I do not own anything...literally. Here is the list of what I DON'T own:

Tiki is a Xenomorph, which I DON'T own.

War of the Worlds is another thing I DON'T own.

And the Crystal Egg is another thing I DON'T own.

I disown everything!

As soon as the hole was big enough, Melissa was the first in. Without her support, I nearly fell. But my little Xeno caught me in time. Melissa made herself fit. After several kicks, she finally got in. I smiled in confidence. Even in my current condition, I can easily take the squeeze. As I entered the hole, I felt my other 3 pets trying to get in.

I crawled further and further, mainly relying on the suction cups to pull me through rather than strength.

Suddenly Melissa stopped. This caused all of us to crash into eachother.

"What's the hold up!" Tiki asked impatiently. Melissa paused and shifted around.

"I'm kinda stuck." she told us. I was too weak to push her through.

"Muffin...help her out...I can't..." I said. Muffin scurried pass and widen the burrow. Afterwards, they all looked at me worriedly.

"Zerxus? Honestly, what's wrong?" Morphius asked. I sighed. I can't tell them.

"Nothing...is wrong. I'm...fine." I asured, but lied. Unfortunatly, Tiki didn't buy it.

"You can barly talk. You have trouble breathing. You can't stand or move without collapsing. Not only that, but the way you act has changed. You're quieter. You lost the spark of livly intrest that you always have in your eyes. And you're being more passive of what Machi is doing to you. Don't tell us there's nothing wrong." she said.

I paused. Might as well tell the truth. They'll figure it out sooner or later.

"I'm...dying..." My pets gasped.

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked.

"Just...before...you...guys...showed up...Machi was very...close to...killing me...Then Melissa started...playing with...the door. That saved...me...But I attepted...to put an...end to myself...in the...hope that...if I die...the Martians...can't get...the pzanos...But from what...you told me...Tiki...it wouldn't have worked...And now...the effects of...mental death is...taking it's toll...Once a Reginite...attempts it...we ourselves...can't stop it..." I explained.

"But what if you change your mind? What if you don't wanna die anymore?" Muffin asked.

I paused again. This truth is even worse.

"If we...want to...cancel it...We have to...seek a.. Martian." I said.

"Why?" Morphy asked.

"Martians are...the only race...that can restore...lost life energy...Though they...seem to prefer...taking lives...they can achieve...the opposite...They do so...by giving up...some of...their own life...for you...This weakens...them for...a time...but they recover...The same is...true for...Reginites...We might end...up passing...out..."

"But that means...Machi is the-" Muffin started. But I decided to finish the sentence for her.

"Machi is...the only one...who can stop...this otherwise...inevitable death."

"I don't think Machi is going to care about your well being." Tiki said. I nodded. My goal is to get away from Machi, not trying to find him.

"Let's...keep going...When my death comes...I want to be...as far away...from that Martian...as possible..."

My pets nodded in understanding. We continued on our way. I had a terrible need to stop, relax, and close my eyes. ButI resisted it. There would be a huge possibility that I'll never wake up.

I have to live through this. If I die, nobody will protect my pets. And they would never stand a chance against Machi. When we got close to the exit, Muffin moved ahead. She paused at the opening and sniffed the air and looked around. That was once her job.

When I first got her from the pet store, she was the scout rat of the group. She always checks for danger beforee the rest comes out of hiding.

She confirmed it safe and wondered out. We knew that it was good to go and we came out into the open. On wobbly legs, I stood up. After a quick scan, I knew we were close to the back door. On the bottom of the door was a gnawwed hole. If I ever get out of this alive, I need to get a dog door. Muffin and Tiki is causing some real damage.

"We need...to get to...the computer..." I said. I had a plan. I have to tell the human soldier Heretic. The humans might be able to do something. This was their problem as much as mine. In other words: I fail, they die. Everything will die once the Martians succeed.

"But we can run away! Now's our ch-" Tiki started, but couldn't finish. Why? One word.

Machi.

He came in, smirking. Me and my pets backed off.

"How many times do I have to tell you? You're not going anywhere." he said, coming too close for our comfort.

Having nowhere to go, as we were cornered, I charged at him, taking care not to fall. But the martian has faster reflex than I gave him credit for. He wrapped a tentacle around my neck and mouth.

He wasn't trying to suffocate me, or he would've covered my crest.

I thrashed as much as I could but was struck with an idea. I quickly kicked his face with the last of my strength. That was the first time ever that I struck a Martian. It was enough to make him let go and get knocked off his Handling Machine. I crashed to the floor, lying still.

Normally, a kick from a reginite can kill a human with the greatest of ease. And it would knock creatures as large as Martians out cold. But, because of myphysical weakness, I had no such luck.

Machi thrashed his tentacles around a bit, but then dragged himself into his machine.

"Bad choice Reginite."

I stayed put, too weak from my attack yo do anything. Machi could practically kill me right now if he wanted. And I would be helpless and defenseless against him.

But this time, when the mental pain arrived, I didn't last 3 seconds. As much as I tried not to, I closed my eyes.

Hopefully, I would open them again.

This is taking longer than I expected. Now I have to write the next chapter on paper again...COOL! I'll work on it right away!