigned to play in one of the brutal games but had refused to attack any of his opponents and was trying to orchestrate an uprising from what Jet could tell from the video feed. The audio feed was blatant lies so they'd long since muted that. It was easy enough to read Spike's lips when he shouted at the other players anyway.

He was encouraging the others to use their weapons on the guards once they arrived to clear the game room - which was set up like an old West town from Earth with a saloon and a sheriff's shack and a few other rickety wooden buildings. Quite a few folks were swayed by his argument, though plenty of others still seemed concerned. But Spike was making good points about how few guards they'd seen and how a revolution could be easily undertaken.

Jet fervently hoped there wasn't any sort of knockout or lethal gas that could be pumped into the room. Spike's idea would only hold weight for as long as enough people were conscious and capable of fighting back. From what he and Ed had overseen so far from other camera feeds, there was a swarm of guards en route to bust this standoff up… but would it be enough?

The other concerning issue was just how deep inside the asteroid this game was taking place. It was literally the deepest level technically capable of being reached from this half of the facility. Any deeper and they'd be in the core itself which was forbidden but also should be locked up without any oxygen or heat circulating through it. A death sentence if they were to reach it.

"Hmmmmmmm." Ed made a curious noise which immediately had Ein's hackles raised and Jet's too for that matter. Stuff that interested Ed was never to be taken lightly.

Dreading the answer, Jet looked at the girl in her goggles. She wasn't even watching the game or the other camera feeds! What was she up to?

"You find something good, Ed?" He asked finally.

Her head tilted to the left all the way to her shoulder and then back the other way to touch her other shoulder. "Ahhh… well… Oniyate Ranch provided the beef." She informed him. "There are family members protesting at the Center for Martian Rights and at the Venusian Capital. Wow. Andy sure comes from an extensive family of rich folks, but… Ed is confused. They provided the beef but were uninvited? None of the family was contacted to bet or view."

"Huh. That is bizarre. Do you think they might be the ones who put it all together to begin with?"

"If so, why protest now?"

"Well, they believe Andy is trapped there. But… maybe we're not thinking this through enough. If his family is big enough, there's bound to be conflicts of interest. Ed, why don't you see if any of his relatives have been involved in big league gambling circles? Could be some are just decent folk while others are awful. Most families are made of both types of people." Jet explained.

"Hmm. Ed also noticed something else…" She pulled off her goggles and brought her computer to the table top, setting it down in front of both of them as she hopped up onto the couch next to Jet. The monitor in front of him continued to show Spike & Co. versus the guards who'd finally arrived at the scene of the disturbance. It was like watching a Western movie… the participants were all hidden in the various structures and the guards were arriving like the bad guys blowing into town for a showdown. As if to add to the effect, a tumbleweed drifted across the broad street between the opposing forces.

Loath to turn his attention from what was no doubt about to be a devastating shoot out… Jet glanced at the Tomato to see what Ed was pointing out.

"That ship that just landed outside the garage? Registered to the Oniyate family." She reached down without looking to scoop up Ein from where he was standing on the floor between the coffee table and the couch. She settled the corgi on the couch between herself and Jet and then pointed to the ship again. "It's got a unique look, eh?"

Jet peered closer at the ship. "It's… …...a pirate ship?"

It was a small vessel and had a strong resemblance to the pirate ships of centuries past. There was even a skull and crossbones image painted onto the hull. It must have cost a fortune to get it looking like it was while still being space and sea worthy. Some people just had too much cash.

Ein barked. There was a person emerging from the ship. On horseback. The horse was in a bizarre outfit - clearly a space suit, but obviously just as custom made as the ship. Ed's mouth hung open and Jet knew his expression was identical. Even Ein looked taken aback.

"Is that…"

"Ohh we got Andy's attention too!" Ed crowed.

"Oh dear."

xxx

Spike was impressed by the cohesiveness of the vagabonds he was in the game with. Perhaps it helped that they were all more or less the same. Down on their luck, perpetually starving, not trying to bother anybody just trying to live a simple life of rudimentary pleasures, generally decent folk stuck in a shitty situation. Most had no idea how to properly wield a weapon, but surprisingly there were two former Syndicate members in the group. One from the European Syndicate on Europa and the other from the Silver Snake Syndicate from Mars - though not Tharsis, so Spike wasn't nearly as familiar with them as he was with the White Tigers and the defunct Red Dragons. They were helping him hold down the fort while the rest of the participants mostly huddled behind any furniture they could find.

Bullets were flying everywhere. The guards seemed not especially competent with their own weapons. Mostly it amounted to a philosophy of "spray and pray" or "suppressing fire" and in either case it meant they'd run out of bullets before Spike's crew.

Unfortunately, they couldn't just hide here. At some point there had to be someone who would wise up and realize they could just lock the players in this room and leave them to die. It was the simplest logic out there and Spike was genuinely puzzled that it hadn't happened yet. Perhaps the guards expected a much easier time of mowing down all the protesting players. In any case, Spike knew he had to start making moves quickly if he wanted to escape the room and explore the facility free of the guard's usual overlook.

He wasn't sure where Faye was, although he wished she was in this game because her skills would be helpful. Three against thirty wasn't the best odds. But at least they had nearly unlimited guns and ammos since nearly all of the other participants had left their loaded guns nearby for Spike and the Syndicate boys to grab as soon as their current gun came up empty.

There was a group of younger men who seemed antsy to help but not confident enough in their own shooting skills to opt for that. This was perfect, actually, because Spike needed a distraction so he could run for the exit. They needed to get at least one person outside and able to open the door if all hell broke loose and everyone else was trapped in here. Spike knew he was the only true option for that role, but even if there had been competition for it he wasn't about to give anyone else the glory. Racing ahead of bullets, dodging death every step, that was his bread and butter. He lived for the chance to die. Which was not the best way to live but he had never really known anything else.

"Yo! You guys wanna give me some cover?" He shouted to the Syndicate boys. Then he turned to the jittery youth of the crowd. "You boys good at running? Need you all to book it for every other building or piece of cover. I'm gonna jet for the door so we can keep it open from the outside. Keep me alive or we're all gonna die!" With that inspiring end to his speech of orders, Spike bolted for the back door of the saloon so he could emerge from the side of the building and ideally out of the immediate sight and notice of the remaining guards still firing at the structures.

Much to his pleasant surprise, everything unfolded as he'd hoped.

Outside the door, which he'd closed upon exiting the room, Spike paused to catch his breath and come up with the next leg of his plan. As usual it was being made up as he went, but it's not like there was any other way to make a winning plan. Change was the name of the game and you just had to be able to think on your feet and amend your plan or goals as you needed.

The hallway he was in was empty. He knew from the trip to this level that there was a freight elevator at one end of the hall and a regular elevator side by side with a staircase at the other. Briefly he wondered what the room across the hall was. This level only had two doorways so it was clearly just for games, unlike higher up levels with multiple rooms for housing people.

Deciding the curiosity would kill him if nothing else did, Spike made his way to the other door and pressed the keypad a few times. It beeped at him in an aggravated manner but refused to open. He frowned and glanced at the doorway he'd come through. Also a keypad. On the bright side, at least he didn't need an access card because there weren't any nearby guards to accost to acquire one. But what were the odds he could figure out what the code was?

Wait.

Why should he even have to? He knew Faye had been able to slip that chip into one of the computerized control panels in the laundry room days ago. If all had gone according to plan - at this thought he grinned madly - then Ed had been able to hack into video feed all over this place. And if she had that much control… maybe she had even more?

He looked around until he found a camera hidden in the ceiling between the doorways of the room and stared at it. And stared. And stared. And then sighed and leaned against the wall, sliding down into a squat.

The door panel next to him flashed green and slid open. That was interesting as well - most of the doors in the facility were swing style rather than the slide into the wall sort. Spike assumed it was a safety issue. Since this facility had been likely used for mining and housing mining personnel, it made sense that they wouldn't want to risk getting trapped in rooms that were impossible to break out of. While the cells were much more secure than a standard housing room would be, Spike figured given enough time he and Faye would have been able to bust out if they'd really needed to escape.

He stood up, making sure to keep his feet firmly planted in the hallway, and leaned into the newly revealed space. It was dark as sin. No lights activated to acknowledge the door opening or his presence partially in the room. He whistled and the sound came back with an echo as though this space were incredibly massive. It couldn't have a ceiling higher than the western world he'd just been in, which meant that instead it must be extremely deep or wide. Well now.

He worked one of the combat boots loose and left it in the doorway. It might not keep the door from closing but it was all he really had to work with. Exploration had to wait until he was able to rescue the people he'd been in the game with. Not that he knew any of them beyond the basics, but they'd all banded together and enabled him to flee so the time had come to return the favor.

He looked at the keypad of the door to the game room but it refused to change to green. Strange. He'd assumed Ed was still keeping an eye on things but maybe she was busy elsewhere. After all, where was Faye? He pressed a few combinations of numbers but had no success. A debate ensued in his mind about fist versus gun and at last he decided on trying the gun as a key. A bullet might completely destroy the access point, but at least he wouldn't break his hand that way.

The door panel made terrible noises when he shot it, but the door slid obligingly open in front of him. He peeked in from the side and wasn't immediately gunned down by anyone inside. A cautious half-step into the room and he was able to see that the cluster of forty or so players had managed to triumph over the ill-prepared guards. It was a bloodbath in the room, but… well… it was going to be that either way. Their entire instructions for this game had been to survive at all costs. There hadn't been a time limit. They hadn't been told how many were supposed to live.

A cheer rose up from the group as they realized Spike had returned for them. Soon he was facing down a stampede of people intent on getting out of dodge. He stepped back into the hall to let everyone else rush out and join him.

"What now?" It was Silver Snake. He and Europa had clearly decided to make him their unofficial leader in absence of their normal power structure.

What now indeed?

"There's a few ways we can go about this," Spike decided. "We should split up. Some can take the freight elevator and some can take the normal one or the stairs. Our goal is to free all the other players, incapacite any guards, and find the fucking exit. Somewhere here are ships - we all got here somehow at least."

"Which way did you want to go, sir?" That was Europa.

Spike suppressed a shudder at being called sir by a Syndicate punk. They didn't know his history so they had no idea how much he did not want to be in charge of a damn thing.

He grinned. "I'm going into that dark room down there."

No one seemed to understand. Spike wasn't entirely sure himself. He just knew it was a mystery that he wanted to solve. But his intent had confused the whole crowd.

"Okay, look, Snake, you take a dozen people up the freight way. Europa, you take a couple people up the regular elevator. The rest of you, make sure you're armed - no I don't care that you don't know how to use it - just take a gun and hold it like you mean to use it. You lot parade up the stairs. There's too many of you for any guards to take down anyway - strength in numbers, use that. Snake and Europa, you just try to reach the top and take down everyone in your way. And someone find the damn garage in this place!"

"Don't you want anyone with you?" One of the antsy youth asked.

"Kid, I might be strolling to certain death. You wanna come along? I'm not gonna stop you, but stay the fuck out of my way."

Rather wisely, everyone split up in short order and soon Spike was left standing alone in the hall.

Perfect. He was only responsible for himself. He spared another thought for Faye and wished they had their comm devices. It'd be nice if he could explain to her what the fuck was going on because he'd surely dumped the shit on the fan today.

Well, best case scenario they'd be able to compare notes when they were safe on the Bebop.

With a wealth of weaponry stashed on his person, though it was all the same gun since everyone had the same weapon for the game, he slowly advanced into the still-open, still-dark room.

xxx

Elsewhere on the Asteroid...

Faye had been recruited for a deplorable task.

She regretted her offhand remark about slicing and dicing cows for dinner. That sounded like heaven compared to her present job. She also somewhat regretted showing off her mediocre medic skills in the hospital game. Apparently she had enough ability - or perhaps tolerance for blood and grossness? - that her hands had been requested for… well, morgue work.

While she hadn't noticed too many people getting hurt in the games she'd been in… that wasn't the case for all the games. There was an entire wall of brand new freezer units in place that were all filled with bodies at the moment. Faye and a few other players and at least two dozen actual medical personnel were all involved in the painstaking task of harvesting organs. From people. Only one of which Faye had recognized… although, that wasn't exactly right.

She hadn't ever actually seen the mom or baby. She'd only heard them.

They were silent now.

Tears had been streaming down her face behind the mask for most of her uncomfortable time in this chilly section of the facility. She hadn't realized she could hate others as much as she was at the moment. Whoever was running this place… running all these awful rackets… she wanted to see them brought to justice. Whether that meant something fatal or not, well, that all depended on how long she decided to see them hurt for. But whoever it was… they had earned their fate.

She had learned a few things in the time she'd been in this horrific place. There were two levels for players to be housed, something she'd discovered when talking to another woman who had overseen the 9th button pushed when she was brought back to her cell, whereas Faye knew she and Spike were kept on the 10th level because she had also paid attention when being returned.

The cafeteria and this loathsome room were both on the 5th level of the structure. She'd been on a few game floors that she knew for sure - 11, 14, 18 - but she wasn't sure how much deeper the evil here went. She was trying to occupy her mind with anything and everything except for the work her hands were doing. It was only a minor relief that the body she was currently working on had been very clearly dead from a crushing injury to the head. She suspected that the newborn and mother had not met their end due to any game situation.

It was a medical person overseeing their bodies, thankfully, and not any of the players. Faye knew she wouldn't have been able to put a scalpel to that innocent flesh. But she was still haunted by the glimpse she'd caught before that section of the room had been mercifully curtained off. At least the doctors here seemed to have a semblance of empathy for the players. But then again… why were they here? Why were they doing this? Could it be that they all were just as trapped in debt?

Money woes affected all livelihoods, after all.

For now Faye was giving them the benefit of the doubt. She was reserving her fury and vengeance for whoever ultimately was responsible for all of this. That gave her a satisfying rush for a few minutes - imagining how she and Spike could take down this horror show. But that brought Spike to mind and fear settled into her gut.

They'd been separated after the meal - whichever one this was, she'd honestly lost track - which likely meant that he had been taken for a game. It's not like there was much else for options, unless he'd actually been taken to the rumored butcher yard to handle the meal prep. Either way, he wasn't here with her and it left her uneasy every time they weren't together. Who had his back when she wasn't around? Hell, the other players were just as likely to strike him down given half a chance. They hadn't made any friends here, but no one had. Everyone seemed worried to connect to anyone else because there was so much uncertainty here.

How many people were here in the first place? With meals and games staggered, there was no way to know. She'd dined with new faces every meal it seemed. Some familiar ones too, but there was always a fresh soul she didn't recognize from before. It all seemed intentionally set up to keep people confused and frightened and wary. Trust no one.

She fucking hated it.

Faye frowned as a sound caught her attention. It was a distant noise but it might be… no, it was definitely getting louder. Something loud. Something that was soon making vibrations tremble through the floor. She stopped her work and looked around. Everyone else was just as perplexed - the doctors included - and for a while everyone just peered around and held still.

The double swinging doors that led to the medical bay smashed open with enough force to break them from their hinges. A crowd of people were there, all in the combat gear Faye and her fellow players were garbed in. Most of these newcomers had guns, though Faye could tell from a glance that only a dozen at best had any idea what they were doing. She didn't see Spike's very unique hair poof in the group and her heart dropped. He could still be safe somewhere else but this uprising absolutely smacked of the man.

"Hands up!" One of the newcomers shouted. "Where we can see them! Let's go!"

Everyone in the room obliged immediately.

"It's just players like us and docs," Another person said in an aside to the first speaker.

"Docs with scalpels and who knows what motive," The first person replied. He made a good point. "Players, make your way to the door! We're getting the fuck out of this death trap!"

Faye hurriedly pulled the gloves off her hands. "Hey! Someone gimme a gun or two," She demanded. "You two, yeah, give me those guns. C'mon, I know what to do with 'em."

"She does! She dominated in a game I played with her," Another voice urged.

The two people she'd singled out seemed only too happy to give her their weapons.

"What should we do with the docs?" The second voice asked.

There was a brief hushed discussion. Faye ignored it, she was still trying to figure out what had happened and if Spike was indeed involved. "Did you see a guy with a blond fro anywhere?" She asked the guy who had vouched for her shooting skills.

He nodded. "He got us out of the saloon. Way down, bottom level. He was gonna go deeper."

"That lunkhead," She sighed and started to push her way through the crowd towards the hallway.

"Hey wait! We haven't decided what we're doing with these guys!" Someone yelled at her.

"Not my problem! Shoot 'em or leave 'em!" She suggested, continuing on her path.

"Huh. Well, you heard the lady!" The first speaker again. She had already reached the hall - blessedly empty of anyone - and had begun to run for the nearest elevator - the freight one - so she didn't get to hear what the mob decided on doing to the medical staff. She had allegiances to no one here except Spike though and who knew how dirty those docs might be. She dismissed it from her mind. She had shit to do.

xxx

Down, down, down into the Core…

Spike had discovered a stable steel grate series of stairs leading down, down, down into the darkness of the room he'd discovered. It was far too dark to be able to see anything and he'd long since descended to a point where the light from the door reached. For all he knew, the door could be shut again by now. He was still hoping it had been Ed who allowed him access to this space but he wasn't positive. What could her goal be if it was her? Who was responsible if it wasn't? Lacking any answers and being unlikely to get answers anytime soon, he continued.

There was nothing to see, but there was plenty to hear.

The hum of machinery at work. The echo of his boots as he went down the stairs. A peculiar breeze that whispered across his skin with cool air.

Whistling?

Very familiar whistling, come to think of it.

From what must be stories below his vantage point, light erupted into the cavernous space.

Spike threw up an arm to shield his eyes and gave himself a few moments to acclimate to the world that unfolded before his eyes.

He was in a giant domed area. Well, not quite a dome, the top portion tapered to the flat ceiling that Spike knew was the floor of the levels above, but the sheer size of this area gave the suggestion of a dome shape. He was about a third of the way down the utilitarian staircase at one of the outermost edges of the area. Eventually it would reach the floor of the space - or street, rather. There was an entire city within this area - a small city, to be sure, but… buildings and alleyways and streets with cars parked here and there or blocking the way entirely. There were tanks and barbed wire and military outposts scattered about. It was eerily empty of people, though Spike suspected some of the pale spots he could barely make out were bones.

The whistling continued unabated. It was surprisingly reassuring to hear the proof of another life in this place, even if the sound meant what he was sure it meant.

An explosion destroyed a storefront.

Spike continued his race down the stairs.

Other sounds were starting to be heard. Maybe Spike had been wrong about there being no one down in the town - it sure sounded like people were starting to come out of homes and investigate what was going on over across the way from the staircase Spike was tearing down.

He'd gotten just over halfway down when he realized it wasn't actual people he was hearing now. Rather, it seemed like a bunch of animatronic robots were pouring out into the streets. He couldn't hear the whistling anymore but there were repeated concussive blasts that screamed 'grenade' to Spike's well-trained ears. He'd thrown enough of those in his day to be more than passingly familiar with the destruction from those sweet babies.

"Ahoy there! Imposter!"

It felt good to be right about Andy being here. There was so much wrong in this place, Spike was grateful for the few things that made sense, although really... did this? Clearly Andy was aware of Spike's duplicity though so that helped explain his sudden appearance here in this odd place.

"Andy! What the fuck!" He shouted back. He couldn't actually see the other man, didn't know if he was there by himself or astride his clever horse. "There's a shit ton of robots headed your way!" Spike stopped four stories above the ground to take aim with his gun and reduce a few of the enemies now present.

"Avast, ye mechanical scourge!" There came the sound of more bullets impacting against metal.

"Andy, what are you doing here?" Spike yelled.

"It's said I've a wife here somewhere," Came the jaunty reply. "Besides, my folks haven't been paid for the herd! No one raids an Oniyate Ranch and gets away with it!"

Spike was debating whether or not to continue down the stairs. There were a lot of robots coming to life and swarming the area where Andy was firing off his weapon and tossing around grenades. He wasn't sure if his presence would be a help or a hindrance, but even more than that he wasn't sure how safe it was to get down to ground level. Then again, he was closer to the floor than the door he'd originally come through and Andy had clearly come from somewhere.

He peeked back up at the slew of stairs he'd pounded down. He looked back towards the ground.

Yeah, fuck going back the way he'd come. Onwards and outwards hopefully!

He started down the stairs again, the sound of his boots rapping out his location to every robot in the vicinity. The nearest ones began to climb up the stairs from the street level. Good for them, he wasn't planning on reaching the bottom anyway. Climbing onto the railing, he gauged the distance between his perch and the nearest rooftop. Definitely doable. Definitely preferable to facing the augmented strength of killer bots.

Oddly enough, he could still hear echoes of his boots on the stairs even though he'd stopped moving. An instant later he realized he was an idiot and was actually hearing the progress of someone new rocketing down the endless staircase. He wondered who was going to show up to crash the party next as he launched himself forcefully across the open space to tuck and roll in a fairly decent landing on the slightly slanted rooftop.

Regaining his feet, he raced along the rooftop and jumped to the next, proceeding in that fashion for several blocks as he neared the destruction. The sound of gunfire stopped and became replaced with a new fighting noise… metal on metal? Call him crazy but it sounded like Andy was now fighting robots with a sword.

He staggered to an abrupt stop when the buildings on his side of the street ended. Smoke was heavy in the air here from the explosions stirring up dust and rubble. It was hard to make out what was happening on the street below his location. Ignoring the combat, he spun around wildly, trying to orient himself with the huge space and trying to ascertain where exactly Andy had found an entry into this place. There! A set of enormous doors led… somewhere. It was dark down the corridor but there were occasional flashes of an ominous red light indicating… who knew? Maybe it was just to help people see if the power grid went down.

At any rate, it was an avenue of escape he'd never explored so there was potential there.

"You bilge sucking bot!" Andy cried out. "Sail ho, scallywag! Are you running a rig on me? Come and help me fight these bastards! We'll rescue my wench and then we can splice the mainbrace!"

Deciding that Andy must be talking to him, Spike returned to the edge of the roof overlooking the battle. Most of the smoke had cleared by now - was Andy out of grenades? Spike finally saw the other man, immediately ignored his garb, and took a running jump from the roof to land with an oof beside the other man so they could stand back to back against the horde of robots.

"Cleave him to the brisket, chap!" Andy roared. He was wielding two swords, one in each hand, and while not especially skilled at the art he was doing significant damage to the robots directly in front of him. Spike noted the presence of two sidearms at either hip, ridiculous looking weapons even if they were fucking gorgeous. He wondered if Andy was out of ammo for them or just got bored of shooting. It could easily go either way with him.

A building across from their position suddenly became a fireball with debris flying everywhere and decimating the back row of robots in the cluster around them. Both men were startled and looked around in confusion.

"Did you miss me, lunkhead?" Now there was a voice that boosted his mood instantly.

"Where'd you find a rocket launcher?" Spike demanded, incredulous.

"A girl's gotta keep some secrets," She replied saucily.

"Looks like we won't feed the fishes today!" Andy exclaimed. "Heave ho and let's go! Onyx won't wait for us forever!"

Faye had managed to find her way to the ground and was racing towards the double doors Spike had noticed earlier. She paused halfway there to throw the rocket launcher behind her back - there was a strap around her chest that was apparently holding it in place - and she pulled two guns out to give the guys some cover fire as they managed to break through the line of robots between their spot and hers.

"It's good you have that weapon, lassie," Andy told her as he and Spike reached her position and all three ran full pelt for the doorway. "We may need to blow up the mainframe. The computer is three sheets to the wind and of the opinion that dead men tell no tales."

Spike had put Andy's outfit out of mind as soon as he'd registered it, but Faye was still struggling with the other man's attire. "Why are you dressed like a pirate from Earth's past?" She asked breathlessly as they ran.

"I've been after those who loot and plunder! It takes a pirate to catch a pirate, you know," He answered her sagely.

Faye spluttered.

Spike groaned. "That's a thief, you dolt!"

The hallway suddenly branched in two different directions as the trio skidded to a stop. Andy glanced down both corridors. "This way leads to my ship, the other way takes us to the computer. We've got to destroy it so it stops issuing its siren call."

With zero hesitation, all three dashed down the corridor leading to the computer at the heart of the facility. Spike doubted a computer was responsible for their presence here, but he also didn't mind the notion of blowing this entire place to smithereens. He was rather a fan of explosions, truth be told.

Besides, watching Faye wield a rocket launcher was quite a turn on.

She loaded it with impressive ease and took a wide stance to handle the ricochet from the device. Spike stepped up behind her, just in case it knocked her off balance. Andy meanwhile slashed at every control panel and cord he could reach with his swords in the terminal they'd reached at the end of the hall.

"Yo, bucko, get out of the way!" Faye cried. She hardly gave Andy time to get back to their position before firing the launcher and then unclipping the strap from her body so the entire thing dropped to the ground. "Let's go!" She shrieked, whirling around to race back the other direction.

The rocket had crashed into the main portion of the computer system and explosions kicked off to chase their heels down the hallway. Spike knew that Andy was a speedy guy much like himself but he was privately impressed with the way Faye was able to keep stride with them. She wasn't always so swift, but obviously falling behind and being consumed by the ruination advancing behind them wasn't an option.

They staggered into the parking garage for the ships that frequented this place and Spike was disappointed in himself for stopping in his tracks at the sight of Andy's ship. His horse, Onyx - in a spacesuit?! - was standing on the upper deck by the wheelhouse and watching them with mild interest. The ship itself looked like it had been stolen from a museum of Earth's… 1700s? He wasn't entirely sure but definitely long, long ago.

"Is this thing safe?" He asked as he ran again to catch up to the other two.

Faye hadn't given the thing a second look. After her initial surprise at Andy's clothing, she must have decided to just accept whatever the fuck showed up next. She was already halfway up the rope ladder that hung from the railing of the ship. Andy had beaten her to the top and was messing around with the controls of the ship.

"Batten down the hatches, Onyx!" He called. The horse ignored him.

Spike hadn't even reached the deck when the ship began to lift off from where it had been anchored. By a literal anchor. Spike watched it reel upwards into the hull of the vessel as he flopped over the edge and onto the deck proper. In no time they were back out in the vastness of space and answering an incoming hail from the most beautiful ship Spike had ever laid his eyes on. The Bebop.

xxx

In the Admittance Building

Top Level of the Asteroid

"How did this happen?"

"It was supposed to be just a bunch of throwaways! It was just the trial run! We had to see how the games went over. I don't know how he got into it!"

"Well, in the files it says he took her last name…"

"But it wasn't even him! Who the fuck even is this guy anyway? This is awful! An Oniyate caught in this catastrophe… some random able to enter with no one cottoning on! And there were children present! Why were children ever taken! We'll be ruined!"

"Seems that way."

"And what happened to the system anyway? It went crazy for a while there! We were locked out entirely!"

"What are we going to do?!"

The elevator doors slid open, interrupting the argument between the two men in the admittance building. They slowly turned to face a mob of angry looking people in jumpsuits and combat boots. There were a few medical professionals in the cluster and children as well. Everyone held a gun.

"Uh… hehehe… we're not in charge." One of the two men said with a frightened giggle.

"No, no! It wasn't us! It was the Vizini family and the Il-Nam family and the Mirakuno family! They arranged everything! We just followed orders!"

"Oh yeah? Well since you're so good at following orders… maybe you'll take orders from us…"

xxx

On Board the Bebop

"So who was responsible anyway? Those Venusian families? The jumped up Martian syndicates? And what did your family have to do with everything?" Jet wondered aloud.

He was trying not to look directly at Andy. The poofy shirt tucked into the odd trousers, the jacket with tails, the boots that were so tall the tops folded over, the ancient dueling pistols at his hips. That part was especially strange but not as bizarre looking as the kerchief containing his poofy blond hair.

For that matter, he was trying to avoid looking at Spike too. His hair was still dyed to make him look more like Andy, though his roots were starting to show through. It was still ridiculous. He was still in the uniform they'd been issued on the asteroid, though Faye had immediately absconded to the bathroom.

Probably for the best. Andy had entered with them, saying something about being hornswaggled, and she had neatly removed herself from the situation.

Ein was snuffling around Spike's feet and Ed was sitting on the table staring at Andy who was on the chair. Jet himself was sitting on the couch and staring resolutely at the monitor where he'd amassed all the information Ed had managed to gather. Spike was leaning against the railing, no doubt waiting to hop over once Faye relinquished control of the washroom. He had accepted a cigarette from Jet when he'd entered the living room but he still hadn't lit it, just kept pulling on it and sighing.

"There's a neighboring ranch we've been feuding with for generations. They made off with a few of our herds, already branded. My uncle had been tracking them when he discovered news of my matrimony."

"Matrimony - just a phony! Can Ed please ride your pony?" Ed danced back and forth in her seated position. "More bachelor chow too, please!"

"Bachelor chow?" Andy muttered.

"Yup yup yup!" She jumped up and grabbed her computer to show him the information page on himself which indeed had him listed once again as unmarried. She'd wisely hidden their tracks well when she had briefly arranged his marriage to Faye, so there was no way to prove he'd ever been hitched. "See? You're a bachelor! Voted preeeetty high actually," she pointed out an article titled 'Beauties of the Universe' which had a list of eligible bachelors that did indeed feature Andy ranked well.

"Ohh - well, yes, that does ring true." Andy was instantly intrigued.

"Pony ride? Chow?" Ed persisted. Ein abandoned his inspection of Spike to lay on the floor near the kitchen. He was obviously as ready as Ed for more of the Son of a Gun Stew Andy had brought aboard.

"These are good but they didn't get my best angle here," Andy mused, stroking his own chin. He pulled a mirror from his boot and began preening.

"So… no one was responsible?" Jet asked again.

Ed heaved a long suffering sigh. "Did the computer send the invites? Did the families start the computer up? Which came first? Where does the fault lie? Ed does not know! But the people were rescued and the moo-moos too! Maybe families will face charges - but they're rich so who knows."

Spike pushed off the railing. "It's been evacuated, Ed? All life safely off?"

The teen gave him a sidelong look. "Yeeeees. Ed watched the last ships leave. Buuuut… probably good to check anyway." She pushed a few buttons on her computer and spun the monitor to face Spike. "Here ya go! This'll load and show any heat signatures left." She darted from the room.

Jet looked up the other monitor where he'd given up on sorting out the answers. Lots of folks were guilty, though it was hard to say what had begun it all. The computer had been dormant since the tragedy decades ago - so, did someone turn it on? It couldn't reactive itself after all. But then which family had the blood sports idea? It all tangled together.

He eyed Spike with suspicion. The lanky cowboy seemed strangely intent on the screen Ed had left loading for him. When Spike saw he had Jet's attention though he put his hands in his pockets and started to amble away.

"Lemme know when I've got the all clear," Spike said, giving a nod back towards the Tomato.

"Spike…"

Andy glanced from his reflection to Spike's departing figure. "Oh ho! You scurvy dog! Trying to scuttle it yourself, eh?" He got to his feet and hurried after Spike, who had started to pick up pace at the sound of Andy's voice. "Keep those eyes peeled, old salt! This swashbuckler needs to know when to put fire in the hole!"

"Old salt!" Jet exclaimed. Still, he got to his feet to go disengage the gravity for the hangar to release the ships from their docked spots.

Faye drifted out of the washroom before he got past the table. She was in her bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her head. "I got it," She told him as she scurried up the stairs to the bridge.

He pulled out his comm. "All right, cowboys. Don't go shooting each other out there - just take out the damn rock. Scans say you're gold." He looked down at Ein. "More stew?"

Ein was up in a heartbeat, wagging. Obviously he'd been feigning sleep. Spike, Faye, and Andy had all turned down bowls earlier but he knew they had to be getting hungry by now and Ed had already been begging for more.

Faye joined him as he was heating up a few more cans. She wrinkled her nose in distaste though.

"Don't tell me you're not gonna have any?"

"Jet, didn't you watch us down there? I swear if I see beef in any food anytime soon…" She shuddered.

He grunted. No wonder Spike hadn't gone for any earlier. They were both all beefed out after nearly a week of the same damn thing. He poked around in the kitchen and found an apple to offer her.

"Sheesh they sure took their sweet time clearing out of the den," She muttered, taking the apple with a nod of thanks.

"That's why you took so long in there?"

Faye shrugged. "I didn't want to deal with Andy. If I had to hear one more pirate phrase I would've made him walk the plank."

Jet laughed. "Yeah he's a small doses kind of guy, but he's not too bad really. Saved your hides, didn't he?"

"Honestly? We would've been fine. We could have hotwired one of the ships in the garage once we made it that far. But… I mean, I wouldn't have known to destroy the computer. Not sure how he figured that out. So maybe he was some help." Faye admitted grudgingly.

"And now you're a debt free woman! How's that feel?" Jet was reasonably confident that her debts would indeed be waived by everything that had happened. She'd technically met all the conditions by participating in and winning several games.

To his surprise though she looked stricken. They hadn't seen everything that had happened to the duo on the asteroid, but Jet hadn't realized anything truly disturbing had taken place. Clearly something had.

"It... wasn't worth the price that was paid." She said hoarsely. "I'd rather still have that whole mountain looming over me…"

Jet didn't know what to do. Faye was getting more emotional than he was used to seeing. Should he try to hug her? Encourage her to talk? He vacillated between those for a moment but then saw that Spike had made it back. He hadn't changed or showered, but he was heading into the kitchen like a man on a mission.

Relieved that he could leave Faye to her breakdown now that Spike was on the scene to pick up the pieces, Jet shut off the burner for the stew and took the whole pot with him as he left the room.

Ein whined a moment but then chose food over the humans lingering in the kitchen.

"Ed! There's more stew!" Jet called. Then he stopped and really listened. There was a very weird repetitive noise echoing from the rotating corridor. Perplexed, he opened the round door.

Sitting bareback astride a familiar looking horse was Ed. Onyx peacefully trotted in place as the room spun beneath her hooves. Jet felt a vein twitch in his forehead.

"No horses on the ship!" He turned his back on them and that's when he heard it.

Plop.

"Ed! You're in charge of cleaning that up and getting that horse back on Andy's ship! Now, dammit!"