Back at our base. Slikk's eyes are torn out of their sockets, new ones being made for him. Commander Corami was have most of his ribs replaced with new ones, giving that his old ones were turned to dust.

I broke a few ribs also, and was left with a broken arm. John Heriot had turned out fine, besides a couple bruises and cuts, but he was able to walk in no time, compared to the rest of the team. "How's the arm?"

John approached me, expecting me to lash out against him, but was shocked that I didn't. "Okay, I guess. Definitely not fun to trot around with, though."

John Smiled, then sat down beside me on the bench, near my pod.

"So, you never answered me before about Solfur, so, maybe now's the time?"

I looked back at him with a stern face that should've told him to shut up, even without any actual language. "And still you talk."

I looked at him again in an even more stern face, yet he still looked at me the same. "Are you challenging me to a staring contest, because if you are, you'll lose miserably."

I got up, grunted in pain, then wandered off to my pod to try and get some sleep.

I walked a little faster than usual because I didn't want to run into the council again, and not for a while. I'm sure the rest of the team feel the same too, giving that they'll kill us for failing that mission.

When I finally found my way back to my pods interior, the first person I found was my Solfur.

"Welcome back, Master-" Solfur greeted me and in return, chopped him in the neck. "Augh! What the hell was that for?!" My solfur was in complete shock from what I did to him. "Simple. I have a bone to pick with you, Solfer."

I replied with a stern voice. "What bone? I did nothing to you to cause nothing for you to hate me for?"

Solfur stated pulling out the stun syringe, and I pulled out my pistol, and shot it out of his hand. "Oh no you don't! You're not doing that to me again!"

I shot him a dirty look, knowing where he'd bring me again if I fell for it. "What are you doing? I am not the enemy?"

Then I re-pointed the blaster to Solfer's Chest, then I exclaimed "Yes, you are."

The blaster fired a pulsed ball of electricity that shattered along my solfer's chest, disorienting his image that was projected before me, at least, before I shot at it.

"Yooooouuuu shooooot meeee. At thaaaat, I will kill you for iiitt!"

He crackled along my pod's interior and, wanting to kill me for what I did, started to go into his hostile mode that was placed into his circuit boards if anything went wrong.

I started to back away from solfer as he was beginning to charge at me with his talons that were growing out of his fingers.

"Stay back or I'll shoot you again!"

Then Solfer smurked with a smile only someone insane would do, he said with a low cackle,

"As someone once said, not this time."

Then, out of nowhere, came shadow creatures with knives for fingers and gigantic eyes too big to stay in their sockets. They were only reflecting from the wall, because the only way to see them was from solids with their shadows reflecting off of it. Then, after sitting there for a moment, Solfer walked over towards me but stopping in to make sure I wouldn't attack him.

"So? Now are the odds even, or are you going to turn the tables again? Huh, Steward?"

I stood there while the shadows inched closer and closer towards their target, getting closer to their striking reach. It wasn't easy to see them, but I knew that they were there, from all the moaning and groaning they were causing while their sliding feet were making more than they knew.

"Like I said before shadows, don't kill him with loud sounds. Make it quite, so nobody will even know he died."

I didn't have many choices, not much time, and I was surrounded by monsters in their own making, so I needed to move quickly and quietly, because I don't want the council to find me.

The first thing I thought about when the shadows started to pour in was, fight them, and there'll be less to deal with later, but with their fingers being so sharp, I'd be either shredded to bits, or impaled like a shish kabob. My second thought was to stand down and wait, but from the first to things I thought about before, would happen too if I stood there like a rock. My third instinct was, run.

First, I jumped from my pod's entrance to the back, practically launching myself across the room like a rocket launching into space. Then, hopping over the shadows gracefully, then landing perfectly at the entrance again, finally making my way out, my next move would be to find the rest of the team before the shadow creatures found me.