A/N: I own the plot & a couple characters, but nothing else really. ^_^

A/N 2: OK, this will probably be the longest (& grossest) chapter in the story--it's pretty loooooong-I have a lot to say at this point in the story ^_^

I woke up in a prison. Eunan and I were caged like common animals. I managed to shakily stand up, and walk to the cage's bars, which were made of steel, one of the only substances our species could not break.

The front of the cage was facing a long hallway that was lined with two stories of cages, all containing our people. Every cage had the front wall made of steel bars. The two side walls and back wall were made with concrete, another substance we couldn't break. I wondered where we were and why.

I heard fierce coughing, turned, and saw Eunan, laying in the cage, coughing up blood. He was laying face-up, so blood was all over his front. His complexion was extremely pale, and his eyes were big, bloodshot, and scared. Eunan looked up at me helplessly, and I searched the cage for something to help him.

I surveyed the cage intensely, and saw: a small hole in the back wall; two food dishes, filled with a mushy substance, that looked as if they were used to feed animals; and a ragged, dirty, rather large piece of cloth, covered with holes.

I covered Eunan with the cloth, which was soon covered with blood. In between his vomiting, Eunan was gasping violently for air. But his efforts were ruined when he began vomiting and gagging on blood clots again.

Having no idea what to do, I looked out to my fellow individuals, desperate for help, but the depressed, sunken looks on their faces did absolutely nothing for me. That's when I first noticed her.

She looked very much like her father, I could literally see him in her face. Her complexion was dark, and her eyes were light. Unlike most of the prisoners here, her eyes were full of hope and determination to get out of here. I could also tell from her expression that she had a wild, free spirit that would not be crushed by the miserable, depressing mood of this place. I looked at her for a long time, and I will never forget those first moments I laid eyes on Kira.

At first, I had no idea of what to say to Orion's daughter, but then she caught a glimpse of Eunan, his eyes bulging and helpless, his entire body bruised and covered with blood. What happened? Kira asked me.

I looked at her, at first somewhat surprised. I-I don't know, I said. It started right after the humans got him.

Kira looked at Eunan. Then, she reached for a hole towards the back of her cage, which was directly across from ours. She then tossed me a human container that held a greenish-brown liquid in it. Give that to him to drink, she said.

I looked at the container. What is it? I asked her.

The stuff that the humans give us to eat combined with the Chemical. Kira replied. It's a miracle healer. Give him some.

I twisted off the cap of the container and began pouring the liquid into Eunan's widely-opened mouth. However, every time some liquid would go in, he would immediately throw it up, along with some blood. This created a very disgusting scene, and the fact that everything was all over everything in the cage, including me, made it worse. I was beginning to think Eunan was not going to make it.

But then, Eunan caught a glance of Kira, who was watching us closely from her cage. He just kept staring at her, and during this time, he didn't throw up at all, allowing me to pour the medicine into his mouth. Eunan then started shaking for a little bit, throwing up only blood, and soon fell asleep.

I looked at Eunan, then at Kira, who said, You should get some sleep, too. The humans did a lot of damage to you, also. For the first time since I had woken up, I looked down at my mangled body. As I looked myself over, I thought that I was had more cut-up, injured parts than I did healthy parts.

I swallowed the last of the medicine, which tasted extremely disgusting, and lied down across from Eunan, watching Kira. For the first time, I noticed she was sharing her cage with a young male, he looked about twelve. Kira was trying to heal his leg, which was swollen and discolored. I sighed, rolled over, and fell asleep on the cold, hard, dirt-caked ground.

* * *

I awoke the next morning to see Eunan, sitting up with the stained cloth around his shoulders, shivering from the cold in the cage. I was glad and to some extent stunned that he had made it to the morning. I sat up and said, You look like you're feeling a lot better.

Yeah, replied Eunan, looking at the ground. I thought I was going to die last night. Thanks for helping me.

It wasn't me, I replied, looking towards the cage across the hall. Kira was the one who gave me the liquid for you.

At the mention of her name, Kira looked up, shocked that I knew her name. H-How did you- she started.

I worked with your father ten years ago in the Intergalactic Warrior Force. He was a great soldier and- I was interrupted by Kira.

You mean my father wasn't killed in the Human Revolution? she asked. What about my mother? Is she alive?

I looked over at Kira, who seemed to be glowing in the faint beams of Earthian sunlight that shone through the cracks of the walls. Actually, I began, Just your mother was killed in the Human Revolution. Your father, who I accompanied on a mission to Earth ten years ago, died here. His name was Orion.

Kira had an expression of sheer surprise on her face; I had never seen anyone look that way before. At first, I thought she was happy until she said, My father was Orion? The barbarian that wanted to murder all humans and those who were against it? The brute that landed us all here in this hell?

Wait, I started, confused. How did Orion get all of us thrown into this prison?

Kira sighed. OK, after that first Earthian invasion that you talked about, the humans that killed my father gave his body to some human science corporation for research. They were just going to dispose of it when they discovered that our species had a gland that gave off this chemical they needed, it's called oil or something. Anyway, they thought that those of us who had been captured alive would remain in captivity in order to breed and produce more oil-giving beings. So here we all are, forced to work every day, just so that the humans can have their oil.

Wait, we have to work? Eunan asked, worriedly.

Yeah, but don't worry, she replied, smiling at him. Since you two are sick, the humans will probably start you off somewhere easy. They won't kill you purposely, either, since they need your sweat for the oil.

I stared at Kira, at first unable to comprehend all of what was happening to me. Then, I looked at Eunan, who appeared to have been instantly smitten with Kira. He looked as if he didn't care that we were doomed, being held captive in a human prison, probably for the rest of our lives, as long as she was here. I sighed and asked Kira, How did you get trapped here?

Some friends of mine and I were coming to Earth to study humans for our Extraterrestrial Creature Study courses. We landed our small ship, and the next thing I knew, I was being beaten and thrown in here. Kira hesitated. That was three years ago, when I was seventeen.

At that time, the twelve-year-old in Kira's cage came up next to her, close to the front bars of the cage. Who are they, Kira? he asked, groggily.

Jacob, these are two members of the Force, Celestino and Eunan. Celestino and Eunan, this is Jacob. I've been taking care of him since he was ten, and both his parents died of exhaustion from the labor, replied Kira. Jacob, a short child with big eyes and a pale complexion, looked at Eunan and I, who both had severe gashes all around our bodies, with wonder. He apparently had never seen anyone as mutated as us.

At that time, dozens of humans, all carrying several leashes, busted into the cage-room and began hastily opening cages. A tall, thin one opened ours and quickly fastened Eunan and myself into harnesses, which clasped around our necks and chests. There were about ten harnesses attached to a single leash. As I walked alongside my many harnessed comrades, I knew for a fact that this was definitely the most humiliating event of my entire life.

We walked in a large herd for about an hour, until we reached what looked like a large work camp. Upon reaching the main area of the camp, we were split up into two groups: one group would work in the fields and the other would work in the factories. I was in the fields, along with Jacob, but Kira and Eunan were both in the factories. The humans seemed to put the sick and most of the females into the factories, while the males and some unusually strong females were sent to the fields.

I was still in the harness, which was now attached to an elastic leash that allowed me to move rather freely. I also made sure that I took a spot near Jacob, whom Kira told me to watch as Eunan and her were dragged away.

Jacob and myself, along with about five hundred others, worked in the fields, plucking some strange Earthian plants that were as tall as some of us and somehow able to grow in this cold weather. These plants must have been a new evolution of some kind, because I didn't remember seeing them on my last excursion here.

It was unbelievably freezing, more frigid than our planet had ever gotten, and I saw some frozen, dead bodies scattered throughout the field as I went from plant to plant.

Then, I got the surprise of a lifetime. All of a sudden, small pieces of white, flaky things began falling from the grayish-blue sky. I stuck out my arm, and soon, it was covered in a white layer of this fluffy stuff. This was amazing, and I could see many of the other prisoners looking at this with just as much wonder and awe as I was. The particles from the sky had, for just one moment, lifted us past the desolate prison back to our serene home planet.

I heard laughter, turned, and saw Jacob, trying to catch some of the pieces on his tongue. He had dropped the plants he was holding and began running in a circle around the large plant, trying to catch more and more bits of this white matter on his tongue. All of a sudden, he fell to the floor.

I turned and saw one of the human guards behind where Jacob was standing. Jacob had told me his name was Simon, and he was the only human to completely master our language. Therefore, he was the only human who could actually yell at us. Get up, you lousy beast! Work harder! Pick the crops! No time for fun! he screamed, whipping Jacob repeatedly. Then, seeing the rest of us, staring at him intently, he yelled, The rest of you swine; work! You're not going back until this entire field is cleared out!

So the rest of the day went on like this, and finally, at nighttime, we were leashed and collected, and heading back to the prison, which would no doubt be icy and bitter.

However, we stopped in front of the entrance to this camp, and were told by Simon to stand in straight lines. During this time, I met up with Eunan and Kira, who looked as if they had gone through just as much hard labor as I had. I then wondered what they were forced to do in the factories. Despite the cold, I was extremely sweaty from the work, and I then realized what was coming.

The human who had harnessed Eunan and I was standing up in front of the line, with an oddly-shaped human tool. He rubbed the tool all over my body, collecting the sweat. Then, I was attached to a leash with several others, and forced to make the long trek back to the prison.

Soon, we were back in our cage. The humans hadn't taken off our harnesses either; Kira explained that some days they would, and other days they wouldn't-it depended on their moods, really. Eunan was laying against the bars, talking to Kira, and I was up against the back wall, near the tiny crack that was our window to the outside world. I had the cloth covering me, but it was no use. I looked through the crack to the moon and stars, towards home. Since I had been here, most of my thoughts were to get Eunan and myself, and everyone else for that matter, out of here and back home. The other, and more torturing thoughts, however, were those of Violet and Todd. I needed to get off of Earth, and back to them.

In a short while, I fell asleep, the cool wind breezing softly on the back of my neck.

A/N: OK, OK, I know I'm not supposed to beg for reviews, but that psycho-terror known as Katie won't go away until I get a few more that review her reviews, and right now she's sprouting fangs and her eyes are glowing and…AAAAAAAA!!!