With a final hammer smash from Mr. Xan, the last legionnaire fell in a puff of smoke. The ground portal fizzled away, Sasha relaxing.

"Amazing. You share the power of light?"

Sasha once again nodded as the giant human marveled at her. With the chaos away, she could finally get a good look at the stranger. He looked a bit younger than most humans she'd seen. Though he was large like an adult, his round pudgy face reminded her more of the teens she'd seen through television programs. He didn't have the more defined features of Mercury, so she doubted they were anywhere close in age. Not unless Zamonians aged incredibly slowly.

Then again, I guess these aren't really 'human' humans anyway.

She shrugged, letting GT disappear. As the stranger rose, she realized just how tall the adolescents of Zamonia were. At full height, he might as well have been a tree.

"What's your name, guy?" Sasha asked.

"Kairo." He thrust his spear skyward. "Third son of Respugi. Second son of Nemona. Prince of the Azonia clan."

"Prince?"

She craned her neck but saw no hints of a crown. Or royal bangles. He was covered in furs from neck to ankle, but the same was true for many of the people wandering the Zamonia jungles. The most unique part about him was the tattoo. Was that his princely symbol? Were they all marked with comets? As she pondered the idea, Mr. Erin appeared beside her, a hand squeezing her shoulder.

"Pardon the intrusion, your grace."

The weasel bowed, though his grip didn't waver.

"We must speak to our colleague here, in private."

His hand tightened, Sasha getting dragged away as Kairo looked on in confusion. Cripes. He pulled her around a section of trees where Mr. Xan was already waiting, arms folded and hammer reattached to his back. , Neither liaison cracked even a hint of a smile.

"Sasha, what the heck are you doing?" Mr. Xan asked.

"I-"

"Need we remind you that we are fugitives of the AIC?" Mr. Erin joined in. "And that there's a hunter out there who may come back at any time to finish the job?"

Sasha rubbed her shoulder. "Yeah. I remember."

"Then enlighten us, Panther," said the panda. "Why'd you tell our names to the first rando you find planet-side?"

To that, her fight fizzled away. Oh. Right. With all her excitement of the bounce world, the dangers of her status had all been pushed to the wayside. It completely slipped her mind that they were supposed to be in hiding. Or that she almost died. Or that giving away her details so freely could very easily lead to someone finding the three of them. Cripes. She kicked at the dirt.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Okay. So maybe that wasn't the smartest choice in the universe."

"That's putting it mildly."

She winced. "But on the bright side...I think this guy might be useful. Check out that tattoo on his neck."

They both peeked past the trees, Kairo waving back to all three of them.

"That's a comet," Sasha said. "The comet. As in the one from Shiny. The one that guy was riding."

"What makes you so sure?"

She shifted. "I'm not. But I got a hunch, Mr. Xan."

"A...hunch?"

"That's not very reassuring, Sasha."

To that, she couldn't possibly disagree. Her instincts were always a mixed bag to follow. It was her instincts that led to both her liaisons getting captured and nearly killed. It was her instincts that told her clawing Alexander was the best course of action. It was her instincts that told her abandoning Argos was better than forcing their way through to save the planet. That planet was lost now because of her instincts.

But Sasha didn't need to rely on her instincts solely. She brightened up as she remembered the gift Iris had left behind. Fishing through her suit, she managed to find the small notebook, quickly flipping through the pages and smiling when she found her target. Iris's comet doodle.

"Here." She showed them both the drawing. "I know she's no artist, but that's definitely the Comet Man's comet. Iris was looking for him. See. Man on fire. Ship. Plus there was that lookout sight we found on Frostum. That wolf's trying to dig up all the scraps she can about this guy."

She handed the notebook over, both her liaisons examining it further. Mr. Erin in particular seemed surprised by the etchings. In between Alexander and her coma, she hadn't gotten the chance to confirm everything Iris had laid out. All the same, it made her feel slightly better to see how thoroughly the weasel scanned the pages.

"I don't think any of this is a coincidence," she said. "Iris wouldn't just so happen to visit a place that has people with comets on their necks. She might have found something here. We should at least see if we can too. Might lead us back to her."

Mr. Xan still looked skeptical, but he nodded.

"Well...that might not be stupid. Twig?"

Mr. Erin didn't look up.

"It is quite possible. Incidentally, I would love to pick your friend's brain when we find her. These equations. This is advanced thermodynamics. How could she possibly-"

"Stay focused, twig."

He jumped. "Oh. R-right."

He handed the notebook back, Sasha securing it back into her suit. Good thing I remembered to bring this thing. She peeked around the trees, seeing Kairo poking the ground with his spear. Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to keep the prince waiting.

"Regardless," Mr. Erin said, "we should still be careful, Ms. Panther. Just because we're outside AIC territory doesn't mean we're safe."

She quickly nodded, Mr. Xan shrugging as they all finally left the safety of their hiding spot. Kairo was in the process of swatting glowing blue insects when they all arrived. He straightened up, though Mr. Erin still gave his usual bow of apology.

"Sorry for the wait, your grace," he said. "My colleague here is quite inexperienced, I'm afraid."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all." Kairo bowed back. "It is an honor to be in the presence of Godly servants."

"Godly?" he flashed Sasha a look, the panther giving a nervous chuckle. "I see. Prince Kairo, would your clan happen to be nearby. There's much we wish to learn from them."

The prince smiled. "Of course. I'll show you the way."

The minute his back was turned, both Mr. Erin and Mr. Xan whipped in Sasha's direction, her name silently holding on their lips. She recoiled, awkwardly following behind everyone as Kairo led them through the jungles of Zamonia.