*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *SWOOSH*

"Keep focused, Akari!" Munechika yelled as she and her sister clashed blades. The two had taken to sparing in the underground lab and were currently using a practice area Imp created to measure returnee abilities. "I see that after all this time, you've still got that bad habit of watching your opponent's face!" She said as she bat Superbia's blade away and put the tip of hers to the Oni's throat. "How many times do I have to warn you about that stupid habit of yours?" She sighed.

{Its a wonder that never came back to bite you!} (Munechika)

"I think this makes number-" Superbia was interrupted by a smack to the top of her head from her sister's blade.

*BONK*

"That question didn't require an answer." Munechika grumbled before shaking her head. “Akari, its a terrible habit. You need to kick it.”

"You're the only one who even notices it..." Superbia pouted as she rubbed her head.

"No, I'm just the only one who yells at you about it." Munechika rolled her eyes as the two sheathed their blades. "Why must I have to scold my older sister about her bad habits?"

"Because you love me?" Superbia snickered before being bopped on the head once again.

"Of all people to be tied to..." Munechika sighed again as a familiar voice called out to them from the edge of the practice area.

"A bit of sibling back and forth is always fun, isn't it?" Akagi laughed, Imp at her side. She'd dragged the Devil away from her work, which took a bit of prodding due to how deep into her latest project she was.

"Back again?" Superbia asked as the two sisters slowly walked over after wiping the sweat off their faces with a towel around their necks. "What, couldn't go without Miji's pets for more than a few days?" She snickered.

"Yup, I came back for the sole reason of letting that little girl squeeze me." Akagi winked. "I just couldn't handle being away from her anymore!"

"Kitty-floof like pets-exploding!" Imp cackled.

"I'm telling you that the second Akagi finishes the Gods off, she's going to just let Miji take her away for a few years and do nothing but be her adorable little squeeze toy." Superbia chuckled.

"No...." Akagi looked away in an attempt to deny the suggestion.

"Yeah, no is right." Yumi said as she popped up behind the Demon. "Because you will be my personal kitty." She giggled.

"Please! Don't fight over me-ew!" Akagi laughed as Yumi rolled her eyes at the bad pun. "You can share me!"

"Considering you can split in two, that's actually possible." Munechika laughed. “More kitties to spread the floof!”

"But anyway, what's got you back again?" Superbia's tone suddenly shifted, knowing that Akagi's abrupt reappearance probably meant something had happened.

{I hope nothing bad happened...} (Superbia)

"Nothing major, I just needed to pick up Imp and borrow her for a bit." Akagi said as she pat the Imp in question on the head.

"What-huh?!?" Imp hissed, ranting about not wanting to be taken away from her projects. "No leave-go! Needed here! Must create-invent! Progress toward Knights-Suits progressing-nearing prototype!"

"Oh God, is she actually making those robots for you?" Superbia asked and was slammed by a surround sound-style reply from both Akagi and Imp.

"THEY'RE NOT ROBOTS!" (Akagi x Imp)

{Never call Mechs robots, Akari... Otakus can get...} (Munechika)

"I... No... No... While I'd love to have Imp and I give you a full on semester's worth of lectures on what the difference is, I'm going to refrain for I do not have the time to do so." Akagi calmed herself down and had to hold Imp back from tearing Superbia's face off for saying such vile fighting words. "Let's just say we've got mechanical suits in the works, and Imp's been working on them as a pet project that the both of us want."

"Heeh... Knight household..." Imp said with a satisfied look on her face.

"And anyway, it won't be ready until after this whole thing with the Gods is done so let's not dwell on it since its not important." Akagi said as she let the wiggling Devil go. "So back to the main point, you're coming with me. I need your skills, Impy."

"No!" Imp hissed again. "Refuse-decline! Must work-create! No leave!"

"What if I told you that you'll get to see special Dwarven technology and possibly even new materials to build with?" Akagi said with a nasty smile on her lips.

"Ready!" Imp said, zipping away in a flash and suddenly reappearing dressed in travel gear with a large backpack and jungle hat. “Go now!”

{How did she... just... Never mind... Do not question the Imp.} (Akagi)

"Uh... Well, Dwarves are underground so you'll need..." Akagi trailed off as she watched Imp swap out her jungle hat for one with a headlamp for mining. "Again... Never mind..."

"You're going to visit the Dwarves?" Superbia asked as Munechika handed her a bottle of water. "Or does visit mean 'visit.'" She asked while using air quotes.

{Is this like where you go on a 'walk' and a lot of people suddenly die?} (Superbia)

"Hey! I'm going on a diplomatic mission to foster cultural exchange and offer military aid to help them defeat the horrible monsters besieging their cities!" Akagi said with a fake look of shock on her face. "How could you think I had any ulterior motives?!?"

{Do have any other kind?} (Yumi)

{There's none when it comes to my floof!} (Akagi)

{That doesn't answer my question...} (Yumi)

"If I had a mirror on me, I'd hold it up to you right now." Superbia rolled her eyes as Yumi avoided a swipe from Akagi. "Have you ever met you?"

"Actually yes." Akagi nodded, nobody but Yumi understanding the true meaning behind her words.

{And speaking of me, I've got to do that favor for myself. At least it should be a quick one.}

(Akagi)

"Is Alice really okay with all this?" Munechika asked if the young girl would be okay handling whatever nasty plan Akagi had in mind. Munechika had less interaction with Alice, since her death in FWO meant she'd only seen her for a short while, but she was appalled when the truth behind Alice's role in FWO and Libra was revealed to her. "She's just a child."

"Said child plotted with this one behind my back and made a new body to help me invade the Dwarves. So she's fine." Akagi replied while pointing to Imp and poking her on the top of her head. "I decided long ago not to go chastising her or anyone else really for morals, especially given what I am and what I do. If she wants to do something then I only ask her to ensure it's really what she desires and if so I won't stand in her way."

"So you're going to do the whole good cop thing here, right?" Superbia asked as she took a sip of water. "Seems like extra work for no reason when you could just force them to submit as you did to that Amdamell place."

{Man, I really am screwed up to just say that casually and not care, huh?} (Superbia)

"Dwarves harty-proud. Will not give up easily-without fight." Imp interjected as she tried to avoid the poking. "Force will meet fight to the death-extinction."

"Not to mention what I really want is their knowledge. I can only glean so much of that from their records. Skilled craftsmen don't write everything down about their trade and there's a very high likelihood that attempting to bend the Dwarves to my will in a more direct manner will backfire." Akagi nodded, explaining that brainwashing or memory probing was not the best way to go forward either in this case. "Not to mention that a small bit of info provided by Elariel has me even more cautious about being too forceful with them."

"Info?" Superbia asked with a raised brow. "If that Goddess said something to get you on guard, it must be pretty serious."

"It's more what she's not telling me that has me wary." Akagi rolled her eyes, still annoyed by that whole serious events. “Lucky that I'm good at reading between the lines and making educated guesses.”

"If memory serves me, the Dwarves made Halifax, right?" Munechika asked, recalling what she'd been told about the Divine Blade. "Perhaps you're worried they could create something like her to kill you?"

"A good guess, and one that's not exactly far off the mark, but not quite." Akagi shook her head. "I'm not really worried about them replicating Halifax per se, since I'm 99% sure they lack the material to do so at this stage of the game. No, what's got me concerned is..." She proceeded to explain what she'd seen Halifax do during the battle and how Elariel threatened to kill herself rather than spill any further information about the Divine Blade.

"Hmmm... I don't like that..." Superbia hummed in thought as he crumpled the water bottle. "Her power having any kind of similarity to yours is automatically suspect, and the Goddess that made her threaten to off herself to keep information secret is really suspicious."

"Would Halifax really die if Elariel was killed?" Munechika asked, knowing that her situation was similar in many ways to Halifax if that was the case.

"I don't think so, but there is a larger than I'm comfortable chance of it happening." Akagi clicked her tongue in irritation.

"Akagi caring about someone enough to not blow someone up on the spot. Am I dreaming?!?" Superbia said to her sister, who pinched her cheek which made Superbia yelp in pain.

"Nope, not dreaming." Munechika giggled as Superbia bopped her on the head.

"If she is, I'll find a way to sever that connection before Elariel is disposed of." Akagi said. “Tis only a matter of figuring out how it works. Once I know that the rest should be easy.”

"Do you really care about her that much though?" Superbia said as she rubbed her cheek to stop the pain. "You've known her for a few months at most. I'm shocked that you'd care about someone you just met that much."

"Yes, I do, and I'm pretty sure I know what's causing the two of us to drift together." Akagi's gaze turned sharp. "I need to confirm a few suspicions first, which is part of why the Dwarves will be needed and why I'm going myself, but I have reason to believe that Halifax..."