As much as she wanted to keep digging through the journal, Sasha knew she had a job to do. Even if she was a free agent, she'd promised her liaisons she'd free any planets they found while on their travels. Though she couldn't sense Iris's signals anywhere, she did feel legionnaires running amuck all over Alfleece, their newest landing spot. According to Mr. Xan's commpad, the Stem portal was somewhere deeper in the city of Rein, the Root even further than that.

"You think they know their planet's in danger?" Sasha asked as they passed through the colorfully lit streets.

The people of Alfleece seemed completely dismissive of the two outsiders. Not that they stood out much to begin with. Among the many city dwellers, Sasha spotted people from all walks of life. Some had fur even thicker than theirs. Others were hairless like humans, their skin radiating in the darkness. And still others were neither, their frames composed entirely of a metallic coating. She almost mistook them for robots. That was, until she saw one parting the shell to drink a soda. Watching the dark liquid getting sucked into its body made her instantly queasy. She tried not to stare.

"Doubt it," Mr. Xan said. "The war's common knowledge, but the extent is usually kept on a need-to-know basis."

"And they don't need to know?"

"Hard to say. If you knew Shiny was going up in flames, would you wanna tell people about it? Or would you rather let 'em have some fun in their last moments?"

Sasha thought a moment. "If I'd known about Shiny, I would have told everyone else too. At least then we'd have been ready. We could have fought that comet jerk off. The legionnaires too."

Mr. Xan snickered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just surprised you'd say that."

"What, you think that's stupid? Because it's not. We might not have been grads, but we weren't pushovers."

"Hey, no arguments here, Panther. Pretty sure at least one of you would have graduated with or without the fire guy's attack. Best case scenario, they close the portals, and you scrape out with minimal casualties."

As they spoke, Sasha noticed the legionnaire signals growing closer. In fact, when she looked out ahead, she could see a portal begin to form within the city. None of the residents seemed to notice, everyone too focused on their daily commutes and personal lives. It made Sasha even more eager to warn them, but Mr. Xan discouraged her with a shake of his head.

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"Just because we should doesn't mean we will," he said. "We might like to know about this sort of stuff, but don't assume every person is the same. Our first priority is always containment, not spreading panic. Plus, the fact we're here means the problem's already solved, right?"

He pulled out his new hammer, the base coated in a black and white sheen matching his fur. The panda had spent the better parts of his recovery period tinkering with the device, Sasha having been witness to its new output. She reluctantly nodded.

"Fine," she said. "Lemme go do my job then."

She pulled out GT, climbing through the sky with a quick yank. The legionnaires above were already pouring through.

White feathers soared towards her, monsters with talons and beaks coming straight for the panther, who dodged to the side, letting Mr. Xan cut through them with Sledge 2. Though the panda was groundside, Sasha had learned from experience how much the range didn't matter. Whether he was up close or across the room, he'd smack whoever he wanted with ease. The perks of his wind attacks. The monsters vanished into puffs of white, Sasha smiling as she zipped away, knocking one of the flyers straight into the roof of a building. Another came tearing through the sky.

It burst in front of her.

"Huh?"

Sasha pulled back, a cloud of mist fading into the atmosphere. Her gaze instantly moved to Mr. Xan, but he was smashing a legionnaire into mist. He hadn't even been looking in her direction.

"Greetings."

She blinked. An accented voice. One she didn't recognize in the slightest. Sasha followed it only to stare in the sight of a white cloud above her head. The army that had been pouring through. Gone. The portal blew away, dissolving into mist as legionnaire signals grew further and further away.

What the heck?

She landed on a nearby building, GT chiming in her hands.

"One graduate detected."

Sasha flinched, senses rising. She jumped forward, whirling to a stranger standing directly in front of her. Inches from where her back had just been. They smiled.

"Oh. Good reflexes."

Her gaze rose and fell over the newcomer. A male if his voice was any indication. He rested a hand on his hip, a leather jacket draped across his back while his chest lay exposed to the world. But it was his face which really drew Sasha's attention. The narrow slits of his eyes. His striped orange and white fur. The whiskers. Though she had no idea who the stranger was, she could tell from a glance what he was. Her own whiskers twitched at the sight of another feline.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," the stranger said. "You do speak English, correct?"

"English?" she asked.

"Oh. Perfect."

The stranger extended a hand to the side, lowering himself in a bow.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," he said. "Alexander the Tiger, at your service. Feel free to call me Alexi, if you'd prefer. I would also take Alex."

His hand flicked, a small dagger appearing between his fingers. The blade shined with the same golden yellow as his eyes, the hilt a blaze of orange. It vanished, reappearing in his other as he brandished it towards her, teeth gleaming white.

"You are, Sasha the Panther, correct?" He winked. "I'm here to kill you."