And now, we get to fully immerse ourselves with Aleena's predicament, following her kidnapping in the last piece.

This is another piece I really love. Aleena and the villain really 'click.' In the sense of making for good interaction, not in the sense of liking each other!

 
"St. Germaine, a liqueur made from elderflower," said Cyber Sunset, putting the drink down after just a moment. "If you're going to try to play 'stump the expert', at least have the decency to mix the drink."

Cyber Sunset sat on the bar stool, watching the bartender sigh and the other Mystery Man, a girl who claimed to have been raised by monkeys in a forest, though was adapting to city life quite well ever since she was discovered by an explorer and brought back to civilization. The girl eventually found a page and carefully showed it to the bartender to prevent Cyber Sunset from seeing. The bartender nodded and got to work.

The Corner Pocket was one of Cyber Sunset's favorite clubs. A classy joint with just enough of a reputation as a dive to let the occasional colorful character wander in. It wasn't really known as a bar for the vigilantes or astonishing adventurers who plagued the rest of the city, but there were often just enough of them that some Shop Talk could happen if you wanted it. In short, it was a place where you could exist in either of the Two Worlds of Honorburg as much as you wanted. And, right now, Cyber Sunset was enjoying time away from the work. Sleep wasn't truly necessary for the hero, but it helped. It helped a lot.

While waiting for the bartender to finish mixing the drinks (Sunset didn't even look at the mix, that'd be cheating), Cyber Sunset noticed an oddly dressed fellow entering. A casual observer might not have noticed the oddities, but a practiced clue hound would have known right off the bat that there was something odd. The matching rings on both of his left and right hands...the fishhook casually piercing the brim of the hat...the familiar tattoo that was almost, but not quite, hidden by the long sleeves of the man's shirt...there was a disheveled class about the figure, who was clearly the finer sort of riff-raff. Cyber Sunset observed all of this, groaned inwardly, and started listening, leaning back in the stool just enough to catch their conversation.

"The master demands the cards," said the cultist, clearly counting on the 'idiots in the masses' to never see through his clever disguise even though it had markings of his cult on them.

"Easy now, easy. I got 'em. Made to your specifications. At a discount, too, so I've knocked off my usual ten-percent finder's fee," said the more well disguised supplier (Cyber Sunset took a few extra moments to observe the man's face and memorize it for later.)

"He will be pleased to hear that," said the cultist, opening an envelope and taking some bills out of it before sliding it across the table to the supplier. "And the cards are to the proper specifications?"

"Not even the Dusk Society could counter them, I think," said the supplier with a wink as he pocketed the envelope. "At least, that's what my provider says...I keep out of your juju voodoo stuff."

"As well you should," said the cultist. "I doubt the protections will be necessary, though...my master believes this prisoner to be entirely without magical aid. Merely technology advanced enough to appear magical. Some sort of...elf with a special suit."

Cyber Sunset almost gasped, but remembered not to in time to avoid giving away that the two criminals were being louder than they meant to be. A non-magical elf with a special suit could theoretically describe anyone, but Cyber Sunset had only personally met one person that that might describe...

The two crooks finished their business and the cultist left. Cyber Sunset watched a clock on the wall, counting the seconds until the "safe" time to begin following that years in the business had granted the experience to intuitively feel. The bartender entered Sunset's field of vision, however, and set down a glass.

"There ya go. Drink up."

Cyber Sunset took one taste and smiled. "Ahh, now that's more like it. I still know it, though. Something of a rarity: this is a 'Tom and Jerry', first described by Pierce Egan almost a hundred years ago. Eggnog, brandy and rum."

So saying, Cyber Sunset nodded to the now-upset jungle woman and left, pausing only at the coat check room to pick up the "special package" that had been checked in here months earlier "just in case" instead of the trench coat that had been checked in just under an hour ago. Cyber Sunset took the package to an alley outside and quickly changed before leaving to pick up the trail. Cultists that sure of themselves always left a trail...

*****

Aleena slowly regained consciousness and felt blood rushing to her head. Opening her eyes, she realized that she was hanging upside-down and bound with a series of wires that sizzled and snapped with an electric charge. Two of them ran parallel from the ceiling before wrapping around her ankles and legs, pulling her spread eagle and showing off her shapely hips and strong thighs. The electric cables snaked across her body wrapping around her torso, binding her arms to her back before finally ending in a harness that held her by her shoulders and chest.

"Uhhnnnn," Aleena moaned. "Not again."

"She wakes!" shouted a voice from nearby (and a short distance below) her. "Call the Master!"

The worried speaking and shuffling of the other people provided ample opportunity for Aleena to see her surroundings. It was a large room that looked as if it had been converted from a casino of some sort. Various slot machines and game tables covered the space below, though a (probably recently constructed) walkway wound through the ceiling providing a wonderful view. An incredibly large slot machine that appeared to be made of gold filled the wall away from the main entrance, complete with seven windows for the rolling images and a massive arm for activation. While all of the robed minions below were busy and seemed concerned about the waking Aleena, many of them seemed to be invested in games at the tables, unwilling to stop to help bring the news to their master. The last thing Aleena may have noticed by tilting her head all the was up (or down, rather) was the large tank immediately beneath her filled with a strange, green substance.

'The Master' (or, at least, the mage who had zapped her earlier) now approached Aleena along the walkway. The robes and sigils that he wore in the field were toned down now, replaced by garb more fitting to the times (and, oddly, the location.) His top hat and white gloves projected the image of a stage performer, with only his cape, cuff links and shoes demonstrating any outward signs of a mystical connection. As he reached the end of the walkway, where it branched in two other directions, he was about five feet from Aleena, and staring at her eye to eye. Having had time to clear her head, Aleena probably noticed the other chandeliers hanging evenly spaced throughout the casino's ceiling, placing her in a spot where one of the room's previous light sources had once been.

"My dear, welcome to my casino. It's not strictly open, yet, but you may be able to help me in that regard. Tell me, have you found your stay comfortable so far?"

Though she was securely tied, Aleena struggled in her bindings. The elf glanced at a reflection of herself in one of the nearby chandeliers and blushed - the angle really accentuated her curves. Her nanite suit clung tightly to her form as it always had - apart from showing off her athletic body, it kept her blood from pooling in her head so she could keep conscious. It additionally insulated her from the buzzing and arcing electric current, but it could do little else to help her at the moment. "I do not know you. What twisted, over-complicated, doomed to failure plan have you cooked up?" she taunted.

"My plan is that we will play cards," he said, infuriatingly bluntly.

"Good luck with that," she sighed.

"Do you have any preferences as to game?" he asked.

Aleena glanced at the vat of green fluid before returning her gaze to her captor. "Yeah. Go fish," she shot back without humor.

The mage frowned for a moment but nodded after. "Yes...yes, 'Go Fish' would be acceptable. Perhaps not as climactic as poker or blackjack, but I suppose a level of whimsy is permissible under the circumstances. Why that game, out of curiosity?"

"Because you asked."

"Ahh," he said. "So the first game on your mind. Now then...what will you demand upon victory? I will demand, as I am sure you can guess, your life."

Aleena pondered a moment. "You may find me very difficult to kill."

"That won't be an issue," said the man. "Many people gamble that which they do not have. In the end...the House will still Always Win. My name, incidentally, is Liet Nien, and I will be your host this evening. May I inquire as to your name?"

Aleena did not feel the need to answer, so she turned to a threat instead. "You don't even know who you've got, do you? Release me and surrender, and I may let you and your minions live. Do not waste my time. Eventually, I will be free, and you will be slain."

Liet nodded. "I like that. So many of the Mystery Men in this town say 'You won't get away with this! When I get free, justice will be served!' But you go right for the kill. Very honest. Well, I'm fine with you killing me at some point in the future. For now...I must serve The House."

"I know not who the Mystery Men are. Justice, though, is one of the virtues I pray to. Very well; I have all evening and the minutes of your life grind towards its inevitable conclusion. I suggest you make the most of them."

"Understood. But I really must know: what will you demand if you win?"

"I will not participate in your twisted game. You will do what you will regardless of what I have to say anyway."

"Interesting," said Liet as he began to shuffle the cards while a table was set in front of him by some of his hooded minions. "You won't even demand your freedom if you win? Or my own life? Well, that bodes well for me. If you are victorious in the first game, then I suppose that will leave me free to play a second. I thank you for that small mercy, I didn't expect it."

"Tell me then, why do you do this?" Aleena asked. She wasn't sure if she cared to know the answer; this world, especially this city, always surprised her. It was almost as if the world was tripping over itself to show her how... cartoonish it could become. She wasn't sure if that was the right word for her current predicament, but it seemed to fit.

"I must play as The House commands," Liet said, dealing some cards out. Some of the ropes around Aleena snapped out and picked up the hand of cards, holding them in front of her eyes. "The games never end. The House is my master, and rewards me greatly, though sends me on odd errands. My association with Philler is an annoyance that takes me from my work...but it gave me the opportunity to find a hostage. Perhaps you will be the one that The House will find sufficient."

"Who is 'The House'?"

"The House is...fortune, of some sort. Good and bad. The house demands chaos, but expects certainty as a result. The House plays games for continually more and more serious stakes. The House Always Wins."

"It sounds like something you should burn down with fire. Or nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure."

"That would not be sufficient," he said with a sad smile. "You can not stop children from gambling sweets on every world. You can not prevent emperors from wagering on the lives of gladiators in every reality. Where there is probability and merriment, there you will find The House."

"I sincerely doubt that. It is either an effect localized to this place or the product of a deranged mind. Now, which is it?"

"I envy your complete certainty," he said. "The complete, unshakable belief that you have the universe figured out, labeled, and placed in a little box. Do you have any...threes?"

"Though here your power is pandemic, I hardly find it problematic.
When the advantage is still mine both physical and academic.
I've knowledge scientific, astronomic and acrobatic,
gathered from intense study of phenomenon enigmatic."

At this, some of the ropes suspending Aleena slipped and she dropped an inch, though the ropes binding her remained firmly in place. The ropes holding the cards adjusted for the new height and the mage laughed.

"Amusing! Most amusing. Sadly, however, I cannot hear the entire operetta. The ropes have an independent life, so to speak, that lies outside of my direct influence. They will drop you into the vat of acid below if you continue to delay to play for your life. And it's worth mentioning that the acid is the home of a very hungry shark who hasn't had a meal today."

As if on cue, the pool's acid-breathing shark splashed its head above the surface of the water and submerged again, vanishing into the murky ooze.

The elf sighed. "As you will. Go fish." Aleena lied, knowing the mage could not see her cards and could not know.

The ropes suspending Aleena slipped again, and she dropped another inch. The mage shook his head as the ropes manipulating the cards tossed a three towards him.

"The ropes are honest, very honest. I don't recommend trying to deceive them. They do not appreciate stalling tactics as much as I do. ...do you have a jack?"

"Threats will get you everywhere, it seems. No, I do not. Go fish."

The mage smiled when the ropes did not threaten to lower Aleena any further and drew a card from the deck. He sighed.

"Not a jack, sadly. The turn moves to you."

"Give me your jack," Aleena declared. "And then a '4', if you possess one."

Liet tossed Aleena his jack, and the card he had just picked up (a four), and the game continued. The players were obviously skilled, and capable of extrapolating many useful pieces of information from the queries of the other party. However, when all the sets were on the table, Aleena claimed the last cards, two sets ahead of Liet Nien.

"Congratulations!" he said as the game ended, seeming to show genuine approval for Aleena's victory.

Aleena offered a half-smile. "I will then re-extend to you my offer: free me, or die."

Liet frowned. "I...don't understand. You hadn't previously expressed an interest in any victory stakes..."

Aleena struggled, tensing, pulling with all her might against the bonds. "Somehow I knew you'd twist things!"

The man shook his head. "No, no I twisted nothing. I asked before what you would choose as a prize if you won the game. You declared no interest in requesting anything in the event of your victory. We can't change what we were gambling for after the game has ended."

"Such a deal is unconscionable, Liet. You know this."

"The deal was fair, and you could have named any terms," said Liet as he picked up the cards again, beginning to shuffle them. "However, if you wish to change your stakes for this second game..."

"The whole house can go jump down a quantum singularity," Aleena muttered.

Three things then happened simultaneously. First, the ropes holding Aleena in the air, perhaps sensing her unwillingness to participate in a second game, released her, causing her to fall towards the vat of acid just as the shark emerged from the chemicals, its eager mouth open. Second, the tree-trunk-sized arm of the massive slot machine on the far wall slowly lowered and the seven picture-frame sized windows began to show pictures spinning behind them. Third, a flash of green light burst upon the card table, rapidly coalescing into Cyber Sunset, sword drawn.

"Liet Nien! I knew it was you the moment I saw that goon of yours with a fishhook in his hat! Teach your flunkies that actual disguises are...Aleena!"

Right about then, Cyber Sunset noticed that Aleena's bound body was falling. It was only a split second, too quick for Cyber Sunset to react to, but it gave her comfort that the elf looked prepared as nanites swarmed, reforming her suit's natural helmet, protecting her as she impacted the shark and its acid pool.

Cyber Sunset leaned over the railing, and looked down to see Aleena sinking and the dazed acid shark trying to regain its bearings. Aleena twisted in the liquid, trying to work herself free of the cables binding her. Cyber Sunset tried to reach out with the teleportation tech to "lock on" to Aleena and summon her back up to the catwalk, but was stopped when an electric blast from Liet stopped the process.

"The House always wins, Cyber Sunset!" shouted Liet Nien. "In all the times we have faced each other, you have failed to grasp that concept!"

"It seems to lose often enough when I get involved," said Cyber Sunset, swinging the electric blade at the mage who took a nasty cut on the shoulder.

"The chump change lost in individual games pales before the treasure trove that is claimed in the long haul, hero!"

The next noise made both Sunset and Liet glance down. Free of the rapidly disintegrating cables, Aleena rolled out of the acid bath and onto the carpet before climbing to her feet. Dripping with acid, where she stepped rapidly melted into ooze. Cyber Sunset smiled, marveling at the resiliency of Aleena's suit, and was once again caught off guard by the opportunistic Liet who grappled the technological vigilante from behind with electric fists blazing. In a fair fight, Liet might have had a chance against the hero in such circumstances. However, a lifetime of bar brawls and rodeos, not to mention law enforcement and hero work, can teach would-be wrestlers a number of handy tricks. As such, Liet was soon flipped over the railing, falling into the maws of the hungry shark in the acid pool below.

In the next moment, Aleena had run, crossing the room to the giant golden one-armed bandit. Screams of pain issued from the minions who had the unfortunate luck to have come between the acid-covered elf and her goal. She quickly climbed atop the slot machine and used her leverage against the wall to push it over, knocking it onto its face. The internal machinery of the slot machine spun wildly, eventually coming to a halt that caused bright lights on its surface to flash and music to issue forth from it like an arcade nickelodeon. It shuddered, and various hinges and gears seemed to activate, though from its new position it did not open as intended.

Cyber Sunset, meanwhile, had teleported to the floor, and was standing a distance away from the acid pool.

"Liet! Surrender, and come quietly!"

"Aaaaaarrrrraaaaaaghhh!" came his reply.

"Good enough," said Cyber Sunset, using the voice to determine just where the mage was so that he could be teleported out of the pool (with most of the acid left behind). Cyber Sunset clubbed the mage on the back of the head to knock him out for good measure.

Aleena took a look around the casino from atop the giant toppled slot machine. Her suit sensed some form of radiation emission from the device, but it seemed to have dissipated since her attack. Whatever it was, whatever that crazed mage believed it to be, was gone now. Cyber Sunset looked to be focused on something intense but as he did not appear to be in immediate danger, the elf turned her attention to the mooks. Several lay about the floor unconscious or in pain; others had fled the scene. But one face had caught her. Rather, it caught her suit's attention, which identified the miscreant as one who had attacked her group days prior. Even while the elf is busy with other tasks such as fighting, her suit keeps a watchful eye all around her. So to speak.

Cyber Sunset approached Aleena, grinning. "Ordinarily I'd apologize for cutting it so close, but it looks like you were more than prepared for a dip in the ol' dunk tank. If you don't mind me saying so, that suit of yours is an absolute marvel."

The elf responded with a nod, as CS would not be able to see her smile through her helmet. "Thanks."

She knelt beside the man who had caught her attention and searched him, pulling out his pockets and laying out his cigar pack, a matchbook, and some meat. "What do you make of this?"

Cyber Sunset teleported to Aleena's side and knelt as well to get a closer look. "Hard to say. Could be a clue...matchbooks are handy like that. I'm grateful every week for the ridiculous hold that tobacco seems to have over the criminal element. Seriously, every week. Sometimes two, three times."

Aleena laughed. "Must make your job a little easier."

"Hey Dash, can you hear me?" Aleena's voice echoed into Dash's mind, carried by radio and the nanites she left in her lover's body. It worked almost as though they were telepathic, but completely facilitated by the amazing technology of the space elves.

Dash's confused answer echo'ed in her head. "Aleena?"

"I think our next stop will be wherever this place is." Dash suddenly saw saw through Aleena's eyes -- and his own as well. He saw the man's face, and he saw the matchbook that the elf inspected.

"Understood. How are you communicating with me?" Dash asked, obviously not eager about the answer he'd already concluded.

"The nanites inside of you allow us to communicate." Aleena responded. "Though I sense you are not enthused at that answer."

"Not especially, but we'll talk about it later.." There was a pause in Dash's mental answers. "But since it's here, how do I.. er.. dial you up? If I need you?"

"Just picture me in your mind, and then direct your thoughts to that image. If I'm in radio range and nothing is interfering, I'll hear and respond."

"I.. see.. Get in touch with me soon," Dash said. "I'm almost to my first contact now."

"Good luck," was Aleena's final reply.

"Cyber, I've made Dash aware of our status. Where are we headed?" Aleena turned over the matchbook. The text on the reverse read "Pellr Hotel."

"Well, we should start by finding where this Pellr Hotel is," said Cyber Sunset, "though that's an unusual word...never heard it before."

"If anyone can find it, I think you can."

"Maybe," said Cyber Sunset looking over the matchbook carefully. "I thought I knew all the seedy dives and high-class joints that gave out matchbooks like this. Guess I was mistaken. I knew I should've been keeping an eye on the hotels..."

Aleena's helmet dissolved back into her suit, and she grinned. "Well, let's get started. We've work to do."

Cyber Sunset internally winced at the deciding blow to his recreational activities for the evening, but outwardly grinned. "Can't wait."

With that, Cyber Sunset took Aleena's hand and teleported away. And just as they vanished, a coin slid from between the crack that Aleena had put into the slot machine. The coin rolled along the floor, landing by the mage's hand. It collapsed, landing heads up. Then it began to glow...

Awesome little scene there! Coin's mentioned again in the Finale. And just like that, we're down to our last three pieces. We got a couple solos- Sir Fumblies and Dash.

But before we get to that- Todd Blackpaws!