Rei scowled as he scanned the area, his new invention held firmly in his hands.

He set the device down before he grasped the visor, lifting it up and putting it on his head.

He closed his eyes as he adjusted it briefly.

Once the visor was on, he opened his eyes. He then grabbed the device and held it up.

"All right...test run seven. Activating in three... two... one..." he muttered, hesitating briefly before he took in a breath and gulped. Then his finger pressed the power button.

The device flickered feebly before it went dark.

Rei gritted his teeth. "Okay. Trying again. Test run eight."

Once more his finger pressed the power button, only for the device to flicker feebly before shutting down a second time.

The boy ripped the visor off his head in frustration. "Dammit...!"

He didn't understand what was wrong with his new invention. He had spent hours, days even, working on it. He examined every inch of it, checking each connection himself, reviewing all the necessary programming and then testing it on his computer. But now it was malfunctioning?! The last few test runs had also yielded the same results, which made him wonder if he was missing something.

If so... what was he missing?

What was it?

He had no idea how close the answer was to him.

(Shows a pair of red optics flaring as a shadowy hand reaches out, grasping at the screen before fading to show several wanted posters depicting the Shinkalions, the title appearing below)

GRIMMFALL SHINKALION: DARK DOUBLE DAZE

(The images fade to show a pinprick of light)

Awake and remembering the torn promise (The pinprick of light grows brighter as Railspike is shown looking over the city of Tokyo, his two brothers appearing as ghosts behind him)

Trapped and entrusted myself (Railspike looks up, showing the six young sparklings marching past him in their human forms)

Are you ok with this? Not being able to reach (He slowly reaches out a servo and grasps at the sun, throwing the screen into black)

Opened the door with incomplete condition (A sliver of light runs down the middle of the screen, revealing two doors as they open, showing a young boy staring in awe at the contents within)

Made mistakes, learn, in fear and hide (The boy is shown running before the camera pans to the left, revealing him outside as he holds a device in his hands)

Hesitate, deadlocked, facing myself (The camera pans in on the device, showing the city of Tokyo from above before two sets of orbs are shown facing one another down, colliding in a brilliant flash)

Break through the wall now (The light becomes a thick wall, Railspike standing before it as he drives a fist into it, causing cracks to spread out as it shatters)

Go my way, I'm going to grab the future (The wall crumbles around Railspike as his servo reaches out towards the six children)

I won't let anybody get in my way even if you hurt me (A huge mass of garbage rises up before him, two red eyes flashing in the background)

I'm chasing the continuation of my dream (The six young Shinkalions are shown turning around, brandishing their weapons in their frames)

Because it's still there and that's what I am (Railspike is shown reaching for them as they extend their own hands, reaching towards the middle of the screen before it goes dark)

The word that I used to hear came back again (Railspike stands before the remains of his two brothers, his students gathered around him as they offer support)

I didn't question it I just buried it deep (He bows his helm, optics closing as memories of them march past him in transparent form)

The noises are clouding my thoughts (Memories of their demise cause him to grit his denta and he screams as lightning flashes, rain pouring down around him during a battle)

Plastic melts and turn black when you burn it (The form of Nightstreak looms over him as he holds up a burning spark)

Tied and no freedom, there's nowhere to go (Railspike slumps to the ground as he grips at his helm with his servos, energon tears running down his cheeks)

Trust, betrayal, turning my mind dark (Sammael is shown in the background, wearing the mask of a Grimm as he holds his hands around the shaking Shinkalion)

I have to open the way (The darkness engulfs the screen before an explosion rocks it, shattering it as a winged form flies through the air)

Go anywhere when you spend your days (The form spins around, revealing a shadowy shape reminiscent of a Shinkalion, but with green optics and wings spilling green particles, holding a crossbow of sorts in one servo)

Meeting and findings you call this a fate (The camera pans down, showing the city from above as of on a map, dark purple orbs flashing on the screen)

We're alive and there are sadness and anxiety (One of the orbs flashes, panning out to reveal a pair of purple optics as six shadowy forms resembling the Shinkalions are revealed)

This won't last forever. All this for me to be strong (The forms attack, forcing Inspector Tezuka to fire on them as her men open fire as well)

All of this from the hard works (The gunfire pans over to show Railspike firing his arm-mounted guns to take down the black-clad attackers)

I kept it in me. Now I'm here (His optics flash as he summons a grey, blue, and dark blue Aura to shield himself from the return fire)

I can overcome this (He grits his denta as he hefts his shield and fires off his missiles as the other sparklings unleash their own attacks)

Go my way, I'm going to grab the future (Railspike lunges forward, his servo outstretched to catch a glowing spark)

I won't let anybody get in my way even if you hurt me (The spark is caught in his palm as it flashes, showing the boy holding a device in one hand and a visor resting on his head, a shadowy winged shape behind him)

I'm chasing the continuation of my dream (The boy looks out as four Rails of Light streak out from the screen, showing the four Shinkalions on them, heading off into the horizon)

Because it's still there and I have to move forward (The horizon flashes as the camera pans down to show Director Hayasugi in the front of the command center, waving an arm as he gives an order)

Go anywhere when you spend your days (The camera then pans to the left, showing Chief Lee standing in the main server room as he adjusts his sunglasses, light glinting off of them)

Meeting and findings you call this a fate (The chief glances out to the right, the camera following his gaze to reveal Tsuranuki in Townsville as he stands atop a hill overlooking the city)

We're alive and there are sadness and anxiety (His hair blows before the two Powerpuffs streak overhead, the camera following them before panning down to show Shinobu and Miku in the Shiga Highlands)

This won't last forever. All this for me to be strong (The camera then pans up to the sky as a winged shape flies overhead before panning down, showing the six kids and Railspike standing before the city of Tokyo, a young boy and a new shadowy Shinkalion shown in the background as transparent images, the title appearing below them)

OPENING FILES: AURA DETECTION SCANNER

CLASSIFIED

DECRYPTING...

FILES DECRYPTED

OPENING FILES: AURA DETECTION SCANNER

A system devised by Rei Ozora, the Aura Detection Scanner is meant to detect the Aura of living organisms to separate them from possible mimics created by Grimm or by unsavory characters. The system consists of a detection scanner that uses sensors tuned to pick up the base Aura signature of living beings. The data is then fed onto a visor that projects the readouts in front of the user's vision. It displays both an aerial satellite view of the city and the Aura signatures it detects. The system also shows organisms that do not have Aura, but these show up as black orbs on the visual feed. Beings with Aura are shown as blue-green dots. Fallen are shown as black orbs with red outlines.

CLOSING FILES

TERMINAL ENTERING STANDBY PHASE

GRIMMFALL SHINKALION: DARK DOUBLE DAZE

CHAPTER V - AURA DETECTION SCANNER, ONLINE!

Rei's desk was a mess as he leaned over the scanner, his eyes narrowed.

He had spent the last few days trying to figure out just why the device didn't work. Sure it was still a prototype, but he had been expecting it to work by now.

All the connections were sound, so what was going on? Was it a bug in the code? Or was it because of something else going on? He had no clue.

He sighed as he pushed away from his desk, hands thrown behind his head. "Dammit... What am I missing here?" he muttered.

The boy was confused, as well as concerned. The device had been tested, and it had worked. So why was it failing now?

He tore his gaze from the ceiling and buried his head in his hands. "Why won't the stupid thing work?!"

Rei plopped his head down on the desk as he sighed. "I give up... There's no way I'll ever get it working..."

He turned away from his desk and looked out the window, his eyes locking onto the horizon, right where Mt. Fuji was. He could see the black smoke from the Pool of Darkness within curling skyward, and he frowned. What was the government going to do now that the Shinkalions were attacking their home? How were they going to keep the Pool from being breached? Would they turn to other methods of combatting the Kaiju Grimm?

Rumors of unethical experiments to combat said Kaiju had started to swirl ever since the First Wave had shown up. Experiments such as enhancing humans using Dust injected into their bodies and bloodstreams. Grimm fused with tanks and humans. These rumors ranged wildly, but for his part, Rei hoped to Glob that they were just that: rumors.

And now... what was going to happen?

He had no idea.

Rei finally decided to get up and go for a walk.

Maybe some fresh air would do him some good.

"Mom? Dad? I'm going out for a walk!" he called as he headed towards the door.

Hayashi peeked out, his eyes widening a bit. "Okay. Just be careful!" he called back.

"Will do!" Rei chirped.

He quickly threw on his shoes and jacket before he headed out. He closed the door behind him as he exited his family's home. He started to walk, placing his hands behind his head.

"Hmm... What am I missing?" he muttered as he walked.

His eyes narrowed as he cast his gaze up at the sky. He could see the sun shining, and he could just barely make out a plane as it flew overhead. He watched as it flew overhead, his eyes following the contrails it made for a few minutes.

It wasn't anything special, really. Just an ordinary cargo plane.

But that plane was what set him on his course for his future.

Rei lowered his head and let his hands fall to his sides as he walked, deftly avoiding people as he made his way to Wadakura Fountain Park. It wasn't that far of a trek, especially since he knew the city well. It was actually a good thing his father had moved them out here, he mused somberly. After his grandmother on his mom's side had died due to a Satyra attack just before he was born, both his parents left their hometown and moved out to Tokyo so his father could continue his work with the Astro Self Defense Force and Project Reach.

It was also just as well because his grandparents on his dad's side were getting up there in their late seventies to early eighties. And they were not as mobile as they used to be.

The boy sat down on one of the benches close to the fountain in the center of the park, glancing up at the buildings surrounding the park and the people who came out to enjoy the nice day. He turned his gaze back to the sky, noting how there were no clouds in the sky. He could see a few birds wheeling overhead and he closed his eyes, just imagining himself up there with them.

He could already feel the air swirling around him as he adjusted his wings, a laugh escaping him as he dove beside one of the birds, earning a big, surprised stare in response. He couldn't help it. He cracked up as he swooped into a loop before leveling out. Beneath him he could see the city laid out in its grid-like pattern, watching as cars and trucks drove the roads and people walked and biked. A few motorcycles weaved in and out of traffic with ease and he, with a flap of his wings, flew ahead of one of the bikers. Rei's hair fluttered about his face as he finally approached the train station, circling it as he saw the red and white shape of the 800 Tsubame shinkansen pulling in.

He wasn't sure why, but-

"Hey, is this seat taken?"

Rei yelped as he turned, his eyes snapping open as his hand flew to his chest, clutching at his racing heart.

He could see an older man who looked like he could be in his late seventies to early eighties, and he was dressed in a simple mechanic's uniform. He wore a pair of sunglasses to hide his eyes, and in his hand he held a hard hat. Rei guessed him to be one of the workers who handled the maintenance of the trains, if the grease on his uniform was anything to go by.

"Oh... uh... No. It's fine," Rei stammered, scooting aside to let the man sit down.

The old man sat down beside him, placing his hard hat in his lap as he leaned back, looking up at the sky.

"Sure is a nice day, isn't it?" he asked.

Rei managed a weak grin and nodded. "Yeah. I was actually just daydreaming when you startled me." He laughed weakly.

The man turned to look at Rei and grinned. "It's good to have a daydream or two. But sometimes one has to also be grounded or else they will lose sight of reality."

"Uh..." Rei scratched at his head with one hand. "Okay...?"

The man laughed out loud as he shook his head. "Sorry, kid. I sometimes say things that even I don't get."

For some reason, his words did make some sort of sense... if that were even the case. Regardless, Rei wondered who he was. "Uh... sorry to be rude, but you never told me your name," he pointed out.

The old man sighed. "Well, that is rude of me to not introduce myself," he said. "But for ease, you can call me Chief Lee. I'm one of the head mechanics back at Tokyo Station."

"I kind of guessed that was your work," Rei joked, pointing at the grease stains.

Chief Lee nodded. "Yep. Although sometimes maintenance can be a drag. But what can ya do?"

"Yeah..." Rei looked down at his lap, clenching his fists. "It can be, especially if one of your trains or one of my inventions doesn't even work right."

The chief mechanic pursed his lips. "Hmm. Sounds to me like you got a problem then, kid."

"Yeah. I mean..." Here Rei paused, not sure if he should even tell this man about his invention. Hell, he had only recently met him not even five minutes ago! But at the same time, the old man seemed to have an air about him that indicated he could be trusted. The way he was so relaxed and the fact it was so easy to converse with him made Rei feel at ease.

Plus there was a sense of timelessness about him. But Rei chose to ignore that and he sighed. "Yeah. I do have a problem."

"Then care to tell what it is?" Chief Lee asked.

The boy shifted a bit. "It's... I have this new device that I built recently," he admitted. "It's meant to help detect beings that lack any sort of Aura, like the Shaper Grimm that have been surfacing as of late."

"Sounds like you got the right idea then, kid. So... what's the issue?" Chief Lee wondered. He tilted his head a bit.

"I can't get the damn thing to work!" Rei finally exclaimed. He leaned forward and buried his head in his hands. "I just can't get it to work! It worked fine on a computer, but when I built the handheld version, it just... stopped working... And now I can't get it to work, no matter what I do..."

"Hmm..." The old man crossed his arms as he leaned back. "This device... what's it called?"

"The Aura Detection Scanner..." Rei moped.

"How does it work, exactly?" Chief Lee inquired, his mustache twitching a bit.

"Why would you even wanna know that, anyway?" Rei asked softly. "I just can't get it working..."

"There's always a solution to every problem, kid. No matter how hard it seems. And sometimes complex problems can have a rather simple solution," the mechanic said sagely. He turned his gaze to look at Rei and he placed a calloused hand on his shoulder. Rei looked up, his two-toned eyes meeting the sunglasses of the old man. "And sometimes the solution is so simple we don't even notice it."

"So... what does this have to do with my device?" Rei asked.

"That's why I'm asking, so we can figure this out," Lee remarked.

Rei wasn't too sure if this would work, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to at least try, right?

He sat up straight and sighed. "Well, the device works by using sensors to pick up the base Aura signature of all living organisms that have Auras," he explained. "By scanning for the base frequency, it can then register the Auras and any that do not have Auras will be registered as hostiles, marked by a black dot. All Auras that are around the area where the fakes are located are marked in blue, so as to differentiate them."

"Hm. That's not bad, kid," the mechanic stated. "And what of the handheld version? How does that work?"

"The handheld runs on the same basic principle," Rei said. "And that's where I have issues. It worked fine on a computer. But as a handheld, it's useless." His shoulders slumped at that. "I calibrated it accordingly, checked everything - programming, scanners, sensors, readouts, connections... and it still doesn't work."

"You said it uses the base Aura frequency of all living beings to scan, right?" Lee questioned, earning a nod from Rei in response.

"Yeah. But... it's like it doesn't even register that anymore," he moped, looking down at his feet.

"Hm." Chief Lee leaned back, crossing his arms again. "Well, as I said, some problems have an increasingly simple solution, and we just don't even know it."

"But what could be the solution to this problem?!" Rei exclaimed, standing up and facing the old mechanic.

"Kid, calm down," Lee said, glancing up. His eyes gleamed beneath his sunglasses, and Rei paused, sensing something from this old man. He didn't know what it was, but it was clearly a sign this man was to not be messed with. "You won't do yourself or anyone else you intend to help with this device any good if you're panicking!"

Rei was caught by surprise at that statement. "W-What do you mean?" he asked, now wary.

"Just what I said. You intend to help people using this device, don't you?" Lee pressed.

The boy nodded. "Y-Yeah... Why?" he asked, stunned that he had figured it out.

"When you live to be my age, you learn to read people's intentions pretty quick," the mechanic stated simply.

Rei just stared for a moment as Chief Lee continued. "You want to help people, then calm the hell down and think, boy!" His eyes narrowed a bit. "I want you to think hard on this one. You told me the device doesn't register the base Aura signature of all living beings in its handheld form. But... think back. You also said you used it on a computer. So I want you to tell me everything about that."

"All I did was copy and paste the coding when I set up the device," Rei said, shrugging. "It's not like it's-" His eyes suddenly widened as he jolted.

"Go on..." the mechanic urged.

"When I copied and pasted the code... it did work... but then it suddenly stopped..." Rei murmured. "The coding... it was copied and pasted...! I didn't... bother to look it over to see if it matched the specs for the device...!" Realization dawned on his face. "The device's code is exactly the same as the computer's! That means that it's not properly coded for the specs of the device!" he exclaimed.

He grasped Lee's hand and shook it. "Thank you so much!" he cried. "Now I know what I did wrong!"

Lee nodded, a smile forming on his face. "You got it, kid. But you figured out the problem on your own." He waved his free hand. "I just helped you along. After all, the process of the scientific method is trial and error. But sometimes you have to review what you did over a few times to properly understand what you did wrong."

Rei blinked before he slapped his forehead. "D'oh! I'm such a doofus!" he muttered.

Chief Lee laughed at his antics. "Yeah, I guess you are, kid. But we all make mistakes. Just keep that in mind." He stood up, shaking Rei's hand. "Besides, I think that your device will come in handy in more ways than just with sniffing out Shaper Grimm."

The boy was confused as he let go of the mechanic's hand. "Uh... okay...?"

The old man put his hard hat back on his head and he turned, heading off with a salute. "Excelsior!" As he turned away, Rei thought he could see a strange logo on the man's uniform back: it looked a lot like a shinkansen with a set of wings behind it, and on it were the letters SDI...

He brushed it aside though as he turned and hurried back home.

Now he knew what had to be done.

TOKYO SDI HEADQUARTERS

MAIN HANGAR BAY

The darkness of the bay was perfect given the mood, Byakko thought.

But it was just as well, considering the hunt for the new machine's Driver was on.

Despite the director's order to halt the search, he was not going to. They needed at least one Shinkalion to help defend the city, and given the nature of the new machine's abilities, it would serve perfectly well as an advanced unit as well as a scout. But its real strength lay in its aerial abilities.

With the ability to fly, it could take down Kaiju or other threats from the air without Tezuka being the wiser.

But they first had to find the Driver. And with the authorities on the hunt for the other Shinkalions, it made sense this would have to be conducted in secret.

The wolf Faunus looked over at the chief mechanic as he came back in, hard hat in hand.

"Well?" he asked.

The old man grinned. "I found the best possible candidate." Then he became serious. "But we need to see if the unit reacts to him like all the others did to their Drivers."

Byakko nodded, knowing what he meant. "I have an idea," he mused. "But we need to see if he does as I hope."

Chief Lee frowned. "Hm. That's gonna be a tricky one. Sammael could be planning against us for this."

Rei ran back to his house, determined to repair the damage he had done to his device.

"That may be the case, but we're not known for being predictable," Byakko's voice said.

He barged past his surprised parents and into his room, shutting the door before sliding into his seat and shifting over to his desk. He grabbed the Aura Detection Scanner and pulled it close, booting it up and plugging a small laptop into it.

The coding box came up and he started to work, his fingers flying over the keys as he rewrote, modified, and altered some bits of the code, his dual-colored eyes narrowed in concentration. He stuck out his tongue as he focused.

"Yeah. And sometimes I wonder if you're taking a gamble, Byakko," Chief Lee's voice stated.

The device beeped a few times as he checked it.

"I may be, but this time, I'm sure that we'll get the candidate we need," Byakko's voice replied.

A laugh came from Chief Lee's voice. "I'm sure we will too."

The wolf Faunus nodded. "Right. For now, let's just hope that something good happens this time around..."

Byakko turned his gaze away from the frame and walked over to his desk, sitting down and reaching into the top drawer.

Normally he tried to refrain from smoking, but today he felt it was needed, seeing as how it was close to the anniversary of the betrayal Suzaku made to their family. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, pulling out the box of cigarettes. He plucked one out and after putting the rest away, he grabbed a nearby lighter and lit up. He took a breath and let it out, smoke curling up from his mouth as he leaned back in his chair.

"That man..." He opened his golden eyes, narrowing them in thought. "Mr. Frederick Jones, Sr. He was the one..."

"That day's coming up, huh?" Chief Lee asked.

"Yes." Byakko was silent before he put the cigarette in between his teeth and laced his hands behind his head. "As well as a more personal one..."

The old mechanic scowled, knowing what his superior was referring to.

"Two betrayals in one month. That's hard on anyone," he mused.

"Especially with how close these two were," Byakko muttered. His eyes hardened as he looked up at the ceiling. "I'll never forgive those two for tearing my family apart, but I don't hate them for it."

"Smart move," Chief Lee noted. "Especially since such emotions draw the Grimm to their targets."

Byakko nodded. "Yeah. And I'm concerned about..." His voice trailed off. "Well... given the situation..."

"Hmm." Chief Lee pursed his lips as he folded his arms across his chest. "Your own little project, right?" he asked. "Well, it's best to have something like that on the backburner should we fail to clear the kids' names."

"I see." Byakko closed his eyes. "Well... all right. I'll keep it as a last resort option."

The mechanic nodded. "Good." With a grunt, he got off the chair he had been sitting on and stretched. "Well, I gotta get back to work. Those servers won't maintain themselves, will they?"

The wolf Faunus didn't answer. Taking that as his cue, Chief Lee left the room, leaving the man alone to his thoughts.

OZORA HOUSEHOLD

TWO DAYS LATER...

Rei's work was just about finished.

He was sure it was going to work this time.

His fingers danced over the keyboard as he worked to modify the code to fit the handheld device he was finishing.

His eyes narrowed as he finished typing in the last few bits of code, and then saved it. He grinned as he unplugged the device from his computer and held it up.

This was it.

Now all that remained was to test it.

He slid back his chair from his desk and stood up, grabbing the visor and placing it on his head. He put the visor down over his eyes and was about to aim the device at the family cat, Blackie when a loud rumble suddenly shook the area. Rei for a moment thought it was an earthquake: Japan was known to be seismically active due to being on the boundaries of three tectonic plates. But the more he thought about it, the more that was dismissed. Earthquakes tended to affect the whole area. This seemed to be more localized.

Living in Japan and experiencing numerous quakes allowed those who lived there to be able to detect the difference between a localized explosion and an actual quaking of the earth. The rumbling was definitely caused by either a building collapse or an explosion. Rei gritted his teeth as he heard the sirens starting to wail.

His father was thankfully out of town on a research assignment with NASA, and his mother had to go into the office that day. So he was alone.

Normally Rei would've followed the protocol pertaining to either a quake or a Kaiju attack. But this time, he was intending to find out what caused that rumbling. He turned and bolted for the door, his eyes hardening. His shoes were on his feet in seconds and he was out the door, carrying his Aura Detection System in his hands.

Already he could see people running in the direction opposite his current path.

His eyes narrowed dangerously as he bolted in the direction the people were running from.

Rei gripped his Aura Detection Scanner tightly, making sure he didn't drop it.

He weaved through the crowd as he spotted the smoke curling skyward. That was a bad sign, he knew. Rei's eyes hardened as he approached the site of the smoke...

And his eyes widened as a large metallic object was thrown his way. The boy gasped and barely dodged the car as it slammed into the ground, causing an explosion upon impact with the pavement. Rei landed on his side, somehow still holding onto the ADS in a death grip. The visor was dislodged from his head, clattering on the ground. He groaned as he reached over and grabbed it, slapping it back on his forehead as he rolled onto his hands and knees. The boy got to his feet, and he looked over his shoulder.

His eyes widened as he stared in shock at the destruction of one of the nearby buildings, and around it stood six of the Shinkalions. The one known as Railspike had a sneer on his face as he drew back his Signal Spear, aiming for the upper floors where people were clustered. Rei could see the terror on their faces, and he could hear the screams of horror. His eyes were wide in shock at the way Railspike thrust his spear into the windows, and Rei watched in abject terror as the blood and body parts flew out of the upper floor impacted by the spear. He felt his stomach churning, and he clapped a hand to his mouth as he staggered back, trying to keep from vomiting and catching the attention of the rogue trains.

He didn't know why he was even here.

But whatever the reason, he was sure that this was not normal for the Shinkalions. He gritted his teeth before swallowing the bile as it fought to rise up his throat. He shuddered in revulsion as he slowly, shakily, pulled his hand back and ducked behind another car, kneeling and placing the ADS on the ground. He placed both hands on the ground as he panted heavily, focusing on the screen. The device was his focus as he struggled to keep his nausea under control. He pushed all thoughts aside, keeping his mind on the device before him. His reasoning for being here...

Was to find out what was really going on.

He knew that the Shinkalions had done nothing but defend Tokyo and Japan as a whole for an entire year and a half, maybe a little more than that. And to have them suddenly go on a rampage was not like them. He had extensively studied them, learned their tactics, their fighting styles, and their abilities. He knew their personalities. He knew them. So there had to be something wrong here. And the biggest thing was that they had not used their Auras or special abilities in all the time they had gone rogue. That right there was a red flag.

And Rei was determined to find out the truth.

He slowly closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, concentrating. He could feel his stomach settling, and the nausea faded away to a mere queasiness. He slowly opened his eyes, a renewed focus filling them. Rei sat back on the balls of his feet as he grasped his ADS, pulling it closer and flicking the power switch.

This was it.

Either this worked or it was a bust.

Rei watched as the device's screen flashed online and slowly the loading bar appeared, inching closer to completion. He flipped down the visor and peered through it, waiting.

He could hear the screams and panic, but he forced it aside as he focused on that loading bar.

The seconds seemed to stretch into an eternity, and his eyes hardened. His hands were all sweaty and he felt his heartbeat increase as he licked his lips. How was this going to go down? Would it actually work? Would his coding modifications pay off? Or would it be a bust like it had been last time?

The loading bar was now halfway complete.

Rei bit his lower lip as he chanced a peek around the car he was hiding behind, and he almost threw up at seeing Haifu toying with a man in her large metal hands, fiddling with him...or rather his corpse. He pulled back and took in a breath, focusing on the reasoning he was even here. He chanced a glance down at the screen of his device...

And the loading bar beeped as it reached one hundred percent.

Then the screen went dark.

Rei stared in horror and helplessness as he slumped against the car in disbelief. "Glob... no..." he whispered.

But then...

A beep filled his hearing and he blinked as the visor suddenly flashed, and on the visor's display up came the readouts. He was shocked as the scanning reticle danced across his vision. He shot a glance down to the handheld device, and he was utterly stunned to see the overhead satellite projection of Tokyo displayed on it. All around him were different blue dots, all scattering away from the oncoming trains.

And then the words flashed across the screen.

AURA DETECTION SCANNER

SYSTEM Vs. 1.01-2

OZORA CODING INTEGRATED

ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL

The words faded to become the readouts on the scanner as the visor's display went blank, save for the number of beings with Aura in the area.

He blinked, a small smile crossing his face. A laugh escaped his throat as he leaned back, holding the device to his chest.

It was finally working.

He had finally done it.

The ADS was finally online.

Rei sat up, kneeling on one knee as he held the device up. "Okay. Time to get some answers," he said, grinning widely.

He became serious as he inched the device out a slight ways, the sensors starting to scan Railspike's chassis from the tip of his pedes to the top of his helm.

The ADS scanned over Railspike's chassis before the screen flashed with a red warning sign. Rei frowned as he pressed a button on the side of the device and his visor flashed as the data scrawled across it.

The data from the ADS displayed the scans of Railspike's frame, and much to Rei's horror, there was no sign of an Aura emitting from his very being at all.

There was nothing but blackness. In fact, the whole outline of his frame was just that: pure blackness.

And it utterly horrified the boy.

And from the shadows, he watched through his Seer...

SAMMAEL'S CASTLE

DARKLANDS

...as the boy's eyes widened in terror.

Sammael frowned as he observed this change.

His eyes narrowed as he heard Moloch scoff. "Why are you even observing that brat?" he asked.

"That brat, Moloch, has done something that could disrupt our plans for Japan," Sammael noted.

"What? That little device? It's nothing to us," Moloch remarked.

"No. It's not to us," Sammael explained, "but it is to our creations." His red eyes flashed as he leaned forward a bit in his throne. "The Black Shinkalions do not have Aura, so that makes them easy to pick out."

Moloch's eyes narrowed. "So then what do you plan to do with the boy?" he wondered.

Sammael's eyes glinted as he sneered. "Simple..."

TOKYO, JAPAN

BATTLE SITE

"...I'm going to remove this problem before it even becomes a threat."

The Seer flashed as it received Sammael's commands.

It dove for the boy, its tentacles flashing through the air, becoming long, sharp spears.

Rei didn't even hear it.

Or so Sammael thought.

The boy perked up as he heard the faint whistling of something flying through the air, like a spear. His eyes widened and he spun around, a scream escaping him as he saw these black tendrils coming his way. Gripping his device in his hands, he ran as fast as he could, feet pounding the pavement as the tendrils slammed into the ground, sending shards of concrete and asphalt every which way. Rei hunched over as he ran, shielding the ADS from harm. A few pieces of asphalt peppered his back, and he grunted as some blood was drawn to the surface of his skin. He ignored it though, looking up through his visor.

The ADS flashed as its scanner kicked into action, and he gritted his teeth as the data appeared on his visor's HUD. The orb, he saw, was classified as a Seer Grimm, and it lacked any sort of Aura, as was typical for the Grimm. But to see one such Grimm here? That was worrisome.

He had heard rumors of them, but he had brushed them aside until now. He had always assumed it was just a legend, a folktale told to caution young boys and girls into being more observant of their surroundings and to be good. But now... now he knew that there was indeed such a Grimm. He had no idea if it had any of the abilities legends ascribed to it, but he didn't want to stick around and find out.

Rei ran.

He ran as fast as he could.

But, in the direction opposite of what Sammael wanted.

And that was just what was supposed to happen.

Rei's path took him right to the Marunouchi Building.

Just as was foretold.

The boy ducked as behind him he heard a loud shriek as a salvo of bullets from Matagi's guns hit a nearby building. Rubble and debris rained down around him and the pedestrians as they ran for their lives, screams of horror echoing around him. Cries from children hit him full force and he looked up, his eyes wide beneath his visor. He looked over...

And fear etched itself onto his face as he saw a young girl frozen in horror as a large piece of debris came her way.

Rei gritted his teeth as he broke into a run, his feet pounding the pavement as he slipped the ADS over his shoulder using the straps attached to it. He saw the girl's fearful face as she screamed...

TOKYO SDI HEADQUARTERS

HANGAR BAY

Deep within the bowels of the hangar bay, the new unit started to react to Rei's will...

BATTLE SITE

MARUNOUCHI BUILDING EXTERIOR

MAIN ENTRANCE

And he lunged forward as hard as he could. He extended a hand as he screamed, his body slamming full force into her, and colliding with her, wrapping his arms around her tightly as he twisted his body so he was landing on his side instead of his back. He collided with the ground, holding the girl close to his chest as he skidded a few meters before coming to a halt near the Marunouchi Building's main entrance.

He slowly sat up, clutching the girl in his arms. Rei winced as pain lanced down his impacted side, but he forced it aside as he glanced to the girl as she looked up. "Get outta here!" he ordered. "It's not safe!"

"B-But what about you?" she asked.

"Just go! I'm going to find help!" Rei stated.

The girl blinked, but nodded as she got to her feet and scrambled off towards a nearby police officer who was ushering people to safety. Rei noticed at once that it was Inspector Tezuka, but he ignored her in favor of getting to safety himself. The boy scrambled to his own feet and ran for the entrance of the Marunouchi Building. He wasn't sure why he was going there, but at least it was better than nothing. Plus the basement levels would serve as a good shelter until this attack passed.

He had no idea how wrong he was.

TOKYO SDI HEADQUARTERS

HANGAR BAY

"You're sure," Hokuto mused as he eyed Byakko directly.

The wolf Faunus nodded. "Yes, sir. The unit reacted to the boy's Aura. Just like with the others."

The cat Faunus pursed his lips as he sighed, rubbing his head with his hands. This was both good and bad news in one. The good news was that they had another Shinkalion waiting to come online. The bad news was that this put the project at even greater risk. And with the public starting to get up in arms over the supposed rogue trains, it was necessary to remain low for a while.

And yet... he just couldn't let Tokyo or Japan go without their protectors. So he found himself torn on the issue.

"Dammit... and it had to be during this moment, too," he muttered.

He gritted his teeth before he finally made his decision.

Hokuto looked up, his eyes hard. "If the boy comes down here, find him and bring him to the base."

Byakko shook his head. "No. It should be you, sir," he stated, throwing the director for a loop. "I have my own project to work on."

The cat Faunus became somber as he looked down. He knew what Byakko was referring to, but due to the need for secrecy, no one else even knew of it. And in truth, this was one that he was not too keen on. But he did see the necessity for it.

He closed his eyes. "All right... I'll do it."

Byakko gave a nod as he stood up. "I'll let you get to it, then."

The wolf Faunus exited the room, leaving the director alone to think about his decision.