Feathers rained down, Sasha zipping and swinging her staff around. Four. Five. Kairo's spear flew past, the feathered beast dodging and dive-bombing him in return. The giant rolled away.

"Zucastafa!" he chattered. He leapt for his fallen weapon, dodging more feathers. "Sasha. I can't get a beat on it. It's too fast."

"Just keep at it, Kairo!" she called, measuring the distance with her eyes and whacking away another feather.

The giant nodded, which Sasha couldn't help but admire. He had yet to land more than a glancing blow, but he at least wasn't lacking in spirit. He kept thrusting out no matter how many times the monster dodged. It made her smile. She couldn't afford to let him down.

Across the jungle, vines and trees were getting torn apart as Mr. Xan smacked his enemy through everything in his path. And on the other end, there was Mr. Erin, the weasel up in the skies with a monster on his trail. He leapt from barrier to barrier, trading water jets with feather attacks. Just watching made Sasha excited. Can't let them win before me. She looked at her work, feathers embedded all around her. This should be enough. She turned off her suit's artificial gravity.

"Kairo!" she called. "Time to switch."

The giant was digging his feet into the ground, spear raised to block the legionnaire's talons. But drawing its attention away was as easy as throwing GT at it. The monster cooed, instantly flying Sasha's way.

Alright. Phase one complete.

She bounced off the ground letting the monster fly under her. A quick zip later and she was landing atop one of her launched feathers. Her body tensed, hissing filling her ears, but she tried to ignore it, watching the monster. C'mon, tail brain. It changed direction, flying straight for her. She smiled.

Phase two!

And the panther leapt to the side.

Petals and vines snapped shut, Sasha's excitement falling away when she saw the legionnaire still flying. It had avoided the trapper completely. Cripes. She looked to the other feathers she'd laid out. All strategically placed near a trapper plant. Alright. Let's try this again. She jumped for another feather.

It was a simple plan, if not altogether easy. She could only use the gravity trap on grounded targets. Thus, the first step was to get the monster to land for an extended period. And considering the trappers ate anything that got too close, they seemed the simplest option for doing just that. But as she dove from trapper to trapper, the legionnaire stopped trying to ram her. It would claw or throw feathers her way, but the divebombings stopped. After the first couple of attempts, it steered clear of the carnivorous plants.

"Cripes. Plan B it is, then." She zipped over to Kairo, letting a trapper get skewered with feathers in the process.

The giant had been standing by the entire time, equal parts amazed and confused. She smacked him with her tail.

"Alright, your turn again, Kairo," she said. "Got your spear ready?"

"Y-yes." He raised it forward. "What do you ask of me?"

She touched his leg with GT. "I need you to grab it. I'll give you a boost, so just try not to freak out, ok?"

"A boost?"

She smiled, signals already running from the staff to the giant. He was a fair bit larger than the objects she was used to manipulating, but the process was much the same. Pour in the gravity, take aim, and fire. She pulled him off the ground, the giant floating up like a balloon.

"Woah. I-I'm flying."

"Stay focused, Kairo." She narrowed on her target, who was readying another feather rain. "This might hurt a bit. Ready?"

"I- Yes!"

She gave her lightest smack, and the giant went soaring.

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The feathers flew his way, Kairo raising his spear to protect himself. Though he maintained momentum, the attacks cutting and scraping his body did slow him down a bit. Cripes. But the giant kept going. He closed in on his target, the legionnaire cooing as the feather rain stopped. It tried to fly away.

"Gotcha!"

He grabbed a talon just in time.

"Nice!" Sasha called.

The legionnaire cooed, suddenly dragged in the same direction Sasha had aimed. Phase Two was finally underway.

Without her interference, they'd keep flying until they hit the stratosphere. That wouldn't work. Not on her watch. While Kairo fought back slashes and pecks, Sasha zipped towards them. She needed only to touch Kairo with a bit of gravity. They both stopped their ascend, the giant suddenly pulling them both to the ground.

Sasha fell into place, field spreading as the two fell splat on the floor.

"Alright, Kairo!" she called. "You can let go now."

He did as he was told only moments before the gravity trap took effect.

Cooing deepened into a labored grunt, her field running through the fallen beast. She felt it struggling against her, but she needed only raise the gravity to keep it pinned in place. An easy target for the rising prince, his steps a bit shaky, but spear at the ready just as she'd instructed.

"It's all yours, Prince."

He staggered towards it, plunging his spear through its chest.

"Farewell, worthy enemy," the giant said.

And then it was puffing into smoke.

***

The other two legionnaires went down not long after, the Stem closing in its usual mist of black. After his first battle with a guardian, Kairo was badly limping, but it was nothing Mr. Erin's medicine couldn't fix. He was up and about again minutes later, Sasha giving him a pat on the leg in congratulations.

"Nice work, Prince," she said. "You did good for your first real portal fight."

He rubbed his wounds, still marveling at the lack of damage.

"Praise the Light Binder. I am truly grateful."

Mr. Xan helped him up, the giant reclaiming his tattered furs. With the Stem behind them, finding the Root was always a simple matter. It was only a short trek away, Sasha forcing it closed with a nod.

"Truly, thank you," Kairo said. "For helping our world. For letting me fight."

Sasha frowned at that, though Mr. Erin spoke up before she could.

"Don't forget to thank yourself, young prince," he said. "It was you who chose to accompany us in the first place. And you who aided in this world's salvation."

"But, I wasn't much help. I saw how you three fought. Compared to that I-"

"Alright, you can stop right there, buddy."

Sasha was standing in front of him, her tail lashing behind her.

Even if she knew it was only sentimental, she refused to let something like this be brushed off by Kairo. When it came down to it, this was his world, not hers. She only came to find Iris, not to play hero. That was his job. His and everybody else's who called Zamonia home. No way would she let the world's protectors think they were powerless on their own. Not even for a second. She jabbed a finger into his leg.

"Listen here, Mr. Prince," she said. "That legionnaire kill. That was yours. All yours, buddy. Just like how you were the one who tried to fight them on your own when we first met. That's all you. Your strength. And it's a pretty big strength as far as I care."

The giant stared down at her. His eyes. They were just like hers. And she knew better than anyone what someone like that needed to hear.

"You're strong on your own, Kairo," she said. "You got the heart of a fighter. Nothing's more powerful than that, okay."

His eyes shined, the giant brightening at the words. Sasha smiled up at him. Though they were vastly different in size, she was glad to see their minds thought alike.

The moment broke, though, when her liaisons reminded her of the task at hand. Namely that they needn't linger planet-side now that their business was finished. With the AIC on their trail, Iris who knew where, and the Comet Man spreading chaos everywhere, there wasn't much time to delay. Though she wanted to reassure Kairo more, she had a job to do. So when they made their return to Clan Azonia, she knew it was time to say goodbye.

"Just don't forget this feeling, alright," Sasha said. "That's your strength. Use it to protect Zamonia while we're gone. It's up to you and everyone else now."

He nodded. "I will. We will. We won't forget this, Sasha. I promise."

She grinned. Maybe he was a little big, but after fighting with him, she'd come to admire the giant a bit. If only he had a commpad. Then they could keep in touch without her having to travel all the way to Zamonia to see him again. Sasha sighed. Well, I guess he is still just a warp away. The thought made her less sad about the departure. She gave the giant a hug of farewell and then she was running off with her liaisons. Kairo was instantly surrounded by the rest of his clanfolk.

"I'm sure the Light Binder won't be happy we interfered," Mr. Erin pointed out as they were leaving.

"We only helped a little," Mr. Xan said.

Sasha cracked her knuckles. "If he's got an issue, he can say it to my face."

"I'm sure he's quacking in his boots," said Mr. Xan, which earned him a jab from the panther.