The pitch blackness that I regained consciousness to meet had me debating for the next few seconds whether or not I'd gone blind. That thought, however, was short-lived by the brain-damaging headache that appeared to be bursting open the back of my head.

   As I soothed away the agony with one hand, my eyes began to make a gradual adjustment to the dark. So much so that I could make out the presence of an immobile frame not too far from where I was.

   I was starting to miss not seeing anything.

"Dorian? Rav?" I gave a soft call while crawling toward what I prayed was a living body at a snail's pace, being careful not to trigger the headache that was just starting to feel less like hell.

   I let out a huge, relieved sigh when a throaty, masculine groan and slight movement came from the figure I was inching toward.

"Rav, Dorian?" My sight still wasn't good enough to recognise who this person was. "Please tell me you're okay."

"Beth?"

   The voice that came out from this person threw me off guard. That was not Dorian or Rav. Then the sad realisation dawned on me. My hope that it was only the three of us that were caught by the Yunies was immediately crushed.

"Is that you, Beth?" The person tried again.

"Yes, Landon." I reached out for the hand he'd stretched out in the dark. "It's me."

   I spent the next minute listening to Landon's narration on how he'd ended up here.

"Camila and I had succeeded in taking the Yunies to the football pitch," he said. The outline of his frame was becoming more visible with time. "We were on our way to the Tunnel when... when..."

   I patted Landon's shoulder as he stopped talking to rest his head into his hands with a miserable sigh.

"I swear I didn't see any Yunies behind us but then everything went black before I knew it. I don't know what happened after that," he later remarked. "I can't even tell you what happened to Camila because she was nowhere in sight when I was attacked. I just hope she's okay."

   My thoughts travelled to Dorian and Rav. They were the ones I was with the last time I was conscious. I don't know why I was here, but they weren't, and that was pretty unnerving. I just hoped, like Landon did for Camila, that they were okay.

"What the hell?"

   Landon and I exchanged a sharp look, automatically confirming that neither of us said that. By now, my head had cleared up enough to recognise the owner of that pained groan.

"Rav?" I called out, forcing my eyes to see beyond the darkness I'd gotten used to. "Rav!"

   Before I could take a step to try and trace where his voice came from, my wild glances around caught sight of his frame shuffling toward us. I didn't give myself a chance to be patient, breaking into a proactive run and engulfing him in a huge hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay," I whispered into Rav's chest.

"I wouldn't call my head feeling like an exploding grenade okay," I felt his wince when he used a free hand to brush over the back of his head. "But I've had hangovers worse than this."

   That last statement, in spite of the current situation, brought a laugh out of me.

   Of course he has.

"Will you let go of me now?" He tapped my back. "The last thing I need is Lover Boy on my ass."

   For a moment, I frowned because I thought he was referring to Landon, but that went away when I felt a tug on my arm. I didn't make myself question how or from where Dorian popped up, allowing myself to get lost in the embrace he wrapped me in an instant. Looking over his shoulder, I see Landon asking Camila whether she's okay.

   Although not too long ago, I was hoping at least one of us wasn't caught, I couldn't help but be glad that we were all here. Considering how the aliens were able to sneak up on us while we were in groups, it was scary to imagine only one of us out there, being expected to face God knows how many Yunies all one's own.

   But then I remembered how we got here. Me, Dorian and Rav anyway.

   I looked up at Dorian still holding me, taking a handful of his shirt. "I'm sorry. It's my fault we're here. I shouldn't have allowed myself to be too caught up by Talise. And now we're here because–"

"–because we all let our guard down." Dorian completed my sentence with a firm response. "And that is not on any of us. These Yunies clearly knew what they were doing when they sent Talise there. Do not blame yourself, Beth."

   My fisted hand around his shirt began to loosen as I nodded.

"Seriously though, where the hell are we?" I heard Camila ask.

   Then as if our location heard her question, we were instantly blinded by the bursts of light from all around us that seeped into our darkness-adjusted eyes. When my sight eventually came back to me, I observed my surroundings to realise we were in an all white cubed shaped room, almost identical to the one we'd seen the other Zavlonians in in that camera footage.

"GLAD TO SEE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO LOVES REUNIONS!" A sudden voice that boomed within the room, startling us all.

   My eyes surveyed the room with a frantic edge, trying to find where on earth this voice came from. It was like it blasted through every part of where we were at once. The subsequent seconds were spent in stunned silence. I think I could speak for myself and everyone by saying that we were still trying to accept that what we heard was not just our heads trying to mess with us.

"How is everyone doing?" The same voice, with less energy this time, asked.

   Just before I could end my struggle to come to terms with the situation, I was hit with a realisation that threatened to make me sick. Or should I say recognition. Recognition of the voice that the Yunies were using to play whatever sick game they had in mind.

"Oh my God!" Rav beat me to it with his sharp whisper. "These sick aliens are using our principal's voice now? This is a new kind of low."

   Despite the lack of words from Dorian and Camila, the colour drained from their faces said it all.

"You know," Landon said in a low tone similar to Rav's. "I just realised we've always focused on saving Zavolonians. The teachers and your principal have not crossed my mind even once."

   I can't believe we hadn't either. I hadn't, anyway. And if anyone else had considered it, they would have definitely brought it up. Being stuck here while the students, the teachers–yes, even my Electronics teacher, Mr. Walsh– and our principal, Mr Speck were mind-controlled and copped up at God knows where felt a thousand times more depressing now.

"No answer?" Yunie-controlled Mr. Speck said in mock hurt. "That's not nice at all."

"You don't really think we're going to play your stupid game, do you?" Landon yelled upwards.

"You don't have to talk so loudly," The Yunie snapped back, sounding a little pained. "I can hear you fine."

"Then hear this," Cami said. "We're not going to stand here and take this from you."

"Then by all means leave," he replied in an all too casual way. "Oh wait, that's right..."

   One of the first things I noticed upon my initial observation of where we were was the absent doors. All around us were merely large, wide four walls that appeared to have no intention of budging. But I found it hard to believe everything was just walls. We were brought in here from somewhere else after all. There had to be an entrance somewhere.

"And don't even think of escaping." The alien, which I was beginning to believe was a mind reader, snarled. "I assure you that that'll be the biggest mistake you'll ever make."

"So what now?" Cami asked. "You could have just made your friends use placement guns on us. Why did you let them bring us here?"

   That was a question I didn't realise I wanted an answer to till now. We were the only ones in Zavlon who'd gotten away. I find it hard to believe that using the placement gun wasn't at the top of the list of the things the Yunies planned on doing when they got us. And yet, here we were. Still in control of our minds.

"Isn't it obvious?" he chuckled. "I'm helping you."

"Excuse me?" Rav sputtered. "Helping whom exactly? If you really want to help, how about you...hmm, I don't know... not try and succumb the minds of practically everyone to your will?!"

"It's funny how we never regard those who break their backs for us." The alien continued on like Rav had never spoken. "But don't worry, I'll be pacified when you give me what we both want. Lucky for you, you have the most incredible head start anyone could ever ask for!"

   I could only hope that the other Yunies weren't as crazy as this one. 'What you and I want?' What was it talking about?

"Imprisoning us in an empty room is your idea of a head start." Rav rolled his eyes. "Not ours."

"Why did you come back to Zavlon?" Alien Mr Speck sounded calmer now. It also had a serious edge that was present for the first time since he began speaking. "You were the ones lucky enough to escape, so why risk so much to come back?"

   Everyone's lips morphed into tight, thin lines. Did this Yunie really think we were just going to blurt out about our quest to find the one place we could get the antidote that would save everyone? I'm pretty sure we skipped some facts about how delusional the Yunitide species was in those books we read.

"Nothing?" The Yunie sighed. "Okay, I'll play the guessing game. Does it have to do with a certain something in a certain someone's workspace? A lab... perhaps?"

   I think I just forgot how to breathe.

   As each beat of my heart felt faster and heavier, I put my hand over my chest, thinking for some reason that that would stifle any possibility of the Yunie hearing it wherever it was. I wasn't the only one who hadn't taken this shock very well though. Camila and Rav still had their mouths covered after their loud gasps gave the alien the confirmation it wanted.

"As fun as it was to pretend to be in the dark, this is much, much better." it cackled. "You have no idea what I would do to see your stupid faces right now."

"Well, you have the wrong people," The cold demeanour Dorian had assumed was defeated by his shaky statement. "We don't know where it is."

"Sure you do."

"We really don't." Landon spat.

"Remember what I said about giving you a head start?" The alien reverted to its cheerful voice. "Look around you."

   My glance flickered across the four walls once as my brain was still processing what it just said. Then twice. Then again and again and again until my eyes saw the room spinning. The Yunie's last words, however, were steady in my head.

   Look around you.

   An indescribable feeling overwhelmed me as I realised that what we'd waited so many weeks and planned for was being handed to us so easily. And this was being done by the very people–aliens, we'd trained to fight.

   What the hell were the Yunies thinking when they decided to hold us captive in Mr. Sacury's lab? 

A/N: Anyone want to try answering that last question?

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