Original subtitles

The evacuation of passengers and flight crew has been completed as per the terrorist incident response plan.

Subtitles corrected by: -VulturE- � Vulturian Artworks 2007

All incoming flights are to remain circling outside the airport control zone and await further instructions.

Subtitles corrected by: -VulturE- � Vulturian Artworks 2007

Flights low on fuel are to divert to land at another airport.

305 to 102 -

Public Security Section 9 has arrived. Please advise.

This is an priority transmission.

Section 9 has been given full authority to direct this operation.

We already have fatalities over here.

Even if that's the arrangement, they should give us some say in how this operation is run.

That's enough.

Recognize your own role.

We do not have the capability to deal with an incident of this type.

Found it.

All outgoing flights have been suspended. The immigration checkpoint is closed for operations.

According to our preliminary reports, the fugitive is willing to submit to an inspection,...

but when he heard that Public Security was taking charge, he seemed almost... delighted.

Delighted?

I have no idea.

So?

I guess dai-sempai won't be meeting up with us after all?

He said that he was in the middle of another personal inquiry for an investigation.

Indeed, it was thanks to Batou that we could piece together the complete picture from the disjointed clues in this case.

Pazu and Boma, bring another two men to the North Gate.

Understood.

We are storming in from the front.

Yes, sir!

However, you've changed, sempai.

You finally gave up on that Mateba autorevolver of yours.

Not really.

According to our information, Ka Gae-Ru shouldn't be augmented.

Then on the ground there...

... is your proverbial unexpected problem.

In other words, he may have seized the gun.

Even so, it's just a 9mm pistol.

Oh, my.

Colonel Ka Gae-Ru!

This is Public Security.

We can consider allowing you safe passage from the country as you demand.

First let the hostage go, then we can further discuss this.

Colonel Ka Gae-Ru!

Do you hear me?

Ka Gae-Ru!

Put the gun down!

Everyone hold your fire. Hand the gun over.

Togusa.

That guy appears to have inhaled fast-acting military grade microsteroids.

Understood.

Colonel Ka Gae-Ru!

The Puppeteer is coming - I don't want to die!

If you don't want to die, then put the goddamn gun down now!

What did you say?

I won't let you take me in!

Stop!

Damn it! What the hell just happened?

The Puppeteer, huh?

The name's not half bad.

Prime Minister Kayabuki.

Operatives marked with "bon*" character tattoos belonging to Generalissimo Ka Ru-Ma's loyalist group...\N\N*The kanji character 梵 (bon), meaning Buddhist.

... have been commiting suicide one after another in the country. Even his eldest son Colonel Ka Gae-Ru has just killed himself.

And yet, you still insist that there is no need to interrogate the Generalissimo?

Regarding Colonel Ka Gae-Ru's death, it has also been reported that it was due to a botched arrest.

Even if we suppose that this is an unspecified terrorist threat by Seok Republic remnants,...

... we can't prove that Generalissimo Ka Ru-Ma, isolated under house arrest, was involved as well.

While the Refugee Naturalization Act is being implemented, please avoid any incidents that may fuel the opposition parties.

It is my understanding that this is why Public Security Section 9 exists.

I understand.

Ishikawa!

Dig up the record of Ka Gae-Ru's confession.

Yes, sir!

We're moving out!

Is this really fine? We have yet to obtain authorization.

As long as no one finds out that Pandora's Box has been opened,...

... it won't count as breaking faith.

Has any new evidence been discovered at the scene?

No, not yet.

Find witnesses concerning the victim's...

Batou!

Do you hear me, Batou?

I hear you.

Where are you right now?

I'm over at the thirteenth tattooed man's place.

Another suicide?\NYeah.

This place looks similar to our safehouses.

It's likely that this was just one of their dens.

Leave that end to the prefectural police. Bring a subordinate down to check out this location.

A hideout revealed by Ka Gae-Ru himself in his confession.

Oh?\NBut isn't such mainstream work more Togusa's province?

Togusa and I are heading to the enemy's main headquarters.

I see.

Togusa.

How long has it been since the Major left Section 9?

Almost two years now, I think.

It's been that long...

I must deeply apologise for the Ka Gae-Ru incident.

That couldn't be helped.

This case could deal Prime Minister Kayabuki a fatal setback.

She probably wishes to suppress any bad publicity.

But wasn't it Prime Minister Kabayuki herself,...

... concerned that the Six Powers Pact would object to her Refugee Naturalization Act,...

... who had Ka Ru-Ma placed under house arrest as a bargaining chip, sparking off this whole fiasco?

That's because Generalissimo Ka Ru-Ma, before seeking asylum in Japan,...

... had once threatened to launch retaliatory acts of terrorism.

That at the moment of his death, he would visit terror upon the entire world.

Is this the oath of vengeance mentioned in his Seok dissolution speech?

Isn't it our job to find that out and prepare countermeasures?

Although we don't know how he sends out his orders from isolation,...

... we need only to capture Ka Ru-Ma himself to break the case and bring the truth to light.

The problem right now is - how far along is this terrorist plan of his?

Chief.

The Coast Guard report that they have cleared the airspace along the route.

Right. Thank them, then prepare to land immediately.

Remember to alter the flight records.

Yes, sir!

No firearms or knives detected. -Clear!-

Proto.

Turn the power on and lift the blind.

Roger.

What's the matter?

Chief.

Hmm? It looks like he did himself in.

This looks bad.

This guy killing himself could mean that his plan has already been set into motion.

That thing is...?

A healthcare monitoring network terminal.

Simply put, it's a device to exchange medical data with a medical establishment.

It was rumored that Ka Ru-Ma was suffering from serious health problems before he went into exile.

Looks like the rumor was true.

Still, I can't believe that the government is oblivious to Ka Ru-Ma's death.

Hmm? Bingo!

This guy planted a backdoor in the system.\NLooks look he was a smarter-than-your-average-dictator.

Looks like it. The log records his communications with his associates.

Although we need to bring this back to the lab for analysis,...

... there's no doubt that at one time he was attempting to use a micromachine virus to carry out terrorist attacks.

What do you mean by "at one time"?

Back when his operatives were beginning to kill themselves off one after another,...

... they once discussed with Ka Gae-Ru whether or not to suspend the plan.

What does that mean?

In other words, their commiting suicide did not in any way mark the beginning of their plan?

I'm not sure.

However, what puzzles me is that a program that made it seem as if Ka Ru-Ma were still alive...

... was installed by an outside intruder.

At this time, the administration probably still doesn't know the truth about his death.

An assassination disguised as a suicide?

Yeah.

By someone who didn't want the administration to know that Ka Ru-Ma had already been taken out of the picture,...

... perhaps.

What about the micromachine virus?

It seems to have been delivered to a certain Ma Sha-Ba.

If Batou isn't slacking off, he should be retrieving it any time now.

Togusa.

What's this, then?

"The Puppeteer"?

Azuma, just before Ka Gae-Ru died, didn't he also mention something about about "The Puppeteer"?

What if he did?

The log contains references to "The Puppeteer" as well. The term appears to designate one of their associates.

Looks like we have to apprehend Ma Sha-Ba quickly.

Make a copy of the log, then rendezvous with Batou.

We must uncover the full scope of their plan at all cost.

What do we do with the corpse?

Leave everything as it was. Regretfully, we were never here.

Yes, sir.

A clinic?

What's a nice car like you doing in a dump like this?

Pretty hefty security system...

Go flank in from the other side!

Acknowledged.

What?

There's no way for you to hack my cyberbrain in here.

Die, Puppeteer!

Over there?

Batou?

That's...?

Dodge!

You dumbass!

Until I get back, play dead.

Acknowledged.

Halt!

Major?

It's been a while, Batou.

What are you doing here?

I knew it. I might ask you the same question.

Call it conducting a personal inquiry for an investigation.

It's coming!

Wait.

What the...

Hold this a moment.

Isn't this... Ma Sha-Ba?

It appears that you know quite a bit.

Know quite a bit...? Hey, what exactly are you up to?

Who knows? I'll be having that back.

I see that you've changed your taste in cars.

When did she...?

But this one's not bad either.

Batou, I'm guessing that you're here to investigate the serial suicides of those tattooed men.

A word to the wise,...

... stay away from the Solid State society, or you'll end up killing yourself just like them.

You'll have to find your own ride.

Did I not order you to bring a subordinate along?

That's why I brought that tincan with me.

We came too late. Ma Sha-Ba's already dead.

The cause of death?

He suffered a fatal concussion when he lost control of the robot and crashed. It looks like Ma Sha-Ba wasn't the Puppeteer after all.

Batou, why did he come at you with that thing?

Who knows? That's what I would have liked to ask him.

Perhaps he attacked you because he mistook you for the Puppeteer?

Hey, what is this Puppeteer you keep mentioning?

At present, the hypothesis is that it may be the codename for a suspect...

... who may have caused the deaths of the tattooed men and Ka Ru-Ma...

... by hacking into their cyberbrains and forcing them to kill themselves.

Judging from his skill, he might be a hacker surpassing wizard class.

Wizard class...

Chief.

We've found out what Ka Ru-Ma's plan for terror was.

What was it?

You should come over and see for yourself.

Ka Ru-Ma intended to implant micromachines into these children in order to disseminate a virus.

What the hell? This isn't a retaliation plan...

... this is utter inhumanity!

Sooner or later, Section 9 will probably track me back to this place.

Loki, Conan, I leave the rest to you.

It seems that I can only handle at most two concurrent cybernetic bodies.

The only way left may be to wipe and retrain them from scratch.

I see. We've even tried natural oil.

However, due to the different subjects, we were unable to achieve results of the same degree.

You're still concerned over the development of these guys?

Africa was much tougher than I had expected.

Even with upgraded augmentations, I'm still exhausted.

Further implants could mess up your cardiopulmonary function, you know.

Can't be helped. It's an occupational hazard.

Togusa and you, I really take my hat off to you guys.

From the roster we found at the scene, the operatives involved in the plan include :\Nthe thirteen suicides, Ka Gae-Ru, Ma Sha-Ba,...

... and a certain Raj Poot. In all, sixteen people.

Who is this Raj Poot? Could he be the Puppeteer?

It appears that he is not yet in the country.\NThe communications log would also indicate this.

Not many people would stick with a leader who insisted that they follow him to the grave.

Such is often the sorry end of dictators.

But there were actually sixteen people, huh...

You're late, Batou!

Oh... When did you get back?

Just now. Azuma! Please carry on.

Moving on. Lieutenant?

Regarding the missing micromachine virus: A case containing 144 ampoules...

... containing a genetically modified organic virus has been brought into the country,...

... a biological weapon with a time delayed mechanism.

And this hot potato has vanished into thin air.

Batou.

Are you certain...

... that you didn't run into anyone else at Ma Sha-Ba's clinic?

Yeah.

And there was no sign of anyone who might have caused the robot to go out of control?

Nope.

I see.

What exactly are you trying to ask here?

Ah, nevermind...

Actually, we still haven't traced the owner of that smashed car.

Isn't it possible that it was stolen?

From the look of the car security system installed, I would say no.

Furthermore, the surveillance camera footage was somehow partially erased.

This seems to indicate that someone else was present at the scene.

By someone else, you mean the Puppeteer?

Perhaps.

Although Ka Ru-Ma's plan was never implemented,...

... but there is a possibility that this hacker called the Puppeteer may commit independent acts of terror.

While we are tracking down the micromachine ampoules,...

... we also need to focus on investigating this Puppeteer.

Yes, sir!

Togusa.

What do I do?

Go take a break. Individual body maintenance should take precedence.

Understood. I'll do that, then.

By the way, Batou?

This morning the Chief had a talk with me and said that it's about time for you to choose your next assignment.

Would you rather concentrate on your duties as training officer, or participate in the Puppeteer investigation under my direction?

It's your call. Which will it be?

Isn't it obvious? The Puppeteer, of course.

I see.

Did you find anything?

Yeah, we hit paydirt.

Let's have it.

Firstly, medical examination of the sixteen children reveal no sign of their having been implanted with micromachines at all.

Although suffering from dehydration and injuries from maltreatment,...

... basically, they're fairly healthy.

However, the sixteen of them have had their memories partially erased, and their personal IDs altered to assign them fake parents.

They could remember their names and addresses, but as far as their parents were concerned,...

...they had not the slightest recollection.

Furthermore, upon investigation, the addresses given by them turned out to be residences of old folks living alone.

Could those old folks actually be their parents?

No.

From a granny living in a four-and-a-half-tatami flat, to the rich old codger who could afford personal nursing support robots,...

... there were all sorts, but without exception, all were "Kifu* Aged" hooked up to the healthcare monitoring network. *貴腐 (kifu), meaning noble rot.

Obviously, there was no sign whatsoever that they had ever lived with children.

Although the household registrations list them as the parents, most likely, these records were doctored.

What's a "Kifu Aged"?

It refers to the bedridden elderly connected to an automated monitoring system which tends to their basic healthcare needs,...

... just like noble-rot infested grapes withering away on the vine. That's where the name comes from.

This system was originally developed to deal with the problem of an aging population, and at the same time, prevent old folks living alone from dying unnoticed in their homes.

Unexpectedly, connecting to the network instead rendered its users comatose.

The LPO slammed it as the "vegetable legacy retrieval system".

You're pretty well-informed.

The old bags at the parlor often chat with me about it.

It's sort of like an economy model of the terminal Ka Ru-Ma had.

Wait a minute.

Wasn't it Ka Gae-Ru's intent to make human bombs out of the children?

Why then did he specifically erase their memories of their parents?

Rather than planting them somewhere after infecting them with the virus,...

... would it not have been simpler to erase their memories of the abductions, and send them back to their parents?

How should I know?

That's true.

They even had cyberbrains specially implanted. It really is too extravagant.

Actually, the implants seem to have been performed prior to the abductions. The transform components also appear to be legit.

In that case, there should be records of the implants at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

A guardian is required to sign off on the procedure before it can be performed on a six year old.

There were 144 missing ampoules.

To be on the safe side, let's check this out.

Try and find if there are any matching children in the records.

Assuming that those sixteen kids we rescued had their implants done through through legitimate channels,...

... their records would have been automatically registered with the Ministry of Health's database.

If they were abducted and had their household records doctored after the implants had been registered,...

... the number of children with cyberbrain implants listed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs' resident registry should conflict with the number of such children registered with the Ministry of Health's database.

Now I see.

Since those sixteen had their family names altered to match those of the elderly invalids, in theory this should work.

Twenty thousand?

There must be some kind of mistake.

If children were being abducted in such vast numbers, surely someone would have noticed by now.

True.

In any case, this figure far exceeds anything we ever expected. What now?

Let's start by eliminating the impossible.

First, sort the list of extraneous children in the data by name and address.

Leave that to me, I'll be done in a sec.

A trap?!

This is an emergency warning. Presence of a Level E class virus has been confirmed.

Please shutdown all machines immediately.

- Emergency warning - - Emergency warning - - Level E class virus detected-

Please shutdown all machines...

Engaging emergency server lockdown...

It's no use, the system is not accepting commands.

Hiragi, Soma, backup the data now!

We can't, it's already been infected!

Our only option is to cut the power!

Help me out.

Was the virus embedded in the Ministry of Internal Affairs database?

We've lost the data on that end.

Is the data from the Ministry of Health intact?

Yes, but why?

Out of the way!

Right now, it must be buzzing like an overturned beehive over at the Ministry of Internal Affairs as well.

Dammit!\NWe just chopped away our best lead.

In any case, it seems now that there must actually have been twenty thousand abductions, huh?

What do you mean?

Normally, twenty thousand is an implausible number of abductions for Ka Gae-Ru's outfit to have pulled off.

The perpetrator's modus operandi is also too amateurish for it to have been the work of the Puppeteer.

We need only look at the facts of the abductions - the discrepancies due to the tampering of the household registrations...

... is like a big sign saying "I nabbed them, come and find me!"

I can't help but think that the Puppeteer has some other purpose in mind.

I agree with your point of view.

Chief.

This case was dropped off at the Ministry of Health's Pathogenic Microbes Repository Unit.

Subsequent analysis proved that it was indeed the Seok manufactured micromachine virus.

This proves that the information we gathered was right on the money.

Do we know who dropped the case off?

There were no records whatsoever of when the case was dropped off, nor any footage of the courier.

Could this could be the Puppeteer?

That's possible.

If so, what is the Puppeteer's motive in all this, if not to commit acts of terror?

From the looks of it, this Puppeteer might be a hacker working for some governmental agency or other.

I was bewildered by the elaborate coverup of Ka Ru-Ma's death.

After some digging of my own,...

... I discovered that Prime Minister Kabayuki and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had canceled a volatile conference on the threat posed by him.

In other words, Ka Ru-Ma, the thorn in the administration's side, had already been dealt with by the hacker employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as far as they were concerned.

At present, that would seem to be the situation, yes.

If so, maybe we should write this mass abduction thing off as a bluff after all.

Which section was responsible for this?

This case carries great international significance.\NConsidering the events that have occurred to this point,...

... our stance on the matter should be similar to that of the administration.

I believe that we should leave well alone on this matter.

Therefore, concentrate on establishing the identities of those sixteen children.

Put the Puppeteer investigation on hold for now.

That is all.

Aw, geez.

All that work for nothing, and a huge mess to clean up.

We at least have to help those kids find their parents quickly.

I'm just setting off now. Sorry about that.

I have a question.

What is it?

Was it the Treaties Bureau that made an old warhorse like you back off from the case?

About that? I cut a deal with Nakamura.

I turn a blind eye on their covert operations, and in return, we get a free hand to investigate the matter of this micromachine virus.

And that is fine?

If purging Ka Ru-Ma was required for the good of the country,...

... surely we should be dismayed that we were passed over for this vital task?

What, then, was the point of you expanding Section 9 over these past two years, old timer?

If we keep going like this, she won't come back.

Whether being passed over for an assassination order should bring regret or rejoicing,...

... that question may determine what direction the Section will go in the future.

I know what you are trying to say,...

... but we must also consider the possibility that the Major may never return.

Her talent is more precious to me than even an ESPer's.

In truth, no one can ever live up to her.

Likewise, it's impossible for me to stick around at this post forever.

Therefore, instead of having to expend all of our strength to crack one case,

I would rather build an organisation where we can use an eighth of our strength to crack three cases.

Don't you think that, in this way, we can better carry on our ideals?

This was what I had in mind when I expanded Section 9.

Promoting Togusa to squad leader was also part of this process.

Though, if you had been willing to accept the post at the time, things might be entirely different now.

I'm not suitable for that position.

If you say so. That might even be true.

But not for Togusa.

Even so, in order for his potential to flourish, he must learn to overcome adversity.

I hope that you can help him along.

I thought as much.

But he's done quite well, actually.

Much like the Major,...

... he's always fair and balanced, whether at home or at work.

For the sake of Section 9, he's even discussed cybernization with his family.

But gaining the acceptance of another is hard to do.

Indeed, I myself have not been able to gain that.

We haven't had a good long talk like this for a while now.

Looks like I won't be coming home tonight, either.

That can't be helped. You have heavy responsibilities at work now.

Have the kids been good?

Yeah.

But last week our girl asked to sleep on her own in her room.

It's been calm, but I do kind of miss the sibling fights.

Really? She's a big girl now.

Oh course! She's already six.

Six, huh?

Snap a picture of her asleep and send it to me, will you?

Sure.

Togusa, we have an situation!

Get over to Area 47 right now!

What happened?

Sempai, I'm sorry, all the children...

They had all gone missing by the time I got here.

Is this the same thing that happened with Ka Gae-Ru?

Looks like it.

The Puppeteer...

If Proto had really wanted to kill himself, he could have pulled the trigger anytime.

This is nothing but a ploy to stall for time!

Ishikawa, Boma!

Use the IR system to locate the children immediately! (note: IR = Infrared system)

Given our current situation, that may have limited use.

At the same time, request support from the prefectural police.

Bring Proto over to the analysis lab.

Togusa, we need to talk!

Later! Right now, we need to find the missing kids!

This is important! I may have some insight into the Puppeteer's identity!

It's Aramaki.

Thank you.

You're late.

Sorry, I was delayed by work.

Colonel Tonoda, how's your health?

Back to his old hobby, I see.

Cut the man some slack already.

They say that his health problems arose from the psychological stress of his time in the penitentiary.

What's with Tsujisaki? He didn't drop by even once.

And to think that I favoured him the most. He's forgotten me, the ingrate!

His memory seems to be going as well.

Step out for a moment. I have something for you.

So ends the legendary Akaoni Poacher in ignominy.

You should consider marrying again. Tragic is the fate of lonely old men.

I have no desire for something that I can't bring with me to the grave.

The same old retort, I see.

So, what is it that you have for me?

Right, take this.

Actually, I ran into the Major back at Ma Sha-Ba's clinic.

The Major...? It couldn't be...?

I didn't think it was possible at first as well,

but now I'm getting increasingly worried that she might actually be the Puppeteer.

I missed my chance to speak up earlier.

Did you see her do Ma Sha-Ba in?

No, but I did see her take the case of ampoules.

Previously, I would intervene every time we crossed paths with the Major during an investigation.

I've always assumed that she, in her own way, was there to guide us along to break the case.

But it's different this time.

Exactly what does the Major intend?

That I don't know.

But even odds are, the Major was present...

... at the scene of those suspected assassinations.

Batou.

Hurry to Daikyuu ring highway No. 16 with Saito immediately.

This is a matter of utmost priority!

Chief, we have a situation here as well.

The Puppeteer has turned up at Section 9.

What did you say?

Old timer, the Puppeteer appears to...

Let's not jump to conclusions.

I want to confirm this for myself.

Chief.

Since that fellow moved preemptively against us, can we further pursue this matter?

Since that's the case, carry on.

Roger that.

What happened on your side?

Two hours ago, surveillance cameras in the Engan area happened to pick up the image of a known international criminal.

Hmm? Who would that be?

He sounds formidable, if you need me and Saito to take him down together.

A former Seok Republic class A+ sniper...

... Lieutenant Raj Poot.

Raj Poot？ That's...

That last man who was not yet in the country?

He was head of Ka Ru-Ma's personal bodyguard.

It's believed that he fled to China after Seok was dissolved.

For him to take to the stage at this point...

... is mighty suspicious.

Fortunately, the Intelligence Division has managed to pinpoint his current whereabouts.

The two of you shadow him and try to discover what he is up to.

Roger that.

Togusa, if the Major is the Puppeteer,...

... then she has become our enemy.

I don't even want to think about that.

One of these days, I will return this favor.

Colonel Tonoda, I take my leave of you for today.

Like father, like son... Like man, like robot...

You didn't turn out to be anything like me.

It is gratifying to know that a phoenix can fledge from an old crow's nest. Do take care of your health.

Thank you. Colonel, you take care as well.

How will that guy take out his target?

Like me, he will use his Hawkeye to acquire the target through real-time satellite imaging before taking the shot.

In that case, there will come a point when our GPS tracker will fail due to the inteference caused by the Hawkeye satellite downlink.

We need to apprehend him before that happens.

Got that.

Let's visually confirm the target.

Be sure not to alert him.

Target confirmed. There's no mistake, it's him alright.

Togusa.

The IR system has located one of the missing children.

Really? Where?

He's moving through a small construction lot in Kohoku Park.

That's near my place.

Right. I'll check it out.

I'll inform the prefectural police as well.

Meanwhile, we'll return to investigating the twenty thousand child abductions.

I see.

Damn. I guess I'll have to put this matter of the Major aside for now.

The Puppeteer, I presume?

I don't really need to ask, no?

Public Security Section 9 just called to inquire if I knew a hacker called the Puppeteer.

I told them I didn't.

So, you were looking for me?

I've come to refund your fee.

It doesn't matter to us whether you actually had anything to do with it or not - your mission objective was achieved.

I regret to say that this is the end.\NI am going now.

Leave some way to contact you over the net, then. Anything will do.

Was this was a puppet too?

What a waste. Her talent and skill were outstanding.

It'll be daybreak soon.

I wonder why he even bothered turning up now when their plan is already in shambles?

Perhaps to avenge Ka Ru-Ma's death?

That sounds plausible, but how in the world did he get a hold of that intelligence?

Even we were almost left in the dark about that.

That's true.

How long does he intend to keep driving around, anyway?

Speaking of which, look over there.

That's...

Togusa.

The boy has entered apartment no. 602 of block M-26. You know the way?

Yeah. I know this neighborhood like the back of my hand.

A "Kifu Aged"?

Return him to me!

I've left all my assets to the child.

I'd rather have him as my heir than forfeit it all to the government.

The poor thing would just have ended up being abused to death, if we had done nothing.

This is...

... the common resolve of all the residents of Solid State,...

... our little game - nay, our grand enterprise.

Do not meddle in our affairs, if you wish to avoid becoming yet another suicide.

You have been warned.

My gut feeling tells me that his target is somewhere over there.

Turn off the cyberbrain, then help him find a guardian.

Yes, sir.

Death has been confirmed.

Requesting permission to dispose of the remains and retrieve the system terminal.

Dispose?

That's strange. Didn't he have family?

Our data indicates that he should have a six year old son.

A mistake in the records? Oh joy. Even more work for us.

A mistake in the records?

No, that's not it. That's only because I rescued him.

Which means that, but for my intervention, those social workers would have found and taken the boy into protection as planned.

The suicides of those operatives.

The missing children.

"Kifu Aged".

The common resolve of all the residents of Solid State.

No, what is this Solid State in the first place? What did that old man mean?

It's me.

Thank goodness I finally got through,...

... please hurry home, our girl's gone missing!

This is it.

Now!

Wait!

Damn, therm-optic camouflage?

How did this happen?

I've been cut off from the GPS system.

The Puppeteer?

But my kid doesn't have a cyberbrain!

I need you to trace which satellite that bastard is using.

Since we've lost visual contact, our one and only chance to stop him...

... will be the moment before he takes the shot.

I might be able to trace the satellite, but how do we stop him?

That should is his field of fire.

From up here, we should have line of sight to his sniping point, although he will spot us easily as well.

Wear this, or you'll be exposed.

There's no time, our opponent is about to act. We play to win.

It's begun.

Done!

Send it.

That's his target?

The satellite tracks him at SE37.

There he is. Drop the link before it feeds back!

He's on to us!

Saito!

Did I nail him?

Wait here, I'll go confirm.

Come on, come on...

Huh?

Papa!

How is it?

Have some faith in yourself.

I see.

Hey, who was that man you were trying to off?

Why were you trying to kill him?

To avenge the Generalissimo, I will kill every last one of you Jap motherfuckers!

Avenge?\NDon't fuck around with me!

Now, what was the source of your intel?

A mole turned it over to me. He told me who was behind the Generalissimo's death,

so that I could cap the bitch.

And does this mole have a name?

A representative named Munei Ito who frequents the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Old timer, have this Munei fellow taken into custody immediately.

Also, this is an image of Raj's intended target.

Looks like he was the mastermind behind Ka Ru-Ma's assassination.

Eh? Unless I'm mistaken, that man is Munei Ito.

How could this be?

Your informant is the exact same guy you were trying to kill!

God knows.

Maybe he was suicidal or something.

Suicidal...?

Hey, could it be that the Puppeteer set you up as well?

Fuck. You may just be right.

Were he only human, I'd take that bastard out first of all. Instead, I got myself taken out by a superior foe.

The Puppeteer is not human?

It's an abduction infrastructure built into Solid State.

Solid State?

Hey, what does that mean?

You don't know? That is to say, the healthcare monitoring network.

The government of your so-called democratic country takes part in child abductions.

What a farce.

Old timer, dispatch a paramedic team and helicopter over to this place.

Also, run a background check on this Munei.

This is too weird.

I understand.

Then, I found her just after calling you.

It seems like she went over to the neighbor's place in the morning.

Is that so? Thank goodness it turned out to be nothing.

You shouldn't run off by yourself without telling Mama the next time.

Yeah.

Well then, I'll send you to school.

I feel a bit guilty about heading right back to work like this.

Is that alright?You look exhausted to me.

I'm invigorated just by seeing your faces.

Really? That's great.

See ya!

What's wrong?

Oh, nothing.

Togusa!

I've bagged Raj Poot over here. The Puppeteer appears to be involved as well.

You mean... the Major?

Yeah, but as it turns out, the Major is most likely not the Puppeteer.

Raj Poot claims that the Puppeteer is an abduction infrastructure built into the healthcare monitoring system.

Abduction infrastructure?

He referred to the healthcare monitoring network as "Solid State", and insinuated that our government was mixed up in this somehow.

Back when I ran into the Major, she had actually warned me to stay away from the Solid State society.

Initially, I had thought that "Solid State" was a reference to "soshi*",... *The kanji characters for electronic element 素子(soshi) can also be read as motoko, the Major's name..

... in other words, to stay away from the Major herself. *The kanji characters for electronic element 素子(soshi) can also be read as motoko, the Major's name..

But in fact, she was telling us to stay away from the healthcare monitoring network.

Ka Ru-Ma and company were most likely purged because they discovered the infrastructure, and tried to use it for their own ends.

So that's how it is.

It's from Mama.

Hold for a moment.

Hello?

You ignored our warning.

Who is this!

For that, we will take your adorable daughter.

Togusa! Togusa!

Ishikawa, can you pinpoint Togusa's present location?

Eh? Not a problem, what's wrong?

Togusa's cyberbrain's been hacked into!

Papa, we're going the wrong way.

You're the Puppeteer?

Why are you abducting all those children?

Where have twenty thousand kids vanished to?

We only wish to utilize resources that have slipped through the net of society.

Soon, you will experience this for yourself.

Batou!

I've found Togusa's present location.

The Cyberbrain Implant Hospital in Kohoku Ward.

Now I get it. You could get the implant performed without arousing any suspicions...

... if you made a parent bring his child down to the hospital himself.

Erase the child's memories, send her over to an elderly invalid's home, and the abduction is complete.

Afterwards, you'd only need to alter my memories to make me think that I had lost her.

Don't feel too bad about getting your memories altered.

In today's world, the incidence of such cases...

... are already more common than, say, traffic accidents.

You're offering me one last alternative?

That's the place!

I won't let you take my daughter.

Listen, will you do as Papa says?

Start running as fast as you can when Papa lets go of your hand.

Run?

That's right.

There will be a loud bang, just like at the school sports meet.

Once you hear that, run that way and keep running.

Don't stop, and don't ever look back.

Can you do that?

Yeah.

Good girl. Close your eyes.

I'm so sorry. Goodbye.

Togusa!

I love you.

TOGUSA!

Max, Musashi!

It's OK, everything's fine.

Major!

I must apologize for holding off until the last moment to save you.

Major, you're not the Puppeteer? Where were you all this time?

Papa!

Wandering on the net alone after leaving Section 9,...

... I came across this unconventional case by chance.

Eventually I found out about the abductions, and began my own investigation into the matter.

I can't believe that you actually used Togusa as bait! Didn't you stop to think that you might be endangering his family as well?

I set him up with safeguards, of course.

Thanks to him, we can finally unmask the Puppeteer.

Isn't the Puppeteer just a system built into the healthcare monitoring network?

Rather than a system, I would call it a collective consciousness formed by the elderly invalids hooked up to the network.

However, there must also exist...

... a hub cyberbrain who integrated them in the first place.

A hub cyberbrain?

Hey, isn't that...

The data from my network trace being extracted from Togusa's cyberbrain.

Ah, Batou! Long time no see!

You're looking well! Good to see that you've been taking care of yourself.

The elderly monitoring system has contained a backdoor function ever since it was designed.

Look.

This is the full scope of the rhizome formed by the collective consciousness of those elderly invalids in the network.

There is no concept of a center in a rhizome,...

... therefore the hub has no fixed position within the rhizome, or rather, the rhizome itself is constantly in flux.

I get the idea, but who does that hub cyberbrain belong to?

Max, Musashi, report your findings.

Well?

Ah, how do I put this...

You failed?

b..but we managed to locate his current whereabouts.

And where would that be?

The complex grounds of the Seishomin* Welfare Center which takes charge of the elderly monitoring system. *聖庶民 (seishomin), meaning "Sacred Citizen".

The personnel have arrived. - Releasing locks -

It's been a while, Major.

Indeed.

Though I wish it could have been under happier circumstances.

Why did you change your mind and return?

We'll talk about that later. Right now, our priority should be to catch the Puppeteer.

Munei Ito, member of the Diet's House of Representatives.

Finding out why he was marked for death is our one key to uncover the Puppeteer's identity.

Munei has long been an advocate of a racially pure Japan,...

... a reactionary conservative nationalist.

He frequents the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has close ties with the Treaties Bureau.

He participated in the plan to assassinate Ka Ru-Ma.

Major, you mean...

I had a contract with the Treaties Bureau to covertly assassinate Ka Ru-Ma,...

... but the Puppeteer got there first.

So you were only responsible for the subsequent coverup?

That's more or less it.

We also discovered that Munei instigated an management reshuffle at the Seishomin Welfare Center...

... in order to solidify his control over the facility.

How will that benefit him?

Isn't this a welfare facility that provides elderly healthcare monitoring and vocational training?

Right. But several rogue politicians are using it as a front for something entirely different.

In actual fact, he is using his cover as treasurer to run a power elite education project.

In other words, a glorified brainwashing facility.

So this is what Raj Poot meant about government involvement.

If the Puppeteer was using this place as a temporary holding center for the abducted children,

then Munei turning it into a brainwashing facility would pose a problem for him.

Chief.

How about we conduct a forced search?

Finding the children should be our top priority,

But conducting a raid will cause a scandal.

When that happens, those shitty politicians won't be the only ones whose asses get toasted.

Ishikawa, how's the situation?

Is that the Major?

Geez, you could have turned up sooner.

Although we've verified the receipt of a massive quantity of components that may have been used to construct HC-25 brainwashing devices,

that alone is insufficient evidence to justify a raid.

What about images from the inside?

I could only obtain footage from the workshop zone.

The education zone is protected by a firewall in the form of complex barrier maze.

It looks to be completely impenetrable.

There are only refugees here.

The abducted children are being held in the education zone, then?

That can only mean that this facility was built with the abduction infrastructure in place from the start.

If not, it's hard to imagine that a politician would dare to introduce such an audacious policy.

You mean to say that the Puppeteer have must have been one of the system designers behind this project?

Ishikawa, prepare the decoder for an attempt to hack through the barrier maze.

I'll make the dive.

If worse come to worst,...

... Section 9 can carry on so long as you and Togusa remain.

Batou.

I absolutely refuse to hear such talk from you.

Are you implying that you'll be retiring as well after this?

I appreciate your sentiments, but I only came here to unmask the Puppeteer.

It's true that we may need to hang someone out to dry this time,...

... and at this point, I have nothing left to lose.

Chief. It's unfortunate, but I say we raid them.

The Puppeteer is waiting for a chance to eliminate Munei.

I do not wish to see this opportunity slip us by.

But how are we going to pick out the Puppeteer?

At this point, we still have yet to determine his identity.

Leave that to...

... my ghost's whisper.

Woo! It feels great!

Hi! Long time no see, everyone!

Here goes.

Move out!

As I thought, nothing beats the thrill of racing along in a physical body again.

Really? My joints seem a bit creaky though.

Look like another intrusion like before, but something feels different this time.

In any case, secure the perimeter.

Understood.

Professionals like us, huh?

In that case...

... let's get to know each other a bit.

Another hacking attempt by the Investigations section? What a complete waste of effort.

Let's do an inspection before we leave.

Pazu and Boma, secure our route of withdrawal.

Roger that.

Who are you people?

Why would you want to know? I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Huh? The comms were cut off.

Security cyborgs incoming.

Major, go on ahead.

The one who went in is done for.\N Go after those still outside.

Understood.

They opened fire without any warning. So this place really is a highly sensitive government front.

He's coming after us.

Over there will be fine.

No heat signatures or shadows...

... a Kyo-Re cloaking device? That means...

Your information is antiquated.

They don't refer to the Model 3302 as a cloaking device anymore.

Finish them.

Roger!!

Back me up. I've almost taken control of the system.

Leave it to me. Hasn't it always been this way?

Togusa, where are you now?

Major.

I'm currently approaching the roof via the outer wall.

Good. Carry on and rendezvous with the Chief on the roof.

I've located the children.

Let's go!

Representative Munei, this is Public Security Section 9.

We have already verified the situation here.

It seems we have no choice but to insist on a full scale search of this facility.

Public Security?

Although not under its official auspices, this is a vital facility for the nation.

How dare you Public Security people come barging in here with your overinflated sense of justice!

Representative.

Even so, it is clear from the situation here...

... that it is our job to intervene in such matters.

For a public official,...

... you do not seem to be able to comprehend the crisis facing our nation right now.

If we carry on as we are, in the near future, our nation's prosperity will be displaced by that of foreigners.

To prevent this from occurring, we are investing in this education program for these wards of the state,...

... entrusting our nation's future to them.

Is there anything wrong with that?

The funding for this investment wouldn't happen to have been procured through the exploitation of those elderly invalids and refugees in your care, would it?

That couldn't be helped.

Just think,...

... what have they ever done for this country?

They never started a family, or raised children, and are themselves exempt from taxation.

Selfishly wasting away their lives, and then expecting us to take care of them in their dotage.

What a shameless lot.

If it were up to me, I would even lay a tax on them to make up for the loss to the state caused by their being no longer fit for the workforce.

This is nothing but rhetoric.

What, then, have politicians like you ever done for this country either?

Indulging in egotism, and placing political self-preservation above the needs of others.

Who was responsible for ignoring such social problems until things came to a head?

I am proud to say that I, for my own part, have always been conscientious towards my duties.

Even if it infringes upon human rights, and violates cyberbrain ethics?

That is an unfortunate but necessary sacrifice.

You really are a bloody-minded fellow.

Major. we've verified the number of the children being held here.

It's nowhere near twenty thousand, at most three thousand kids.

Is that right? Switch over to autistic mode.

Roger that.

Representative.

Did you know that the system in this center...

... has been automatically abducting children?

These children aren't orphans. A large proportion of them have been abducted.

It was our investigation into the abductions that led us here,...

... therefore, you are an important witness in this case.

Although I was the director of this project,...

... this is the first I've heard of such a bug in the system!

In that case, allow us to question the system designers involved.

It was I.

It was I who designed the core principles behind the Solid State system.

Togusa, take the lot of them into custody!

Yes, ma'am!

Batou, before this guy's memories vanish, I want to dive into his cyberbrain.

Back me up!

Going manual!

Batou, are you reading his signal?

Yeah. I'll amplify the output.

I see the memory unit, but the signal strength is dropping fast.

Batou, can you amplify his output signal any further?

I'll get a Tachikoma to help. You disengage for now.

There's no time for that.

Do you see me, Puppeteer?

Do you see me, Puppeteer?

Puppeteer?

I mean the hub cyberbrain who integrated the rhizome of the "Kifu Aged".

Hub?

His visual signal has dropped out...

We're losing him...

Hey, what's wrong?

Batou, I'm routing his audio signal over to my speech center.

I should offer you my thanks. This has gone far enough, disengage now!

Munei posed the greatest obstacle to Solid State.

I have considered purging him myself many times, but the problem was that the man is a luddite who eschews the use of cyberbrain technology.

Who are you? What was your motive in abducting those children?

Who I am is not important. As for my motive, perhaps it is not that different from Munei Ito's.

This country has reached the stage where we must take drastic measures in order to shift it from its doomed course.

The problem of the more than six million so-called "Kifu Aged",...

... the rising unemployment rate in contrast with the shrinking able working population,...

... and the low birth rate.

There is no end to the issues that need to be dealt with.

Did you know that...

... even in this society so plagued by a low birth rate,...

... annually no less than fifty thousand children die needlessly before they reach the age of six?

A full thirty percent of these can be attributed to domestic violence and abuse...

Well? Can you do it? ... another eighty percent...

I can try. ... another eighty percent...

Even if the counselors, police,

or other relevant authorities are are made aware of the situation, they are powerless to prevent it.

The social welfare system has failed them.\NAnd so the potential of these children is lost to us.

Major!

If you keep this up, he'll take your consciousness with him when he dies.

Therefore?

Therefore I have focused on gathering and recycling these inadvertently misplaced resources.

I look for children listed on the abuse watchlist network as living in high-risk homes, and change their household registrations in order to give them a new life.

This is the core principle behind the Solid State system?

Correct.

Of course, aiding the "Kifu Aged" was also an indispensable goal.

They were desperately seeking their own raison d'etre.

Although they were unable to leave behind genetic progenies to inherit their DNA, at least they were able to leave successors for posterity,...

... so that their assets would not be escheated to the state. Furthermore, they were offered an opportunity to achieve something greater by participating in this grand enterprise.

Needless to say, they were elated, and agreed to join my cause.

You realize that this is criminal conspiracy?

Certainly.

But the ends justify the means, and there were no other means.

Removing those high-risk children from jeopardy was my foremost concern.

Even though I sacrificed my own life in the process, I regret nothing.

On the contrary, I may have finally found my reason for becoming a public official.

All that remains now is to establish Solid State as a permanent institution, and to enhance its infrastructure.

But by purging everyone who came in contact with the system one after another,...

... you drew our attention to your plan.

I had not considered how those who were killed must have felt, but like I said, there were no other means.

With Ka Ru-Ma I can understand, but why did you want to eliminate Munei?

Because he intended to keep the children here in detention.

It was pointless to turn them into brainwashed elite cadres, when they could be given a new life of their own.

Although education is important, the children must be allowed free will to make their own choices out in the world.

That is the difference between I and Munei, and the main reason I must eliminate him.

However, this time round, you people intervened.

Still, my tactics seem to be working fairly well to this point,...

... since I have managed to hack directly into your virtually impenetrable cyberbrain from across the plug link.

Major!

You committed suicide just to lure me into connecting?

You are one tough customer,...

... but while I trap you within a thought maze, the rest of Section 9 can easily be dealt with.

Now that's something you don't see everyday.

A rare competent bureaucrat, if an arrogant and self-righteous ass...

... and one who actually knows me. Who are you, really?

Haven't you figured it out yet, Kusanagi Motoko?

How many arrogant, self-righteous asses do you know?

Until this moment, I was incarnated across a myriad of egos.

Come now, that a collective consciousness can unconsciously begin to act autonomously,...

... is not so hard to believe.

With this, Solid State is established,...

... and I, the vanishing mediator, now move on to the society beyond.

I can't see a thing. Can someone give me a situation report?

You finally woke up.

Batou, there you are. How's the situation?

Where am I?

Then, lastly, what do we do with the children?

Hmm... we probably should send them back to their real parents for the time being.

Even though their memories have been altered, and even though we know about their maltreatment at home?

But that may be for the best.

I can't answer that right now - and that decision may be out of our hands anyway.

The kids who found adopted parents before the brainwashing program began,...

... those who that have already left the facility, what is to become of them?

It will be dealt with on a case by case basis. They'll just have to wait while our complex judicial system comes up with a decision.

Chief, is there anything we can do?

To that, I can only answer that we can only continue struggling within the rules,...

... and hope for the best.

We can only watch and pray that they may one day grow up to achieve their potential...

... and answer the question that we could not.

Solid State system. Now that I think about it, it really is an ironic name.

He actually used the cyberbrain network formed by those old folks as a transistor to store his own consciousness.

Just like a arrogant bureaucrat to think of such an idea.

Anyway, when we finally identified the Puppeteer, I got the shock of my life.

What do you mean?

It came to light after that guy died and while you were out of it.

In truth, that official has been dead for the past two years.

His name was Koshiki Takaaki, age thirty-three.

Coming from a family of bureaucrats, he was groomed from youth to be a member of the elite cadre.

After graduating from college, he immediately began working for the Ministry of Health.

Perhaps the only reason he became a bureaucrat was because he did not have anything better to do with his life.

Soon afterwards, he began refusing to turn up at the Ministry for work for some reason.

Because he was an information technology prodigy, he received special permission to remote a cybernetic body to work from home.

Eventually, he distinguished himself through his work at the Ministry.

Two years ago, his talent was recognized, and he was reassigned...

... to the Health-Welfare joint project headed by Munei. He secretly built his own infrastructure into the project sometime during its development.

But here's the thing. Because he was an such an unobtrusive non-descript fellow who kept to himself,...

... even with all the work that he had done,...

... no one ever found out that he had really died at home from illness.

Thanks to him, the true identity of the Puppeteer will remain forever a mystery.

Are you implying that the guy's remote cybernetic body...

... was used to impersonate him by persons unknown?

Possibly.

Or rather, that is probably the case.

If we consider those old folks, it might also have been a subconscious action taken by their collective consciousness,...

... but we have no way of verifying that now.

I see.

Except for...

... the record of your conversation with Koshiki taken by the Tachikoma.

Do we still have that record?

We should, although for some reason when Koshiki died,...

... the Tachikoma insisted that the record had no further value.

Batou, did you hear the conversation?

Who knows.

At this point, it doesn't really matter, does it?

The old folks, the abused children,...

... both matters are being brought to a resolution.

Although we were unable to unmask the Puppeteer, we can consider this case more or less closed.

This scandal will really hurt those rogue politicians, eh?

I'm mystified, Batou.

In retrospect, what was I thinking back then?

What was I searching for, when I decided to sojourn in the net alone and loitering?

The truth? My true self?

Or that special someone?

Perhaps I was only projecting the frustration at my own helplessness onto the system.

What? Are you getting introspective on me now?

You should be satisfied after all that, right?

So, what do you plan to do in the future?

Continue with your lonesome personal-inquiry-for-an-investigation?

I think I've had enough of that.

Although being bound by constraints was tedious,...

... I couldn't bring myself to accept a life free of them.

In the end, it made no difference whatsoever.

Does that mean what I think it does?

Are you thinking of returning to Section 9?

But what about Togusa?

Won't that affect his career?

If his career were so easily stalled, then clearly, this was the furthest his ability would have gotten him anyway.

That's not for you to worry about.

Maybe.

But you know, Batou, the net is indeed vast and infinite.

Soon, the next unimaginable stage of society will begin to take form.