Mediziner's Notes: So here we are, Chapter 40! Just a couple of more chapters left and I'll be free from three years of working on this! Also for the rest of the final chapters I have left, Erilmadith-Everyoung, the same artist that did the cover for this story has offered to become my beta-reader for the upcoming future chapters so stay tuned in the future! I've been waiting to make this big move for the longest time which you shall see as you read! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! I admit I was tempted to skip December but I couldn't as I felt it wasn't in me to skip a single month even if it meant burning myself out.
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. Beta-reading is also done by them as well.
Enjoy!
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"Tch! You outdated models may have won this time, but soon I will show you all the true might of a genius!" The Silhouette Man cursed, unable to risk taking anymore hits, indicated by his HUD flashing various warnings about the damage taken, causing the performance to greatly decrease overtime as a result during the fight. On a notification he received, it seemed to brighten the man's mood even if only for a short moment. "...Hmph. On the other hand, all of the data provided by every single one of you will prove useful in our next encounter." A series of panels dotting various parts of the mecha's body began to open up and unleash a blinding light as the Braves were forced to shield their optics. "Now if you'll excuse me, Brave Police. I have other business to attend to, now that I've retrieved what I needed."
J-Decker was at first confused by what the criminal meant that he had what he needed, but soon realised that not long after the criminal had gotten away, something must have happened to the Build Team. He'd tasked them alongside with Gunmax to safely escort the military trucks full of goods to another military base. They hadn't checked in with him. "Everyone, we must check on the Build Team and Gunmax's location." J-Decker told the others. "They should have checked with us a few minutes ago but I have not heard any response during our battle." Acknowledging, the three combiners and Kagerou flew towards the last known location with the black and white combiner taking the lead, heading towards the last known location. Aerial Radiance who had ascended higher was quick to spot something, calling for the others to land as she started descending.
When they got on the ground, the sight was horrific. The rows of heavy-duty military trucks that once held things were turned over, mangled, and even some were destroyed by fire that had been put out not too long ago. As they feared, the destroyed vehicles were all stripped clean. Most of the soldiers were alive but most were severely injured, the medics doing their best to keep them stabilised. When J-Decker immediately caught sight of both the Build Team and Gunmax, he couldn't believe what he saw. Not only were all five of them displaying signs of mild damage but Kagerou was quick to point out that aside from being suspended by thin, durable wires, they're still functional, but in emergency shut down with low power. "Brave Police... They appeared out of nowhere..." A female soldier limped over to the three combiners. J-Decker slowly crouched to speak with the soldier.
"What happened?" Asked J-Decker.
"The five Braves were suddenly tangled in strange wires that electrified them. This happened without warning and not long after, hundreds of criminals swarmed us once they were down." The soldier explained, continuing. "I was in the front of the group when I saw Power Joe and McCrane were tangled and electrified. Not long after, Gunmax, Dumpson, and Drill Boy who kept us protected from the back were also given the same treatment."
Another female soldier displaying less severe injuries than the other approached shortly after, accompanied by one of her fellow soldiers. "Those bastards not only went for our supplies, but they had plans to also steal their Super A.I. too... Luckily we managed to prevent them from doing so, but at the cost of leaving a lot of us injured, or worse..."
"J-Decker, I've informed police and emergency to come to our location." Aerial Radiance said, looking over at Duke Fire who had disconnected from his combined form to help treat the severely injured soldiers. "We'll need to get our friends back to the station for repairs."
"Agreed, however considering the location we'll need to request the Special Land Forces' assistance in transporting our friends back to the station. The roads here are too narrow for a vehicle trailer to collect them. However..." J-Decker's thoughts immediately trailed back to something he remembered years ago, continued. "I have a request to ask of you, in which you can ensure they get our team back to the station safely. I don't want anything similar to what happened years ago to repeat again." He finished, calling up the main military base about what happened.
"Yes sir." Aerial Radiance acknowledged.
It only took a few minutes when the military's heavy lifting helicopters arrived to assist. Aerial Radiance was instructed to help the Special Land Forces attach the hooks onto each of the Braves after Kagerou gets one of them freed. To make this easier for herself, Aerial Radiance moved away to disengage from her combined form. She was instructed to reposition each Brave back out onto the road where they could get the hooks secured, starting with Dumpson. She would repeat this with the other Build Team members when the next set of helicopters moved into position to allow her to attach the next Brave until all of them were now carried. Later, while a singular helicopter could be used for Gunmax due to being much more lighter compared to the others, they couldn't spare another for his Gun Bike. Seeing no other solution, Radiant Prism volunteered to carry the vehicle with her on their way back which they acknowledged. She turned her attention towards Deckerd, Duke, and Kagerou who were busying themselves with the investigation. Rather than call out, Radiant Prism used her badge. "I'm heading back. I've just finished attaching the Build Team and Gunmax."
"Alright, we'll join you shortly. We're going to investigate the surrounding area first before we head back." Acknowledged Deckerd.
Moving towards her support vehicle, Radiant Prism combined with it once more to become Aerial Radiance, picking up the Gun Bike and gave a signal to the military that she was ready to head back.
Meanwhile, back at the station Yuuta was up on the rooftop waiting patiently for the others to return. He'd been worried for his friends and while he was instructed to wait in the office, the teenager couldn't really get a good view and it was far too dangerous to try and scale the massive Brave-sized blinds to get a good view of the others on returning. The sounds of the helicopter blades would draw his attention, followed by the sight of Radiant Prism separating from her support vehicle as it was seen flying off while the German Brave landed in front of the station with the Gun Bike in tow, setting it off to the side then worked to unhook the others. The sight left him stunned at their condition. After seeing one of the Build Team lowered for Radiant Prism to unhook, Yuuta dashed towards the door and made his way down to the repair bay. His attention on Radiant Prism who was currently unhooking Drill Boy from the helicopter's tow cables and then moving him onto one of the unoccupied docks. He moved over to where Dumpson was, seeing that he was brought in first. 'What happened to you, Dumpson? Hm... He doesn't look badly damaged but...' Yuuta thought, looking concerned. Taking in the surroundings, he noticed the mechanics had prepared five out of the eight docks ahead of time and had to clear away once Radiant Prism had removed the tow cables from Power Joe, repeating again with McCrane, and finally Gunmax.
'Whoa... Even though they haven't been damaged all that much, Deckerd was right.' Yuuta frowned. 'Their eyes tell me that they're not awake right- Huh? Is that...?' The young teenager could spot a familiar figure among the mechanics, and the moment he could see his face was none other than the Chief Engineer himself. 'Ah, it's Mr. Toudou! When did he get back... Mr. Saejima didn't tell me he was coming back today. Ah well, I'm glad he's back, and I can't wait to ask him about the South Korean Division when he's available. It's nice that we'll have some extra help closer to home, too.' His attention turned to seeing Radiant Prism walking by, clearly deep in thought.
"Radiant Prism!" He called out to Radiant Prism, running up to her. "Is something wrong?" He asked.
"Hm? No, nothing young Inspector. I'm just heading upstairs to look into something more thoroughly. Particularly about a specific criminal."
"Specific criminal? Is it the ones behind the earlier attack on the military?" Radiant Prism could only shrug, explaining that it could be related but she's not quite sure if they are linked unless she looked into it. Yuuta turned towards the small door off to the side and towards the lift up to the office. He would catch Radiant Prism sitting down at Drill Boy's seat. "Radiant Prism, could you put the information on the big screen please?"
"Very well. Give me a moment." Typing input commands into the desk keyboard, the large screen descended from the ceiling, displaying what was currently on the computer Radiant Prism was borrowing. Everything was in German, telling Yuuta that she was looking up criminals from Germany puzzled him. "Wait, who exactly are you trying to find if you're searching for criminals in Germany?"
"The Silhouette Man." Radiant Prism replied as she started sifting through the criminal profiles. "Because he revealed himself not once but twice, I still have the image of his face in my memory banks. If I narrowed down the searches based on features such as age, hair colour, eye colour, weight, and other detailed information, I can find his information more easily." The German Brave could only frown as she sifted through each profile. "...This may take quite a while, but I don't think the Build Team and Gunmax will be available for some time." Not long after, Radiant Prism's badge went off as Deckerd contacted her, answering. "Find anything, Deckerd?" Radiant Prism asked.
-Nothing yet, but I'd like for you to help me update the current investigation we're working on. Because the criminals took the contents in those military trucks, we need to update the database so that the Commissioners knows the status of the equipment we failed to prevent from falling into criminal hands.-
A little disappointed that her initial search would have to wait, Radiant Prism could only acknowledge that she'll do as requested. Logging off from Drill Boy's station, Radiant Prism relocated to Deckerd's seat and logged the new information onto the database. "First stolen weaponry of both police and military grade, now valuable parts from the Special Land Forces..." Radiant Prism muttered to herself in German. "Something tells me that they could be linked to the same criminals that stole the weapons. What did they need them for? Better arming their allies?"
"Hmm, if it's the same guys that took those weapons..." Yuuta pondered to himself, studying the contents of the new information added to the database. "It could be the same ones that attacked the Build Team and Gunmax... Ah!"
"What is it, young Inspector?" Asked Radiant Prism, keeping her optics on the screen as she added the new information.
"Hm..." Yuuta began to read the updated information. "I think the Build Team would have combined into Super Build Tiger to easily deal with the attacking criminals. But at the same time considering the location, they knew the trees there would make it much more difficult for the Build Team to deal with without destroying the environment. We have really strict laws about our forests so we have to try and keep damage to them at minimum and because of this, they'd use it to their advantage in firing those wire traps on them without warning since they go off as fast as a gun. Ahh, if only they could have combined to avoid those wires they were left dangling from like a tangled marionette puppet. I get that the more there are, the better the protection... That one guy attacked too when his friends got their hands on the weapons meant for the police officers and the army... I'm convinced that Silhouette guy is in league with them." With the information added, Radiant Prism could only sigh, with each passing attack, things were going to get worse, and she'd know everyone else felt the same.
"With this updated, there's nothing more to do than wait for the others to get back." Radiant Prism said, getting up as she moved towards the wall near the Build Team's desks, reaching for the closet where all of the cleaning equipment were kept. "While I'm waiting for the others to get back, I'll polish up the office in the meantime. I know it's Dumpson's turn today but since he's going to be out for a while, I'll be taking over for him."
Curious, Yuuta trailed a finger along his desk, taking notice of the fairly thin layer of dust that'd been building up. "I think I'll do that too, I'm starting to see some on my desk too." He said, getting up. "I'll be right back." Acknowledging, Radiant Prism prepared the cleaning equipment she'd taken out and started cleaning the office, starting with the desks cleaning them one by one. After they were cleaned, she reached for the broom, yet found no mop. "We clean the floors like this, Radiant Prism." Turning her attention to the teenager, she watched as Yuuta aligned the cloth on the floor and keeping it in place with his hands, he ran along the loft back and forth, all the way from one side to the other. "...Interesting." Radiant Prism watched. "This isn't a thing in Germany, instead we just use tools rather than do something like that." Looking momentarily at the cloth in her servos, she studied Yuuta for a moment then mimicked the posture herself.
"...Due to the desks, there isn't as plenty of space for me to do the same motion as I'd have to weave around them." Radiant Prism explained, then started. Unfortunately, she couldn't get far with this method, her wings would either collide against the walls, the desks, or sometimes catch onto the chairs. In the end, she resorted to making some sort of solution to help her better which made Yuuta uncomfortable at seeing this strange way of cleaning but understood that Radiant Prism couldn't perform the task normally. 'At least the office is looking clean. Deckerd and the others should be back by now...' He thought, finishing up on his own cleaning. Not long after he left to put the cleaning tools away, Radiant Prism had also just did the same and was just about to go and check up on the Build Team and Gunmax to see if they were reactivated, but Deckerd, Duke, and Kagerou had just entered.
"Any luck finding additional evidence?" Radiant Prism asked.
"Yes, the police are going to look into the evidence further, but there's some new information we'd like you to know about." Deckerd said as he allowed Kagerou to explain.
"Those wires that the Build Team and Gunmax were tangled in functioned differently compared to the ones I was caught in years ago. They appeared to be similar but they were built to drain energy out of us rather than electrify to knock us out. Most likely they would have used this to threaten us into giving up our Super A.I. but I think they had other plans. Such as to steal our Super A.I. but... We're not quite sure if this method may show up again if we have to engage them again."
Radiant Prism remained silent at hearing this, then looked at Deckerd. "Sir, if I may, I want to resume my own search. This isn't about the group of criminals but it's particularly the Silhouette Man himself. I want to search the criminal profiles in Germany if I can find any information as to who he is. I've seen his face not once, but twice. I intend to use the images of him in my memory banks to make it easier to find who I'm looking for."
"Uh, well..." Deckerd was about to explain that she could look into the criminal profiles in the police department here in Japan, but he'd caught himself before he could. The Silhouette Man isn't from Japan, and for Radiant Prism to have access to the German database even from all the way here, the more they knew, the easier would be able to track down and apprehend him. "Alright, but you need to update Duke or myself on any information you find. Even if he's a problem particularly for you, he's becoming a problem to all of Japan until he's caught- The same way that trio we arrested became a problem."
"Yes sir. Thank you." Radiant Prism saluted. "...If I may ask, are the Build Team and Gunmax awake?"
"Power Joe and Gunmax were awake when we got back." Duke replied. "But I think all five of them should be awake by now but will still be down for a couple of hours."
Nodding, Radiant Prism relocated herself back onto Drill Boy's desk. "I'll continue my search as long as I can until they're well enough to return to active duty. I want to start work as soon as possible so I'm not delayed any longer. As promised, I'll make sure to provide updates as I intend to work overnight on locating what I need."
"Alright, in the meantime we're going to be figuring out these patrol routes for tomorrow." Deckerd replied, looking over at Kagerou, concerned that he seems to be a lot quieter than usual. "Kagerou."
"I'll start work momentarily." Replied the Shadow Detective, sifting through information at his and Shadowmaru's desk. "I need a moment to look into something."
"Actually... I'd prefer if you could assist Duke and I with the information and evidence we have collected thus far. I'm concerned that there might be some things we might miss when we're trying to piece together a lead. I'm confident we might discover another targeted set of supplies, or even a planned attack."
"Understood." Kagerou shut down the desk computer, moving over towards the two leaders.
...
As the afternoon rolled into the evening, the Build Team and Gunmax were on their way back to the office. It'd been a lengthy process but the mechanics have managed to restore them back to working order again. "Tch! It makes me angry that we were caught so easily like that..." Power Joe grumbled to himself as Drill Boy agreed in equal annoyance, Dumpson explained that none of them expected an attack like that, even if things seemed to go really well, but they won't let that happen a second time if they're tasked with protecting important supplies again. He did express that he still felt sick at having his energy drained in what felt like mere seconds. "If we had Shadowmaru, we wouldn't have gotten ourselves in that-"
"Enough, Power Joe." McCrane said. Power Joe was about to resume when he saw Kagerou, immediately keeping quiet. "Uh-" The moment the black and blue ninja got up, the Build Team was quick to get out of their way, knowing that while he didn't display said expression, Kagerou had been most likely offended to an intimidating level. Once he'd left, McCrane turned his attention to Power Joe. "Assuming that Kagerou is going out on patrol tonight and because we'll be going on patrol tonight, you'll be making things up with him."
"What!? But McCrane-" He got even angrier when Drill Boy mocked him for opening his mouth in front of others without thinking, resulting in Power Joe pulling Drill Boy into a headlock. "I'll show you who's got the bigger mouth!" He exclaimed as Drill Boy screamed, struggling in an attempt to escape.
"Enough, both of you." Radiant Prism snapped at the two squabbling Build Team members. "I'm trying to work and I need to focus." Power Joe asked what she's looking into and Radiant Prism explained that she intended to locate the Silhouette Man's criminal profile, hoping he has one somewhere in the Bundespolizei's database, the primary police force in Germany. "This process is going to most likely take me all night, I have to sift through a lot of people matching features from my search, and other things..."
"I suppose it makes sense considering we've seen what he looks like." Said Dumpson.
"It would have saved time if I'd known his name, but there is very little information about him so the long route is what I have to take." Radiant Prism noticed Drill Boy and since she was using his desk, she hesitated for a moment then addressed him. "Drill Boy, do you need your desk back?"
"Oh, if you need to do some work, I don't mind sharing a desk with someone." Drill Boy smiled. "You're trying to find that guy's information, right? I don't want to stall your search at all! In fact, I think I might start on that patrol early, see you later!" Running off without warning, Drill Boy headed for the lift. Power Joe shouted that he's only leaving because he intends to go play soccer, not go on patrol.
"...I guess you three can start patrol." Yuuta typed a few input commands into his keyboard, then instructed McCrane, Power Joe, and Dumpson to look at their given patrol routes at their desks. Because Deckerd, Duke, and Kagerou were out discussing things privately, he'd been given the task to hand the given patrol routes to them if they haven't come back by the time the others were up and ready to go. In a sense, it made the teenager happy to do things that made him feel more like part of the team rather than just sitting off to the side, supporting them. He watched as the three moved over to their respective desks, get the patrol information, then got up to leave. "Don't forget to give Drill Boy his copy of the patrol." He told the Build Team, noticing Gunmax. "Ah, Gunmax are you going to help the Build Team out? I know there's still some paperwork left over that you haven't finished on that report about-"
"I'll get to that soon, kiddo. Though you might want to consider something else."
"Eh? What do you-" The moment Yuuta saw the large clock on the wall, he hadn't realised how late it's gotten. 'It's that late already!? Oh no... I haven't even started on my homework yet!' Yuuta cursed to himself, knowing he'll have to waste time getting it all done before he could turn his work in. 'What should I do!? Deckerd is still busy-!' Hearing the door open, Yuuta turned to see it was Saejima.
"Yuuta?" Saejima was surprised that the teenager was still in the station. "I thought you would have been back at your house by now."
"Um..." Yuuta frowned, explaining as he pulled his badge out. "I was about to call Deckerd to let him know..."
"Mm, Deckerd is busy isn't he? I think right now his badge and the others' might be off for the time being unless there is an emergency. I can take you home."
"Ah, thank you Mr. Saejima." Yuuta gathered his things, shut down his computer desk and took his leave, telling Radiant Prism and Gunmax good night before leaving with the Commissioner.
Later in the evening, Deckerd, Duke, and Kagerou entered the office, returning from their busy discussion. On noticing that Yuuta was nowhere to be seen, the Brave Detective became worried but Radiant Prism was quick to inform him that the Commissioner had taken him home in his stead while he was absent. "...Oh, I didn't think it'd take that long." Deckerd frowned, pushing that aside, he asked Radiant Prism if she'd found what she's looking for.
"No, not yet. I've gone over many profiles and I'm still searching. Again, it's going to take a long while because it's not just one particular state I'm searching in, but I'm searching the profiles of all parts of Germany. The entire country."
Deckerd was puzzled as the only thing he'd know in terms of 'states' were related to the USA itself but pushed it aside. "I see... Just make sure you take a break, overworking yourself isn't going to help speed things along."
"I will make sure of that." Acknowledged Radiant Prism, briefly watching as Deckerd and Duke sat at their respective desks and did what was needed. As she continued work, she didn't take notice on Deckerd being the first one to head out for the night, followed by Duke an hour later who'd gone down to recharge for the night. It was now only Kagerou who remained in the room with Radiant Prism. "Tch...!" The sound was enough to snap Radiant Prism out of her concentration, looking over at the Shadow Detective. "Kagerou, is something bothering you?" She asked.
Realising that he'd inadvertently cursed to himself aloud, he quickly regained his posture. "...No, it's nothing." A part of him expected Radiant Prism to do a little bit of prying but instead she turned her attention back to her current task. He took what felt like a very long time to think things out, and soon caved under the pressure that'd been building up inside of him since he hasn't heard back from his brother. "Radiant Prism." When the German Brave turned her attention, the ninja was standing in front of her. "Can we talk?"
"Sure. What's on your mind?" When Kagerou looked away, Radiant Prism was puzzled as to what was bothering him, but when he simply asked for her to come with him to the rooftop, she was puzzled but did follow the black and blue ninja. The two of them relocated to the rooftop, which puzzled Radiant Prism even more. "Kagerou, why are we up on the rooftop? Is there something wrong?"
"This is something I only need you to hear, not anyone else. I don't really like others hearing in on our conversations and no one really comes up here save for you."
"What?" Radiant Prism was becoming nervous that something might be very wrong. "Erm, Kagerou if this is about the case, we can't keep it a secret from Deckerd and the others."
Kagerou could only sigh in mild annoyance. "No, what I'm about to talk about isn't related to the case. If you're done asking questions, can you please hear me out?" When Radiant Prism acknowledged slowly, Kagerou turned his attention to the German Brave. "Now, there is something I'm concerned about and because you'll be eventually return back to Germany, I have a request to ask of you. Does this satisfy that this is why I'm asking you and not the others?"
Radiant Prism nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes, now I understand better. Continue."
"As you already know, Shadowmaru is currently in Germany investigating the lockdown situation. Personally, he and I found that it was unusual Redlight wasn't making any contact with us after multiple attempts. We came to an agreement and he left to investigate while keeping in touch, and it was confirmed something wasn't right when he reported in after being found by Blazer, whom I believe is the Southern Division." Radiant Prism nodded, confirming his assumption. "On further questioning both him, and the other one, Surge, both refused to follow through with the lockdown procedures because they were correct in suspecting something was amiss. Redlight had given them the order but afterwards he was completely silent without any explanation... Both sides tried to contact him but received no answer. Worse, both the Western Division- Your side, and the Eastern Division, which belongs to Redlight, are in a tight lockdown that they're warding off their own Braves. I started to have suspicions but because I haven't heard from Shadowmaru, I'm becoming increasingly concerned that something has happened to my brother." Turning away, Kagerou approached the tall gates that dotted along the edges of the rooftop. "Days, weeks, even a couple of months of not hearing back from Shadowmaru, only that Blazer is telling me that he's busy. That's what I'm worried about because Shadowmaru would have notified me within a week, even if it's just a short message that he's reporting in-"
"Hold on a moment, Kagerou. What you're actually trying to tell me is that when I do go back, you want me to check on Shadowmaru, correct? That might take some time because when I do start going back to Europe, I will be with the Scotland Yard for a time provided I defeat the Silhouette Man. As much as I'd want to be back home again, I can't until I either manage to encourage the Silhouette Man to leave Japan altogether, or- Preferably, defeat and arrest him." Said Radiant Prism. "It's not just you who's concerned for Shadowmaru, but I'm sure the others are too. But I promise you that when I do go back, if he doesn't make a response by the time I get home, I'll speak to him myself."
"...Thank you. I would have gone myself but the Commissioner wouldn't be pleased if I left without warning. I have to remain here and attend to all of the jobs meant specifically for me."
"It's... Nice that you care deeply for your brother. I had the impression that you didn't seem to acknowledge him as much considering Shadowmaru often talked highly of you." Kagerou shook his helm, explaining that he and Shadowmaru don't often express too much like the others do, but they've always acknowledged one another since the day Shadowmaru was built even if it seemed like he doesn't acknowledge him at all. He then tells Radiant Prism that she should resume working on her search while he plans to assist the Build Team in their search. Bidding him farewell, Radiant Prism watched for a moment as the ninja took off into the skies, then turned back towards the lift.
As the German Brave continued her work, time slowly went by as search after search continued through the night. By that point she hasn't really kept track of time until she felt something against her shoulder. Looking up, she could see it was Gunmax. "Work any further without a break and you'll wear yourself out." Taking the fuel canister, Radiant Prism looked at the canister, noticing that unlike the previous canisters, this one Gunmax gave him was labeled with a very tiny sticker that clearly says 'jet fuel' on it. "Thank you, Gunmax. I thought you'd gone down to recharge for the night." Radiant Prism watched as Gunmax pulled out his chair, rolling it towards Radiant Prism.
"Nope, the old man bugged me to pick him up from the airport and get him to work, then I had to drive him back to his house. He's just as much of a pain in the ass as before, but it's who he is." Replied Gunmax, sitting down in his chair. "Took his time in fixing whatever happened to the upcoming South Korean Division."
"Old man...?" Radiant Prism repeated, taking a sip of her fuel. "...You mean the Chief, correct?" She watched as Gunmax took a sip of his own fuel, then replied that there's no one else, giving her a vague response that she slowly picked up that yes, he meant the Chief Engineer.
"...You still puzzle me to some degree that you tend to be vaguely direct to the point, but I guess I still have a lot to learn." Radiant Prism said with a small smile, shaking her helm. "Then again I'm merely a Brave who is still learning so much that she's missed out on since activation." Gunmax could only laugh at that and a slight spark of anger lit up on Radiant Prism when Gunmax told her that she needs so much to catch up on, but what caught her off guard was what Gunmax said next. "But, even if you heard it more times than you can count, you've matured a whole lot, rookie- No, Radiant Prism. I can say that you're now more in league with Patrol Car and Knight. You know just about as much as they do, you should see it as some big fancy milestone you've achieved over the course of being here."
"You think so? I doubt it really. I've had all sorts of screw ups and plenty of reason that otherwise were quite disappointing. Deckerd and Duke get everything done so flawlessly and-" She stopped when Gunmax started howling with laughter. "Gunmax! I'm not kidding when I say that I'm never going to be anywhere near as good as Deckerd and Duke!"
"Pfft, heh..." Continuing to laugh, it took a few minutes for Gunmax to calm himself down enough to speak. "And the rookie side of you has come out without warning, yet again." Gunmax smirked. "I don't compliment others as how they like, but you should take what I said as one. Even if I can be a real pain in ass sometimes." He said, switching to English near the end.
Radiant Prism could only sigh in defeat. "I suppose I need to be more prepared to expect that from you more often on top of other things. But... Thanks I guess." Drinking her fuel canister, Radiant Prism was about to ask if he's about to go on patrol but Gunmax had gotten up from his seat.
"Time's up, I have to get back on patrol. Try to make sure you refuel so you don't end up like Drill Boy who needs to drink three barrels of fuel." Radiant Prism acknowledged as she watched the Motorcycle Detective casually roll his chair back into his desk and left. Looking at her canister, she shook it lightly for a moment to see how much fuel was left, then set it down on the desk to the side as there was still plenty left. Noticing how late it'd gotten, Radiant Prism continued her search into what she was doing. Not long after, a particular picture immediately made her stop and go back. 'Wait... This criminal profile...' She immediately dug into her memory banks, pulling up the moment when she saw the Silhouette Man's face when he first revealed his face on the screen, and the second time during that botched exchange situation. 'Yes, this is him. So, he's called Bruno Ackermann... Known for multiple accounts of theft, illegally tampering with stolen robotics, fraud, sabotage, and... Multiple accounts of murder. Hm, something else is highlighted. Theft of classified... Data? Wait, does that mean he-'
She was snapped out of her thoughts when the screen notified her that she'd received an e-mail.
...
"So, if this information is correct that Radiant Prism won't be able to resist an e-mail from that happy-go-lucky cop she's friends with." Bruno muttered to himself, overhearing his lackeys agree. "How unusual that a highly ranked police officers befriended and trusted her, but it does mean that my perfected Super A.I.'s appearance was more than enough to fool their eyes as much as it still infuriates me that Radiant Prism was modified to be a robot of justice than what I intended for her to do. You men did well in digging this information up."
"The given task was fairly easy, boss." One of the men said as another spoke up. "The mole you sent- Which is me of course, to work alongside the other mechanics back in Dortmund knew their friendship all too well, even in whispers among one another. I'm still glad to be able to get out of that place once she fled the place, any longer among police officers and I would've eventually found steel around my wrists if I lingered more than intended."
"Making such a convincing e-mail can mean that she won't bring that oversized form of hers, too since she won't hesitate to seek her 'best friend' out." A third lackey pointed out. "Hm, if I may ask, boss... Once Radiant Prism takes the bait to come to the location provided, we manage to capture and reclaim her Super A.I., what will you do with it once it's in your hands? Will she become something akin to those powerful so-called 'Black Chieftains' that ravaged the entire world years ago? The idea of seeing you try to pick up where those responsible left off seems tempting considering we-" The man would pale at the intense stare of his boss. "I-I mean you have the far more superior intellect than them!"
"This is something only known to myself, not for bumbling fools to stick their noses in." Bruno stared down at his accomplices as they apologised right away. "I will only say that I have many plans once I have her Super A.I.; Plans that have been put on hold for far too long. But should we fail, then we depart Japan as I have no need of lingering any longer in this pathetic country. With the data already gathered from the Japanese Division, I intend to gather data next on the United Kingdom's Division, otherwise known as the 'Scotland Yard' before my grand plan can be set in motion." Bruno could only grin. "Radiant Prism won't be able to sit around when she learns who our next target is, and I don't think the Japanese Police Department can send all of their Brave Police robots to assist. The Scotland Yard will be far more easier to deal with, provided we maintain our distance." Bruno grinned deviously.
"But boss, how could the Scotland Yard be any easier than these guys?" One of the lackeys asked curiously. "They would be carrying their handguns around when they need 'em the moment they see us, right?"
"No, the British are different when it comes to their police force." Bruno pointed out. He was about to explain further when his sensors went off, indicating Radiant Prism is nearing their location indicated on his radar. "We will discuss this at a later time, I've picked up Radiant Prism's signal. Get into position and wait for my signal. Remember the plan well, for I won't repeat myself."
"Right away, boss!" The three lackeys acknowledged, cutting communications.
Bruno patiently waited until he had visual view on Radiant Prism. What he wasn't expecting was that she would show up in her combined form, both annoyed that there will be some mild change of plans but at the same time also internally impressed that she might have seen through the fake distress e-mail he'd sent her under Dieter's name. He then brought out his walkie talkie, ordering his lackeys to wait on his signal. Watching his radar for a few seconds longer, he immediately gave the order to one to fire, listening to the sounds of loud cracks as multiple hooks were shot in the direction of Radiant Prism, watching as she dodged most of the incoming hooks but grinned on noticing one managed to pierce her in the stomach. "Direct hit!" He called out, noticing she was doing exactly what he expected her to do. "She's trying to fly upwards under the belief we'd be disorientated on being 'picked up' into the skies when it's clear she's struggling against controlled vehicles. She's now giving all of you a chance to fire the next set of hooks to further grapple and bring her out of the sky! FIRE!" Another series of loud cracks went off, Aerial Radiance struggled to ascend but found that the vehicles the hooks came from were strongly planted into the ground, she'd soon find herself with another set of hooks piercing her arms, legs, and chest.
'Agghkkk...! They're trying to pull me down, need to get my... Knife!' Using all of her strength despite adding more to the damage already done, Aerial Radiance managed to pull out her combat knife, cutting through the cables to free herself. 'It's fortunate that I combined beforehand, Bruno must be among one of the vehicles down there.' Switching to her ranged weapon, she fired a few shots but soon had to quickly aileron roll out of the way of more incoming hooks from another direction. 'What, there's more of them!?' She thought, quickly dodging another. 'Tch... They're coming from all around, is there no end!?'
Back on the ground, Bruno knew he got Radiant Prism where he needed her. He muttered to himself with glee as he fired his own set of hooks. "You'll find that these aren't like the others, Radiant Prism. Your little game of playing police officer is over." He said to himself, watching as a couple of hooks were deflected with the combat knife while others were kicked away, however they would assist themselves as rows of thrusters built into them would turn them into homing-type attacks. "The more you attack or reflect, the more you'll realise that you'll start to find yourself at a disadvantage, and soon become mine to do as I please." He laughed as one of the hooks would manage to strike and destroy one of the wings, slowing her and allowing the hooks to then immediately tangle themselves around their target. With Radiant Prism struggling to get them off, his voice could be heard echoing from somewhere she couldn't pinpoint. "And so it ends here, Radiant Prism. Believing you were part of the Brave Police was never your purpose to begin with." Bruno knew that she was trying not to listen, but she had no choice regardless.
"Even if you called the Brave Police your friends, in reality they are technically your enemies. You were meant to be and always were my tool of destruction."
"I am no one's tool, Bruno Ackermann! I am Brave Police!" Aerial Radiance snarled, trying to loosen the wires so she'd be able to have just enough room to disengage despite her limited movement. "Even if... If I'm what you said, it doesn't mean that I'm going to be shunned or hated by the others! Even with my less than pleasant background... I'm still one of them!"
"You will never be Brave Police, Radiant Prism! That thieving idiot was a fool thinking that he could turn you into something you're not. But you have no choice. I've won, and you will be in my hands to do as I- WHAT!?" At that moment, the cables pulling Aerial Radiance to the ground were suddenly cut by a set of shuriken. Shrugging the wires off, Aerial Radiance quickly regained altitude out of worry something on the ground might act as sort of failsafe plan if she were freed. Unfortunately, because one of her wings was damaged, the German Brave couldn't ascend as fast as she'd like which left her speed reduced by a significant amount. She felt a boost of speed helping her when Aerial Radiance heard a familiar voice. "You really are a reckless rookie at times, you know that?"
"Gunmax Armour!" Aerial Radiance exclaimed as the Brave helped her ascend higher into the skies, looking up as she spots Kagerou flying over them. "Kagerou!"
"Optics on the target, we're not done yet." Gunmax Armour told Aerial Radiance.
"Grrrgh! You meddlesome outdated models will pay for that!" Fumed Bruno, emerging from his hiding place as his newly designed mecha appeared from under the ground. "All of you will pay even if I have to do everything myself!" At the massive size of the mecha and calculating the success rate given Aerial Radiance's damage, Kagerou become uncomfortable. "Aerial Radiance, we need to call for the others, you're in no condition to fight back."
"Then do so, because I'm not going to back down and let him get away." Aerial Radiance narrowed her optics. "As damaged as I may be, not only has he fled too many times for me to count but I intend to prove him wrong that if he thinks that I'm not a Brave, then I'll prove that I am one!" Aerial Radiance moves away from Gunmax Armour. "Enough is enough, even if what I'm intending to do is going to make me regret it later on, then so be it!"
Kagerou tried to protest, but Radiant Prism shouted not to stop her as she proceeded to engage the criminal head on, bringing out her ranged weapon to destroy most of the vehicles after she'd scanned that there were no people detected. She was forced to descend back onto the ground, not wanting to take the risk of flying around with poor speed. Left with no choice, Kagerou contacted the Build Team to his location explaining that the Silhouette Man had lead Radiant Prism into a trap. -We'll be on our way shortly, try to keep Aerial Radiance from taking too much damage until we arrive.- McCrane replied on the end of his call.
He wasn't sure how he could stop Aerial Radiance, but he was going to have to try without getting himself knocked around by her massive size.
While not as agile on land, Aerial Radiance had to make do with walking over trees and the remains of the vehicles destroyed earlier. She resorted to using powerful jumps to avoid certain attacks as she struggled to get close, though the use of an extra set of propelled hooks were used as a barrier of some sort, striking whenever she'd get too close. "Tch... There's too many of them." She said, shielding her helm with an arm as Bruno continued to discourage her more and more with each strike, dodging when she sensed the hooks attempting to recapture her. "Kagerou, can you hack the system or at least the hooks? Just slowing them down will do!"
"I can try, I cannot guarantee considering the high level of tech that I'm detecting from that machine..." Moving to land at a safe distance, Kagerou crouched down into position, making sure the machine was still within his sight. Bringing his servos together, he got to work. Kagerou had to concentrate hard as he attempted to hack into the advanced mecha's work, working as fast as he could and avoiding whatever would get him detected along the way. He jolted when he heard the criminal's voice in his head that left him with feeling like he'd been physically punched, flinching as he grasped his helm. 'Tch! How did he know I was in there!? I didn't touch any of the system's firewalls yet he still found me...' He thought to himself, having to give Aerial Radiance the bad news as he pulled out his badge. "Sorry Aerial Radiance, I couldn't even get into the main systems, the criminal kicked me out not long after I began." Kagerou reported, feeling rather sick from the attempt as a minor virus had made it's way into his systems which had already engaged and were working on destroying it. He could hear Bruno shout at Radiant Prism that this is their fight to determine who stands and no one else should interfere.
"You leave me with no choice. You may have called for backup, but I'll show you that I've come prepared ahead of time. Behold!" On guard, Aerial Radiance was prepared for whatever was going to be thrown at her, but nothing happened. Not long after, she could hear the sound of Super Build Tiger, J-Decker, and Duke Fire approaching. Hesitating, Aerial Radiance gave the order to fall back as this didn't feel right if nothing happened right away, fearing that Bruno was holding back to use them as their test dummies. When Duke Fire asked why she was telling them to back off, strange metallic creatures with the appearance of a butterfly merged with a dragonfly suddenly latched onto them, electrocuting them as they all fell to the ground. Cursing to herself, Aerial Radiance moved to go and help them but quickly found a set of hooks wrapping around her right arm, violently pulling her into the air and back down into the ground. "Aggghhkkk! Damn you...!" Noticing her weapon was just right next to her, but soon felt one of the hooks crash down onto it. "Tch! Gunmax Armour, Kagerou, I could use-" Bruno's voice then echoed, telling her that the Brave Police are finished and he has her right where he wanted. He further states that she only has the option to to surrender when he brought the two Braves she called for into view. "All because of what you aren't is causing them to lose, Radiant Prism. Things wouldn't have been like this if you weren't with these outdated models to begin with. But playtime is over. You're not going anywhere for the final time, and no one can help you now."
"You...!" At a loss of what to do, she continued to struggle in an attempt to get herself free and found herself more tangled. Aerial Radiance couldn't bear to see the situation her friends were in and when she cautiously looked at the creatures tangled mainly around the chest of the combiners. From what she could see, they didn't appear to be hurting them, but it was merely an assumption even if she can hear them express to one another they can't move as if their motor controls have been fried, leaving them defenceless. Aerial Radiance's expression fell, losing her will to fight as she struggled less and less. "Good, very good. Now... To take back what is mine." The voices seem to all but muffle into nothing as Radiant Prism went completely limp as if she'd 'shut down' even though the glow in her optics told anyone otherwise. She tried to find a solution as to how she could get herself out. 'Wait... I don't feel the wires wrapped around my chest. I think I can free myself.' After realising there was a critical error Bruno had made which she intends to take the big risk of attempting the only opportunity she discovered she had. Nothing was fully obstructing her from freeing herself but she didn't take action, not yet. She had to concentrate and time her disengagement at just the right moment. 'Focus... Focus... I'm going to probably regret this, but... I need to free the others somehow... Maybe if I shoot those things that are attached to the others...? I hope that it's only scrambling their ability to move and it isn't that the entire motor control system is fried.' She thought, watching what she could as a much larger hook was brought into her view, bigger than the others he'd used to restrict her movement.
'Not yet...' The hook began to rear itself, flexing the digits.
'Not yet...'
"Your Super A.I. belongs to me!" Bruno shouted.
'Not yet...!'
The voices of J-Decker, Duke Fire, Super Build Tiger, Gunmax Armour and Kagerou all shouted her name as the spiraling hook started to drop towards Aerial Radiance's immobilised body. 'NOW!' In an instant, Radiant Prism made a quick disengage just seconds before the hook came crashing down. Using the momentum from ejecting herself to change out of her jet mode, she gunned the thrusters located under her feet, propelling herself just above the trees but not too high. She couldn't take the risk in flying high where she'd be an easier target, instead choosing to use the dense trees to discourage or at least use them as a means of slightly slowing down Bruno's mecha hooks. The criminal's glee soon turned to anger when he spotted Radiant Prism in his visuals "How did you- NO!" Handguns at the ready, she dodged the incoming debris that were thrown all around of what was the body of her support vehicle. Radiant Prism flew in the direction of J-Decker, dodging incoming smaller hooks from trying to grab her as she scanned the creature latched onto J-Decker. 'The marks on the end of that long dragonfly-like tail... That must be the weak spot!' She apologised to J-Decker beforehand as she fired her handguns at what she presumed is the drone's weakness, watching it twitch violently until it exploded.
"Got it! Can you move, J-Decker?" Radiant Prism asked, flying towards the Build Team next after dodging an incoming attack from above.
It only took a few seconds for J-Decker to regain his ability to move now that the creature wasn't attached to him anymore. "I can move again!" J-Decker got back up onto his feet as he pulled out his police baton, quickly striking the hooks which the criminal had to make the hooks avoid the incoming attack after losing one that violently exploded on impact, intending to spare some hooks to focus on J-Decker while the other set went for Radiant Prism. The German Brave had to avoid more incoming hooks but the fewer number of them made it easier to finally reach Duke Fire, easily shooting out the weak spot on the long dragonfly-like tail as it exploded. "Duke Fire, rescue Gunmax Armour and Kagerou! I'll be going to free the Build Team next!" Radiant Prism ordered.
"Roger!" Acknowledged Duke Fire as he got up and did as ordered to go and free their two teammates after slashing the cables attached to the hooks chasing after the dark blue-green aerial. With two combiners free, that left the Build Team left for Radiant Prism to deal with. When she got closer, she could see that he had more than just one. 'There's so many of them... It must be true if Bruno has information on all of us. Damn it, I'll have to just shoot them all off if I have to!' Gunning her thrusters, she had to fly closer in order to be in range to use her dual pistols. She shot at a few of them, destroying what she could see, but Super Build Tiger did not move. "I still can't move." Super Build Tiger told her. When asked about where the main ones were, he pointed out that there is one camouflaged on his back, and another attached to his left upper leg also camouflaged. Flying around, Radiant Prism apologised beforehand before shooting along Super Build Tiger's back, until one of the bullets hit the drone that it flickered momentarily before fading away again. Reloading her pistols, Radiant Prism used her bullets sparingly, shooting it once as she looks for the tail, then after making it flicker one last time, she quickly shot the weak spot as it revealed itself, before exploding. "That's one, now for the other..." She repeated what she did with the one on the combiner's back, and eventually hitting its weak spot. After that last drone was down, Super Build Tiger got up. "Thank you, Radiant Prism!"
Nodding, Radiant Prism was about to head back in to fight, but her optics caught the sight of one of Bruno's hooks, particularly the larger one clamp down onto J-Decker's baton as electricity traveled onto the black and white combiner. J-Decker cried out, but quickly switched to a mode never seen on his main melee weapon as it no longer shocked J-Decker, but rather it was absorbing the charge until the baton itself was a bright yellow with a few sparks falling from it. 'What is this...? My baton...' Thought J-Decker. He couldn't understand how his baton had something like this, figuring it was a sneaky little additional upgrade the Chief Engineer might've installed but forgot to inform him about the new ability. His HUD soon flashed a warning that he needed to unleash the energy otherwise risk the weapon blowing up in his face. 'Tch, I need to release the energy!' Reacting as quick as he could, J-Decker thrusted the baton into the hook, then pulled it out as he destroyed it. "WHAT!? HOW DID YOU-" The moment J-Decker gunned his thrusters, he charged with the baton at the ready, then threw it at high speeds as it made contact with the criminal's mecha, sparks and electricity engulfed the entire machine and the hooks that controlled it fell to the ground completely lifeless. There was a flashing ray of light as the mecha exploded. Once the smoke settled, the Braves approached, tearing apart the mecha but finding no criminals, but clear signs that there were escape pods.
"...The criminal escaped." J-Decker told the others.
...
Back at the station, everyone was exhausted from the events of the battle. While repairs had to wait until morning for some of the Braves, all they did in the meantime were move up to their office. "Hmm?" Deckerd noticed that his screen was flashing, indicating he had an e-mail. Moving over to investigate what it is, his mood dropped. "Everyone, this message..." He didn't finish as he inputted the command for the audio to play back on the large screen which was still down. Once it powered on, the screen displayed a recording of Bruno, looking worse for wear as he was cursing the Brave Police that he's had enough of Japan and he threatens that if Radiant Prism isn't returned to them, he'll do more than the damage he'd done in Japan. Deckerd hesitantly translated what was said to his team, but resorted to typing rather than saying it audibly as what was said made him too uncomfortable to even explain. Radiant Prism stepped forth after they've taken the time to read what was translated. "With Bruno's defeat and departure from Japan- At least I hope so, there shouldn't be anymore crazy surprises for a long while." She said. "But if he's completely gone and he isn't just saying these things... This will mean that while we didn't exactly capture the criminal, I can at least relocate with the Scotland Yard."
"It's going to take months to see your combiner fixed, Radiant Prism. Bruno has destroyed it to an irreparable state which means it will need to be completely rebuilt." Deckerd explained. "But I can arrange a flight to the United Kingdom using one of our cargo planes."
"That would be appreciated, thank you..." Radiant Prism gave a nod. "For now, I think we should all rest." With everyone agreeing, most of the Braves have made it to the repair bay to recharge while some lingered for a moment attending to a couple of things on their desk computers before signing off and joining the others in recharging.
The following morning, Toudou and the other mechanics were surprised to see just how banged up some of the Braves were and he asked what happened which Radiant Prism had to reluctantly explained as per Deckerd's order since she was the one that got everyone into this mess due to investigating an e-mail she received from her best friend, but it turned out to be an ambush from the Silhouette Man, otherwise known as Bruno Ackermann. "...He should be gone from Japan after we defeated him, but Kagerou wants to make sure after he gets his repairs done." The older man felt like he was going to get a headache, he was used to thinking that the Braves might've played a bit rough with one another as per the usual excuse, but to engage in a fight so late at night... He could never understand most criminals nowadays. "Alright... Kagerou, dock yourself please, we'll start with you. The rest of you that need repairs do the same."
Hours passed as most of the Braves had their repairs completed, the ones with mild damage were repaired quicker while the Build Team were the last to be finished. With the machinery dying down to some degree, Radiant Prism had remained on the rooftop after her checkups were completed. She had a few light nicks along her armour but they only needed some buffing to remove. Of course, she had been informed that her support will take months to be rebuilt from scratch due to the condition it was left in. While she didn't like the idea of sacrificing her support vehicle which left her at a huge disadvantage when tackling far more powerful foes, it was either her Super A.I., or the support. With a sigh, Radiant Prism hoped Kagerou would return with the news that Bruno was nowhere to be found in Japan, as he explained he wanted to make sure. Her attention was brought to the skies as Kagerou was descending down onto the rooftop. "Anything?" She asked.
"Nothing. I dug up any possible leads I could find and nothing about the criminal. I believe it's safe for you to head over to the United Kingdom. I will inform Deckerd, but I recommend you speak to Duke about the Scotland Yard, he originally came from the country." Thanking Kagerou, Radiant Prism called up Duke on his badge as she heads for the lift, asking the Knight Detective where he was. She was met with a response that he was still in the office dealing with paperwork and she'd be on her way soon. Once she entered the office, Radiant Prism approached Duke, explaining that Kagerou suggested she speak to him. Nodding, Duke explained about that he intends to give her a copy of the English language files, as the country's primary language isn't the same as Japan's. "I think the mechanics should be finished with the Build Team's repairs, so we can ask them to make a copy of my file and transfer them to you. Come with me."
Once they were down in the repair bay, Duke explains to the Chief Engineer that Radiant Prism needs the English language files as she's relocating to the United Kingdom to work alongside the Scotland Yard for a bit. The older man was surprised at this, but didn't object as he directed them to dock so that he can copy and transfer the files to Radiant Prism, doing as told. The procedure didn't take long and soon enough the German Brave had now gained the ability to speak English. Wanting to ensure the transfer was successful, Duke spoke to Radiant Prism in English, which Radiant Prism replied, albeit with a thick accent. While not fond of anyone butchering the language, Duke knew she didn't intend to and to some degree it was better than Gunmax's horrible Engrish. "Now you're all set for your trip to the United Kingdom." Duke told to her in English.
Relocating back up to the office, Radiant Prism and Duke were surprised to find Deckerd speaking with Regina. The blonde-haired girl looked disappointed, unsure about how to take the news that Deckerd had just told her. "Ah, here they are." He replied, motioning Duke and Radiant Prism to approach so that Regina could see them. Duke had straightened his posture to greet Regina, while Radiant Prism saluted. "Radiant Prism, is this true?" Regina asked. "You weren't able to arrest the criminal from what Deckerd informed me."
"I'm afraid so, but Kagerou confirmed that he could not find a single trace no matter how many leads he looked into. But I think he might be targeting the Scotland Yard next. I've thought about it since he mentioned about collecting data from us on the fight before the one from last night." This information left Regina surprised, but if her team was being targeted, she'd have to prepare for anything possible related to the criminal. She then makes the confirm that Radiant Prism can fly to the United Kingdom whenever they're able to send her, then cut communications. Radiant Prism was concerned but asked Deckerd when he could set up a flight schedule for her.
"I can have you sent right now." He replied. "Just head to Haneda International Airport and look for a white plane with the Brave Police logo on the tail similar to the one in our badges."
"Yes sir, and... I want to thank you and your team for helping me out since taking me in from the beginning. Here, I wish to return this." Radiant Prism brought out the Japanese Division's badge she'd been using since it was given to her, then with a formal bow she excused herself and left the station, bidding the mechanics farewell on the way out. When she did get to the airport, others began to contact her to bid her farewell, and to send them e-mails often when she can.
'Thank you, friends...' Radiant Prism smiled to herself, easily locating the plane she was instructed to look for as she changed form and allowed the workers to load her into the cargo plane to prepare her for the trip.