Sasha nearly tackled Gabriella when she saw her again. Much to the smaller girl’s surprise.

"W-welcome back, Sasha," she said as she was being squeezed.

Sasha beamed.

After all her time on Toudy, it wasn’t just Madame Dyre she was eager to show her growth off too. The fight she'd had with Gabriella always lingered in the back of her mind. A stain on their friendship even if the human had forgiven her. But now she was a little stronger. Strong enough she could put up a fight without having to resort to trashing her friend's room. A fair and square rematch was overdue for the two of them. No bad feelings involved.

"C'mon, Gabby," she said. "Let's go at it right now. I wanna see what I can do."

The human squirmed away.

“I'm gonna have to decline, Sasha,” she said. “I’d rather not get punched again.”

"Oh come on. I promise I won't purposely hit you too hard."

“That’s not really reassuring.”

Sasha gave her the biggest kitten eyes she could, but the human was resilient. Eventually, Madame Dyre came in to pull Sasha away.

“Come now, child,” she said. “You can’t expect the likes of us to compete with graduates. Save that enthusiasm for our enemies.”

Sasha pouted, reluctantly letting Gabriella off the hook. It wasn’t like she'd suddenly become some godly panther or anything. Sure she had a better grasp of her signals, but she was still far weaker than most graduates. Something Alexander was always keen to remind her.

Facing Gabriella was her chance to test all her workarounds on someone other than Cici or Iris. Or the Godkiller himself. Her whiskers twitched.

"You'll have plenty of chances to indulge once we're back at the capital," Dyre said. "I'm sure they'll be more than happy to accommodate you."

That did bring the Panther some comfort. How could she forget? They'd just assaulted the AIC not too long ago. Even made a big show of hopping on Madame Dyre's ship. If anything, the AIC would be twice as fortified knowing she'd aligned herself with the Black Web again. Sasha's smile returned.

At present, the task ahead was straightforward. Now that they'd had proper training, they were to hit the AIC capital, take control, and launch an all-out assault on the Comet Man. At least that was the plan Dyre shared with them as they were all lounging in the spider's den. Neither Sasha nor Iris batted an eye at the plan, though Cici didn't seem as eager to participate. Something she wasn't afraid to vocalize.

"I think I'll sit out the capital assault," she said.

Both Sasha and Iris looked to her, the fox shifting under their gazes.

"You're not coming with us?" Sasha asked.

Cici's ears fell.

"Don't gimme that look," she said. "I'm still AIC, remember?"

"You're helping pirates," Iris said. But Cici shook her head.

"I'm helping you guys. And the people of the cosmos. I have responsibilities, y'know."

She looked at her hands, the rings appearing as she balled them into a fist. Despite going through the trouble of running to Madame Dyre and training with the two of them, the fox showed no signs of lying. After all was said and done, she really did see herself as a graduate of the AIC. Just like Alexander the Tiger. Like Sasha herself had been. The panther frowned.

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The AIC only sees you as a tool to fight their war.

The words came back to her as she was looking at her canine friend. The only one of them who hadn't completely broken away.

A sword may not choose to be molded. Or who it acts on behalf of. But you are no sword, my dear.

She looked to Madame Dyre, who didn't seem apt to press the issue. Neither did Gabriella for that matter, accepting the fox's response with a small nod. One that even, Iris gave, the wolf returning to her commpad. Were they all willing to just look the other way like that? Only Sasha continued to stare at the fox. It didn't make any sense to her. To go with the same people that bred them to fight in their stupid wars.

She didn't like it. But at the same time, she knew Cici was fully aware of the AIC's baggage.

"You're choosing to stay with them?" she asked. "Even now. You want to keep working with them?"

Cici didn't shy away from the questions, answering each as she met the panther's gaze.

"I do, Sash," she said. "I will."

The fox's eyes shined. Even if Sasha disagreed with her and the AIC as a whole, she couldn't deny Cici's sincerity. She had her own reasons to stay. Just as Sasha had her reasons to leave. And though that did technically put them on opposite sides, she knew just as Iris did that Cici would never let something like that get between them. She'd still be their friend no matter what side they were on. So how could she turn her nose up at the decision and still call herself Cici's friend? Sasha sighed, sitting back in her chair.

"Guess it's just you and me then, Sulky?"

The wolf didn’t respond, too busy staring at her commpad. Cici smiled with relief, Sasha moving over to brush her with her tail. As if a little opinion difference mattered anyhow. No matter what they had the same target. As did Iris, who was still lost in her commpad. Sasha leaned over her shoulder.

“What are you-“

Her eyes widened, Sasha staring at the projection.

Across Iris's screen was a collection of floating debris. Portions of metal and machinery that drifted through the sea of space, each adorned with symbols Sasha recognized all too readily. The torn insignias of AIC ships. They were all floating in front of a pulsating purple gate.

The Original Stem Portal.

"M-Madame," Iris finally said.

But as both she and Sasha looked away, they found Madame Dyre also staring at her commpad. As was Gabriella, the human projecting the same image from her screen. The empty field of destroyed AIC ships. And the still expanding Stem Portal.

Cripes.

Madame Dyre flipped a switch, a monitor rising out from the ceiling. She didn't need to do much as the screen was filled with emergency reports seconds after she turned it on.

Broadcasts ran over multiple different stations, only some of which showed the destroyed ships directly. The others were turning their attention to the spike in signals Sasha could feel all around her. The many ships being advised to stay grounded. The official order for galaxy-wide lockdowns.

"This is an emergency broadcast," one station was saying. "All citizens of AIC space are advised to find shelter immediately. The authorities are doing their part, but now we need you to do yours. If you are in space, locate the nearest AIC planet as soon as possible."

Sasha's ears twitched. Though they differed slightly in what they showed, it was always the same headline scrolling below the broadcasts.

The White Legion has broken through the blockade. All residents of AIC space, seek shelter immediately.

The intercom chimed.

“Madame, we’re receiving reports from all over!” one of the pilots called down. “Our channels are going haywire!”

Sasha flipped through her own commpad, scrolling through reports on the issue only to get the same answer repeated over and over. The White Legion had broken through the blockade. But what that meant never went beyond urging people to seek shelter. Even now they were avoiding telling people the truth of the matter.

That there was a sudden spike in legionnaire activity across the cosmos. That she could feel portals opening all around, some of which were in places she knew she'd sealed. Why did she sense legionnaires in Torpha again? Frostum? Shiny? Everywhere she focused, she could feel them clawing to the surface. Like a dam had just broken. Where was it all coming from? Why?

“Madame Dyre,” Sasha asked. "W-what's going on?"

As she looked to the spider, for the first time, she saw fear in her eyes. Dyre ran a hand through her hair, letting out a small breath.

“I-it's finally happening,” she said. "The Light Binder. He's striking back."