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. No Xeno in this chapter belongs to me!

War of the Worlds (And it's aliens) is another thing I DON'T own.

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

I disown everything!

I smiled at that memory. That accident made our bond even stronger. The fact that we were both willing to give up our lives for eachother was...I don't know the perfect word for it right now.

Since then, one would do anything to help the other. When he and his fellow Martians told us about a killer planet with a bad pest infestation, we decided to help them out. Afterall, they desperatly need a new good home and apparently, so do we. Us Reginites did have our eyes on a slightly better planet, but we couldn't resist helping them for some reason.

Of course, it didn't go according to plan and we understood why the Martians called this the killer planet. A great majority of our soldiers died of disease. I survived, but was being held captive in a human army base. And...it was Machi who came and risked his tentacles to rescue me.

Now it's like none of it happened. Machi was way different now. In the past, he saved me in more ways than I can even count. But now I know that those meant nothing to him anymore.

I huffed and changed the subject. I smiled again at a short memory of how I recieved one of the best gifts ever.

Flashback

Machi had just saved mefrom the human base. He had taken me to the Earth's moon where there was a temporary Martian civilization. It was my first time there. We were going to the Martian lab, where they held various Earth creatures for study.

You may wonder how anything can breathe here. Well, while the Martians were attempting the 2nd invasion, lunar pioneers were pumping artificial gas on the moon's surface, not to mention level the gravity equal to Mars. And since then, the Martians have been living there. But only for invasion preparation and other important matters.

"I have a surprise for you Zerxus." Machi claimed. I survayed the large lab. There was tons of animals: Armadillos, lions, hyenas, bats...every kind, including non human discovered animals and even some humans. They were all kept in cells under careful observation.

Machi stopped at a box and opened it. He reached in and there was a squeak. Then he removed what is now known as the one and only...Tiki. I smiled as she crawled up Machi's tentacle and came to rest on the top of his head.

"Remember that Xeno incident 14 years ago? How you saved me and I intended to sacrifice myself so you can escape?" he asked.

"And I came back for you..." I finished. Machi nodded.

"This isn't the first chestburster we encountered. But she'll not only be your pet, she'll be a token of our friendship...to help us remember the greatest adventure of our lives. Treat her well because our friendship will last as long as she's still breathing." he said.

"But she's a drone. And I heard Xenomorph drones don't live long." I told him. Machi smiled.

"Don't worry. This drone is highly different. She'll live longer than even both of us. Xenos evolved to be overly better than their host, including life span. She'll be alive and kicking for a long time." he informed. Tiki hissed lightly and jumped onto my crest.

"How old is she?" I asked as she scurried back and forth on my back.

"A year old. Just like we were. She's still a baby do to the increased longevity. The longer the life, the longer you stay...'immature'.

Machi placed a collar on her neck and Tiki talked for the first time.

"Your friendship will last forever. And I'll protect you as if you were the Queen. I promise."

End of Flashback

As soon as the last sentence flashed in my mind, I heard a burning noise. Beside me, a yellowish liquid fell to the floor from the ceiling. As soon as it made contact with the floor, it burned through the metal as if it were plastic.

"Zerxus!" Tiki yelled, all of a sudden landing in front of me. "I'm so glad I found you!"

She helped me to my feet.

"Where's...the...others?" I asked.

"They're waiting outside. They can't get in this Martian machine."

So...I'm in Machi's Tripod. That explained why I didn't reconize the place.

"Come on! Machi will find out what we're doing! We have to move!" Tiki urged, climbing back up. She stopped and looked at me. "I'll help you out."

And that's exactly what she did. She helped me up towards the acid burnt roof. Everytime I showed signs of falling, she'd come and restick the suction cups. It wasn't long before we finally got outside, climbing down the massive machine. As soon as the ground was reached, I fell to the grassy ground and layed there with my eyes tightly closed. I was awake but I remained limp as Melissa placed my upper body onto her back.

"Don't worry Zerxus. We'll keep you nice and safe. Machi isn't coming anywhere near you." Melissa mumbled in reassurance as she transported me towards the house.

"Where...is...Machi?" I asked.

"We don't know. Ever since he killed Muffin, we'd been staying outside." Morphius said. I snapped my eyes open.

"Muffin...is...dead?" I asked again. It can't be.

"Yes...Machi killed her...she was mad and she was trying to protect you...just like she would if you were the most important rat in the whole world." he continued.

Oh no...that couldn't have happened. My only little ball of fluff was gone. And she didn't even turn one. We were looking forward to having a little birthday party and it would've been the best day ever for her. Now that would never happen.

I can't let it happen again! Never again! I gathered my strength to jump over Melissa and I stood up. I promised myself not to let my other pets suffer the same fate. My little fuzzball's death will not be in vain!

"Come on...we need...to get...on the...computer...we need help."

We marched into the house towards the computer room. Sure, I felt like I was going to drop dead, which could actually happen, but I'm on a mission...a mission to protect my pets and get reinforcements.

When we finally arrived at our destination, I immediatly sat down and went on the internet. As soon as I got to the site forums I came across something new.

"Who's Clortho?" Melissa asked. I shook my head in a 'I don't know'.

"Whoever...it is...Machi sure...seems...interested...in replying to...him." I said.

"Scroll up to check the previous info." Melissa said. As I did that, Tiki and Morphius started complaining.

"Just forget about it!" Morphius started.

"Yeah! Machi is bound to be near!" Tiki agreed.

"He's a Reginite!" Melissa confirmed. I stopped scrolling and searched the post in question.

"He...is a...Reginite...! Unbelivable..." I mumbled. The proof was right there. Can anyone believe our luck?

"Perfect! We can get him to help!" Tiki exclaimed.

"Reply! Reply!" Morphius chanted.

I tried to reply to the new Reginite's posts, but it wouldn't go through! And to make the pressure even worse, something was fumbling with the locked door latch. It was Machi!

"Stupid...Earth...machine..." I muttered as the computer started to overload. I hit it lightly and it returned to normal. But I had to load everything all over again. I really hate this primitive human junk. My pets pressed themselves against the door, trying to keep Machi out.

"Can't that computer go any faster?" Melissa complained.

"And the internet calls itself high speed!" Tiki joined.

When I finally got back to the forums, the door slammed open. And before I could submit the second attempted post or even turn around, everything went totally black.

I ain't got very much to say. My mind is totally blank right now. Pleaz review until the next chapter comes up.