A line of electrical fencing towered over both Sasha and Mr. Erin, the sign in the center scrawled in lettering that at first appeared to be gibberish. A quick scan with her commpad translated the letters into plain Islander.

Unauthorized access is strictly forbidden.

Sasha looked to Mr. Erin, but he was already raising his wand, the fence forcefully parting to reveal a gaping hole for him to walk on. As much as she wanted to turn back, she found her legs instinctively moving forward, the fencing shutting itself behind them.

“We shouldn’t be here,” Sasha said. “This place feels wrong.”

“Our job dictates that we go where we’re needed,” Mr. Erin said.

“But can’t we find some…other portals. Maybe fly to a different part of the world where the rock creatures aren’t in charge?”

“That wouldn’t kill the infection at the source, Panther. If you’d been paying attention to my lecture, you would have known all about the Root and Stem Portals. But we don’t have time for another dissertation. Not now.”

He clicked through his commpad. Sasha did vaguely recall the mention of portal types early on in Mr. Erin’s lecture. She couldn’t remember the names, but he’d claimed there were four of them. As the two wandered through the desert, the uneasy feeling grew in Sasha’s heart. All around, she could see bones and decayed corpses. One skull was big enough that she could have fit inside its eye socket if she wanted. And that wasn't even getting into the jagged gray plants that seemed to move in their direction as they passed.

Why does it feel like we’re being watched? She increased her pace, the duo climbing up a section of dunes and cliffs before Mr. Erin finally halted.

“Here,” he said, waving around his commpad. “You can see it, can’t you?”

Sasha squinted. “You mean the…What the heck is that?”

Directly behind the squirrel was a transparent film, the air distorting as if there were a blanket hanging over it. She reached out a hand.

“Not like that,” Mr. Erin said.

“Huh?”

“Use your God Tool. That’s the only way the Stem Portal’s gonna open.”

“Stem Portal?” She looked the film up and down. It didn’t have the drippy liquid or the monsters clamoring from its bowels, but when she summoned her God Tool, she felt something resonating off it. An energy. It almost felt like the jolt she’d been hit with when trying to read the cosmic signals, though considerably weaker.

“Go on,” Mr. Erin said. “The sooner the better.”

There was that hostile tone again. But she obeyed, poking the distortion with her weapon. The air crackled on contact, distortions growing and changing in size. And color. The Panther jumped backward, purple liquid oozing onto the ground. What was once transparent became that all too familiar vicious substance. And it was still growing.

“Alright,” Sasha said. “Now what?”

Mr. Erin brandished his wand. “Now we close this thing. It shouldn’t be too powerful, but I’m picking up more White Legion activity approaching.”

“Is that why it’s getting bigger?”

“No, that would be how Stem Portals usually act. Roots, too. But they can be closed. We only need to kill its passengers like any other portal.”

Inky purple liquid pooled onto the ground, several smaller portals springing up around their ever-growing companion. The legionnaires clawed their way to the surface, bodies twitching in their usual fashion. Sasha stepped forward to fight when Mr. Erin stopped her with his wand.

“Not you. I can handle the small fry. Your job is to take out the big one.”

The tip of his wand glowed a light blue color. He flung in forward, a jet of water springing forth and splitting the legionnaires apart before they could even get within striking distance.

Sasha looked at the portal. “Big one? What are you-”

A massive tremor shook the ground.

Sasha tensed, watching as a hand flew out of the portal, digging into the ground. Another came after, long claws splitting dirt and rock on contact. Little by little, the creature in the Stem portal clawed its way forward. Its head was nonexistent, the creature’s body resembling more of an emaciated torso. Long tendrils wrapped around its frame, the vine-like appendages acting like arms to help it drag its way forward. Why was there so much heat radiating off it? Sasha swallowed.

“That?” she asked. “You want me to fight…THAT?”

“It’s a lot weaker than it looks. Don’t die.”

That was all Mr. Erin offered, walking towards the increasing mass of legionnaires.

His wand arced through the air, a flying monster’s tongue dropping to the ground, along with the legionnaire behind it. And several others in his immediate vicinity. Meanwhile, the giant monster from the Stem portal seemed to zero in on her, a rumbling growl coming from its headless throat. Sasha groaned.

Cripes. Alright, Sasha. Time to work, I guess.

She sprung forward. The monster’s arms flung out, claws arcing in wild directions, both extended and soaring through the air to catch her. But she managed to dodge, using her staff like a pole vault to avoid getting quickly knocked aside. The tendrils unfurled, shooting out like whips to smack at her. She had to roll in midair to save herself.

“Contact imminent.”

Her head jerked at the alert, Sasha landing but seeing no attacks.

What now?

She didn’t see the arms coming at her, the limbs instead retracting back into the living torso. But as she stood in place, her instincts screamed at her to keep moving, something she quickly learned would save her from an instant death. Not even a second after she moved, a torrent of flames erupted from the ground behind her.

“Holy-!” The flames burned up into the sky before vanishing completely. “That was…Geez. Thanks, God Tool.”

“I aim to please, Ms. Sasha,” the staff voice said. “I would advise you to watch your surroundings.”

The claws were coming around again. Sasha shook off her shock, continuing her efforts to not get slapped by stretchy claws.

The thing was strong. There was no doubt about that. With each attack, it carved through the ground like it was made of paper, jagged plant getting shredded to pieces each time they got caught in the crossfire. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen to her if she got hit. But that was her one saving grace, wasn’t it? The thing was strong, but it was slow.

Stolen story; please report.

When its arms retracted, she saw circles of orange appear on the ground. She moved away to be graced with another flaming geyser seconds later. So that’s how that works, huh. She made sure to watch out for the circles as she ran about the rocky desert. As slow as it was, she’d started to notice subtle patterns to the thing’s movement. How it would always either shoot flames or claw at her, but never both. How every time it made the geysers she’d see its tendrils break off to dig into the ground. How it seemed dead set on fighting from a distance.

Of course, none of that helped to address the giant question hanging in the air.

“How the heck am I supposed to kill this thing?” Sasha shouted.

She’d attempted to whack the thing while it was retracting, but her staff bounced right off its claws. It was like hitting a steel wall. Her arms shook with the impact. She tried a second time but only got the same results.

“Dangit. What the heck is this thing made of?”

“Perhaps I could offer some assistance, Ms. Sasha,” the staff voice said.

She jumped between swipes.

“You got ideas?”.

“Perhaps a skill could work,” the staff said. “You’ve yet to use yours.”

Pillars erupted behind her, Sasha sprinting ahead.

“I have a- Crap! Okay, just do it!”

“Understood. Engaging gravity.”

“Huh? Woah!”

A claw slammed down in front of her. But she was nowhere near the impact.

Or even the ground, for that matter. Her mouth fell open, the panther finding herself several feet up in the air. Above the crowd of portals. Above the giant swarm of legionnaires Erin was clearing out. Above the fire-spewing monster that was retracting its arms.

“A-Aaaaaaaah!”

“Please do not be alarmed, Ms. Sasha,” the staff said. “We are merely-”

“Get me down! Get me down!”

There was a pause. The ground was drifting further and further away, but then all at once, it stopped.

“Disengaging gravity.”

Her body sunk like a rock.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The panther plummeted like a rock, Mach 10 speeds no doubt reached as she dropped to the ground. She flapped her arms like a bird, screaming louder. Even her tail became a temporary propellor, though nothing worked to stop her descent. The floor just kept getting closer and closer and closer.

“Reengage! Reengage! Reengage!”

The panther stopped inches from the ground.

“As you wish, Ms. Sasha,” the staff said.

The way her heart thumped against her chest, Sasha was half afraid she’d pass out on the spot. Or that she’d get dropped on her face. But neither event happened. She reached out a hand, poking at the ground.

“My apologies,” the staff said. “You shouldn’t have any problems now.”

She felt herself lifting, body reorienting as Sasha floated into a standing position, some unknown force gently placing her on Argos’s surface. She poked the ground with her foot. Her shoes felt…different. Lighter. She bounced in place.

“What did you do?”

“I adjusted your- Watch out!”

She looked up only to immediately duck as claws raked above her head. She saw circles of orange appear below her feet. She leapt forward, the erupting flames cutting a swath after her.

“Perhaps we should discuss later.”

“Agreed. Giant monster first, questions later.”

She slid to a halt, kicking off to head straight in the monster’s direction. When the claws came again, she slid under their line of attack. Faster than they could detract. Fast enough that she managed to turn around and whack the tendrils with her staff. The monster gave a loud roar. Her staff hadn’t bounced off this time.

“Oh. So that’s your weak point, eh? Thanks for telling me.”

The claws retracted, the monster instead burying several tendrils into the ground. A circle of flames appeared below Sasha’s feet, but they were slow. Slower than before. She darted away long before they could reach her.

That's when she finally noticed.

“Huh. Hey GT, are you fireproof?”

“I am sufficient against most conditions, yes.”

“Perfect.”

Squinting as the tendrils retracted, she saw more claw attacks coming her way, but she was ready and waiting. As light as she felt, dodging the claws became second nature. She dove through the air, letting a claw pass below just so she could whack the tendril attached. She went to do the same for the other arm, but it was already retracting, burning geysers arriving not long after.

But even then, it was still too slow.

She didn't know why. She didn't know how. But suddenly it felt like she turned part cheetah, her movements leaving the monster in the dust without even really trying. She jumped backward, the flaming gysers appearing long after she moved. And as she was readying for another attack, she noticed the oddity a second time.

Though difficult to see, when she focused on the flaming spots, she could notice appendages coming out of the ground, billowing their heat into the atmosphere to roast everything on contact.,

Right. Time to see how fireproof you are. Sasha darted towards the geysers.

Her shoes bounced off the ground, her newfound speed helping her close the distance in seconds. Faster than the geysers could stop spewing fire. Fast enough she could see the tendrils within moving to retract. She swung her God Tool in one clean motion, sliding to a halt and feeling residual heat singing her fur.

But in the spot she’d struck, the raging fires had disappeared. Instead, there was only a white mist.

Direct hit.

She spun around, hearing the monster screech and watching its tendrils popping off like strings. Its claws fell to the ground, as lifeless as the skulls littered throughout the desert. With one final cry, the monster fell to the ground, its body vanishing in a powder of white smoke.

“Energy reserves dwindling,” the staff voice said. “Returning to normal gravity.”

She felt her body change again, the light sensation fading. She bounced in place only to find her regular jumping levels had returned. So much for that, I guess. She kicked the ground.

“That should do fine, Ms. Panther.”

Mr. Erin came up behind her.

There were several clouds of smoke in the area he’d once been, portals fizzling out one after the other, though the man himself didn’t have a scratch on him. He stopped in front of her.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

She looked back to the one enemy she’d taken out. And to her singed fur.

“It’s…fine,” she said. “So what now? Shouldn’t this thing be closing like the others?”

She gestured to the Stem Portal, which had stopped growing, but was still the size of a cliff. Mr. Erin checked his commpad.

“No new signatures are approaching. Great. Just stick it with your staff again and it should fizzle out.”

She raised her god tool. “Alright. But if this thing spits out something worse I’m gonna freak.”

Thrusting the God Tool within, Sasha was greeted with a light tingle through her body before the air began to crackle. The liquid of the portal slowly dissolved, turning into black smoke that rose into the sky. She stepped back, watching as the enormous Stem portal faded away into the atmosphere. Mr. Erin smiled in approval.

“Excellent work, Ms. Panther.”

Her cheeks burned.

“So now we just have to get the Root one, right?”

“So you were paying attention, then?"

“Maybe a little.”

Mr. Erin chuckled. “C’mon. The infection rate’ll be slow now, but-”

Erin’s smile dropped.

Sasha raised a brow. That was until she heard the sounds approaching. The rumble of footsteps. Her heart sank into her stomach, lights appearing on Mr. Erin’s forehead. Several lights. They were on her as well, the panther raising her hands as the footsteps grew closer, a clunky rumble making her curse under her breath. It wasn’t long before she saw the soldiers arriving.

Rockmen. All coming from different directions. All armed with their sleek armor and deadly blasters. In seconds, they had the two travelers completely surrounded.

“Put your hands where I can see them, Outworlders,” Commander Weston voice came from the front of the crowd.

Sasha made sure to do as she was told, Mr. Erin glaring at the rockman. He didn’t move so much as an inch.