Hello and welcome to my latest plot bunny! I debated on whether or not I was going to post this here, but I figured why the hell not! For the record, this is a crossover in the sense that I put a death match in DBH with the same vibes as BOSAS and the people of Verses were kind enough to reserve slots. We have 5/6 reserved, but the full cast list will be in my profile soon after I post this. Since I cannot post the full summary from ao3 in the FFN summary, I put it below. Without further ado, enjoy!

A missing deviant, a spider's web, and a cruel man's game.

Things have gone wrong. Horribly wrong.

Connor is taken while investigating a disappearance and finds himself a contestant in what they call the Competition, a fight to the death involving captured Androids and must battle for not only his survival, but the survival as many others as he can while he waits for help to arrive, because it will arrive. Meanwhile, Hank and Markus do everything in their power to find the missing detective and bring him home while a previous winner grapples with her own newfound humanity and her role in this contest.

Choices must be made, survival versus humanity. The clock is ticking, and hope is running out.

But there is always a chance for unlikely events to take place.

Mini Kind of SYOT Open, 5/6 slots reserved, more info in author's note.

Content Warning – Discrimination, Abuse, Allusions to Human Trafficking, Stockholm Syndrome in Cassandra's case.

Owen

Owen's chair made a soft creaking noise as he leaned back and propped his feet up on the desk in front of him. He took a long sip of coffee and scanned the screens in front of him. Each one showed a live feed of this year's recruits, each locked away and safely separated from one another.

Most of them were asleep. Some of them were just sitting there, staring off into space, perhaps still trying to contact the outside world. It was pathetically futile. The collars around their necks had a direct connection to the ports there, cutting off anything that wasn't essential to put on a good show.

A sob alerted Owen to one of the screens and he rolled his eyes. He didn't need to look at the number on her jacket or on the screen to know it was Contestant 002 again. It was no wonder she hadn't self-destructed yet with how whiny she was.

Oh well. There were plenty of other contestants here that would put on a show, and cannon fodder was a crucial part of the Competition.

The turnout this year was impressive. At first, Owen worried that the "free will" that these androids gained over the past year and a half would cause issues, but if anything, it made the recruitment process even easier. Job openings were the biggest lure, but so were fake profiles on websites that couldn't be traced back to him or any of his guys. Of course, there was the occasional snatching off of the streets, someone who is alone at night with no one to see them vanish.

How ever the contestants were gathered, discretion was of the utmost priority, especially this time around. The Competition was already only held every two years so that recruitments could be as spread out as possible, both in time and location, but with androids now having the same legal rights as humans, they were missing people now, not just stolen property.

Thankfully, these deviants were brought in from all over the northern United States, some even further out. There was little to connect them and tie them to each other. And Owen was operating right under CyberLife ... and now Jericho's noses. Ten years, five competitions, and Owen had yet to be bothered.

If things went smoothly, it would be the same thing this year. Somehow, this new deviant thing made the Competition even more exciting for the Guests, people who were bored with their miserable lives who pay to watch the Competition, bet on the Contestants, and perhaps make a buck themselves. It would be like watching real people fight to the death.

And what a turnout Owen had this year. Nineteen contestants so far, with two months left until the competition. It was the biggest batch he and his crew's been able to snag, and there was still plenty of time for more.

Of course, he'd have to figure out what to do with the last android standing. Usually, he wiped their memory and sent them on their way, but apparently deviant memory was stubborn. Maybe this winner would prove useful enough to stay though... Like Cassandra. Speaking of...

"Hey, Cass!"

Cassandra, a previous winner and his right-hand woman, entered the room moments later. "Yes, Owen?" she asked.

"Think you can do the rounds a little early tonight? I don't want any of our recruits self-destructing before the Games begin."

"I can do that. Should I give them Thirium as well?"

"If they play nice, yes."

Cassandra nodded and left without another word. Owen wasn't sure what he'd do without her. She was the one who interacted with the contestants the most, keeping them calm and making sure they behaved themselves until the Competition was due to begin. She was gentle yet vicious at the same time. She won by poisoning the Thirium sent to other contestants by the Guests. After she won, she had nowhere to go. No other purpose. So, Owen kept her around.

Once Cassandra appeared on the security feeds, distributing Thirium and interacting with the other contestants, Owen pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. He swiped his way into his contacts and found the one labeled "Detroit Sports Fanboy" and pressed it before holding the phone to his ear.

"Hey, it's me. I'm thinking it's time to get tickets to the next baseball game. You want to see if anyone wants to come with?"

The man on the other end of the line understood immediately. "I'll keep an eye out, Spider."

The call was brief, to the point, and overall productive. And with a little luck, new recruits would be on their way soon. Despite everything, the show must go on and go on it would.

I was debating how I should start this story, and after writing and re-writing over and over again, I eventually settled on a prologue from our main antagonist's point of view, Owen, otherwise known as the Spider.

The rules of the Competition (held every two years) are similar to the Hunger Games, hence the crossover, though the Games style will be more reminiscent of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Androids are taken, held until the Competition, and are then released into the warehouse to fight to the death, last one standing wins. There aren't any guns as that would attract attention, but there are other modern weapons like knives, machetes, baseball bats, brass knuckles, whatever other weapons that can be procured. Sponsorship systems are also similar, as Guests, the people who come and watch the Competition (sort of like the VIPs in Squid Game) can give money to purchase Thirium and other supplies for the Contestants. As for what happens to the winner, well, we only know what happens to Cassandra, who won the second iteration of the Competition back in 2032. She becomes Owen's right-hand woman. I hope this makes sense! The story starts in Spring 2040, eighteen months after the events of DBH. For ease, I used the Pacifist Best Ending (everyone lives) and is an SYOT in the sense that you create an android and they will be considered a contestant, or a tribute. I can't guarantee they'll all survive, but I can guarantee that at least one of the submitted contestants will live. More might survive if I feel that's the best route for the plot. If you're interested in the final slot, put a review in and I'll reach out via Discord or PM or whatever is easiest for you.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!