"Angels and demons circle above me, through the thorns to the stars." "Only those unable to perceive its call do not know happiness." "Watch in awe, watch in awe." "Aeria gloris, aeria gloris." "Watch in awe, watch in awe." "Aeria gloris, aeria gloris." "I am calling, calling now, spirits rise and falling." "To remain myself longer." "Calling, calling, in the depths of longing." "To remain myself longer." "Watch in awe, aeria gloris." "Take a look at this picture." "The girl in the middle." "This girl..." "I've seen her somewhere..." "Wait a minute, is this girl from the Tokura Electronics incident?" "It is." "She's Eka Tokura, the only daughter of the CEO of Tokura Electronics, who was kidnapped sixteen years ago by the New World Brigade, followers of the ideals of the Human Liberation Front." "The kid looks tough." "It was back when there weren't as many people who could get cyberized as there are now." "She was cyberized in order to promote her father's company's cutting-edge products." "But as a result, she caught the eye of these people and was kidnapped." "Right." "I remember it like it was yesterday." "Something about it made me take it personally." "Now I remember." "The case was never solved." "I heard they managed to pinpoint their hideouts and raid them, but they were never able to find the girl." "So this picture was taken sometime around the time of the kidnapping?" "No, it was taken two days ago by members of the Maritime Safety Agency's SST at an abandoned radioactivity scrubber plant 200 nautical miles off of Okinawa." "Two days ago?" "Which would mean that this isn't the girl." "It's not as simple as you think." "At first, the MSA sent in an advance team to the scene for an undercover investigation after getting reports that the Brigade had landed there." "While there, they somehow stumbled across her." "This is DNA data they sent along with the photo." "It's unclear how the SST obtained this, but based on a comparison of past medical records, we've determined beyond any doubt that the DNA is hers." "After they sent this report, though, contact was lost with all four members of the advance team." "Which is where we come in." "Go find out what is going on out there!" "Does Not Equal Terrorist" "Batou, see anything?" "Nobody's here." "Doesn't look like anybody's been here for a long time." "Which means that not even the Brigade has come down here to the bottom level." "It's me." "Are you in?" "Yes." "The deck is secure." "Considering that it's been abandoned for more than ten years, it's in better condition than I expected." "It's plenty big enough to berth a ship." "You won't have any trouble." "Understood." "Ishikawa, is there any activity on the top level of the plant?" "It's nice and quiet." "Just perfect for a little night fishing." "We've been able to verify one GPS transmission from an SSTmember." "It's possible that he's seen our activity and will reach the top of the plant on his own." "Stay on standby close enough to be able to reach the roof in two minutes." "Roger." "You heard the man." " Roger that." " Roger." "I guess we'll take a nice, leisurely sightseeing flight while we wait." "Major, it's a dead end." "I can see that for myself." "Um..." "Just give the word, and I'll smash through it." "Forget it." "Behave yourself until we close in on our target." "Yes, ma'am..." "I know it's a pain, but let's find another route." "Besides, if they've put up a barricade, we know there's something on the other side." "Are we gonna go up in there?" "I hope I don't get stuck again." "Major, I've been thinking..." "You don't suppose we're just walking into the Brigade's trap, do you?" "I mean, we were able to get a fix on the survivor's location, but he isn't responding." "The whole thing is fishy." "You think they were all wiped out?" "I can't say for sure either way." "But you're also thinking that she's not for real, aren't you, Major?" "What do you think it is, then?" "Well, the first thing that comes to mind is a prosthetic body, I guess." "Are you forgetting that they're a sect that follows the Human Liberation Front?" "They're a group that's opposed to both prosthetics and cyberization." "I don't think that's it." "And what about the results of the DNA identification in the SST's final report?" "How do you explain that?" "Isn't it possible that the Brigade preserved some blood or cells?" "Maybe they used that to make a clone." "What for?" "Well..." "For instance, maybe they're after the Tokura fortune?" "There's nothing to disprove your clone theory just yet, but the only merit of her suddenly appearing exactly how she looked 16 years ago is to shake up her father emotionally." "For one thing, by law, a cloned human can't inherit an estate." "Well, I'm sure they've got some objective, but since there are definite questions to be answered, don't you want to find out for yourself with your own two eyes?" "Maybe we'll get our answers if we rescue the girl and ask her." "Togusa's Ghost still isn't whispering to him enough..." "Thanks for waiting!" "The real problem with cyborg food is that it looks so unappetizing." "Hm?" "It's better than you think." "Wanna try some?" "Anyway, we're not going anywhere until the next GPS transmission." "I'm gonna take it easy." "Come to think of it, they're surrounded by the sea on all sides." "They could be self-sufficient if they wanted to." "And this place is sorta like a strategic trade location for the junkies in the nearby seas." "There's so much more to this situation than the data lets on!" "Even if there were terrorists mixed in with the crowd, you'd never be able to tell!" "No wonder the neighboring countries are in hysterics." "Hey, wait for me!" "Hey, that's a nice robot you've got with you, buddy!" "Whaddya say?" "Trade me one of that robot's arms for this here thought engine." "Wow, really?" "!" "Let me see, let me see!" "Forget it." "C'mon, let's go." "Okay, then!" "How 'bout I throw in this logical calculation device that was made in Taiwan?" "This little beauty's extremely valuable among connoisseurs." "Mr. Batou!" "I have confirmation of a GPS transmission being sent by SST member Sakakibara." "Really?" "!" "It's moving upwards this time." "I wish this guy would sit still." "Friend, foe, I don't give a damn!" "Let's go!" "Sakakibara of the SST, I presume?" "Relax." "We're here to rescue you." "Hey!" "E-Erase them..." "What's the matter?" "You're safe now!" "I'm begging you..." "Erase them!" "Please..." "Get out of my head!" "Pull yourself together!" "What happened here?" "!" "Hey!" "Hey, can you hear me?" "What happened to the other three?" "T-They were killed..." "She was their leader..." "What?" "!" "Erase them, please..." "Hey, what do you mean by "leader"?" "!" "She survived, but why is she...?" "L-lt's too horrible..." "Did you link with her?" "Batou." "What's this stuff?" "Now I get it." "Looks like he did get right up close to the girl." "Finally starting to feel the tension, Togusa?" "Is this any time to be joking around?" "!" "Togusa, how's it look on your end?" "Nobody's here, either." "The room in the picture must be above us." "This plant doesn't have two control rooms." "Ssh!" "Police!" "Where's Eka Tokura?" "The bastard thinks we're kidding around!" "Major, let me take a shot." "You know..." "I'm guessing you're familiar with "dentistry torture," right?" "I doubt you've ever been on the receiving end, though." "Tachikoma, stand guard here and make sure no one comes in!" "Roger!" "That's enough!" "Do you realize what this is?" "!" "You keep doing this over and over again!" "When are you going to get tired of it?" "I can't take it anymore!" "Major, it's me." "We've rescued the SSTsurvivor." "He'll live, but he's acting funny, almost as if his cyberbrain's been infected with a virus or something." "That's why he couldn't respond even though he was receiving our signals." "Understood." "Go on ahead to the heliport and stand by." "We're just about to make our move." "Just a minute!" "There's one thing that bothers me." "What?" "The reason this Sakakibara guy went nuts seems to have something to do with that girl." "I can't say for sure, but it sounds like that girl is now the leader of the Brigade." "I don't think you'd lose to her in a cyberbrain fight, Major, but be on your guard when you link with that girl." "From now on, you aren't to leave my side without my permission." "Why don't you understand?" "Do you want to leave me all alone that badly?" "You're always..." "Playing the princess, I see." "For a revolutionary, that's a tawdry speech." "Who's there?" "The police." "Hands in the air." "Hurry it up." "I won't say it again." "Do you seriously think you'll walk out of here alive after doing this?" "Major, what's the matter?" "You've got the wrong girl." "Major, a group of armed soldiers is closing in on my position!" "Major?" "!" "Tachikoma!" "Status!" "They know we're here!" "Mr. Batou and Saito seem to be under attack to my rear, too!" "Tachikoma, get up here right away." "Target is in custody." "We're clearing out!" "Roger!" "Well, well." "It's started." "Okay, take us down!" "Damn it, this guy's in my way!" "Tachikoma, open up!" "Roger!" "What the hell?" "!" "Like shooting fish in a barrel." "The bastards are using their buddies' corpses as shields!" "There's no end to these guys!" "Tachikoma, target the wires!" "Roger that!" "HV ammo, huh?" "They're bringing some nasty toys to the party." "You can't beat me!" "Damn, these guys are a pain in the ass..." "They've got no cyborg parts, but they aren't scared of dying at all!" "Where's Batou?" "Off rescuing the she-ape, huh?" "As if she needs it..." "Wait!" "Don't shoot!" "It's me." "What are you doing here?" "What do you mean?" "I came to save you." "Huh?" "Wait a minute, where's the girl?" "She wouldn't shut up, so I stuffed her into the Tachikoma." "What's with the old crone?" "The Major said she's coming with us." "Wha...?" "I have no idea what's going on, but you can fill me in later." "You go on ahead, Togusa." "I'll buy you some time." "How ya like that?" "!" "You idiot!" "Are you forgetting that you've got somebody inside your pod?" "!" "Aw, but I wanna fight some more!" "Yikes!" "Antitank missiles?" "!" "Let's get out of here!" "Don't let him shoot!" "Leave him to me!" "Head for the control tower!" "Tachikoma, you go first!" "Roger that!" "Okay, get us out of here!" "Batou." "Hm?" "Keep your filthy hands off my mom!" ""Mom"?" "!" "Let go!" "Geez, this kid's a handful!" "Let go!" "Geez, this kid's a handful!" "Let go of me, damn it!" "Let go of me, damn it!" "Bastards!" "Don't touch my mom!" "Let me go, you bastards!" "Wow, that place was even better than the rumors said!" "What was it like?" "What was it like?" "C'mon, link with me!" "She's really younger than I am?" "The media is gonna come after her in droves when they hear about this." "I wouldn't doubt it." "Just like you did, the SST people must have realized that it was the old woman who was Eka Tokura, not the girl." "And once they had verification, they tried to make contact with her." "And they linked to her cyberbrain." ""Erase them," huh...?" "At first, I had no idea what the hell he was talking about." "He must have meant, "Erase the memories."" "It's hard to believe that a ten-year-old girl would suddenly age into an old woman in the sixteen years since she was kidnapped." "I don't even want to try to imagine what went on in that time." "And then there's the question of how Eka's daughter ended up as their leader..." "You feel like finding out?" "By linking with her?" "No thanks..." "I think I'll pass." "Tachikoma..." "Tachikomatic Days!" "How are you any different from me?" "You're still a Tachikoma, aren't you?" "!" "Okay, cut!" "That was great!" "Aw, I'm sick of playing the victim!" "I'll get to shoot the Gatling gun next time, right?" "One more time!" "One more time!" "Let me do it just one more time!" "Okay?" "Please?" "Pretty please, baby?"