The inside of the industrial plant was just as creepy as the outside. It was covered in dust and brimstone as the aging place showed its own decay. Rotting cranes and twisted geats lay on the ceiling as once great machinery was now laid to dust.

Mina: Eek! This place is scary.

Reishi: Reminds me of my old academy.

Shima: If my old academy was like this, I would've dropped out.

Shima snarked.

Shima: Alright, time to get cracking.

Mina: ….

Shima whipped out a case once more. She pulled a long rod shape device with a dark black screen at the end of it. It was almost shaped in a phallic way, that both mina and reishi blush.

Shima: What? What's wrong?

Reishi: Shima that thing looks like….

Shima: It looks like what?

Mina: Umm…..

Shima looked back down at it.

Shima: Oh please. Get your minds out of the gutter, you horndogs.

Mina: You're the one who made the device look like that.

Shima walked a little bit forward and looked at both Reishi and mina.

Shima: Alright this bad boy should help us with the search.

Reishi: Great.

Shima: K...

Reishi: Alright then. Go.

Shima: …

Reishi: …

Shima: Aren't you going to ask me how it works?

Reishi: *Sigh* How does it work, shima?

Shima: Great question, reishi!

Shima: My device works by tracing the digital signal of any device within range.

Mina: oh!

Shima: Since everyone has a device these days, it should be able to track akeno perfectly! Or at the very least lead us to some clues.

Shima explained.

Shima: Mina, I take it that Akeno had a padio-pad?

Mina: Yes…. It was pretty much the only valuable thing she had.

Shima: Great! Then just tell me her Padio-Number and I'll be able to trace it.

Mina told shima what akeno's pad number was. Shima in response quickly entered the numbers into the keypad on her gadget.

Shima: Got it!

Mina: C-can you trace the signal?

Shima: Hmm.

Shima didn't respond.

Shima: …

Shima: This is a pretty weird signal.

Shima whispered to herself.

She began to lurch forward, with a suspicious look on her face. Reishi and mina followed.

Shima: Oh ho!

Shima: Mmhmm.

Shima: Ah~ so tight.

She made weird noises as she continued making the two other girls do a double take.

Mina: Um, is she normally like this.

Reishi: Yeah, she gets REALLY into it when she fiddles with her gadgets.

Shima walked all the way to the other side of the room where a staircase was located. She paused before slowly descending down said stairs. Reishi and mina followed through.

At the bottom of said stairs however was something that shocked them all.

In the corner at the bottom of the steps was a skeleton. It was slumped against the wall as if the person there had died of a natural cause like starvation or old age. Regardless, it spooked the hell out of the girls.

Mina: Eek! I-I-Is that A-Akeno!

She screeched. She hid behind reishi and began hyperventilating.

Shima: Nah.

Reishi: How can you know?

Shima: The dense bone structure and the skull shape tell me that its most likely Male.

Shima: Plus akeno has only been missing for three days, that not enough for her body to turn to bones.

Mina: ...

Shima: I-If she was dead!

Reishi: Wow you sure do know alot about skeletons shima.

Shima: Eh, men die a lot in my lab.

Reishi: ...

Mina: ...

Shima: Kidding! Of course.

Reishi: Were you though?

Shima: Umm, Oh look more signals!

Shima continued forward and began to scan the area for more of Akeno's signals. Meanwhile Reishi was left wondering about some things.

Reishi: By the way, shima…,. Did you take hattori home?

Shima: ….

Shima: Oh Crap!

Reishi: Shima!

Shima: Sorry I forgot! That little perv is never in the forefront of my mind.

Shima apologized.

Reishi: Ugh… we'll have to get her later…

Reishi took her attention from shima and turned to mina. Mina was looking down at the ground harmoniously. She had sadness in her eyes and reishi could see.

Reishi: Hey! We'll find her. I'm sure of it.

Mina: T-Thanks. But I'm not so sure.

Reishi: Mina, you have to have hope. Hope for Akeno.

Mina: Eheh. I'll try.

Mina smiled.

Shima: Oh Crap! I think I got something.

Mina: …!

Reishi: ….!

Reishi and Mina ran over to shima

Reishi:What ya got,shima?

Shima: Well nothing.

Mina: Huh?

Shima: What I mean is that akeno's signal is gone.

Reishi: Huh?

Shima: As soon I approached this side of the room, the signal disappears.

Reishi: Is that strange? I mean padio-pad could've just gone run out of battery.

Shima: gee, are you a boomer reishi? Everyone knows digital devices these days ALWAYS emit signals even when they run out of battery.

Shima rolled her eyes.

Shima: Plus, When I return to this side of the room...

Shima walked to the other side.

Shima: ... The signal returns.

Reishi: Couldn't just be that you are out of range when you walk over to that side of the room.

Shima: *Sigh*

Shima: B-O-O-M-E-R. Reishi these devices are made with kids in mind. They emit signals strong enough to be detected all across the country just so parents could find their kids if they get lost. You can't be 'out of range' with these pads.

Reishi: (Do you have to be so cynical about it?)

Mina: I don't get it, What does this mean?

Shima: Honestly. I have no idea

Shima answered.

Mina: Aren't you supposed to be the smart one!

Shima: I-I am! But not even I can explain something this strange.

Mina: God... Akeno...

Mina began to tear up. Shima looked away as mina desperately tried to wipe the tears welling in her eyes.

Shima: *Sigh* This is a big favor your asking me, reishi.

Shima: I can keep processing the date at my lab, at home. No promises that I'll find anything.

Mina: *Sniff* R-Really? thank you!

Mina thanked.

Reishi: -And you know, We still have a couple of hours before Darkness. We can still keep searching the factory and the area!

Mina: Y-Yeah!

Mina perked up! She had determination and hope in her eyes that both Reishi and Shima could see. Despite shima's gadget not finding anything, she still held out said hope for akeno! She pressed on forward and said:

Mina: We will find akeno!