Mediziner's Notes: When I came back from my trip to Japan, I had quite the inspiration. I think it was because I'd visit some of the places that it gave me some amasing bursts of inspiration. Not much to say really on this.
This Chapter was originally uploaded: 7/10/2019 on DeviantART.
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!
...
"Yuuta, Yuuta wake up." Deckerd spoke in a gentle voice, nudging his friend from sleep.
"Mm, but Deckerd it's so early..." Yuuta replied sleepily, turning to look at his best friend.
Deckerd couldn't help but chuckle, knowing how his friend was like this sometimes. "True, but we need to be at the station a little extra early today."
"We're... Expecting the higher ups at the station." Radiant Prism chimed in a little hesitantly.
Radiant Prism's voice was enough to tell Yuuta that it indeed must be serious if both Saejima and Azuma were going to be there. "Eh? Really?" While he had been on cases before that occur even at the latest nights, this one seemed to be a special case when the two Braves nodded. "Okay..." He yawned. "Give me a minute, I'll change..." He said as he sat up, stretching tiredly. Deckerd nodded and both he and Radiant Prism left and closed the door, giving the boy privacy.
"It's just so strange to be inside of a human sized building... Normally we're not meant to be able to fit inside of one..." Radiant Prism told Deckerd, clearly uncomfortable. "How can you get used to being in this smaller sized body?"
"It took me some time to adjust, but overtime I grew used to it." Replied Deckerd with a small chuckle. "You have no idea how cautious I was about everything when I walked around Yuuta's house for the first time. I was always constantly worried I might accidentally knock over the house decorations or even accidentally destroy something nearby because I was so much more used to my original size... Even though I was not in close proximity of anything that could fall and break." There was a bit of a pause until when Deckerd spoke, needing to address another thing he was concerned about. "Radiant Prism, I'd like to ask why won't you give me and the others a copy of your German language files? It would've made things easier rather than having to translate between Japanese to German, and German to Japanese."
The German Brave looked away with a frown. "Apologies, Deckerd... But Redlight has specifically ordered me to act as the translator. I-I can't go against his orders and I respect him far too much to do so." Replied Radiant Prism, shaking her helm. "To go against his orders is like turning my back against the country itself. Deckerd, as you are the Pride of Japan, Redlight is the Pride of Germany."
"P-Pride of Japan...?" Deckerd was surprised, he wasn't sure if his hearing systems were malfunctioning but he did hear her correctly when she said that she would never go against whatever orders this Redlight gave her? "That..." He lost his words, unsure how to really respond to what she had told him. "Wh-Where did you get that idea? Why-" He couldn't get the chance to say what was on his mind when Yuuta's door opened, the boy finally having changed out of his sleepwear and into his usual attire.
"Is everything alright, Deckerd?" Yuuta asked, noticing how Deckerd looked a little confused.
Knowing he would have to get back to Radiant Prism on this topic, he shook his head. "It's nothing, let's head over to the station. Radiant Prism has something to announce once we're there."
Yuuta was curious but nodded.
Kagerou and Shadowmaru were both waiting near the door for the three of them, both were incredibly silent but were speaking to one another quietly. Their attention drew away from each other when Deckerd, Yuuta, and Radiant Prism approached them. "Ready to go, Mini-Boss?" Shadowmaru asked Yuuta.
"Yup! But, I should have something to eat first before I go, you guys can go ahead and I'll catch up."
"Sir, are you sure?" Radiant Prism asked, feeling concerned. "You could-"
"I'll stay with Yuuta. You two can go on ahead." Deckerd told the three, seemingly picking up on the German Brave's concern as he spoke to Shadowmaru and Kagerou. "In case this 'Redlight' may contact us, it's best to have her there."
"Understood." Shadowmaru nodded.
As the three of them left the Tomonaga residence and bid their farewell to Yuuta's sisters, the two of them decided on walking throughout the residential area, as it was still relatively too early to just go and fly lest they risk receiving complaints. Radiant Prism once again was uncomfortable but remained close to the two ninjas. She was a little surprised when Kagerou spoke.
"Admit it, Shadowmaru, you've grown soft around the child's older sister. Don't think that I didn't see that you were letting her rub your stomach like a dog."
"Tch! I'm not a dog!" The purple ninja snapped. "Azuki... Was feeling a little down and I wasn't sure how I could comfort her, and that cat of hers..."
"Sure... Don't think I can't see right through your little lie." Kagerou smirked.
"Kagerou!"
As the two Brothers squabbled over an incident from last night, Radiant Prism looked between the two Brothers with concern, though chose to ignore it and walked slightly ahead. It was... Strange that those two treated one another like siblings... Something she wasn't exactly used to or let alone exposed to before due to not having seen anything of the sort with the others back home. However upon spotting a human, she immediately stopped dead on her tracks, causing the two squabbling ninjas to crash into her, effectively making her fall forwards.
"Shadowmaru! Kagerou!" She snapped, slowly getting up. Noticing that it was one of the humans from before heading in their direction, Radiant Prism got up and flew off. While it was still too early, she just didn't want to be near who she had seen.
"And where are you going, Radiant Prism?" Kagerou asked, not expecting her to suddenly run off.
-I don't like being near humans, especially that particular one in front of the two of you. I'm going ahead and I've spent long enough in this small body, I'm stressed enough as is.-
...
Glad to be back into her original size again, Radiant Prism felt relieved she didn't have to be in that smaller body anymore... At least she'd make a mental note to avoid getting damaged to the point that she'd need to be relocated back into it again as much as possible. Both Shadowmaru and Kagerou were both in the process of being relocated back into their original bodies, having caught up while her Super AI was in the middle of being transferred back into her original size. 'I should head upstairs, I don't know when is Redlight going to contact us...' She thought.
When she made it upstairs and into the office, Radiant Prism was surprised that everyone was there, some looked bored while some were engaged in various conversations, topics ranging from work or plans they wished they'd have in mind with their special friends but unfortunately do not have time for. 'Hm... I have no doubt Deckerd might have informed them ahead of time.' She thought upon briefly observing the others, moving off to stand near the loft. Upon glancing at the clock, she frowned as she calculated the current time was relatively late over in Germany. 'Will Redlight really make the time to contact us... It's late over there...'
"Radiant Prism." Her name being addressed, she turned to see that Duke was speaking to her. "Where's Deckerd and the Boss?"
"Deckerd remained behind while ordering Shadowmaru, Kagerou, and I to go on ahead. The... Boss said that that he was going to eat, but I think both he and Deckerd should be on their way now." She replied just as Kagerou came inside.
"Shadowmaru went to go and pick them both up." He said simply. His wariness didn't go unnoticed by the Knight Detective and a few others. His words however did serve to put some ease on Radiant Prism as she couldn't get how Yuuta in particular could get around more easily on his own by foot, he was still very young... She realised that the time she was at the Tomonaga residence, she didn't even see traces of the boy's parents... Why's this?
"Hey birdy, want to give some of these files a look while waiting for Shadowmaru to get back?" Gunmax called out to Kagerou, holding out a clipboard towards him.
Kagerou was puzzled at the green Brave's choice of words of using a foreign language, but simply shrugged and approached, taking the clipboard and reading through the contents. "...What's this?" He asked bemusedly.
"Dunno much about it." Shrugged Gunnax. "It's some complicated case that I don't know too well about nor is it suitable for any of us, but all I can say is that it obviously screams yours and Shadowmaru's name all over it."
As Kagerou read further into the clipboard's contents, it gave him uncomfortable chills down his spine that it seemed to be about a private company that didn't have much info on... But somehow it seemed... Familiar? Why?
'I'm still relatively new here... I need to be up to date on everything before I can look further into this. I'll have to wait for Shadowmaru's return after he's picked up the others.' He thought, knowing it was unwise to jump into something blindly. Now that he thought more into it, it was most likely possible that Shadowmaru has indeed become a fine Brave over the course he was gone, a lot more than what he had originally thought. 'I've trained Shadowmaru all I know in many ways when he was developed, but since he's long perfected and even surpassed me, now it seems like it will be his turn to teach me in return.' He moved towards Radiant Prism when Gunmax had nothing else to say to him as he glanced at the other Braves chatting away. '...Such as how does the Brave Police function, a group I originally fled from. If I'm to make myself useful here, I'll need to learn how things work around here from Shadowmaru so that I can use my abilities for good, and make up for what I've done so long ago...'
The chattering continued for a little longer until when the doors slid open, Deckerd and Shadowmaru having entered the office. Shortly afterwards, the smaller door opened as Yuuta, alongside Saejima and Azuma entered.
The Commissioner glanced towards Radiant Prism. "So I hear from Yuuta and Deckerd that we're going to be contacted by Germany's Brave Police?"
The German Brave saluted. "Yes, I contacted Redlight last night... Primarily because I did not want to worry him when I came all the way here. I felt that if I did not contact him, he would fear the worse would've happened to me along the way... However, after we caught up, he requested to speak to all of you personally, while I act as translator between the both of you at his order. It's about-"
"You shouldn't be taking orders from this 'Redlight' considering you're here in Japan and not in Germany. Most of all, you shouldn't be in here past work hours!" Azuma said sternly as Radiant Prism glared at the man unhappily. "German or not, you're-"
"Azuma." Saejima addressed his Vice-Commissioner. "While Radiant Prism has become a part of our team, it does not mean she has to disrespect her former teammates. Apologies, Radiant Prism."
The German Brave could only glance away in annoyance, what Azuma had said really struck her the wrong way but kept herself refrained from doing anything. When Saejima requested her to explain the situation in more detail so that they'd expect what kind of discussion they're going to have, Radiant Prism gave herself a moment and began explaining the conversation she had with Redlight. She made sure to point out that not only would they be speaking to him directly, but they might find themselves speaking with the other two leaders. She also provided slightly more info on the trio of criminals, but not much as it was better for more to be explained from when Redlight does show up and discuss the topic in further detail...
As the conversation continued, some of the others were rather surprised that Radiant Prism spoke a lot more than what they were used to. Normally they were used to that she often kept her sentences short or brief except when she's addressing or explaining something, but seeing her speak this much even out of the lessons they gave her... They weren't used to this. However it did show how she seemed to be holding onto what seemed to be an order from this 'Redlight' himself.
There was a call, and Deckerd was quick to answer it, and upon the screen retracting from the ceiling and as it turned on, a familiar figure Radiant Prism knew all too well, immediately saluting again.
"Redlight, sir!" Radiant Prism spoke, instinctively speaking in German.
"Radiant Prism, good to see you again my friend." Redlight smiled. "At ease, you don't need to be so formal with me."
"But... I just-" Doing as ordered, she immediately silenced herself upon seeing his expression becoming serious, causing her to don a more serious expression herself and when Redlight gave the command to act as translator, she straightened herself.
"Yes sir, let's begin." she replied without hesitation, turning to look at Deckerd and the others. "Don't worry nor hesitate, this is very important so simply speak as if the two of you can understand each other, and I will do my part."
...
"Uwe!" A voice called out. "Are the repairs finished yet? It's been days since we've last gone up against that Radiant Prism!"
"With the amount of stuff you and Hans managed to successfully steal undetected, I'm going as fast as I can, Eberhard..." Replied Uwe. "Incredibly advanced technology and weaponry sometimes can be quite delicate if you rush the repairs too fast."
"Uwe, Eberhard, if my calculations are correct, once we've managed to get our machine repaired, I thought perhaps..." Hans spoke with a devious grin. "If we tried to segregate the Braves from one another and strike while they're most vulnerable before they could call for backup, we might be lucky in turning them into nothing but scrap."
"How do you suppose we do that?" Uwe asked curiously. "Remember the two identical Braves managed to sever our electrical cables and even infected our machine with a virus that took painstakingly long to remove, they're nothing like the Braves back in Germany we've dealt with. The Japanese Brave Police are a completely different kind of foe we're facing compared to them."
"Ah but you've forgotten, this baby we've managed to steal is one of the most advanced technology on the same level as those annoying machines. Packed with the equipment as you've said, Uwe, that it can even record the movements and even data of how an opponent will attack. Because they've 'willingly' shown us how they move and attack, and thanks to our collected data, we can easily predict what's to come if we come across them again."
Eberhard grinned. "That means that we also know they're packed with equipment that not even Radiant Prism has."
"Precisely." Hans chuckled. "And... Once we gather info on the other members of the Japanese Brave Police, they'd be nothing but mere insects under our feet."
"I wouldn't get your hopes up too high, Eberhard, Uwe, Hans..." A voice suddenly spoke. "I heard your attempt to eliminate Radiant Prism had been unsuccessful."
"Hey, we're still trying to figure out how this thing works!" Eberhard snapped, turning to the screen to address the unidentified man, their face completely shadowed by darkness. "Don't think that you can just walk on us and-"
"And what? I may have gotten you three out easily, I can just as easily put you three back in jail again no matter where any of you are in the world."
"Tch! We could easily destroy you with this powerful machine if we so desired!" Eberhard balled his hands into fists but just before he could strike the screen, he felt something stop him.
"Eberhard, remember if we want this thing back to 100%, we need to refrain from unleashing our anger on it!" Uwe told him. "Save it for when we deal with the Brave Police." Eberhard remained quiet for a moment, then shook his arm free of his partner and turned away to leave the room.
"Anyways, pushing that topic aside..." Hans spoke, properly addressing the mysterious man. "We're trying our best big guy, but we can't exactly rush repairing this beauty of a machine. But, I do have good news in the form of a few carefully plotted plans once we're ready to strike. I've almost finished polishing them up to ensure things go accordingly well. Tactics and plotting are my skill, as flawless as a beautifully cut gem."
There was a moment of silence, then the mysterious man spoke. "Hmph, I better hear good news once you three start the attack. Do not fail me, and don't hesitate to destroy the Japanese Brave Police if absolutely necessary. We're to show the public that they're not as invincible as the world believes them to be."
"Understood." Both criminals replied and shortly afterwards the screen flickered offline.
With a relieved sigh, Uwe shook his head. "Man we've only known this guy and yet we can't even see his face. I don't like dealing with other fellow criminals if none of us can even see their faces."
"Like it or not, we've got no choice, Uwe." Shrugged Hans. "This one's different from all the others we've worked with..." He paused to think for a moment, frowning. "While I know nothing about him, I have no doubt that if we don't cooperate, he could really pull something that none of us would expect and we could say good-bye to freedom. It's frustrating enough that one of the German Brave Police teams managed to destroy our old machine and capture us... And then a few short days after, he's managed to plot out our escape route when a couple of planted explosives gave us a path to escape. What doesn't add up is that we were the only ones in particular to be freed, all of the others' cells were untouched."
"It is rather strange... But I doubt Eberhard wants any of us to go back to jail so he's ensuring we play along until they have no use for us anymore." Uwe said, looking in the direction of where they left.
"I don't know... They're nothing like anyone we've dealt with before, and even if we tried to identify them, nothing comes up. Anyways, there's something I'd need to do before I can properly polish my plans out to perfection is gather information on the rest of the Japanese Brave Police as discreetly as I can. You may never know if there's more of those guys like the ninja-like robots that left us out of commission for this long. They're a lot more complex compared to the German Brave Police..."
"Wait, before you go, take this." Uwe tossed a device towards Hans, the latter catching it.
"What's this thing for?"
"It allows you to gather data on any of the Brave Police if you happen to see any of them dealing with other criminals or whatever they're up to, something I made in my spare time. I reverse-engineered some of the technology that's packed in this machine and made that." Uwe explained. "Try not to get caught, because I have no doubt the Police here are on the hunt for us since Radiant Prism's told them about us."
"Heh, you know I've done this sort of thing before we go and attack the nearest thing to rob many times, even before the three of us started working together. I know how to keep a low profile." Hans said, leaving the room.
Uwe shook his head, somehow having a bad feeling. "I can only hope he's right. Without Hans, Eberhard and I would have a hard time figuring out where and when to counterattack..." He muttered to himself as he got back to work.
...
Everyone was stunned, what had been explained in full detail and even shown additional info of the machine that the criminals had stole was something they did not expect.
"Wh-Why would they build something like that!?" Deckerd asked just as Radiant Prism translated shortly afterwards.
"With the presence of remaining rogue Chieftains that are in hiding, the government set their minds on a powerful machine in hopes of using it as a last resort should any of us become overwhelmed for any reason." Redlight replied. "It wasn't technically supposed to be piloted by anyone, but rather it would've been remotely controlled by the ones responsible for making it, however one of them is quite knowledgeable in robotics and machinery..." He looked away for a moment to think while allowing Radiant Prism to translate, then looked at the screen again with a serious look. "Deckerd, everyone, I know that the creators of that machine would be against me seeing it destroyed but we have no other choice. If those three criminals figure out the full potential of what that machine is capable of, it could create an age where criminals could easily overpower the police force and rule the entire planet... I will take responsibility for it's destruction. I would rather keep the most powerful technology out of their greedy hands even if it means destroying it completely beyond use than see the worse scenario unfold..."
"Wh-What!?" Radiant Prism had ceased translating near the end of Redlight's sentence. "Redlight, what if they-"
Redlight shook his helm as Radiant Prism frowned, looking away. "I have to, Radiant Prism. There's no other way." The golden eagle told her.
"Hey! Why have you stopped translating?" Vice-Commissioner Azuma snapped at Radiant Prism. "If you're supposed to be the translator, then act like it!"
"What is Redlight saying, Radiant Prism?" Yuuta asked, worried about the expression that Redlight was displaying.
Radiant Prism didn't respond and remained in place thinking things out for a moment, then shook her helm and looked up at the screen, wings flaring. "No Redlight, this should be my responsibility alone." She began. "Those criminals are targeting me, unfortunately for reasons I don't know. Second, technically they're my responsibility because they committed multiple crimes in the western region of the country- My assigned area to respond and protect, not the east. I may not have equal experience as you, Surge, and Blazer have, but I swore to see them arrested, deported back to Germany, and put behind bars. I intend to ensure this has been done once they're finally caught." She looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. "If I can't do that, am I really Brave Police? What am I if I can't stop criminals no matter what? Even though I may have failed, there's always another chance to try again when they show up, and I won't give up because I am Brave Police like you, and the others."
There was a long pause of silence. Azuma intended to try and get an answer from Radiant Prism again, but Saejima was quick to stop and whispered telling him to wait. The silence was eventually broken by Redlight when he spoke. "Radiant Prism, are you sincerely sure about this?"
"More than ever." Radiant Prism replied. "I'm not going to allow them to destroy Nanamagari City, or the neighboring cities just as they've destroyed Essen in the past."
Redlight was surprised to see how sincere Radiant Prism was being about this. He had no doubt that what she had to go through was strongly affecting her heavily than he initially thought. This was no good, and he had a few words to exchange of his own. "Alright, but I'd like for you to hear me out on what I'm about to tell you."
"What is it?"
"I know that your thoughts are still quite heavily clouded by the traumatic events that continue to haunt and even hurt you, which is why I need for you to know that you must always know you're never alone." Redlight explained. "Remember strongly that you're with Deckerd's Team, so don't act on your own as you once did back in your assigned section. Most importantly, follow Deckerd's orders just as equally as you follow mine, understood?"
There was a long moment of silence, then Radiant Prism nodded. "Yes, sir..."
"Good, I should join the others and recharge for the night, it's very late here. I'll send the machine's details towards Deckerd's Commissioners so they can have a better look at it in full detail."
"But, the information is all in German, aren't they?"
Redlight chuckled. "Correct, but computers all around the world come with translators, all they would need to do is select the file and translate it to their language of choice. Farewell Radiant Prism, remember to follow Deckerd's orders, since you're part of his team now."
The screen flickered offline as the conversation finally came to an end. Radiant Prism spent quite a bit of time explaining in Japanese about what wasn't translated, and when the rest of the Brave Police were finally caught up to date, Saejima pondered in thought.
"Mm, what I'd like to know is why did Redlight specifically decided on you translating rather than give Deckerd or the others your language files."
"As I've told Deckerd, Redlight asked me to act as the translator for this important conversation..." Radiant Prism admitted uncomfortably.
"I understand now..." Duke spoke up.
"What is it, Duke?" Dumpson asked.
"The reason that Redlight specifically requested Radiant Prism to act as translator because he knows she's more comfortable speaking in her own language than in another language." He pointed out. "It only makes sense because Radiant Prism doesn't talk much in this language, but as Redlight proved, she's very comfortable speaking in her own language.
"What nonsense!" Azuma spat. "If she can't get used to speaking Japanese, then I insist that we remove her German language files and keep only the Japanese language files!"
Hearing Azuma's words, Radiant Prism could only glare at the man from where she was at.
"You can't!" Yuuta spoke up. "Mr. Toudou explained that if we did that to Radiant Prism or even Duke that would mean... They wouldn't be the same anymore..."
"You don't know how machines work, Tomonaga. don't act like you know them to begin with when you don't." Yuuta could only glare at Azuma as the man left the room. His anger seemed to have shortly afterwards disintegrated upon hearing the sound of pacing footsteps, followed by someone exclaiming her name as he managed to catch her exiting the office.
"I'll go speak with her." Deckerd announced, getting up and leaving.
Saejima could only shake his head, nowadays it seems that his Vice-Commissioner's mood continues to grow more and more foul the passing day. It wasn't something to be surprised about but his mood seemed to be growing more sour since Radiant Prism was first brought to the station upon being discovered. "Duke, while Deckerd's speaking with Radiant Prism, start assigning everyone their tasks, we've got work to do."
"Roger." Replied Duke, turning his attention to his desk computer.
The man turned his attention to the young boy. "Yuuta, I'm going to be busy for the next couple of minutes looking into what Redlight sends us about the machine the foreign criminals are using, try not to let what Azuma has said get to you, alright?"
Yuuta nodded with a frown, watching as the Commissioner left the room. Deep down he was a little surprised that he wasn't being his usual goofy self, but he had a feeling that what Azuma had said probably affected him too. He turned in his chair, facing his desk as he sighed. 'Why does Mr. Azuma always have those moments where he mistreats Deckerd and the others so much... He's really hurt Radiant Prism's feelings... Everyone is more than just a machine, they're people too like us...' Yuuta thought. Shortly afterwards, he could hear chatter coming towards Gunmax. 'Huh...? What's going on?'
"Gunmax..."
"Hey Ambulance, what kind of work do I have today? You're unusually slow today." He called out to the Knight Detective. "I'm itching to do something here and Deckerd would've already given me something to do by now, so what's the hold up?"
Duke gave himself a moment to calm himself, it wasn't his fault that he had been assigning the others their usual tasks at a slower pace than Deckerd, and he's just already gotten the Build Team's assigned tasks sorted. He was more used to Deckerd assigning everyone their assigned duties for the day than he himself assigning everyone their tasks and wasn't used to doing this as much as he did, and if the Motorcycle Detective is going to make him another target of his sassing... 'Hm... I don't think the Boss would mind if he tags along with Gunmax... I have a feeling the talk Deckerd is going to have with Radiant Prism might take some time... Hmm...'
"If you really want to find something to do, why not go on patrol with the Boss?" Duke suggested, speaking full English.
Gunmax and everyone else were taken by surprise, no one had really heard Duke go full English, and actually speak a full sentence altogether. While everyone had become used to Gunmax's Engrish, Duke going full English was unexpected and perhaps even unheard of.
"H-Huh!?"
"That's what I'm assigning you to do, go on patrol with the Boss."
Gunmax grit his teeth. "Now hold up-"
"It's going to take some time until Deckerd's done speaking with Radiant Prism, so I insist you go out on patrol." Duke pointed out, still speaking English.
Yuuta looked between both Gunmax and Duke with concern, he couldn't understand what Duke was saying other than making out the word 'Boss' as it sounded relatively close to the word in Japanese, but he could see how angry Gunmax looked as he could see his optics glowing with fury through the visor.
"Wait!" He called out. "Please don't fight, if it makes things easier, I can assign your tasks." He further added, beginning to worry.
"Actually..." Duke spoke, not letting Gunmax have a chance to say anything. "Gunmax was asking me about that he'd like to patrol alongside with you for now. I figured that since Deckerd's busy helping Radiant Prism, it might be quite a while until he's returned.
"Duke..." Gunmax growled, clearly becoming angry. "I'm going to get you for this...!"
"Gunmax!" Yuuta frowned, the upset expression he had on looked like he was about to tear up. "That's enough..."
The Motorcycle Detective's anger seemed to waver at seeing Yuuta's teary looking face, right away the thought of Deckerd putting him through a lot of pain just for making his best friend cry was something he was NOT interested in dealing with. "...You know what kiddo, let's go out on patrol." He managed to say, calming his temper in defeat as he stood up. "I can't stand a minute longer in here otherwise I'm going to go crazy waiting for Knight here to give me my assigned task."
"Okay!" Yuuta said as he ran for the door, while Gunmax immediately left the office.