Another sharp pain in her cheek brought Sasha lurching from rest.

When she found a second stick in her hand, she swiftly broke it in two, much to the surprise of the red child she found standing in front of her. And while the flowers were gone, along with the other furless kids, she found herself in an even stranger area. Judging by how small it looked, she assumed it was a rest area of sorts.

Her legs were tucked under a giant bedroll, the cushion so large it felt like she’d sink into it. And the covers. She’d never seen a blanket so pink. Nor a room so vastly decorated with dolphins and creatures she didn’t quite recognize. Whatever cameras they hid, she couldn’t spot them at a glance.

“H-hello,” the red child said.

It sounded like a feminine voice. A little alien girl? Or maybe they were so foreign they didn’t know what a girl was. Sasha chose to stick with the former explanation for her own sanity. There were already enough questions piling up.

“Hello,” Sasha said. “Where am I…exactly?”

“Tuptree.”

“Yeah. You mentioned that. I meant, where am I now?”

“Oh! Sorry. This is…um…my house.”

“Ah.” Sasha nodded. So alien children get their own houses, eh? Her gaze rose over the scraps of paper along the wall. One was depicting a four-legged creature running after a larger furless. Another had a furless in a skin-tight body suit riding a larger dolphin. It didn’t have a fin, though. Or a nose. And why was there a hole in it’s head? Sasha tried to wrap her head around it for all of two seconds before her heart leapt.

“Crap! Iris! Cici! The island!”

The child fell against the wall, backing away with eyes wide in terror.

“The monsters!” Sasha shouted. “Where are the monsters?”

The little girl shook her head. “I-I-I.”

Sasha looked down at her hands. Her claws were unsheathed and digging into the covers. It took her a few moments to realize she'd been snarling. Sasha retracted the sharpened tools, letting her fur return to its matted black texture. If this was an alien child, yelling at them wouldn't help. She'd learned that well enough from her denmates. With a bit of effort, she forced her tone to sound a bit gentler.

“My friends,” she said. “Cici. She’s a fox. She’s got hair like mine and a bushy tail.”

She flashed her hair, the embarrassing blue dye long since disregarded under the sea of her other concerns. She got no reaction.

“And Iris,” Sasha went on. “She’s a wolf. White fur. Kinda pointy nose. A little quiet unless she’s going on a tangent.”

The child just stared at her. Sasha bit her lip.

“I need to find my friends,” she said. “I need to-”

When she tried to stand up, there was an immediate jolt as she found the ground fall away for a few seconds. She looked down at the bedroll, slightly stunned a moment. It was standing over the wood floor. Almost like a table. How would- She shook the thoughts away, her mind returning to the task at hand. Even if she wasn't sure what happened, the fact remained she couldn't just sit on her hands and wait.

As she reached for the door, a hand grabbed her, the little alien girl standing at the end of it.

“Kid, I’m in a hurry,” she said as gently as she could.

The child pointed to a nearby table, where Sasha saw a spread of folded laundry and boots.

“Mom said those might fit you,” the child explained.

Sasha took her hand off the door. She nearly forgot she was still in her pajamas.

***

For a weird alien family, the mom at least had a good sense of style. Sasha found the clothes a lot more form-fitting than she expected, a sash hugging her waist while leather boots cushioned her steps. She could move as freely as if the stuff was attached to her fur. It didn’t even rip as she leapt and climbed her way through the new city she’d found herself transported to. An alien world just like from her comics and magazines.

The flying machines hovering above seemed to whizz by every couple of seconds, though they were too high up for her to really worry about getting hit. If anything, she half considered trying to jump on one for a joyride. Surely they’d take her around a lot faster. And it'd be a lot more fun than walking.

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But thoughts of Iris and Cici kept her from living that dream. Gotta stay focused. If they’re together, Iris is probably gonna be in charge. I find her and then I can worry about joyrides.

She scanned around, only spotting people and places that looked completely foreign to her. The ever-changing wall images were in a language she hadn’t the foggiest chance of understandings. And none of the buildings screamed 'welcome lost canines' or anything. She raked through her hair.

“UGH! Where the heck even am I? I wanna go home.”

Falling to the ground, she found her stomach churning. No. Roaring. With all her exploration, the thought of food had never crossed her mind. Did alien worlds have she could eat? She peered over the edge of the building. With any luck, her nose could tell the difference between what smelled edible and what smelled like poison. And even if nothing looked too appetizing, as long as it didn't kill her she could close her eyes and bite. Maybe imagine it was tuna. Her nose took in good whiff, senses alerting her to something just below. An edible enough morsel.

Sasha followed the aroma, leaping to the street and approaching one of the nearby buildings. But to her surprise, the doors parted on its own.

Woah. More space magic. Hmm?

She looked up to scents of grease and seasoning filling her nostrils. Stacks of brown cylinders sat arranged on carrying trays, the furless creatures eating with their hands. Were they sandwiches? Alien sandwiches? Liquids sloshed about being carted in triangular bottles. For Sasha, none smelled particularly inviting.

“That’ll be 35 linkis,” a furless in front of her was saying.

There were several in what seemed to be a line to purchase. None of the items on the menu were decipherable, but she could still understand their words. Why could the aliens speak Islander?

"Do you take chets?"

The customer at the front pulled out a small rectangular device and waved it through the air, to which the cashier nodded. There was a small chime and then the furless was walking away with his meal. Sasha’s ears dropped.

Crap. Alien money.

One pat of her pockets confirmed her poor financial status.

Cripes.

Her whiskers twitched. Maybe it wasn’t completely over. None of the furless aliens looked particularly speedy. Especially not the big one behind the counter. Maybe if I’m quick enough. Don''t gotta take much. Just one swipe and…and... The image of Iris frowning at her from the other side of a jail cell stayed Sasha’s hand. She'd never let her hear the end of it. Sasha sighed, rubbing her stomach and dragging herself back outside.

Though the smells continued to bear down on her nose, she managed to block it out somewhat with her sash. Was this really what it meant to be a graduate? Poor, hungry, and alone? She and her denmates would get monthly allowances for whatever they needed to buy. But now. How did people get money if it wasn’t getting handed down by your guardians?

She folded her arms. Perhaps there was another means of obtaining food.

What if I tried to make it? Probably cheaper to buy ingredients and then pop them in a- Wait, do they have toaster ovens in this place? Actually, what’s even in the food around here? What if it only smells good, but it’s actually toxic to outsiders? Crap. I hope they haven’t tried any of it yet. No. Iris is smart. And Cici…Well, she’s with Iris, so I’m sure…Wait, why did it get so dark all of a sudden?

She came out of her thoughts to see the previously sunny day had switched to a moonlit night.

A stretch of black clouds rolled overhead. And the tall buildings of the city had become decrepit and caved in. There were no flying machines to be seen.

In the air, at least.

Sasha frowned at the broken contraptions now scattered about the streets. One was hanging out of a building missing several of its windows. Another's gave her the slightest jolt when she saw the rusted metal skeleton. It was an exact match to her hideout.

Cripes. What is all this? Did I get moved again?

Her God Tool appeared in her hand.

“Alert,” the voice said, “hostile entities detected. Please proceed with caution.”

Her brow furrowed, though confusion was replaced with anger the minute she saw the air warping in front of her. A familiar purple substance had materialized, dripping its strange liquid onto the floor. Sasha growled at the sight of appendages crawling out from the murky depths, their bodies twitching as the white monsters appeared.

“You again? Just what the heck are you things?”

The so-called White Legion creatures twitched at her voice. Several shot forward, meeting swift ends when she swung her staff. Another void appeared a bit further off. As did one directly above her head. Sasha leapt backward, avoiding the many tongues that lashed out. She had to use a wrecked machine like a springboard to launched herself onto a nearby building. It didn't help matters.

Voids were popping up all around the area. The army of legionaires crawling out weren’t as numerous as what she’d seen on the island, but she noticed more of the flying ones appearing this time around.

“I suggest we vacate the premises,” the God Tool said.

Sasha scanned around but could only see more ruined machines and decayed buildings.

“Any idea how?” she asked.

“Running calculations. Could you maintain position in the meantime?”

The flying creatures zoomed towards her. As did the crawling ones begin climbing the walls.

“Don’t think that's possible.” She knocked back a tongue. “Just do your thing.”

“As you wish. It will take approximately three minutes. Please try not to perish.”

She groaned. Appendages flew out in quick succession. Sasha leapt from the building, landing staff first on a white creature and using it like a golf ball to knock others away. The horde swarmed around her, but the panther kept swinging. Three minutes. Just three minutes.

The words repeated even as she was pushed through a window.