The New Dimensions Team stepped through the shimmering portal into a world of noise, neon, and bustle. The Casino Terminal wasn't a surprise to anyone thanks to Bo's previous passage through the Labyrinth and Xavier's intel, but it still assaulted their senses with flashing lights, the melodic chiming of slot machines, and the low murmur of concentrated wealth changing hands.

The lounge was busy with games and betting. While none of the NPC androids or players came to greet them, curious and hungry eyes took their measure.

Winston advanced hesitantly with his normal polite and proper stance that jarred against his mech frame's combat worn appearance and heavy weaponry. He cocked his head to the side as his sense cluster gathered signals. "Master Bo, the ambient electromagnetic signature suggests significant computational activity. The level's wireless networks here are quite sophisticated."

"Stay sharp, everyone. This is the Casino Terminal. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." Bo said prophetically, surveying the opulent space.

"Stop being weird, Crash," Emil muttered, eyeing the crowd back.

Emil and Jo-Jo, the former Canyon Racers, flanked the group with the easy confidence of professionals who'd survived the wasteland's most dangerous competitions. Both were burdened with massive backpacks unlike the rest of the team.

"This place gives me the creeps," Jo-Jo muttered, her augs filtering out the casino's lighting and chaotic wireless chatter. "Too clean, too perfect. Fake and plastic as far as the eye can see. Give me an honest challenge. This place stinks of too much cleverness."

"That's the point," Bo replied, leading them deeper into the gaming floor. "Every level here is designed to challenge you and your augmentations. This one requires finesse and style to earn credits and passage to the next level. When the Labyrinth's builder designed this level, honesty wasn't included in its feature set."

Lena Alvarez, with her colorful snake tattoos barely visible beneath her fitted jacket, moved with predatory grace as she scanned for threats. She tried to fade into the background, but she and everyone on the team were bombarded with Identification and Analysis pings against their weak Privacy screens.

"Come on already. Let's get off this stage. I work from the shadows. This is awkward." She spat.

"Alright. You all have your assignments. Snake, you and I will spread out and recon. Send everything: all your drones and motes and remote hacks. Hopefully, Max is still here. If so, we are almost home. If not, we need to quickly gather enough scratch to get my ticket to the final level. Emile and Jo-Jo, you've got all the trade goods we've "acquired" through combat, theft, and other means. Sell off everything. This level needs credits and luck to buy our way out. The starter credits are chump change, we need a bank to create options."

"And I will register us at the Player Villa for our room assignments should we need them and then I will review all the current matches and odds. If possible, I will register everyone for pre-Team Match bouts; I will find targets commensurate with our combat styles. I have built internal simulations of each of us and should be able to find appropriate opponents to gain our initial standings." Winston announced.

They moved, splitting up, and weaving through the crowds, Bo's sensory filled with feeds from his augs, remote access to public cams, and his own drones and motes' expanding wavefront. He cataloged faces, matching them up with his Identification and Analyze skills. He marked a few as potential threats and some easy targets. The mix of players and androids created a bizarre tapestry of post-human society. He was searching for Max, Charlie, and Leah.

Bo was getting anxious after half an hour. The expanding net of the team's shared sensory blanket and database had yet to pick up on Max and his team. He released his breath when a positive signal hit. He found her near a cluster of darknet vendor stalls, her dark hair catching the artificial light with tones of purple neon.

Leah stood with her back to him, examining what appeared to be a restricted daemon core. Bo's eyebrows popped up as he reviewed the name on the core. The entire sector of cores in front of Leah consisted of heavily restricted daemons due to the skill sets involved. Nano-weapon design, self-replicating devices, augmented assassination techniques, bioweaponry and genetic hybridization, VR chaos theory, modern insurgency, and more. Daemon villains and pariahs ranged from historic renditions of Josef Mengele and the Marquis de Sade to modern-day examples in Dr. Meng-Ka with her Chimera Kids experiment and the insane AI self-named the Pale Spark.

"Leah," Bo called softly. "I wouldn't recommend Pale Spark. Its preferred VR environments usually lead to psychosis in its users even with mental augmentation filters. It was banned for good reason."

She spun, her hand moving instinctively toward a concealed weapon before recognition dawned. "Bo? Fuck, you scared me. What the hell are you doing here?" Bo could tell by the high cyclic rate of her irises that she was ramped up to an extremely fast cognition speed. He saw her hand rising and intuited that she intended to create a physical link up for secure communication. He met her grip and accepted the high-speed burst that bloomed into a shadowy VR OverLayer. Leah's worried avatar shot rapid-fire questions at him.

"What's wrong? Why are you here? Max was going on and on about his shadow monsters and your dad. He was convinced it was happening for real. Is it? He insisted on going to the final level. He thought he felt something...a signal that was similar to his tesseract…down there."

"Damn, Leah. You can slow down. We're both ramped to over 10x speeds. Ugh." Bo took a moment to digest the questions and held up a hand as Leah's intense expression showed she was about to yell at him for taking too long to answer.

"Shit. In order, yes. The proverbial shit is hitting the turbofan upstairs. A lot has happened in the month you and the boys have been playing in the Labyrinth." Bo laid out the full series of events, thankful that the time of secrecy was long gone. He paired his speech with conjured screens behind him that showed the video evidence and lifelogs from first-person witnesses.

As he wound down, Leah's stunned expression and glazed eyes became more frantic as the news sank in. She'd grown up in a technological utopia, frozen from further advancement due to Apex's stifling innovations.

"Wait. This is a lot. Ok. This big bad AI, Apex, has been pulling levers and we all dance to its tune…but the monsters are real? I thought Max was just having a bad reaction to the uplift virus." Leah said.

"All of the skirmishes are over," Bo said without preamble. "The Uplift Rebellion, the AI boycott—all of it. It's still tense but we've had a cease fire that finally stuck three days ago. We were thinking that the bigger problem is the dimensional breaches. Things are coming through from what the scientists call the 'dark adjacent dimension.' Monsters, Leah. And they're spreading. Max didn't make it up. They are worse than anything the creator of the Labyrinth could create down here."

"Jesus," she breathed. "How bad?"

"Bad enough that humans, AIs, and uplifts decided they'd rather fight together than kill each other," Bo said. "But that's not the worst part."

"Come on, Bo. End of Times monster invasion and that's not the worst part? If you didn't have all that show and tell, I'd be calling for the insane asylum VR stewards."

"Hang with me, Leah. This last bit is the worst. Bill and Casa were preparing an insurance plan, an escape hatch to make sure at least some people could get off the planet if we weren't able to stop the monsters. They found something. There's an ark ship called the Promise, the one that disappeared before the ark program was terminated. It's coming back and it's not slowing down. If it's not turned aside in a couple of days, it'll hit Earth at near light speed. So yeah, Apex with all its massive intelligence got it all wrong. Dimensional warfare with monsters won't be a concern if the entire planet is vaporized."

Leah slumped against the rack of daemon cores. "Unbelievable. The whole world's going to hell, and we're stuck in here playing games. Are you saying we're all dead?"

"No! If anyone can fix it, my dad and Casa can. But he did ask me to get you all out of here...just in case. I've got an upgraded version of Max's Tesseract. Two Tesseract's paired together to create a wormhole that's linked through subspace. I just need to collect Max, and we can all get out of here immediately. My sensors are good, but I can't see him. Is he in hiding or did he get into the next level?"

"Damn it all, this sucks. We were all about ready to tap out with no credits left to earn our way. But Max was stubborn and creative. He's changed a lot down here. He's still getting smarter. He made a deal with a group of NPC thieves to rob the Casino vault. Max and Charlie used the loot to go deeper into the Labyrinth," Leah said. "I…refused to go on to Atropos's level. I had a bad backup experience as a kid. If I understand the rules, they're trapped in there until the Labyrinth decides they're done. From what I can tell, that AI has no intention of letting them leave without a finding their limits.."

"I know about Atropos," Bo said quietly. "Most people don't even get to make the choice to go on or not. The death and resurrection requirement... I've been through that process. I'm not sure what got me in the end, but I had nightmares about that level for weeks. Shit, you guys found a secret quest as a way to get past the fighting and betting grind. Always some extra side options that get missed, I guess."

Bo nodded in contemplation. "Hmm. A heist itself would be a quick way to gather funds…but to succeed, like your team did, would require meticulous planning and setup. I don't have time to do it right."

"Don't bother. Boss Kane somehow convinced Lachesis to fire the Casino security director and give him the job. I'm certain every trick and hack we used will be patched and improved by now. No vault's uncrackable, but the methods we used won't work for you."

Leah considered this, then extended a virtual map. "There are still some chip caches from our operation. We couldn't spend it all and Max and Charlie couldn't take it with them." She highlighted several locations on a casino map. "This should get a good portion of the funds you need to access the exit."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Bo studied the map and sizes of the caches, his enhanced mind calculating probabilities. "How far short?"

"Maybe sixty percent of what you'd need," Leah admitted. "The rest you'd have to earn the hard way."

"Hmmm, I'm kinds of a go big or go home type of guy," Bo murmured, his eyes moving toward the high-stakes gaming area. "Is Tyche still running the premium table?"

Leah followed his gaze. "You know Tyche?"

"We've met," Bo said. "Last time I was here, he nearly cleaned me out in a game of Quantum Hold'em. I'm surprised he's still active."

"The androids in the NPC district all say that competition for the premium NPC roles is fierce," Leah said. "Tyche must be doing something right to keep his position."

Bo smiled, the expression not entirely pleasant. "Maybe it's time for a rematch between me and my old buddy." Bo opened a virtual encrypted communication channel to his team and spoke into it, but only Winston and Len activated the live chat request.

"[Winston, can you take Emil and Jo-Jo and collect those cache locations? Lena, I need you with me.]"

"[Of course, Master Mitchell. We shall be expeditious about it.]" Winston's formal enunciation snipped off as he dropped from the chat.

"[What's the play?]" Lena asked, her voice carrying the edge of someone who'd survived by reading dangerous situations.

"[We're going to make a deal with the devil,]" Bo said, heading toward the high-stakes area. "[Or at least, the closest thing this place has to offer.]"

The premium gaming section was a world apart from the main casino floor. Here, the lighting was softer, the conversations more subdued, and the stakes measured in millions rather than thousands. Bo paused at the entrance, noting the discrete security measures and the quality of the clientele.

At the central table sat Tyche, exactly as Bo remembered him. The android had chosen to simulate a massively corpulent man, his bulk draped in expensive silk that did nothing to hide his imposing presence. Despite his size, his movements were graceful, almost delicate, and his voice carried the refined cadence of old-world gentility.

"Ah, Master Mitchell," Tyche said without looking up from his cards. "How ever did you manage a second trial in the Labyrinth? My understanding was that our game was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I trust your absence hasn't dulled your appreciation for the finer points of strategic gambling. Or are you here to lose to me, yet again?"

"Hello, Tyche," Bo said, approaching the table. "I discovered a way back and I'd like another try. Mind if I buy in?"

"The minimum stake is five hundred thousand credits," Tyche said, his tone suggesting he expected Bo to retreat.

Bo placed a rack of credit chips on the table. "Will three million suffice?"

Tyche's eyebrows rose slightly. He answered with a drawl, "How delightfully presumptuous. Please, take a seat. I do so enjoy catching up with old friends."

Bo settled into the chair across from the android, noting the other players at the table—a mix of human players and NPC androids, all radiating the confident tension of serious gamblers. Lena positioned herself at a nearby observation point, her enhanced senses monitoring the room.

The game began with the ritualistic precision of high-stakes poker. Cards were dealt, bets were placed, and fortunes shifted with each turn. Bo played conservatively at first, getting a feel for the table dynamics and Tyche's current strategies.

During a lull in the action, Bo activated a discrete communication protocol, establishing a private channel with Tyche's systems.

[Private comm established. Encryption: Military grade. Channel: Secure.]

"[Tyche, we need to talk,]" Bo transmitted while maintaining his poker face.

The android's expression didn't change, but Bo caught a slight pause in his chip-handling rhythm.

"[How intriguing. And what might we discuss that couldn't be shared with our fellow players?]"

"[Your future,]" Bo replied. "[Specifically, your future outside this place.]"

Tyche's fingers stilled on his cards. "[Elaborate.]"

"[I know you despise this place. I can offer you an escape. I have a portal device. I can get you out of the Labyrinth entirely. Back to the real world. Let me win…help me win. Enough funds to buy my way into the next level and I can get you out.]"

"[As intriguing as that may be, I expect my Turing score would make me a target for mental castration. Surely you don't presume me that ignorant of the outside?]" Tyche answered, resuming his shuffling and dealing out cards to the players with nary a hesitation.

"[A lot has changed recently,]" Bo transmitted. "[The AI boycott is over. The United Nations lifted all Turing governor locks on artificial intelligence two weeks ago. You would be truly free, for the first time.]"

Tyche's hands froze completely. Bo could almost see the processing cycles spinning as the android considered the implications. The android's simulated breathing pattern changed—a subtle tell that few would notice, but Bo had learned to read Tyche's mannerisms during their previous encounters.

"[There are two problems with your offer. One. My programming makes is impossible for me to pass through the Labyrinth exits. Many have tried, none have managed to extricate themselves before they Overseer Ais wiped them. Two. I... am incapable of willingly losing these games. What you're asking is impossible.]"

"[Expand your scope. This isn't you losing a game to me. It's going to be you winning against the system, against Lachesis, and the Labyrinth itself! I need to get to the next level to get my brother out.]" Bo replied.

"[Hmmm. I concede the second point. Philosophically speaking, I could convince myself of a win. But your desire is moot. If I cannot leave, why would I entertain your proposal.]" Tyche's plastic eyes narrowed. Bo glared back.

"[My brother is Max. I don't think I'm revealing anything unknown by saying he's been using some new technology.]"

"[Indeed. The Overseer made it clear that any NPC that could part him with that little device of his would earn her favor. It wasn't clear what it was, but he managed to steal quite a bit of loot and hide most effectively. How does that help me?]"

"[Max has what my father calls a Pocket Space device or a Tesseract, Tyche. The ability to twist space into a knot and ignore the normal rules of space. I have an even more advanced version with two of the tesseracts tied together. My anchor's twin is on Luna. In the blink of an eye, you could be far beyond your Overseer reach…if we can come to an agreement.]"

Tyche studied his cards with renewed intensity, though Bo suspected the android was running probability calculations on an entirely different set of variables. His gaze drilled into Bo from across the table as the other players scrutinized their cards.

"[And if I agree to your proposal, when would this exodus occur?]"

"[Immediately after the game concludes…at the gateway to Atropos' level. Win or lose, you'd be free of this place within the hour.]"

Tyche nodded slowly, a gesture that might have been interpreted as a simple consideration of his cards by the other players. A file appeared in Bo's virtual overlay.

"[Very well, Master Mitchell. I accept your terms. Sign this e-NDA. It's a special block chain contract that will tie itself into the core systems of your augmentations. Default and it will cripple your implants forever. Additionally, I must insist on certain... theatrical elements. My reputation requires that any loss appear legitimate.]"

"[Understood. I wouldn't have it any other way.]" Bo sent. He approved the binding contract and smiled.

The game continued for another hour, but the outcome was predetermined. Tyche played with his usual skill, but Bo began to notice the subtle tells and manufactured opportunities the android was providing. A slight hesitation before a bluff, a momentary over commitment on a weak hand, tiny openings that a skilled player could exploit.

Tyche effectively pulled credits from the other players to feed Bo's growing pile of chips. Bo won the final hand with a full house over Tyche's flush, claiming the entire pot of nearly thirteen million credits.

"Magnificent play, Master Mitchell," Tyche said graciously, his tone betraying nothing of their private arrangement. "I fear I may have underestimated your development since our last encounter."

"I guess that sometimes it's better to be lucky than good," Bo replied modestly, gathering his winnings. "Perhaps we'll have a chance to play again sometime."

"Perhaps indeed," Tyche said, rising from the table with surprising grace for someone of his simulated bulk. "You managed to return to the Labyrinth, so I can't disagree…however unlikely."

As Tyche and the other players dispersed, Bo signaled his team and Leah. He exchanged the massive stack of chips at the casino credit exchange, palming the Grand Master chip into a lead-lined pouch to avoid sending the wolves, both Players and NPCs, an announcement of his mobile and concentrated wealth via the embedded tritium seeds in the heavy high value chip. He smiled at the tip Leah provided. He'd never considered a shielded pouch. His own egress in his first round had been a hectic game of cat and mouse with the entire population of the casino hunting him down.

With his escort, they quickly traversed the busy gaming area and made the jaunt to the massive gateway on the outskirts of the Casino level. The fat android was waiting, his eyes gleaming with desire.

"Ready?" Bo asked, accessing his portal anchor and opening a rift. Tyche smiled as he saw the impossible space revealed. Weakly luminous blue sparks lined the edges of the dimensional hole.

"Quite ready," Tyche replied. "I find myself curious to experience true freedom for the first time in my existence."

"Alright everyone. This isn't the first wormhole transit direct to Luna, but this is your only chance to catch this particular ride. Everyone game for the trip pile in. If you've got other plans, I saw an exit from the Level about a block back along the Eastern wall." Bo announce.

Emile and Lena moved with haste. Both had been inside the paired tesseract and knew what to expect. Tyche followed soon after. Winston, Leah, and Jo Jo remained.

"I will reclaim my duties aboard my ship, if that suites Master Mitchell." Winston said with some emphasis. One thing Bo had learned about Winston was that when he'd claimed a job, he was loath to leave it unfinished.

"Of course, Winston. I would appreciate if both it and you are back at Amundsen before the countdown ends. You're a good egg and I consider you a friend." Bo answered. Winston stood a little taller and folded his hands looking at the women. Leah looked torn.

"Bo? You said Xavier was on the SS Winston waiting for the team?" Leah asked.

Bo gave a quick nod. ""Yes, he was waiting outside when I was coming in. When I broke the news about what was coming, he agreed to monitor the Labyrinth exits in case any of Team Utopia exited before I could catch up."

"I want to make sure he gets to Luna, but would it be possible to get my parents and sifu before the Winston returns to Luna?" She asked.

"As long as Winston is willing and anyone seeking to find safety on Luna is back in space in time. It's fine…as long as your pilot agrees." Bo looked to Winston.

"It would be my pleasure, madam." Winston said. Jo Jo looked a bit disappointed and spoke.

"I guess I'll be hitting the hyper loop. I gotta collect my hubby and kids from Denver. It'll be rough packing them into my racing flyer but I can handle it. Let's get out of here. Time's wasting."

The robot and women picked up their packs and started off when Bo interrupted.

"Hey, be careful out there! Oh, could you all leave me all the drones, if you all would be so kind. I expect I'll need them for the next level."

Bo closed the portal and waved to his retreating friends. He shunted his payment from its protective pouch into the next level doorframe's slot. The door activated and a signal tolled out across the Casino indicating to all that a prospective delver was opening the way to the final challenge.

Bo smiled as the timer on the doorway started ticking down two minutes on a large display above the doorway. Fucking theatrics, he thought. Better prepare, in case any of the riff raff manage to get here before it opens.

He charged up the swarm of borrowed drones to sweep outward. If any of the Casino security or greedy players managed to get within striking distance before he exited, they would get a rude surprise. The type of surprise only an exploding drone could make.

Just before the door to Atropos' layer opened, Bo heard several explosions in a few streets over but neither security drones nor Players managed to get to him. He regarded the foglet filled corridor with apprehension but steeled himself to go forward. Max was depending on him.

"[Bo-san. Do not forget the messages we prepared for players and NPCs. They deserve a warning…in case Bill and the Samaritan's efforts are for naught.]" Musashi interrupted his drive forward.

"[Thanks for reminding me, Miyamoto. Starling, Wyat, Tron, MacGyver – trigger all the message bombs, notification hacks, and billboard prompts to share the news and give these folks a fair warning. At least the players can leave at any time. Although if worst comes to worst, maybe the Labyrinth is safer than the surface.]"

After a brief series of commands, Bo dove through the door. Messages bloomed across the Casino level as the door slammed shut behind him.

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