Sasha's ears twitched, the panther once again finding herself dangling from the ceiling. There wasn't a Mr. Erin look-alike this time around, but she did have Iris in a separate web a few feet away. The wolf was strangely calm about the sudden kidnapping.

"So this is...normal?" she asked.

"As normal as anything else in my life these days. Should have seen my first day with them."

From outside she could hear the sounds of blaster fire and explosions. More than likely the AIC having spotted the giant ship invading their world. Sasha still didn't know why Madame Dyre had shown up, but she clearly had no intentions of cooperating. Whatever the spider's reasons, she at least felt safe knowing she didn't come to betray her like a certain goddess she knew. After a while, the noise outside grew quiet.

"So how long are we-"

The ground opened up below.

"Oh, that's our cue," Sasha said moments before they were dropping down.

The gilded room under the interrogation box was always mesmerizing to look at. The most beautiful room in the Dyre's whole ship other than the garden, of which only Gabriella seemed to ever play in. When her descent finally stopped, Sasha was able to take in the many pirates surrounding them. And the tall spider woman who sat on her golden throne. She'd stopped directly in front of her.

"Hi, Madame," Sasha said with a grin.

Dyre didn't smile back, her hands moving over her.

"Minor injuries. No missing limbs. Good."

Her web broke away, Sasha falling right into Madame Dyre's waiting arms. It made her turn a tad red, especially as she saw Gabriella smirking right next to her.

"My child, why are you staging a revolt now of all times?" Dyre asked.

Sasha shook off the embarrassment.

"It's not a revolt. It's a prison break. Those tail brains captured Mr. Erin and Mr. Xan."

"Yes that's true, but why revolt now?"

Sasha blinked. Both the spider's words and her lack of surprise caught her completely off guard. The incident at Ursa had just happened. Even the news stations wouldn't have known about that. She looked up at Dyre. As if reading her mind, a smile crossed the spider's lips.

"My child, I am a woman with a wealth of connections," she said. "The panda's imprisonment was a well-known fact among my network."

Sasha nodded. So that's what it meant to be the leader of a pirate fleet? She instantly lit up. The Madame's appearance! Was that why she'd come all this way? To help them? Had she been planning a prisonbreak of her own?

"Are you here to rescue my liaisons?"

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"No."

Sasha deflated. Cripes. Madame Dyre stroked her head.

"Truthfully, I did plan to assault the capital today," she said. "But your appearance made things more complicated. If I were to continue our attack, you would have been gotten caught in the middle. And I'd be remiss if I accidentally killed you while laying waste to my enemies."

Sasha wasn't sure how to respond to that. Though she loved the Madame like a guardian, her methods had always been on the more...extreme spectrum. In fact, if she really had come to assault the AIC, she doubted she would have taken care to avoid killing certain targets. Like her liaisons. Or the droids. Or Iris. The wolf was still dangling as the two spoke.

"So then, you just stopped by to save me?" Sasha asked.

"Is that an issue?"

"No! I mean...No. My plan failed anyway."

Though she had planned to simply ask Madame Dyre for advice, in hindsight, she doubted she would have done much in her condition. Any assault she'd partake in had to be after her injuries recovered. And after she'd had more preparation than a spontaneous robot army. At the very least, she had a better idea of who she was up against now. But that wasn't the only issue on the table.

"Madame," she said. "I tried to save those two. But I wasn't strong enough. I got clobbered. Almost died. Again. If you hadn't shown up..."

Dyre stroked her face.

"Oh child, you mustn't be so bold. You have an amazing spirit, but please understand your limits. You have the power of a star, but you are still fragile."

Her hand flicked, a blade flying out and cutting across Iris's web. The wolf tumbled out, though Dyre didn't even attempt to catch her. Sasha winced as she hit the ground. Not hard enough to injure herself, but it would still sting a bit. Dyre's red eyes gazed down at her.

"The same applies to you, my dear canine," she said. "It takes a certain kind of arrogance to try to stop a war on one's own. A false god is still a powerful entity to behold."

Iris shot her a glare, though Dyre didn't seem to take offense to it. Instead, she gently set Sasha down, stepping off her throne.

"You graduates are important to the survival of the cosmos," she said. "The AIC knows it. The Gods know it. And that Light Binder most certainly knows it. Do try to not make his life any easier. Just a thought."

She kneeled in front of Iris, offering one of her many hands. The wolf still glared, but a nod from Sasha seemed to appease her enough to accept the gesture. If there was one thing Sasha had learned about the spider, it was that she could be as gentle or as aggressive as necessary. And she didn't want things to turn aggressive.

"Aren't you a pirate?" Iris asked. "Why would you involve yourself in all this? Since when do pirates care about wars?"

Dyre chuckled. "I am a Queen first and foremost. The sole ruler of the Black Web empire. And I'd much like for that empire to survive cosmic annihilation."

She gestured to Gabriella, who finally came over, hugging Sasha in greeting. As glad as she was to see the human again, though, she felt a pang of guilt as she remembered the last time they'd seen each other. What with the assault and everything, she'd completely forgotten to save the comics.

"This may be a bad time to bring this up, but-"

"I already know, Sasha," she interrupted. "Second in command, remember?"

The panther winced, though Gabriella just smiled up at her.

"You can fork over the chets for replacement issues later. We're needed elsewhere."

She nodded to Madame Dyre, who was leading Iris out of the chamber, along with the other members of the Black Web.

"Someone's been dying to see you," Dyre said. "Best not to keep her waiting."

"Who?"

The spider didn't respond. Sasha looked to Gabriella, who simply gestured to follow. Given this was Madame Dyre they were talking about, Sasha could only assume it was someone important. Maybe the leader of a different Black Web sect or something. She shrugged, following the concession out onto the halls of the ship.