The Leader Within

by Mediziner

Two years since their battle against the Fahrzeurgs, the Brave Police haven't seen too much in the way of major crime needing their attention. During patrol, Drill Boy runs into another robot like him and the whole team is immediately made aware of Radiant Prism who came all the way from Germany seeking Deckerd and his team's help. Read to find out! Story is updated monthly.

32. Chapter 30

Mediziner's Notes: So we're on chapter 30, I wonder if I call call this chapter a milestone that I've reached this many? Looking back, we're on three years of The Leader Within! If you haven't seen the original release date of this in the 1st part of the prequel, you'll see I've written the original release date that dates back 3 years ago. But hey, it's Chapter 30! I never thought I'd come this far from 2018 to here in 2021... Damn I've had this story going on for years...

There will be a moment where I need to point out that there will be something when the main focus is on Aerial Radiance, Radiant Prism's combined form especially in the next chapter. Much like J-Decker's J-Buster and Duke Fire's Fire Buster, Aerial Radiance will have her own weapon setup:

D-Maschinengewehr (Machine gun - Appearance is like the MP5)

D-Schwert (Sword)

The "D" is in referrence to Germany but in the language as "Deutschland", because Radiant Prism is from Germany. To explain this, J-Decker's J-Buster for example... That "J" in it stands for Japan hence why I went with a similar take but different. Once again, I'm not like other people who like to throw random words in another language and then add a translation right next to it or at the start/end of their story chapter constantly but I felt the need to point this out here when there is more action involving Radiant Prism as Aerial Radiance. Originally I would've used "G" but due to the nature of Great Da-Garn GX's form from the 3rd installment of the Brave Saga Series of his weapons having a G on two of them so I picked "D" instead for the language version. Credit goes to a friend of mine with a little spelling help. I know the weapons had little to no show when Aerial Radiance fought the one spider criminal chapters back. I intend to work this out as I go. Also Yeeeeeeeah... I'm not the best at planning stuff but sometimes when I get too deep into having fun with this, sometimes it slips or derails... I confess it's also hard to involve the humans because I'm not very good with portraying them and I'm strongly uncomfortable involving them but I know I need to try to, sorry again but I tried...

Last but not least: Yes, I do acknowledge McCrane and Seia as a canon pairing which is further implied in the official CD Drama.

The Leader Within Cover Art is drawn and commissioned by Erilmadith-Everyoung on DeviantART. You can also find Radiant Prism's full reference there, too.

Enjoy!

...

Deckerd listened to everything Radiant Prism told him, taking in every little detail as she explained herself that she doesn't need the training he and Duke plan to give her. The foreign Brave especially made sure to tell him that she can still combine fine like before, revealing that she tried it herself while she was out and had no issues. When she finished her explanation, Deckerd spoke. "I understand, Radiant Prism but that was before. I'm not going to put you through another training session similar to what I've had everyone, myself included where we had to teach you how things worked here in Japan. Instead, I'd rather put you through a refine in the form of... Let's see here." Deckerd paused to search for something in his stacks of paper until he found what he needed, sifting through the small stack he picked out of the neatly stacked paperwork. "Your firearm range, accuracy, agility, flight combat, and overall performance are all last recorded before your repairs." He told her as Radiant Prism approached. Deckerd removed the clip and spread the papers out so that she could see her old records. "I'm not asking anything major from you, but I think we should see if your performance has improved. I've always had a feeling that you were unable to put in your full performance because of how much you lacked confidence repeatedly since I found you over a year ago, which is why I need to see if you can perform better- Topped with that I'd like for you to learn how to lead if something happened to us."

"I understand... But I'll point out that I don't need to lead." Radiant Prism shook her helm, her gaze shifting towards the window, approaching it. "When I someday go back, things may change Deckerd." She told him as she peeked through the blinds. "My rank status decorating the front of my helmet will be removed in favour of the new Brave assigned to protect the western portion of the country. I'm not saying I lack confidence but I have been gone a very very long time... Which is why I feel the one who replaces me will take that title, and my place as leader as I originally was supposed to be would mean nothing. I may not know if this is a fact or not since I never asked Redlight, but I strongly believe that the moment I finally come back home is when I will be greeted with somebody else leading my assigned portion of Germany to protect."

"But you said you don't know that, right?" Deckerd asked, he'd just finished stacking the papers and reapplied the paperclip to keep them together. Once he'd put them away, the Brave Detective stood from his seat and approached Radiant Prism, standing to her right as he also peeked out the window. "If that were the case, you wouldn't be losing what you're meant to be."

"No, there were others because I was lead to a room after my repairs. There, Gustav and Dieter showed me the others intended to be my teammates. This place in particular, I was originally not supposed to enter that place and when Gustav granted me to enter it and to follow him inside. As I first laid optics on those inactive Braves, in his words he tells me they were a 'closely guarded secret'." Radiant Prism shook her helm. "Why they are, I have no idea. He could've had them activated during when they were finished so they could aid me in the future but no, that... That idiot decided that it was better that I did all of the work! All of it, and for what? To show off in front of Redlight, Surge, and Blazer's respective teams? Gustav believed that I was 'better' than them! It disgusted me..." Deckerd never thought that he'd hear a fellow Brave talk so poorly about their own superior and it made him uncomfortable to hear anyone speak so poorly about those higher rank than them. He listened once more if Radiant Prism had anymore to tell him, but she fell silent. All of this new information she was telling him was a lot to take in, and while he'd remembered the information Redlight had presented him months back, it was puzzling that Radiant Prism herself was telling him all of this. He pondered about why she couldn't bring herself to tell Redlight but quickly felt that perhaps the virus had impeded on a couple of things she wanted to say.

"When I failed thanks to the trio, Gustav was telling me without directly saying that I was to be disposed of." Radiant Prism turned to look at Deckerd as the latter did the same. "He knows we're not simple A.I. machines, and he knows we're smart like that of human beings. Deckerd, he tried to worm his way through me with mere lies, and those very lies alone were meant to trick me to my death. You know what he told me? He told me that when I failed to tackle the trio by myself and was forced to retreat, he said 'the time had come when you failed', and the inactive Braves? They were built to replace me! He said that he needed to make copies of my Super A.I. in order to activate them when the mechanics could've programmed them from the copies they could've already had on their machines!"

Deckerd was taken aback by this, there were so many questions he needed to ask, but he didn't dare ask them, not right away at least. 'I'll need to inquire Redlight about this later.' He thought. "But, Radiant Prism..." He slowly spoke, becoming nervous. "Why would that be bad...? Surely his mechanics could have request you lay on a vacant dock and-"

"No, Gustav wanted to physically take out my Super A.I. and he'd nearly succeeded were it not for Dieter. Gustav would've not only made the copies but he would never put me back in my body afterwards once he's made them... I would've been disposed afterwards." Radiant Prism crossed her arms over her chest. "The only reason I knew something was wrong was the fact that he pulled Dieter into a quiet conversation, and while my hearing isn't as sharp as that of both Shadowmaru and Kagerou respectively, I could not only faintly hear, but also took note of Dieter's reactions clearly opposing what Gustav intended to do and I took that signal to flee. I had a bad feeling when I first walked into that room, and I knew I was right..." Radiant Prism sighed. "I'm not scared of Gustav- Not like I previously was. I intend to unite with my fellow Braves back home, confront Gustav and bring him to justice even if it means that I must fight for my freedom."

"Eh? Your country's motto?"

Radiant Prism nodded. "In your language, it's 'Unity and Justice and Freedom'. It's also a piece from the country's anthem that we strongly value. These are important words Redlight has taught me when he and I would speak in private." she proceeded to shake her helm afterwards. "But forgive me if I drifted off topic. I would like to ask you when should I start refining my skills?"

"No, I think it's good that you're able to open up freely without hesitation." Deckerd shook his helm with a small smile. "As for refining, I'm actually going to assign you to those skilled in particular fields. Let's see..." Deckerd took a moment to ponder, moving over to his desk as Radiant Prism relocated herself to the side of his desk. "You'll be refining your weapon accuracy with McCrane, then there's unarmed combat sessions with Power Joe and Dumpson meaning you'll be sparring with the both of them. I'll be leaving both Shadowmaru and Kagerou in charge of flight combat since they're both skilled and agile in the skies if the Commissioners haven't assigned them to any investigations to look into by the time I ask them for their help in teaching you... And finally, both Duke and myself in our respective combined forms will be in charge of helping you refine your combat in combined form."

"Understood." Radiant Prism saluted. "However, there's a question I'd like to ask: Am I to do these all in a day...? Some of us will need to patrol and keep our optics sharp for any unruly citizens breaking the law around the city or in other parts of the country."

"No, you won't do them all in one day. But you are right in that some of us need to patrol and keep an optic out for any trouble or worse, quickly respond to any natural disaster incidents." Deckerd replied. At the German Brave's attention to patrol, he noticed that it was highly possible that Radiant Prism could possibly a natural leader herself. After a moment of thought... He'd need to talk to the Knight Detective, and that he needed to know to give Radiant Prism a chance to let the leader within her come out on it's own rather than try to teach her actively. "Other than what we discussed, I think we've got everything sorted, Radiant Prism. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss that could be on your mind?" He asked her.

She shook her helm. "No, there's nothing more to talk about, but I do thank you for speaking with me. I must also apologise that I didn't want to speak about it when the Inspector was around. I have nothing against the young boy but it's just... At his age... I didn't want him to... Erm..."

Deckerd knew what she was trying to say but couldn't find the right words, he waited patiently for her to explain and when she did, he shook his helm. "No, I completely understand. There have been situations like that in the United Kingdom years back. The human British officials couldn't acknowledge Yuuta as a police officer... And the requirement to join the police force in the country is quite strict over there."

"Perhaps this could be a common thing about us westerners." Radiant Prism replied with a slight shrug, her neutral expression vaguely displaying a hint of concern. "Even though all of Japan accepts the Inspector fully, and perhaps the rest of the neighbouring Eastern countries, I suppose for us westerners it's harder to us to accept this? Admittedly, it was hard for me to accept back then as well but after spending time with you and your team I fully accept the Inspector in the same way as the Scotland Yard would quickly do so since I can see how unique he is to everyone."

"Perhaps, I'm not quite sure myself." Deckerd paused to think, remembering when he and Yuuta visited the Scotland Yard when they were helping them out years ago to regain the trust of their country. "The Scotland Yard were quick to acknowledge Yuuta but the humans..."

"With time, I'm sure they've grown to accept him despite his age considering Regina looks to be around his age." Radiant Prism nodded, her optics trailing towards the clock on the opposite side of the room. "We should shut down for the night and recharge. I'm sure the Inspector is worried about you."

Deckerd's optics were drawn to the clock, the conversation had gone for quite a while that time had gone by so quickly, nodding. "I'll need to sort out some paperwork and then speak with Duke afterwards, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes sir." Radiant Prism saluted, then excused herself.

The following morning when everyone filed in to begin work, Deckerd was running late due to the traffic had gotten quite severe when he was on his way to work after dropping Yuuta off at his school. He'd asked Duke beforehand to sort everything out while he was still on his way. It wouldn't be until roughly half an hour that Deckerd finally arrived at the station, and immediately he could see some of the others were up on the rooftop, looking at how bad the traffic was. Overhead, he caught sight of a green coloured jet changing form and landing on the rooftop. 'That must be Rook.' He thought. He'd recall overhearing the three of them mention that Regina is going to swap him and the other two out for the other Scotland Yard members of her choice. He'd recall King is one of them coming to Japan, but he wasn't sure who the two others were going to be. 'Hm... Ace can't come at the same time King's coming because he's the SIC... Which would leave Pawn and Bishop tagging along with King to Japan then.' He thought.

After he'd order Radiant Prism to patrol with Shadowmaru and Kagerou, Deckerd turned his attention to the rest of his team. He explained what he plans for everyone to help him with. McCrane was more than happy to help Radiant Prism refine her weapon accuracy, both Power Joe and Dumpson were also happy to help test Radiant Prism's combat reflexes in unarmed combat and he'd assign both himself and Duke to teach Radiant Prism how to deal with situations better in her combined form.

"...But Deckerd, why can't McCrane, Power Joe, Dumpson and I help out with combined combat alongside you and Duke?" Drill Boy asked.

"That's because Radiant Prism combines in the same manner as the two of them, dummy." Power Joe replied, restraining Drill Boy by the arms as the Soccer Detective flailed and cried out. "We're a four unit combiner, not a single robot with a support and she's way too small for us even if we combine into Super Build Tiger!"

"It wouldn't make sense either." Dumpson chimed in.

All that was left for Deckerd was to explain to both Shadowmaru and Kagerou their role in seeing how agile and competent Radiant Prism is in a mock dogfight.

Weeks would go by, and Radiant Prism has taken her assigned refining lessons seriously since day one. It wasn't a one time thing, but she was asked to perform a few times depending on who she was assigned to. For Deckerd, it was good that she's practising as he'd been looking over the newer records noting she'd performed and improved herself better than her last results before her repairs. Yuuta, who was on Deckerd's desk was curiously reading over some of the large sheets of papers that Deckerd had set down, each content were on Radiant Prism's performance in various tasks he'd assign her. "Oh? Looks like her strongest skill is both her firearm accuracy and those mock dogfights." The young boy said. "Her performance looks pretty good in unarmed combat too. But from what I'm seeing, it looks like she's constantly trying to keep her distance from Dumpson, Power Joe, and Drill Boy."

"Which isn't good." Deckerd frowned, setting down another set of papers while being careful not to set them down on top of his friend. "There will be some cases where she'd have to rely on unarmed combat especially if she's disarmed." His optics trailed towards the remaining papers still in his servo. "Additionally, her combat in combined form still needs more work."

"Eh? I thought Mr. Toudou reworked her entire combining code that allows her to fight well in her combined form." Replied Yuuta, looking up at Deckerd.

"Yes that he reworked her entire combining code, but no on the combat." Deckerd shook his helm. "While he did give her proper data that allowed her to combine with her support vehicle, all of this is still completely foreign to her because it's been left entirely unfinished so about roughly 98% of that data is all from scratch. Gustav may have intended for her to take on everything thrown at her without the need of extra firepower. So even if she may seem like she can fight well, she's not used to being in a much larger body which concerns me the most."

The small door could be heard opening as the two drew their attention to seeing Saejima and Azuma entering the office. The first thing Deckerd did was help Yuuta back up on the loft, then stood up and approached. "How's Radiant Prism progressing thus far on her refining?" Saejima asked calmly. The two older men listened when Deckerd and Yuuta explained the German Brave's progression, as well as the issue with Radiant Prism instinctively trying to keep herself distant while she's trying to undergo unarmed training and how her combat skills in combined form were heavily lacking. Azuma was clearly not pleased to hear this, he expected Radiant Prism to perform better otherwise claiming that she's nothing but a waste which angered Yuuta but Saejima quickly dispelled the argument.

"Well, looks like I'll have no choice." He said determinedly. When he'd been asked what he was talking about, the man could only smirk. "For years I've had something in the works I've yet to show anyone, and I think it's time that I reveal it's grand opening." His eyes shifted towards the young boy. "I'm sure you're quite curious, eh Yuuta?"

"Commissioner!" Azuma exclaimed, getting annoyed. "This is not the time for your silly games!"

"Mm mm mm, Azuma this isn't a game. What I have planned is very much real." Replied Saejima, leaning slightly being more serious as he turned his attention back to Yuuta and Deckerd. "Deckerd, you and Duke have been training her in the upper most part of Japan, correct?"

"Yes, it's not quite that easy to find a place with as few people as possible." Deckerd nodded. "But most of our combat has been out at sea where we don't risk accidentally hurting someone."

"Then that settles it, I'll be helping!" Saejima suddenly announced, causing everyone within the room to stare at the man in a dumbfounded manner. "I haven't piloted a machine in a while but don't underestimate me when I say that I've been ensuring that I'm not out of practise, because I'll help Radiant Prism shape up to be a fine police officer!"

"C-Commissioner..." Deckerd stammered, unsure what he could say but once the man made up his mind on something, he was going to pull through it no matter what it takes. Yuuta exclaimed at Saejima, telling him that this was not a matter of playing a game with Radiant Prism, but even his exclaiming had fallen on deaf ears and audios alike. "If I may ask, how will you help Radiant Prism? Considering the machines the police force pilot for specific situations..."

"It's. A. Secret." Saejima teased with each word. "Well, perhaps a secret until tomorrow, hmmmm? But it won't be just me, no... Yuuta will be helping me."

"M-Me!? Jeez, Mr. Saejima! I don't know how I can help!" The boy felt like a headache was starting to pile up, but when Saejima explained about the manual mode still installed into J-Roader, a leftover from three years ago when he and Deckerd faced the Fahrzeurgs so long ago on their own, he'd completely forgotten about the system entirely. "Eh!? That mechanism is still installed?"

"Exactly, Yuuta! I've discussed this with Toudou years ago to leave it intact. It may have not served for any further use after that battle, but Deckerd is still aware of it's function remaining intact." At being addressed haphazardly, Deckerd hadn't thought about it before but the last he'd combined into J-Decker, he does recall it remained in place but unused. He'd wonder why but with the Commissioner having started to mention it again, it gave him a bad feeling about what was about to come out of the older man's mouth.

"Yuuta! You're to take control of J-Decker and spar with Radiant Prism! No, Aerial Radiance!" Saejima announced.

"COMMISSIONER!" Azuma facepalmed. "There's no way that a child can spar with a robot! If Radiant Prism is unable to fit what it means to be Brave Police, there will be consequences. Dire consequences to be exact." As Azuma continued to rant and voice against everything possible to do with him, Yuuta wasn't sure what to say and while he could've told Azuma that he did somewhat fight briefly against the Fahrzeurgs after Deckerd had been taken out... He shook those terrible thoughts away, not wanting to relive that memory but also feeling it was better that the others didn't know what happened back then.

"...Y-You can't be serious that you're still going with this foolish nonsense!" Azuma exclaimed, flinching back slightly. "Tomonaga is still-"

"Mr. Azuma, I'm not-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Snapped the older man, causing the young boy to yield reluctantly. The conversation lingered for a few more minutes until Saejima decides to make his leave after he'd made up his mind that Yuuta's going to help him out with training Radiant Prism. Azuma himself was just about to leave, but he paused just short of the door. After a brief moment, he looked over at Yuuta warning him that he wasn't kidding if Radiant Prism fails to perform better than what she's currently struggling with and without needing to say anymore, he took his leave closing the door behind him quietly.

Yuuta sighed. "I don't know if we can get Radiant Prism to perform to the level Mr. Azuma wanted." He told Deckerd, approaching his chair as he sat himself down, staring at his desk keyboard. "Everyone has something they're good at and things they're not that great at. There's things that even I'm good at and not so good at... I think Mr. Saejima is just going to say something along the lines of 'it's part of my future training as a police officer' or... Something. I don't know..."

Deckerd wasn't sure what to think, but even with the Vice-Commissioner's words, there isn't really anything that anyone can do with Radiant Prism as a whole. She was a foreigner after all, and no one really has any power over foreign Braves, other than to pass information, advice, and the likes from what he's seen a few times with both the Commissioner and Vice-Commissioner interacting with the Scotland Yard every now and then. "Yuuta, we shouldn't worry about when we spar with Radiant Prism in her combined form." He said. "We're not going to use live ammunition."

"I know, but I don't feel comfortable aiming any kind of weapon at our friends." Frowned Yuuta. "Even if it's just training... It-" Yuuta perked up when he heard Deckerd rise from his seat and head for the doors. "Deckerd? Where are you going?"

"I'll be back shortly, I'm going to have a private talk with the Commissioner."

"O-Okay..." Once Deckerd left, Yuuta wasn't sure what he could do in the meantime, other than what he could do is either look up on some cases that need attention or to do his homework. He wasn't too fond of doing the latter, but figured it was best to get something productive done at least until Deckerd got back where he'd switch to looking into clues and investigations together about specific suspects.

...

It's been two months since the three foreign criminals were last seen, leaving the Brave Police to wonder if they either fled the country or have just remained in hiding until they could strike again. When neither of them were training Radiant Prism, Shadowmaru and Kagerou have been monitoring the junkyards and particular places of interest for any suspicious activity if any metallic sources have gone missing. What they've noticed was that Shapeshifter seemed to favour metal that had little to no rust, while most of the severely rusted metals have been left alone. The Braves have continued to patrolling together, lessening the risk of becoming an easy target for it to prey on and consume parts of them for repairing the trio's machine they've been destroying. However, the bio-machine itself wasn't seen let alone sighted by people when some of the Brave Police questioned others living in rural areas if they've heard of a large silvery coloured slimy looking machine being sighted.

When they've picked up a tip about that there was a supposed sighting, the Commissioners tasked Kagerou to look into it once he'd finished investigating a task related to an organization dedicated to smuggling stolen goods to other nearby countries, suspecting them to being smuggled out of Japan into South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and The Philippines. Unfortunately for Kagerou, when he looked into the area along the way back that supposedly confirmed the sighting of Shapeshifter, there were no traces, not even the slightest remnants of metal existed. Meanwhile, McCrane was on his way to the Land Defence Forces base with the intention of inquiring Seia about if the military may have anything about Shapeshifter, or the three criminals since they have the technology to look into it as well. The moment he reached the front gate, he changed form as the soldiers patrolling the entrance greeted McCrane.

"Good afternoon, McCrane. Here to see Colonel Seia again?" One of them asked.

"Err... Well... I'm curious to know about if the Land Defence Forces have anything on the bio-machine we're after." McCrane replied, unable to hide the fact that he had also wanted to see Seia, causing the two to chuckle at how bashful the robot got.

"Anyways, I'm assuming you mean that one slimy silvery thing that held Yuuta hostage months back?" The other one inquired. "We've decided to call it "Shapeshifter" because it doesn't have any shape to call it's own."

"Yes, that particular bio-machine." McCrane nodded.

"Looking at the time... Ah, I think Colonel Seia is currently training her crew at the moment. Sometimes she'll finish early but I'd think you can go see if she's available but if you find that she's still out or is still with the people under her command, you'll have to wait until she's done." The first guard said as the second nodded.

"I see. Alright, I'll wait if she is busy." The two guards watched as McCrane carefully stepped over the boom gate and head further inside. Once he'd gone far enough, they looked at one another commenting about that it's still hard to believe that technology had advanced to the point that the Brave Police behaved so much like human beings before getting scolded by their superior to keep the entrance guarded, scrambling back into their position.

McCrane looked around the base, being sure to stay out of the way of the military staff when some need to pass to get to a different part of the base. He took notice of a fairly sizable group of people jogging back towards the base, noticing that the group was lead by none other than Seia herself. 'Ah, she's busy. I'll have to wait.' He thought to himself, looking around for a moment before finding himself a spot where he could wait until Seia was available to talk, changing into his vehicle mode and positoning himself expertly out of the way. It wasn't until roughly ten minutes later did he spotted Seia approach him.

Instinctively on approach, the Combat Detective opened his door for her to climb in. Once Seia climbed in, McCrane slowly closed his door. "Good afternoon, Seia. How was training?" He greeted her.

"The same." Replied Seia. "I've been starting to wonder if I might be a bit too hard on the men and women under my command lately."

While he doesn't have much in the way of expressing while in vehicle mode like Deckerd, McCrane grew concerned at the woman's words and especially didn't fail to notice that her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere, thinking quite strongly on what she said. "I wouldn't think so." He replied. "Seia, ensuring those under your command are prepared for anything says a lot. You're devoted to ensure the safety of the country and it's people, and it's what I admire the most about you." He paused for a moment to think. "From the few times I've helped you make some demonstrations for those under your command, I don't think you're being too hard on them. If I weren't so strict, I'd feel the others would not be prepared for what could happen, especially if dangerous criminals were to cause some severe damage."

He immediately caught himself on what he's said, speaking hastily. "Ah, that is to say... Sorry, I shouldn't have..."

"No, you're right." Seia shook her head slightly with a small smile. "I guess things have been a little stressful for me for the past few days. But, anyways... Is there something I can help you with?"

On the change of topic, McCrane immediately got to business hoping there could be some new light if the military could have found anything about the trio's locations. "Yes, actually... I wanted to ask if the military might have anything about the foreign criminals we're helping Radiant Prism chase down and arrest. It's been quite a while since they last struck and we're not sure if they're still in Japan, or fled to other nearby countries. I figured that since we haven't heard anything about them from our end, I thought the military would have better luck than we would."

Seia could only frown as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, McCrane. Normally the bio-machine would be easy to detect because of what appears to be liquified metal but I think it could have something that causes radar detection to bounce off of it rather than detect it. We're trying our best to locate it and the three criminals, but what I worry the most is the bio-machine possibly striking our base, since we're aware thanks to the information you gave us, especially about that it eats metal and circuitry."

"I see..." The Combat Detective had been hopeful the military had better luck but it wasn't the case. He began to wonder how long the search would go on for, starting to think that it's most likely they've left the country entirely. 'I should inform the others about this when I get back, especially Radiant Prism.' He thought.

Turning his attention back to the woman, he was just about to ask Seia something but the sound of jets in the air drew their attention. Up above, they watched as Radiant Prism, Shadowmaru, and Kagerou flew by at such a high speed. 'Ah, aerial combat today I see.'

"Was that Radiant Prism, Shadowmaru, and Kagerou?" Seia asked herself unconsciously, taking note of some of the other soldiers pausing to watch the three flyers zooming around high above.

"Yes, Deckerd tasked the others- Myself included in helping her refining her skills." McCrane explained. "Shadowmaru and Kagerou are tasked with aerial combat. They're not using their real ammunition but they're just engaging in a mock dogfight where if they manage to get themselves locked on, that's the end of it... I think. Even with Shadowmaru and Kagerou being our fastest flyers, she's very good at aerial combat." As they watched, Seia noticed something in particular with Kagerou, while Shadowmaru and Radiant Prism were quick, it appeared to be that Kagerou seemed to be struggling, taking note of his flying form and then Shadowmaru's jet mode. "I see." She said after a pause. She turned her attention back to McCrane's dashboard. "What about you and the others?"

"I'm in charge of seeing to her firearm accuracy." McCrane replied. "Unlike the rest of us, she carries two handguns instead of the standard single one." He paused for a moment to think. "She prefers to use both at the same time, but can use one at a time when needed when I've asked her to perform with only one handgun. Let's see... Power Joe, Dumpson, and sometimes Drill Boy are tasked with unarmed combat... And both Deckerd and Duke are tasked with helping her improve on combat while combined."

"I see." Seia nodded. "What about Gunmax?"

"Gunmax... I don't think he wanted any part in assisting Radiant Prism. I'm not quite sure if it's because he has no idea how he could help her, or if he feels it's not in his interest to assist her. I'm not familiar with how Gunmax thinks most of the time, not in the same way Boss and Deckerd know but I'm sure they may have found something for him to help Radiant Prism."

"Is that so? Well, it's good that everyone is helping her out at least." The moment Seia smiled, McCrane became flustered. He was glad that she couldn't see his face right now, not wanting to explain himself. His visuals would focus towards a couple of passing vehicles carrying something that's covered in tarp. He didn't scan them, out of respect that they might be top secret but he could make out it's shape that gave him the impression they were a couple of small fighter planes. "Those must be new coming in the base, I see." He told her.

"Oh, they're new planes the military ordered. If you remember the stolen advanced technology incident where a criminal disguised as a member of the air force stole a prototype months ago. These specific jets are equipped with the final version of the advanced technology almost a week ago from now, but we're only going to deploy these if we have no other choice." Seia watched as the flatbed trucks hauled them to a different part of the base. "Everyone in the base trusts you and the others to deal with whatever great threat appears, and you've proven that to us twice during both the alien invasion, and the Fahrzeurg attack." While McCrane was happy to hear that the military trusted him and the rest of the Brave Police to keep back whatever great threat came their way, his thoughts were focused on the advanced technology jets the military had just received. It's prototype state had been stolen, but because these are now the final products... 'I better inform Deckerd and the others about this... I'm concerned someone else might try to follow in the one criminal's footsteps and try to snatch one of these jets, or worse Shapeshifter eats one of these...'

"Everything alright?" Seia asked.

"Huh? Ah... Yes, I'm thinking about returning back to the station. I'll have to inform Deckerd that there's nothing about the criminals since I informed him that I would be checking with the base if you guys had any luck." Replied McCrane, his visuals shifting slightly to more of a sad look when Seia climbed out but hid it away when she moved in front so that she was in his visuals. "Sorry for keeping you so long..."

"No, I don't mind when you make the time to visit. I should be the one to apologise since you came all the way here to know if we had anything on the criminals Radiant Prism is looking for and I've kept you... I didn't mean to keep you for long afterwards."

"B-But... I..." McCrane felt bad, though he could see that she wasn't going to let him be stubborn about this. "Alright... I'm going now. Let Makoto know I said hi." Seia nodded, backing away to give McCrane space to move, watching as he left then returned to what she was going to do.

...

"Two damn months of repairing this thing! I swear we're never going to deal with Radiant Prism at this point!" Eberhard grumbled, throwing his wrench into the wall as it clanged. "I've lost count of how many times we've lost that I'm going crazy!"

"Calm yourself, Eberhard." Hans frowned. "I don't like it either, but we still have the device that Mechanical Rouge gave us. Uwe's still trying to crack it open but I still don't like how such a small thing could boost our machine's capabilities as she's said."

"If I have to hear that stupid silhouetted man again..." Eberhard growled, balling his hands into fists.

"It's done, guys!" Uwe called out "I've finally decrypted this thing. I wasn't surprised when the Mechanical Rouge installed something to keep other curious eyes peering into this. Unfortunately..."

"...What?" Eberhard replied, trying not to get angry.

"After going through the code in detail, it doesn't make any sense... No matter how I look at it, this is just a very simple plain code so I'm not sure how this involves Shapeshifter." Uwe gestured his two friends over to the main computer. "See here? Normally codes would have everything explained as to what it's function is programmed to do, but this is unlike anything I've read before."

"So she's tried to deceive us!" Eberhard growled. "I knew that wench wasn't to be trusted!"

"Simple minded as always, Eberhard." Snorted Shapeshifter, having slithered inside after opening the door. On appearance, the bio-machine was enormous and had spent the whole time consuming metal. He'd been leaving the Brave Police with nothing but cold trails whenever he'd snatch a couple cars from various parts of Japan. Most of all, other criminal organizations were easy prey to consume metal from. "Don't think I haven't heard every single little thing, I'm always hearing what you three are up to."

Uwe frowned, about to repeat himself, but Shapeshifter immediately ordered him to install the module, as the time for getting revenge was now. Eberhard was immediately eager to get to it but something told Uwe the code was hiding something that wasn't for him to look into. He immediately hesitated. "Shapeshifter, I still don't know what this is supposed to do. You tell me to install it but-" Uwe was interrupted when Shapeshifter suddenly warned him that if he didn't do as told, he'd be sent back to Germany behind bars. Not liking this even more, he reluctantly ceased inquiring about the matter and installed the module all while under the bio-machine's watchful eye... If he had any eyes to begin. The criminals were oblivious to the hidden smirk that Shapeshifter had, and once the module was installed he suddenly lunged at the machine, his entire silver coloured shapeless body covering their mecha as if he appeared to be consuming it.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Eberhard exclaimed as the trio watched their machine disappear within the bio-machine's mass and then shortly afterwards take on a completely new shape and size. After a full two minutes, Shapeshifter laughed as he looked down at the trio of criminals with a grin, thanking them for allowing them to have this new body. "WHAT, NEW BODY!? THAT WAS YOUR PLAN!? TO STEAL WHAT'S OURS FOR YOUR OWN BENEFIT!?"

"Yes, because you idiots failed to take down not only the Brave Police, but also Radiant Prism one too many times. I've made a deal with the silhouette man in that I was to take over when he had the Mechanical Rouge create what you've helped me install." He took in the hurtful betrayal they were feeling. "But don't think I'll be leaving you three out of this because you'll all be part of it. I was brought here to provide you three strength unlike any, after all."

"And... What strength is that exactly?" Inquired Hans, raising an eyebrow.

Shapeshifter chuckled. "I don't need to answer that." Without warning, tentacle like appendages sprouted out of Shapeshifter's chest, catching the three off guard as they were grabbed at incredible speed. The three struggled to break free but cursed Shaepshifter as they disappeared into bio-machine's chest, nothing more than faint muffled screams. "...But it doesn't mean that you three will walk away freely, instead I've tasked you three to keep the Brave Police from trying to wipe me out so quickly knowing they dare not kill even the most dangerous criminals." He deviously chuckled, taking a moment to admire his new appearance. The bio-machine glanced upwards at the ceiling, then leapt crashing through the entire roof as he began his next move. It was already getting dark, and because the new moon was out, it meant better camouflage for him to hide visually. He would then change his body just slightly to form wings before he'd start falling back down, granting himself the ability to fly. "Heh, the Mechanical Rouge has done her part wonderfully, everything works perfectly." Getting an idea, Shapeshifter began splitting himself into three, looking at his newly created copies of himself- Merely drones as indicated by how lifeless they behaved. "Perfect. Now all I need for you two to do is collect a few things for me. Get to it." He commanded his other two counterparts as he watched them for a moment as they flew off to perform their tasks while he flew in the direction of Nanamagari City. "Now... What shall I do first to start the fun?"

Thanks to the advanced technology he'd absorbed from the trio criminals, he'd been aware that he'd been spotted by the Brave Police, sensing two of them approaching his location, and fast. 'Good... This will be fun!' He thought deviously, noticing the targets approaching him were none other than the two ninja Braves, Shadowmaru and Kagerou. Once both slowed down and eventually changing form, he could only grin on seeing them immediately draw their bladed weapons. "Well well... It didn't take you two long to find me." Chuckled Shapeshifter.

"Kagerou, be careful. I can't scan Shapeshifter but something tells me this new appearance is akin to being upgraded with what technology currently has to offer." Shadowmaru narrowed his optics, tightening the grip of his weapons. Neither of them were going to be intimidated by the sheer size of the bio-machine, being that of the size of close to that of J-Decker and Duke Fire.

"As you can see, I've become far more powerful than you Braves last saw me after that humiliating... Incident. But this time, I will assure you that I will see Radiant Prism and the entire Japanese Brave Police destroyed. You two will serve nicely as a means to warm up before I go up against Radiant Prism, I could use a means of seeing what else I'm capable of doing with this new body!"

As Shapeshifter began his move, Shadowmaru and Kagerou took action. Shadowmaru blurred out of sight, reappearing shortly after slicing Shapeshifter across the chest with his sword followed by Kagerou doing the same but used the sickle portion of his kusarigama. As they regained distance they were both stunned to see that Shapeshifter's body was regenerating from the damage inflicted by them. Once the regeneration had completed itself, the same grin slowly appearing on the bio-machine.

"It regenerated itself!" Kagerou exclaimed.

"Kagerou." The two of them quickly dodged another incoming attack, a part of him wondered if Shapeshifter might understand Japanese considering he's only heard it speak German but if he was also a Super A.I. like him and the other Brave Police, then it was highly possible that it could have picked up the language through the country's part of the internet. The two quickly avoided yet another attack, Shadowmaru flying near his Brother. "You should go inform the others, I'm going to keep this thing busy until help arrives." Kagerou was alarmed at this. "Shadowmaru, I should be the one to distract them, not you."

"Don't worry about me!" He exclaimed. "The most important thing we do as Brave Police is call for the others when we have to deal with difficult criminals! This is one of those difficult criminals!" Shadowmaru exclaimed, swiftly dodging a grabbing attempt and slicing Shapeshifter's forearm, only for a new servo to regenerate in it's place shortly afterwards. "Get out of here, Kagerou! Hurry and go warn the others!"

Kagerou hesitated, not wanting to leave his little Brother behind but reluctantly retreated. He could hear Shadowmaru in the distance exclaim to Shapeshifter that his opponent was him which only made it all the more urgent to get back to the station, immediately changing into his newly added jet form and gunning his thrusters.

Back at the station, Deckerd had just returned to the station alongside Power Joe and Radiant Prism after they dealt with two reports. One had been about a small group of people spraying oil all over the expressway causing severe traffic jams with a large majority of people injured from the incident. After the three of them dealt with that incident, there was another call afterwards that reported about a group of criminals hijacking a truck full of robotics meant to be delivered to a science lab intending to replace their older equipment. "So why did the Science lab needed the new robotics tech anyways?" Power Joe asked, stretching out his joints. "Aren't they just people that mess around with dangerous liquids trying to find cures and understand stuff better? I don't see the point."

"They said they need the robotics for certain tasks." Yuuta explained as Deckerd chimes in. "If we didn't help get their shipment back from the criminals, they would have needed to wait for another shipment to replace their older robotic models due to some of them malfunctioning and ruining experiments they were conducting. They needed the robotics for-"

"Deckerd!" Their attention was drawn to Kagerou who changed form and landed next to them. "There's trouble, Shapeshifter's been spotted!"

"What!? Where?" The Brave Detective exclaimed, alarmed at hearing the bio-machine's given name.

"High up in the skies above Nanamagari City. Shadowmaru is holding them back but I can't guarantee how long he can keep Shapeshifter but the bio-machine much larger than we last saw it."

Radiant Prism stepped forward. "I can come help and deal with Shapeshifter until the others get here." She turned her attention to Deckerd and Power Joe. "You two should alert the others while I'm helping Shadowmaru and Kagerou."

Power Joe was surprised at Radiant Prism's sudden change from a passive member to an assertive leader out of the blue, unsure what to say when Radiant Prism suddenly went full leader on them while Deckerd nodded. "I agree, we'll see you shortly." Once Radiant Prism took off following Kagerou, Deckerd moved away just enough to give himself space to change form, opening his door to let Yuuta come with him as Power Joe tried to find his words about why did Radiant Prism suddenly start giving orders, but didn't receive an answer when Deckerd began ordering the other Braves about the sighting of Shapeshifter. "...Nevermind." Power Joe mumbled to himself.

It didn't take long for everyone to assemble and combine into their respective forms. Once the combiners were high up in the skies, they scanned until J-Decker spotted flickering lights. "Over there!" J-Decker called out, taking the lead. Upon getting closer, they witnessed Shapeshifter swiping one of his large claws at Aerial Radiance, taking her completely off guard. Super Build Tiger quickly caught Aerial Radiance the moment he saw her fall. "Are you alright, Aerial Radiance?" He asked, letting go once she'd regain power in her thrusters.

"I'm fine, but I warn you that Shapeshifter is to be approached with caution. He's not like the last time we encountered him." Aerial Radiance said, storing her sword away. "D-Maschinengewehr!" Upon summoning her ranged weapon, Aerial Radiance flipped a small switch located just under the section where the stock could be retracted. Duke Fire immediately warned her that she can't use her ranged weapon as her ammunition would only be like feeding Shapeshifter. The combiners quickly moved to avoid an incoming charge attack causing them to spread out as Shapeshifter turned around sharply, proceeding to target and chase after Aerial Radiance who gunned her thrusters to avoid being touched in case it may still possess the ability to consume metal. "With it's new appearance I can't tell if Shapeshifter still eats metal, which is why I'll have to rely on my weapon's beam projectile mode." She commed the other Braves, pausing for a moment to think, then an idea came into mind. "J-Decker, is there anyone else who can use the Max Cannon Mode?"

-Duke Fire is also capable of using the Max Cannon Mode, why?-

Avoiding another attack, Aerial Radiance couldn't keep her distance from Shapeshifter for very long making it difficult for her to even fire a shot. She was forced to put away her ranged weapon, avoiding the shots of the others attacking. "If memory serves me right from the last difficult foe we faced weeks ago, Duke Fire's projectile with the Max Cannon is heat based. I recall we've seen it used against an unruly criminal who created some form of hybrid bio-machine army-" Noticing something in the distance, Aerial Radiance suddenly had an idea. Shapeshifter noticed that Aerial Radiance was staring at something and immediately took action. It lunged with the intent of biting her in one clean snap of his large jaws, but missed when she began changing course towards the location of interest. "You're not escaping from me, Radiant Prism! The time for your death is now!" It laughed manically. "I will personally see you destroyed unlike those fools who failed to do so!"

"I'm not going down that easily, Shapeshifter. None of us are! Your upgraded body means nothing to the Brave Police!" Cursed Radiant Prism, switching to German for a moment. Another attack dodged, Aerial Radiance quickly made a hard right, flying towards the location of interest while avoiding incoming fire from the others as she addressed the team once again. "Shadowmaru, Kagerou, I'll need your help. When I tell you, please use your weapons to slice the wing appendages at the same time otherwise the plan I've got in mind won't work if you two aren't in full sync. Duke Fire and Gunmax Armour should remain airborne high above once Shapeshifter goes down on standby until it's time to use the Max Cannon Mode. J-Decker and Super Build Tiger, I'll need both of you to help me deal with it while it's on the ground, the three of us will be the ones to distract our target long enough for Duke Fire and Gunmax Armour to prepare and strike." The moment she finished her sentence, Gunmax Armour spoke.

-The last time I took orders from a Rookie, it didn't end very well.- Gunmax said as Duke Fire glared at the smaller combiner. -Now is not the time, Gunmax. We're going to help Radiant Prism pull off the plan and we should get into position once Shapeshifter goes down.-

-If this idea of the rookie's fails, I was never involved to begin with.- Gunmax replied as everyone moved into position. Shadowmaru and Kagerou positioned themselves and synchronized with Shapeshifter's flying. Super Build Tiger and J-Decker moved into position on each opposite side of the bio-machine, which immediately took notice and attempted to swipe them away. Finally, Duke Fire and Gunmax Armour ascended high enough above Shapeshifter. Neither Brave did anything until the next part of the plan were to take place and the ninjas remained quiet, playing smart to not say anything further. Aerial Radiance took a brief glance, noticing them in place. "Now!" She called out as both of them changed form, withdrew their weapons and sliced into the wing appendages. The reaction was immediate when Shapeshifter shrieked at the sudden loss of his wings, tumbling downwards. It attempted to recover by sprouting a new pair of wings, not liking the fact that it'd become smaller but Super Build Tiger managed to fire his tiger cannon to prevent the regenerating of new wings. When Shapeshifter impacted the ground, he dragged on for a few kilometers leaving a trail until coming to a stop.

Getting up, it turned to face the three combiners descending to the ground, growling in anger. "So it seems that this won't be as easy as I thought." Without warning, Shapeshifter's anger suddenly turned into that of a twisted grin. "But I understand clearly, you're nothing but a coward, Radiant Prism. Gustav's greatest creation, cowering by relying on the strength of others. It's no wonder you were nothing but a failure." Hearing the bio-machine speak made J-Decker internally narrow his optics, Shapeshifter was going to attempt to provoke Radiant Prism by acting. 'How does he know about Radiant Prism's past...?' He thought bemusedly. 'Something tells me there's more to this bio-machine than we originally thought.' He glanced briefly at Super Build Tiger, taking a wild guess that he doesn't understand a thing that was being said. "I'm no 'greatest creation', I am Brave Police! I am neither strong nor weak! D-Maschinengewehr!" Withdrawing her ranged weapon once more, Aerial Radiance shifted into a combat stance just as Super Build Tiger brought out his riot gun and J-Decker summoning his J-Buster.

"Don't think that I can't take you all on, Brave Police!" Shapeshifter laughed as something burst from underneath the ground, revealing two copies of itself before merging with them. "Behold my true form!" It laughed manically as the bio-machine grew in size, leaving the others to believe it'd stop at around Super build Tiger's height, but it continued to grow in size further. Once Shapeshifter stopped growing in size, his form shifted as well to better fit itself for combat, unleashing an ear piercing shriek at the Brave Police.

"This is no good, we're going to need Fire J-Decker!" Super Build Tiger exclaimed.

Aerial Radiance quickly switched to comms, not wanting to risk Shapeshifter hearing the plan out. "If we do that, Duke Fire won't be able to use the Max Cannon to destroy it! Bio-machines are weak to fire no matter if they try to make themselves as fire resistant as possible! We're going to need to take this thing down with all we've got until we've dealt enough damage to Shapeshifter that it can't get away from the incoming blast." She internally hoped that the intense fire caused by Duke Fire using the Max Cannon will be enough to pierce through it. "J-Decker!" She called out.

"Let's go!" J-Decker called out, taking the lead as the three combiners charged ahead towards Shapeshifter.