[h3][center][b][i][color=f6989d]Hibiki[/color] & [color=6ecff6]Shizuka[/color][/i][/b][/center][/h3]

Shizuka sat in her apartment alone. She and the rest of the machina had returned from the Alchemist's tower, some of them rewarded, others left empty handed. And Shizuka's case, she felt empty inside. Yet despite that, she had no strong feelings about it. It was a very odd sensation. So many of Shizuka's doubts and worries were just gone. No, not gone, but no longer a burden. Every time Shizuka felt even a hint of worry or concern her mind simply dismissed it. Whatever the alchemist did to Shizuka, it changed her. It changed her mind, body, and spirit. But Shizuka wasn't worried. Despite her cruelty, the alchemist had kept her promise and gifted her even though Shizuka had technically lost. She couldn't complain. Shizuka would just have to make due. [color=6ecff6]"Hue... Break time's over."[/color] Shizuka stood up and went back to her books. A few grimoires and tomes taken from demon and angel archives. They say knowledge was power, and if Shizuka wanted to become more powerful than she had to seek it no mater what source it comes from.

Meanwhile Hibiki had some business to take care of. The last few battles have been nothing but a disappointment to her. Truthfully, some of it was her fault: she was far too slow to react to certain events and needed to be quicker. But everyone could use improvements. Hibiki felt that her queen, as much as Hibiki would venerate her, has a bad tendency to release uncontrolled super weapons like Bastion and Nu-Mu without supervision. Their strength if off-set by how little control and coordination they have with the others, though the machina has a whole lacked discipline. Far too many of their troops operated under their own interest and tactics. That had to change. Starting with the biggest offender, literally and figuratively.

Hibiki arrived to Krieg's construction warehouse. Reading up on his dossier before arriving, Hibiki learned that Grafdakka was merely one persona of the one known as Krieg, and he has a similar persona in the form of Mu-01, the maid with tank wheels Hibiki often sees when the High Queen calls for her soldiers. It would explain his recklessness, but that ends today. There was nothing but smoke and noise within the warehouse as machine parts were moving about, constructing the crude soldiers that Grafdakka would have commanded. However neither Graf nor Krieg were here. Despite multiple calls and hails, he did not respond to them. Thus Hibiki speculated that Grafdakka was still being possessed by the demons in hell. However that would only last so long as he lived. If Hibiki destroys Grafdakka at his source, at the black box that contained his spirit, he should return. So slipping on her mask and activating her stealth cloak, Hibiki waltzed through the warehouse until she found his Black Box.

It was with Mu-01, who currently sat dormant in a closet. With little ceremony Hibiki took out his pistol and fired into the base of Mu-01 multiple times, piercing through the black box and destroying it. That was Krieg's "True" body and thus should resurrect soon enough. And once it did Krieg would see message for him. With this deed done Hibiki left the warehouse and allowed the workers to begin stripping the building of it's equipment and resources. With one soldier handled, Hibiki can look into her personal business, namely her sister.

[color=f6989d][quote]Kreig, this is your commanding officer Hibiki Meido. 

You are henceforth stripped of your title as commander of the Machina forces, and with it the responsibilities and resources granted to you by High Queen Eos. Your performance in battle as well as your recent capture by demonic forces reveal that you are unsuited for leadership and you have been demoted back to vanguard. You will no longer have access to your construction facilities and your machines have been reclaimed by the Machina. 

In other words, you will not have any more minions nor will you be obtaining any new weapons or equipment until further notice. Your original chassis as well as backup copy of your most recent chassis will still be available to you, however you will be required to pay and procure any additional resources or equipment independently.

You are to report your status as soon as you are able. Failure to comply will result in immediate imprisonment by authority of High Queen Eos.[/quote][/color]

Sometime later, Shizuka heard a knock on the door. When she went to open it it was Hibiki, holding a box under one arm and a set of keys in the other. [color=f6989d]"Time to go training Shizuka. You better be ready."[/color] With a nod, the two sisters left the apartment, got into Hibiki's nissan, and drove off to an airfield. Their next battle would be taking place in an area high into the skies, with multiple floating islands. While jetpacks and flying mechs would be useful for direct confrontation, Hibiki was going to lead with a much different approach. They needed to utilize all the Machina resources, not just guns and robots. But jets too.

The two sisters walked up to a pair of [url=http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/acecombat/images/c/cc/ADF-01_FALKEN_Hangar.png/revision/latest?cb=20161104183109]ADF-01 "Falken"[/url] fighter jets. They've been trained to use jets before, however they haven't used them recently. It was time to change that. Hibiki and Shizuka geared up and got into the cockpit of the aircraft as they were fed information for the drills they'll be preforming. This was just basic practice to get them familiarized with the controls of the machina fighter jets, as well as the Falken's own special payloads. Hibiki intends to use these in the next battle, striking hard, striking fast, and not giving either angel or demons a chance to breath.