Fingers ran worriedly through raven-black hair, making it messier than it already was. It was spiked up, almost like a sword-just like his father's hair at that age. In fact, Jix looked almost exactly like his father when he was ten, minus the glasses and the trench coat. He always wore the same dark purple t-shirt with his father's insignia in it, a light blue alien symbol that meant "paranormal". His father's life's work.

Jix sighed. He liked the paranormal-just not the way his dad treated the paranormal. Ever since his dad had caught that alien back when he was a teenager, his notoriety had grown, and grown, and kept on growing. After that it seemed he was unstoppable. He started discovering more aliens, then Bigfoot, then Nessie…

Jix continued walking down the egg-white hallways, feeling the usual sickness settle in his stomach, as if he were in a hospital. But no; he knew that his father's laboratory was worse than in a hospital, in all ways. The patients weren't injured because of an accident. They were injured on purpose.

He suddenly heard a voice coming from the holding area, and took a sudden turn into it, wondering who would be in there at such a late hour. He was greeted by the sight of countless paranormal beings, all locked up in electrified cages, some injured, some dying. Some dead, probably. He spotted the owner of the voice quickly enough and averted his gaze to the floor immediately, making his way through the maze of cells to her.

It was his younger sister Zea, of course. He should have guessed. The girl's pink-hued hair, like her aunt's, was impossible to miss-a beacon of color in the muted halls of the laboratory. At the moment her auburn eyes were trained to a small, sickly alien, with dark blue eyes and tiny gray horns poking up from its head.

"So, anyways, this girl, like, walks up to me, shoves me, and says that you scum get what you deserve. That is so ridiculous! It's just not fair. You deserve to be free!" Zea was rambling on and on to the tired alien, who only gazed back at her sadly. It was no secret that Zea strongly disapproved of the treatment their father gave the beings that he caught, but she couldn't help them escape; their father wouldn't trust her with anything relating to the paranormal. He didn't trust Jix either. Their father was always so paranoid, thinking that they were going to betray him-they may have been his children, but in his mind they were nothing more than hindrances.

"Hey," Jix said quietly, startling his sister. "Have you seen dad?" Zea glanced at the alien she had been talking to, and then back to Jix. Her eyes were narrowed, a fire burning within them. "No, and I don't care to know where he is."

Jix stooped down by his sister, knowing that even if she had seen their father, she probably wouldn't tell him. "So….how is No. 1?" he asked, sounding genuinely worried. The "specimen" had been very sick lately, and all the scientists were rushing to save him. Just so they can perform more experiments on him. Jix thought bitterly.

"Badly…" Zea replied. "Want to go visit him?"

"Sure."

The two stood up and headed towards the back of the room, where the largest cell was. It was built specifically for the first alien dad ever caught. They entered the room slowly, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep.

"Who's there?" A cautious voice sounded out, trying to sound threatening but only coming off as weak. Zea and Jix both looked at each other. The alien in the room, simply known as No. 1, was suspended in a liquid tube. Red eyes were cracked open, but they were blank, unseeing.

"Just us." They replied in unison, watching as the alien's form visibly relaxed. "Oh..." A ragged cough tore from the alien, shaking his small frame violently. "H-hello filthy worm babies of the Dib-thing…"

The prisoner had grown used to them visiting, and although he didn't like them very much, he at least tolerated their presence. Their father couldn't even enter the room without having curses and threats of all kinds thrown at him.

"Are you…okay?" Zea said, then suddenly felt stupid for asking. "Yeah. Just peachy." The alien replied sarcastically, punctuating his sentence with another bout of coughing. "Do…do you want us to let you out?" Jix said softly. The alien nodded slowly, too tired to say anything else. Their father didn't know that once Jix had snuck into his office and stolen the passcode for No.1's tube. Ever since then, they had made sure to let him out at least once a month, so he could learn to walk again. The alien was always saying proudly how one day he would escape, and free all of the others trapped in here as well. And then, of course, take over the Earth. Now he didn't seem to even be able to breathe properly.

Jix quickly punched in the code and the tube opened with a hiss, greenish liquid spilling out onto the floor, along with its occupant. Zea quickly lunged forward and caught the small alien before he hit the ground and gasped as she felt his skin. Cold as ice.

"Just let me sit down." He whispered, and Zea complied, gently setting him up against the wall. Frail antennae flicked back and forth, and No. 1 gasped, drawing in huge amounts of air. "Worm-babies?"

"Yes?" Zea answered him, growing more worried for the alien by the second. He was as pale as the winter snow, the green pigment having been washed out by the liquid and years of experiments.

"Tell your father…" The alien used the last of his energy to grin maniacally, and for a second, Zea and Jix felt real fear. "Tell him that he will never find out where she is now." Then he drew in one last shuddering breath, and all went silent.

"No. 1? No. 1!" Zea grabbed the alien's thin shoulders, shaking them gently, looking for some sign of life. There was none. "How could he-!" tears formed in Zea's eyes. Jix looked down at the lifeless form of the creature sadly. And at that moment, both children made a silent vow.

I will never be like him.