I woke up, head spinning, pounding.

"Man...what HAPPENED last night?" I grumbled, reaching up to rub my forehead...finding that I was bound.

I looked up, eyes wide, senses alert as I took in my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was the familiar coppery smell of the place...it was blood. Next thing I noticed was that the entire room was lined in torture equipment.

"Where am I?" I said aloud.

"You're in our home, the home of the New Furon Empire," came a sinister, chirpy voice.

I turned, and saw a tall Furon-Human girl walking down a stairway I had not noticed before. In an attempt to read her mind, I found a wall of steel blocking me from doing so. So I looked into her eyes.

Hard, steel-gray eyes glared back at me, reflecting my image in them. They were filled with decades of sadness and anger. I took in the other features of my captor, Hair curling inward, with straight bangs, dyed bright pink, the tips a dark purple. Her skin was smooth and pale, her body tall, slender, muscular, and covered in scars. She looked so familiar.

"What is the New Furon Empire?" I demanded. She laughed at me, mocking me, looking at me as if I were stupid. Then another figure stepped out from behind a tall chair. A familiar figure, but he had lost all confidence. Instead, he looked broken, weakened, and it looked as though he had been living in torment for hundreds of years.

His eyes, once bright with malice and intelligence, now dull, lifeless. His confidence was gone, evident in his caved in body, how he moved slowly, robotically. I didn't want to believe it.

"Pox...what happened?" I asked, throat restricting in sadness as I saw my old friend so weak. He looked at me, and I saw the faintest flicker of hope in his eyes.

"They...used me. Turned against me, the twins, my advisers...Rammi-Chan...her," he whispered, nodding towards the girl, who smirked at me, chin lifted. "They told me what to do, not letting me leave, saying what they were doing was right. And I had no idea what was going on. They took over...making me their puppet. Crypto, I did not want to do what they made me do. Please, get out! Tell the people! I hate the torment that they put our people through!" he gasped before the girl, Rammi-Chan, pulled her arm back and slapped him.

"You old fool," she growled. "I have not hurt the people! Yes, they are a bit underfed, yes, they are a bit sad, but it is in the interest of the Empire and its strength as a whole. A few upset and hungry workers, eh, what's the difference," she said. She had a Russian accent.

"What do you-" she cut me off with a wave of her hand. "I will show you. Blasto!" she called. Another stepped out from behind the chair. I gasped. I recognized him.

He was my son. He looked at me, surprise, joy, then hatred flickered across his features.

"Yes...my little brother, your son...oh, you shouldn't have abandoned us and mother, Cryptosporidium! I wouldn't have to do this if it weren't for YOU!" she growled, baring her teeth. They were sharp, jagged, and perfectly white. And I saw myself in her. I felt as if a ton had been dropped onto my back.

"You...I had a daughter," I whispered, voice cracking. She glowered.

"Yes," she said, walking slowly towards me, eyes cruel, even more so than before.

That was why she was so familiar. She had, other than my eyes, Natalya's features, even her voice.

"Why didn't she tell me?" I asked, voice small.

"Because you didn't care enough to ask!" she roared. She slapped me, and it stung. I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth.

"So then why the heck are you taking it out on Pox?" I demanded. "The Empire?"

She shook her head. "You'd never listen unless I would have. Blasto! Make sure he doesn't escape."

He nodded, the same empty look in Pox's eyes reflected in his. Hunched over, he approached me warily, as if I were going to hurt him. He pulled me to my feet. I could tell he was being forced into doing this, but I scanned him, nonetheless.

Unlike Rammi-Chan's, his mind was open. I didn't read his thoughts. I didn't want to, not yet. I looked at his emotions, and I almost fell over from the utter despair he felt.

His mind was a gray, desolate place. Rammi-Chan, her real name Typhus, had, as a child, outlined a plan for a new Furon Empire to him. She promised a wonderful place, where they would rule, where humans, like Natalya, could belong.

"What about daddy? Can he help us?" Blasto had asked, eyes wide and hopeful. He didn't understand that I had gone without being their from the start. Typhus's eyes darkened a bit. They were the same age, but she was much harsher, more cruel. She was the smart one. Then she smiled.

"Of course he will, Blasto! And he'll be with us. We'll be a family, a real one, living in the palace, with plenty of food, warm water..."

So she filled his head with lies about a gorgeous New Furon Empire, everyone working equally, no one better than another. No specific government, everyone just did what was right. If someone did break a law, however, they'd be ignored, rations cut off until they either left of justified their actions. It reminded me of Communism. I should have said something then, but we were going up the stairway, so I immediately started to refocus my thoughts on the present. The pair were silent, grave. Angry. Both angered at me. Blasto angered at me and Typhus, even Natalya, for not realizing her daughter was evil.

"Typhus, can we just talk?" I asked her softly. She stopped, I stopped, and felt Blasto gently bump into me from behind,. He wasn't paying any attention. Slowly, Typhus turned, rage boiling in her eyes.

"Blasto! I TOLD you; KEEP YOUR BARRIERS UP!" she screamed. She slammed me into the wall and I fell, breath knocked out of me. Dimly, I saw her slap Blasto. Some instinct screamed at me to do something. I broke the simple ropes holding me, grabbed Typhus, and shoved her back.

"What's wrong with-" I began, but found myself tumbling down the stairs, Blasto with me, hearing Typhus laughing. We slammed onto level ground, beaten and bruised. I sat up, Blasto curled up, staring at me, terrified.

"D-don't make her mad...she'll kill you," he whispered, dirty brown, tangled hair falling into his clear, blue eyes. I glared at Typhus as she strode down. She beckoned to Pox who slowly, reluctantly, joined her side.

"Why do you call me that? It's a family name, and you are NOT my family!" she cried, anger and hurt clear in her eyes and voice.

"It's your name," I said. "What else should I—" I began, but she cut me off.

"Rammi-Dono," she growled. She glared at Blasto. "Do NOT let down your shields, you nit-witted thing! And make sure he can't escape!"

He nodded slightly. "Yes, Rammi-Sempai," he whispered, voice trembling. She smiled.

"That's good, little brother," she whispered.

As we stood slowly, painfully, she began the walk again. This time, Pox and Blasto walked beside me.

We soon reached the upper level, or perhaps ground floor, and were lead inside a small, prison-like room. I got the feeling that this was where Blasto and Pox spent most of their time.

"Why don;t you two tell father dear all about my magnificent Empire...I'm going out to buy me some more glow sticks," Typhus said breezily, walking out. The door locked after she slammed it.

When her footsteps died away, Blasto and Pox stared at me.

"Both of you, please don;t be mad...I mean, it's rational for you to get mad, but I didn't KNOW, oka-"

"Well, then you could have asked," Blasto whispered looking at me with a hurt expression.

"Blasto...I'm sorry. Even after I learned you were my son, I ignored you...not out of anger, but-"

"Typhus made me do it. She set everything up, even the call. Mother as long dead by then," Blasto said sadly. "I didn't want to hurt you, I wanted to have a father."

Seeing the sadness in his eyes broke my heart. Unable to contain it, I went to him and hugged him tightly. I felt his surprise, and he started crying. I, quietly, joined him.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I know, I should have checked to make sure...i should have been there,"

Blasto shook his head. "You had your duties and responsibilities as a soldier," he whispered.

"That's the worst excuse I could make. I'm just a terrible father," I said.

He nodded. "I know."

I held him at arms length, frowning, staring into his puzzled eyes. "Sit," I told him, and he did, looking confused.

Due to my lack of a comb or hairbrush, I began running my fingers through his hair gently pulling out the knots in it. Once done, I stared at the results. When neat, his hair was cut in choppy layers, reaching past his eyebrows. I smiled, and he gave me the firt real smile I'd seen from him.

"What's she going to do with us?" I asked.

Blasto looked at Pox.

"She'll make you a puppet role model, like me. Perfectly happy, a good citizen," he said sadly.

"I won't let her. I don't know what she';s don, but I'm not letting her hurt me people!" I growled with fierce determination.

"No. She clones you. A clone with her personality, minus the need for being a leader, of being superior. To make sure you won't slip up. And then she makes it your personal tormentor," Pox explained in a slightly terrified whisper. A shudder ran through him and he looked around as if the clone was lurking in the room.

I realized what I was up against. "aren't there rebels?" I asked.

A strange spark of hope flickered in Blasto's eyes. "ManicSite!," he said, looking at Pox.

"There's no way...but Crypto, if you can escape...find Super-Chan. Find out where ManicSite! Meets. They are a human group, and they know nothing of us. But one meeting of theirs, and you'll understand everything. Think of our race as the celebrity-brainwashed clones of each other. Remember that," Pox said, the same hope in his eyes. "Leave breaking out to us."

I looked at my best friend and my son. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I trusted them. I nodded. "Alright," I said firmly. "Get me out of here, and you'll be right behind me. I'm not leaving either of you behind," I said.

And I thought to myself, Nor am I leaving Typhus.