Mr. Erin shook his head.

“It’s a match,” he said. “It's hard to say how, but I'd wager she's been gone for quite a while."

Sasha hugged her body. Why did she always get so scared around cadavers? She'd seen people die in her comics all the time. And they were in the middle of a war. Seeing a few skeletons should have been par for the course. Shouldn't it? Her stomach felt queasy. She looked up to see Mr. Erin in front of her. He brought her head to his chest, the panther burying her face in his jacket.

"This isn't your fault, Sasha," he said. "Not every person in the cosmos can be saved."

Her ears fell. Was that it? Was that why she felt so sick? She pulled back, looking up at his face.

"I wish I could say this is an outlier," he went on, "but I won't lie to you. Even without the war, our line of work tends to attract the dead."

She looked down at the skeleton, the head crushed from where she'd stepped.

Even if she wanted to forget, she knew firsthand he wasn't lying. The screams she heard on Shiny. The chaos she saw on Torpha. Even traveling with the Black Web, she'd seen her share of bodies lying around. It never got easier to see. She doubted it would.

"I just wanna find Iris," she said, stepping back. "Can we hurry up and get off this mountain? I miss the warm."

“On that, I can agree, Ms. Panther. Seeing as how Risa is...We should keep moving. After we close those portals."

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Almost forgot about those.”

Mr. Erin waved his commpad through the air. “It looks like it's a few miles to reach the Stem.”

Sasha threw back her head. “Ugh! I hate this ice planet!”

Mr. Erin patted her on the back, the panther groaning in response.

***

Thankfully the Stem portal wasn’t difficult to locate. Getting there was another annoying trek through the snow and down the mountain, but after spending so much time in the cold, Sasha was too eager to end her suffering to complain. Not aloud, at least. The moment she spotted the corruption in the air, she plunged her staff forward.

The Stem Portal was quick to materialize. Along with its guardian legionnaire.

The snow around the gate began to sizzle, all the powder rapidly melting away as a white substance poured onto the dirt. The air around them grew warm and dry. So much so that Sasha felt sweat dripping down her fur. She stripped off her coat, Mr. Erin watching the creature take form as the substance rose into a large runny mass of white. Its eyes glowed, mouth opening in what Sasha expected to be a loud roar.

Her eyes grew when she saw red magma pouring out.

"Holy-!"

"Sweet whiskers!"

They both leapt skyward, Mr. Erin forming a barrier for them. The lava flooded out the legionnaire's mouth, covering its frame and seeping into the exposed dirt below. But it didn't stop there. It kept flowing, spreading over the ground in all directions. The snow evaporated on contact.

"M-Mr. Erin?"

"This may be an issue."

He raised his wand, water flying straight into the beast. It immediately turned to steam.

"Sweet whiskers."

Sasha leaned over, the stream of lava quickly becoming a lake of fire.

"This may be a bad time to admit," she said, "but I've only got 4% power left."

He grimaced. "Well. I suppose things can't get much wors-"

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"What is that thing?"

They both whirled, Sasha's jaw dropping as she saw an army standing right in front of the lake of lava.

The thick coats. The blasters. The man with goggles at the head. It took her all of a few seconds to recognize who they were. The same people they'd robbed. And whose stolen coat was currently being incinerated in the flames, the fibers burning out as they were melted to ash.

They were all riding hooved creatures of some sort, their thick bodies covered in rows of fur that resembled their coats. But Sasha didn't have much time to think on that as she saw the lava lake coursing their way. Those stupid- Her field activated on instinct, Sasha zipping forward.

The magma rose, the scavengers all attempting to block the fire with their faces. Crap! Sasha reached out, grabbing the two closest people she could. They all crashed into the snow as one, powder sliding against Sasha's fur.

"Cripes."

She pulled her face out, shivering at the chill. When she looked back, she was relieved to see a barrier holding some of the lava back, Mr. Erin standing atop it to scream at the other scavengers.

"If you don't wish to die, leave this place now!" he was shouting.

She brushed the snow off her face. At least it wasn't as cold anymore.

“You…saved me?”

Sasha blinked. She hadn't noticed until then who it was she'd managed to pull away. As it turned out, one was the man with goggles. He was staring at her full of shock.

"Uh. Yeah." She climbed back to her feet, dusting herself off. "Listen. I dunno why you guys are here, but you'll wanna get lost. It's really hard to fight and protect at the same time."

The man continued to stare.

"Who...are you?"

She looked down at him, offering a wink.

"Just a panther with a gift. Sasha the Panther, to be exact."

With that, she took back to the sky, Mr. Erin also returning to the fight. The sooner they dealt with the legionnaire, the better. Thankfully, the scavengers seemed smart enough to realize they were out of their depths. Most were running for their lives when Sasha looked back. It took a bit longer for the man with goggles, but he finally began to leave with the rest.

Sasha landed on a barrier platform.

"Reserves at 1%," GT chimed.

"Cripes. Hey, Mr. Erin. I don't think I can fly anymore."

The weasel shook his head. "Of course, Sasha. Sweet whiskers."

The legionnaire had finally stopped pouring out lava, instead watching them carefully from beyond the fiery moat it had created. Sasha sighed, resting her staff over her shoulders.

"Any bright ideas?" she asked.

Mr. Erin massaged his temples. "Yeah. Working on it, Ms. Panther."

Sasha smiled. "In that case. Maybe I can buy you some time. I'm pretty quick on my feet when I need to be."

"Sasha, in your state how would you- Sasha!"

"Don't underestimate me, Mr. Erin!" she screamed as she jumped right at the lava.

With her power so low, any gravity-based attacks were out of the question. But even without that, there was one ability she had that never seemed to cost any power. And she'd use it to its full advantage as long as she could manage.

She threw GT straight into the lava, the staff jabbing into the dirt below and holding. Nice. She landed on its tip, balancing there a few seconds before jumping again, her staff rematerializing for another toss.

"Sasha!" Mr. Erin screamed. "That's incredibly dangerous!"

"Then hurry up and find a way to kill this thing!" she shouted. "Until then, trust your graduate!"

She landed in front of the legionnaire, the blob looking a lot larger than before. As did the Stem Portal, having grown large enough to touch the clouds. She'd never seen what happened when they reached the atmosphere, but Mr. Erin always told her it was bad. That was all she needed to know.

"Hey, you ugly pile of sludge!" she screamed. "Your birthgiver's a goblin, and you look like a tailbitter!"

It raised its arms, Sasha quickly leaping away as the lava rose under her. Well, I got its attention, at least. Cripes.

She changed direction, tossing GT towards the edge of the lava lake. The sooner she found snow again, the sooner she'd actually be able to fight. But the monster had other plans, the lava rising in front of her mid-leap. She froze. Can't change! She was seconds from trying to whack the lava when a barrier appeared in front of her.

She bounced off it, landing atop a second below.

"Sasha! Switch!"

She looked over to see Mr. Erin running in the beast's direction, barriers appearing under his feet before he blasted it full of water. It roared, lava flinging in his direction, though he leapt away to avoid getting incinerated.

"I'll distract," he said as he kept firing. "You focus on finding a way to kill it."

"Huh?"

"Just do it, Sasha! We're running out of time!"

She winced. He was right. The Stem Portal was growing, and they hadn't made much progress in terms of saving the planet. And as much as it hurt, she knew she wasn't in any condition to put up a good fight. Not without her gravity.

"Fine," she said. "But be careful!"

"Trust your liaison, Ms. Panther. Now focus."

She nodded, sitting down to watch the two battle. If she was going to find a way to kill it, she had to look out for any weaknesses she could spot. And if all else failed, she'd need an opening to force the portal closed.