The floor was less comfortable than he had first thought. The carpet was thin and the cold floor seemed to seep right into his bones. Though, he thought, curling into a ball as best he could with his ribs and trembling arms, it didn't help that he wasn't at his best.

Turrkn and Nhafka had left him alone for the most part after he had requested water. Viktor didn't move from his spot, plastered against the wall, until they had started coming toward him. He had inched away as quickly as he could.

Nhafka had grabbed his collar, painfully hauling him up onto his knees. "You behave in here tonight, Kohgrash, or you'll wish you were dead," he hissed, quickly reminding Viktor why he needed to be wary of them. The alien let go of Viktor, letting him fall into a heap on the floor. He pointed. "Stay here. Stay."

He didn't dare move a muscle. He didn't see any of the camera orbs floating around, but he didn't want to risk it. He wanted to go a few hours without getting smacked around.

The room was dark and unfamiliar. He was freezing. It was the worst night's sleep he had gotten since he had gotten on this planet. The collar made it hard to breathe, even though it rested innocently on his throat. He felt like it would choke him in his sleep. Finding a position to rest his head without feeling it dig into his skin was nearly impossible.

"Good morning, Kohgrash!" the door slammed open, and Viktor woke up with a panicked whimper. He lifted his head an inch off the floor before dropping it again, nauseated. He closed his eyes for a second. If the voice had been a shade or two deeper, much quieter, and kinder, Viktor could imagine that he had just fallen asleep on the floor at home.

"Did he die?" Turrkn asked. Viktor snapped open his eyes as footsteps thudded over to him. He bared his teeth, pushing himself upright with difficulty.

"No, you idiot. They just wake up slow," Nhafka snapped. His voice grated on Viktor's ears. He hadn't switched off the translator last night (half of him had been afraid that it wouldn't turn back on), and two days of morning migraine-level headaches were starting to do him in. And he was sure these aliens wouldn't be getting him sliced starfruit to help.

Viktor bit his tongue to force back the tears threatening to form. He missed Vok'Rul.

"Hey!" A sharp yell pierced right through his skull, and Viktor's hands flew up over his ears to dampen the sound. "What do you think you're doing?"

What? What had he done? Viktor flinched as Nhafka's claws shot out to grab his collar, shaking him hard.

"I told you to stay, you little idiot," the alien growled at him. Viktor brought his hands down on the alien's wrists, snarling weakly. All he managed was to piss him off even more. "And now you're trying to attack me!? After all I've done for you?"

"Done for me?" Viktor suddenly screamed, finding the air in his lungs to do so. A surge of adrenaline rushed through him, and his struggles got more intense. He reached behind him, ready to grab Korrashkka's claw and push it between Nhafka's eyes. "Fuck you!"

A fist connected to the side of his face, and Viktor dropped like a bag of rocks. His breathing grew labored as wave after wave of pain rushed through his head. These idiots were gonna kill him, he thought deliriously. He was gonna die in a shithole like this. He wouldn't even get a grave when he went.

"Do you act stupid, Turrkn, or were you just born that way?" he foggily listened to Nhafka yell. Everything was muffled.

"He was attacking you!"

"Did it look like I needed help!? He could barely even lift his head. And look, now he's half-dead. We'll have to bring him to Yorr."

Viktor felt pressure on his throat before it increased tremendously as his entire body became weightless. He felt like there were better ways to carry him than the collar. He focused on breathing instead. It took all his effort to squeeze air through his crushed windpipe. Struggling would be worthless.

He was dropped on something cold and hard. Rough hands manhandled him into place, and he was barely conscious enough to offer up weak protests. Which they ignored. Typical.

They shoved up the sleeves of his shirt, and Viktor felt a swell of panic wash over him. He couldn't pinpoint why until they lifted his wrist and tugged at the bracelet.

"Jeez, this thing is worth more than my entire house," Turrkn grumbled. Viktor used all the strength he could to pull his arm away. Turrkn just tightened his grip.

"No, it's mine," he forced the words through the thick fog of disorientation. "Don't take it, don't take it."

"Let go of him so I can get this injected," a gruff voice interrupted, grabbing hold of Viktor's forearm and pulling it harshly. He thought his arm might pop out of his socket. A pinprick of pain bloomed on his upper arm before energy shot through him.

Heart thumping erratically, Viktor sucked in unsteady breaths as the fog in his mind cleared unnaturally quickly. The pain radiating from his ribs, back, head, neck, and limbs quickly dissipated. In ten seconds, he felt like a million bucks. His skin tingled pleasantly, a complete contrast to the electric shocks from his collar.

"What was that?" he asked breathlessly. He wanted to move and get rid of this excess energy.

The alien, Yorr, pulled away from him, extracting the longest needle Viktor's ever seen from his arm. It clattered onto a small, metallic tray.

"There," the alien spoke coolly. "Your prize is fixed. Get him out. And for Spirit's sake, don't try to take that bracelet off when he's hopped up on klaxan. You'll lose a few fingers."

Nhafka scoffed, turning a glare into Viktor. He hadn't even done anything! "The little bastard can certainly try. One wrong move and you're back in a cage, understood? Cage!" he shouted, reaching out to grab Viktor by the throat.

"Yes," he choked, fear replacing any gratitude for the pain going away. "No cage, Kohgrash good."

It was the right thing to say. Nhafka looked entirely too pleased. Using his other hand, the alien petted the top of his head. Viktor couldn't help but flinch before going still. "See, Turrkn? He's smart."

"Get out of my office," Yorr growled. Nhafka made another grumpy noise before pulling Viktor off of the table and dropping him onto the floor. Surprisingly, nothing protested against the sudden movement. It was like he couldn't feel anything at all. Whatever drug they put in him made everything painless.

Briefly, he pondered the idea of what it would've been like had this been available to him in the ring. It definitely would've helped. A lot.

A harsh shove to the back of his neck had Viktor stumbling out of the dimly lit room. Nhafka had snagged a leash off the wall and attached it to him without his noticing. This drug gave him the awareness of a pickle, it seemed. That sucked.

"This way, Kohgrash," Nhafka said, pushing him in his desired direction. He didn't fall at all during the trip. There was none of the lingering pain of his injuries in every step. He was still injured, he knew. Viktor could feel the burns under the collar scraping against the metal and the clicking of his fractured ribs every time he took a breath, but he was remarkably pain-free.

If one of the side effects of this was mutant powers, then so be it.

"I'm going to start training him today. Will you join me?" Nhafka asked Turrkn as he steered Viktor around a corner. He couldn't even muster up the annoyance at being pushed around, too busy enjoying a life free of pain.

He wondered what they were going to train him in. He wouldn't listen. They won't be able to shock him, either. It probably didn't hurt!

It wouldn't hurt.

His heart rate sped up as that realization struck him. He could easily escape. He could run up the stairs without pain holding him back. This drug, along with the adrenaline that was coursing through him at the mere idea of freedom, could be his chance.

He needed to go back to the cage room. From there, he could just open the door and go up the stairs. Simple! The worst that could happen was that he wouldn't make it.

They'd put him down like an animal. That was the worst that could happen.

Viktor decided that he didn't care. He needed to get out of here.

He stopped walking. Nhafka nearly bowled over him, and unlike Vok'Rul, he didn't apologize with exasperated amusement. Viktor got a kick to the back for his troubles, but he didn't feel it. He heard the collar buzz, felt his limbs twitch, but he didn't feel it.

"Move! Keep walking!" Nhafka demanded.

"No," he responded coldly, faking bravado that he didn't feel. His heart thumped in his chest so hard he was sure it would pop out. "I'm gonna go home to Vok'Rul," he twisted sharply, reaching up to grab the leash behind his neck. He twisted it like he had seen Nhafka do it, and it popped off with a click.

He froze for a second; he hadn't actually expected that to work. Nhafka lunged for him, and he started forward, too, screaming loudly. It startled the alien, who was more than a little afraid of him, despite his claims to Turrkn. Viktor felt confidence swell in his chest. He could actually do this.

Turrkn took a few hasty steps backward, reaching for his belt. Viktor felt another buzz of electricity striking through him, but nothing else. Even if the shocks made it hard for him to move his arms and legs, he was still standing.

"Stop it, Kohgrash! Bad!" Nhafka shouted desperately. The word made him twitch as he heard it through the translator and his regular hearing. "Turrkn, stop shocking him; his heart is going to give out."

The tingling stopped, and Viktor felt a muted thrill of panic travel through him at the thought of a heart attack. He pushed it aside. He wouldn't have to deal with this for very long anyway; he was going to get out and get back to Vok'Rul. He'd get the collar off for him.

"Calling Fho," Turrkn growled, looking at Viktor hatefully. "And security. Keep it occupied, for Spirit's sake. Do not let it get away. Don't know how Krrkh kept this one in line."

"He used other mammals against it. And he wasn't hopped up on klaxan. I told you this was a bad idea," Nhafka said in a rushed panic, stepping toward Viktor again. He raised the leash threateningly. Viktor bared his teeth in response.

"Try it, you orange son of a bitch," he hissed. He glanced down the hallway they were in. They were near a corner; Viktor could easily turn and start sprinting down the hallway, but he had no idea where he would be going. The best plan would be to run where they had come from. Unfortunately, there were two angry aliens in his way.

"It was your idea, you idiot!" Turrkn shouted, phone pressed to his ear. "Hallway 10-C, get Fho and security here. Bring a carrier."

Well, Viktor thought, stepping forward with a malicious glare. He wasn't going to stick around and wait nicely to be shoved in a carrier. Carriers meant imprisonment. And he only had one place in mind.

"Cage, Kohgrash! You don't want to be put in a cage, do you? Because if you don't start behaving, you'll be stuck in one for the rest of your life!" Nhafka screamed, snarling and brandishing the leash wildly. It whistled through the air.

"Fuck you!" Viktor shouted back, lunging forward and grabbing the leash. It slipped out of his hands on the first try, but Nhafka was so startled by the brazen attack that he stumbled backward. Viktor grabbed at the pole again, wrenching it out of his hands.

Nhafka swore, voice rising in pitch as Viktor held the leash like a bat. He let out a maniacal little giggle, eyes wild. His fingers were clenched around the pole tightly, white-knuckled.

He swung.

And he caught Nhafka right across the face. The leash snapped in two with the force of his swing. The top half clattered to the ground noisily.

The alien screamed in pain. Viktor screamed back in triumph.

Nhafka crumpled against the wall, barely able to hold himself upright as purple blood spewed down his face. Viktor had got him across the eye, across the cheek, and up to his forehead. The alien pressed his hand against the wound, trying and failing to staunch the flow.

Turrkn pulled his friend backward, shouting words that Viktor couldn't hear. The ringing in his ears overwhelmed even the translator's incessant buzzing. He didn't hear the thudding footsteps coming around the corner.

Something slammed into his back, and he was pressed uncomfortably on the floor. The breath left his lungs in a rush, and he struggled to get it back, uselessly gasping.

"Get off him before he hurts himself!" someone cried, and the pressure on his back disappeared. He quickly flipped onto his back, holding the leash in front of him like a loaded gun.

"Go away!" he shouted, voice high and frantic. It started to get uncomfortably hot in the hallway, and Viktor wasn't sure if it was just him. Sweat broke across the back of his neck, and his limbs started trembling even more. He could barely hold onto the leash.

Viktor got to his feet as quickly as he could while brandishing the leash out in a sweeping arc. The aliens - now five strong - were all watching him warily. Nhafka was still hunched over, hand pressed to his face and leaning on Turrkn heavily. There were two huge aliens, dressed in similar shades of grey. They blocked the other side of the hallway opposite Nhafka and Turrkn. And while Viktor could've made it past the two with little issue, especially since they were frightened of him, he wasn't sure how quickly the unfamiliar aliens would react.

But it was not them who gave him pause. It was Lilac.

She looked terrified - of him or for him, he wasn't sure. She inched closer to him, holding out her hands in a pacifying manner. And just like that, he was angry.

"Stop!" he shouted, throat scratchy from all the yelling he's done. "Just stop!" He hated her and her kind facade. He thought that she had helped them back in the arena, but if helping meant letting bad things happen to them and soothing the hurt after instead of just putting a stop to it in the first place, then he didn't want it. Viktor didn't want someone who would help make things easier, he wanted someone who would make it stop. And Lilac wasn't that person. He wasn't sure if she could be.

"Hush, Kohgrash," she said, making his anger only rise. "Come here, little one. It's okay, you're safe." Viktor bared his teeth. Yeah, right.

Nhafka let out a strangled laugh, half growling, "Until I get my hands on him."

"You will not hurt him. If you want to train him, you must show him kindness. Vokkra did the same, and he has Kohgrash wrapped around his fingers," Lilac explained, inching a little closer. Viktor swung the snapped leash at her. He missed.

Vok'Rul didn't have any ulterior motives when he had shown him kindness. These aliens did. If they thought that showing him how nice and fake they were and thought it would work on him, they were stupider than he originally thought. He'd never play nice.

Nhafka grumbled something, but it was overshadowed by Turrkn's shout of, "Just sedate the animal, already!" The two large aliens shifted, reaching for their belts. Viktor started moving.

"No!" Lilac shouted, making a grab for Viktor. He stabbed the leash at her hand, and she recoiled as he made contact. It didn't pierce her skin, but it scratched her deep enough to leave a mark. He quickly jumped over her arm, hearing the faint ting of the darts hitting the floor where he once stood. Something pinched the back of his leg.

He was energized, but his senses were muted. He ran past Turrkn and Nhafka, easily avoiding the slow movements of the former. He sprinted down the hallway as fast as he could, legs pumping. But he didn't hear the shout of someone around the corner and ran straight into them as he fled.

He tripped over them, sliding a good five feet along the floor as they stumbled backward a few steps. The leash clattered loudly down the hallway, and he swore he saw it bend and twist like a snake. Viktor felt long claws grip the back of his collar and haul him up and into the air. The edges of his vision went dark as he choked. He twisted around to see who grabbed him, and

Viktor

screamed.

The ringmaster scowled at him, face twisted into a familiar sneer of derision. He shook Viktor like a ragdoll, shouting nonsense in his face.

"Finally," someone wheezed. Aliens thudded down the hallway, pressing into Viktor's space. They grabbed at him, taking him away from the ringmaster. Their faces were weird; their eyes were where their mouths were, their horns were longer and sharper, and their teeth were larger than his arms. And they all looked like the aliens who had tormented him. The ringmaster, Tail, Notail, and the various workers who had shoved him to the floor and laughed when he flinched at the word kora. They spoke quickly, much too fast for his brain to process. Viktor probably couldn't even figure out what they were saying if they spoke one word a minute. He didn't stop screaming until they threw him into the carrier and the breath was knocked out of him.

The carrier was cramped, and Viktor swore the walls were closing in on him. He made an unintelligible noise of terror, pushing against it frantically.

"It'll squish me, it'll squish me!" he shrieked. Something slammed heavily on the top of it, loud in the small space.

"SHUT UP!" someone - he thought it might be Nhafka, but his voice sounded warbly - shouted. "Spirits, I hate this thing!"

The carrier started moving, hitting every bump and wall and corner it possibly could. Viktor's head knocked against the wall, and every time, the aliens would laugh. They sounded muted and loud all at once. Shadows crept in through the slats on the walls, twisting and writhing like worms. Viktor whimpered as some of them touched his skin. It burned, and Viktor frantically scratched his skin where it touched.

"Stop, Kohgrash," the ringmaster's voice came through, uncharacteristically gentle.

"No," he murmured frantically, beating at his arms. "No, no, no, no!"

"Why didn't you use sedation?" someone else whispered, voice scratchy like a record. They sounded like Kac.

"It would have killed him. Klaxan and sedation don't mix," Pedro's voice was cold and cruel.

Viktor wanted to cry. He was confused and terrified. The carrier was smothering him. It was going to eat him. The worms were going to burn off his flesh.

"Put him back with the others, and make sure he's near some that are close to their expiration date. That'll show him we're the better option."

"Got it," Nikolas said before snarling, "Come on, Fho. You'll need to make sure it doesn't die."

"I will take care of him," the ringmaster promised. Viktor felt another wave of terror go through him.

"I'll be good," he sobbed. "I swear, I'll be good." Just don't let the ringmaster touch him, don't let the ringmaster throw him back into the arena.

Loud clanging filled his ears, then, and his world was tilted on its side. He was sliding into another cage, but the floor was simply a void. He let out a choked yell as he fell into it. His hands and knees hit the floor solidly. The cage door rattled behind him as it shut and locked.

Viktor pulled his knees up to his chest as best as he could in the cramped cell. The walls were closing in on him, and he was convinced that he'd fall through the floor any second. Shutting his eyes did nothing but pronounce his dizziness. He saw shadows behind his eyelids and when he opened them, they were crawling up his arms. They slithered down his legs. They nested in his hair. He was itchy all over.

Zach had told him this was Hell on Earth. He believed him, now.