Cripes.

Sasha leaned against GT, her limbs aching from the multiple gashes. How was it one tiger could be so hard to take down? She could feel her signals draining, though Alexander stood unharmed, even taking the time to admire his dagger.

"Wind Slicer, you truly are beautiful when you're painted red. How perfect."

She shook off the pain. As much as she hated to admit it, one thing was abundantly clear. She wasn't beating him anytime soon.

The way the tiger attacked. How he weaved her blows with such little effort, never using that giant tunnel to blow her away. It was all game to him, wasn't it? They could tangle until the sun burned out, and she still wouldn't have faired any better. Worse even. Alexander didn't have the problem of running out of energy.

Cripes. Guess I'm still pretty weak.

She ripped off a piece of her shirt, using it to wrap up her most severe wounds. It was all she could do. Mr. Xan had been knocked through a building, Mercury going after him to finish the job. And Mr. Erin was more than likely dealing with the other AIC soldiers lured by Elisia's trap.

Elisia. Dangit.

She gave GT a squeeze. It was abundantly clear to her who set them up for capture. But whether or not she was outclassed, Sasha had no intentions of falling for the Goddess's trap. She might have been too weak to win, but that had never stopped her before. As long as she had a staff in her hand and signals in her body, she'd keep trying. Because she refused to go down that easy.

Alexander looked straight at her.

"So what will you do, Panther?" he asked. "You have to realize by now your situation? You can't win."

As he said those words, Sasha caught several smells in the air. A stampede of boots and badges. She bared her fangs, spying several AIC members arriving on the scene.

They were all dressed in uniforms of red and green, the symbol of their group emblazed on their chests. Alexander greeted them with a smile. There were dozens. Hundreds. Too many for the likes of Sasha to possibly get past. And they were all coming from the direction of the amphitheater. Mr. Erin's direction. Was he...? Alexander tapped the dagger against his hip.

"So what will you decide, Panther?" he asked. "Will you stand down? Or would you rather die like a martyr?"

The blasters all raised in her direction, laser sights running along her fur. Sasha growled, flicking her staff forward.

"Take your best shots, tail brains!" she shouted. "It'll be your last."

It was an obvious bluff, but she hoped in some way it would scare a few. Any. Enough that they wouldn't instantly shred her to pieces once they fired. But much to her annoyance, none so much as flinched. They really were a pain. She had no choice. Sasha channeled what little signals she could. If nothing else, she'd make them work for the kill. There were worse ways to go out.

Sorry, Iris. Cici. Hopefully you both won't be too mad I-

"GRAAAAAAAGH!"

Sasha blinked. As did Alexander, all the soldiers turning towards the scream. And the two figures falling from a building.

Pavement broke away, the road denting from the sudden crash. Sasha's ears rose, her eyes locked on the scene. A panda. He stood with Sledge 2 in one hand, the other pressing his unconscious human enemy into the ground.

"Never...underestimate...this panda!"

His attention rose to the army of soldiers. To Alexander. To her.

"Anyone else want some?" Mr. Xan asked, a smile spreading across his face.

Sasha brightened. Her liaison. He was okay. But...

"Panther! What's your status?" her liaison asked.

"Huh? Oh." She checked with GT. "4%".

The panda nodded. It was decent enough, and Sasha even knew she could have made do with much worse. That wasn't the issue. As she stared back at Mr. Xan, she recognized the wild look in his eyes. The way his frame seemed to tear. Those weren't the wounds of sword slashes alone. They were skin tears. The surest sign of blowback. Alexander gave Mr. Xan a long look, the panda smiling back.

"Feelin' lucky, punk?" he asked. "Because there's something you oughta know."

He smashed his hammer into the ground, winds blowing around him.

"When I was a pirate, they used to call me Xan of Liosha. The Spotted Hurricane. Only one woman's ever beaten me in a real fight. And I intend to keep it that way."

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There were a few murmurs from the soldiers. The Spotted Hurricane? Sasha had never heard the title before, though she did remember how Mr. Erin described his days as a smuggler. A panda who could tear through a city with ease. More akin to a force of nature than a man. Several soldiers shifted their blasters his way, though a few kept Sasha in their sights. Alexander himself, though, had turned his complete focus the panda's way.

"I could kill you in seconds," he said. "You realize that, don't you?"

Mr. Xan scoffed. "Feel free to try. Haven't had a real fight since saving that one."

Her whiskers twitched at the reminder. But she was even more worried about how many tears she could see forming. Mr. Xan. What are you doing? She looked to the fallen Admiral Mercury. To the many different AIC members. A sinking feeling began to rise, which only magnified when her liaison called to her.

"Hey! Sasha!"

She winced. "Y-yeah?"

Mr. Xan flashed his teeth. "Consider this your liaison's final request. When you see the Light Binder, make it hurt."

She recoiled. Final? What was he talking about? She waited for him to elaborate. Wanted him too. But he was already turning his attention back to the soldiers, his silence making the sinking feeling grow even more. Mr. Xan? No. Don't tell me, you're.... Alexander raised his dagger.

"Now who's underestimating who?" he asked.

Mr. Xan leaned forward.

"Talk is cheap anyway."

His hammer rose, winds blowing forward.

The blasters immediately fired, shots bursting forth. And deflecting. They all flew in the opposite direction, a gust rising over everyone. Sasha had to buckle down to avoid getting blown away, the sensation all too familiar to her. The same attack he'd used to blow away legionnaires on Torpha. But it was stronger, signals amplifying it into a hurricane wind. Sasha activated her field to stay grounded.

"Panther! Go!"

She looked over only to see the panda crashing forward, straight into the AIC army.

Cripes.

She zipped to the sky.

"Get back he-"

"Eyes on the prize, tiger!" Mr. Xan roared as he came knocking everything and anything aside. A battering ram of havoc. She could hear Alexander growling below, his attention shifting to the Spotted Hurricane. Blasters and shouting filled the streets along with Mr. Xan's laughter.

Was it for her or for him? She could hardly tell.

Her mind quickly returned to Dyre's ship. How mangled he'd gotten after going toe to toe with her. And now he was pulling the same stunt with Alexander.

Cripes. I...I...

Mr. Xan's words came to her like a punch in the face.

"You've got a friend to catch, Sasha! Get going!"

She winced.

Iris. The Comet Man. That was right. All of this. Coming to the world. Going through the rally. Fighting against the AIC. If he got away, none of it would mean anything. Their whole mission would mean nothing. As much as she wanted to go down to help, she knew that wasn't why he'd chosen to subject himself to blowback. She knew that wasn't why he was fighting so hard below her.

Your liaison's final request.

She didn't like hearing the words. But she knew what they meant.

"Dangit!" she screamed. "Stupid tail brain!"

She zipped towards the space shuttles.

***

The streets of Ursa were swarming with AIC members. And smugglers. So many she could see getting tackled and cuffed. No Mr. Erin among them. Had he already-? She pushed the thought away. She had a mission to finish. No matter what.

She finally landed at the docking area, immediately having to dodge blaster shots.

Cripes. Here too?

She dove forward, knocking an AIC member aside to steal their weapon. With what little energy she had left, she needed it. Her whiskers twitched, Sasha raising her head to the sight of flaming white rising into the sky. The Comet Ship!

There you are!

She ran for her own only to stop as she saw robots being led out in chains. Training Bot!

"Be careful with those droids," an officer said. "Don't need the Mech Sisters on our backs."

Sasha zipped forward, wasting no time in taking out the soldiers. The bots collectively chimed at her appearance, Training Bot rolling over to greet her, though she could only give it a quick nod before more members came, a shot ringing against the ship.

"Cripes." Sasha fired back. "Everyone onboard! I'll hold 'em off!"

She shot with wild disregard at everything that moved, what little training she had causing as much damage as possible. But there were still so many of them. A shot embedded into her shoulder, Sasha dropping with the pain but forcing herself to keep shooting. Just as another was about to meet her in the face, a wall appeared of yellow appeared before her.

"Sasha! Hurry up!"

Her ears twitched. Iris? She looked from the barrier to the wolf who stood at the top of the ramp.

"When did you-"

"Explain later!" the wolf shouted. "Get over here!"

She didn't need to tell Sasha twice.

AIC members were multiplying, to the point Sasha knew shooting was a lost cause. She practically threw herself backwards, the exit hatch slamming shut as the ramp retracted. The robots quickly brought the ship to life, engine roaring as the many shots bounced off its exterior.

"Approaching Orion atmosphere!" a voice called through the intercom.

Sasha braced against the wall, shots growing more and more distant as they ascended. But even with all the chaos, the wolf at her side had her gaze locked on the sky. Sasha realized why when she spotted the flaming ship breaching space.

The Comet Man. They were right behind him. Iris's tail wagged against the ground, Sasha staring up at the comet-shaped vessel.

Make it hurt, huh?

She looked down at GT, expecting to feel the same enthusiasm as her wolf friend.

But as they made the jump to warp space, all she wanted was to hear her liaison's voices.