Sasse.co.uk

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6 - Episode 7 - Episode 8 - Image Gallery

Episode 7: Double Vision

Houston, Texas, USA. March 26, 2033. Yamada, a Genom executive, successfully concludes contract negotiations with the Gulf & Bradley Corporation of Houston, to jointly create a new type of Boomer. While the research will be conducted in MegaTokyo, the project will be headed by Dr. Richard McLaren of G&B.

Shortly after the contracts are signed, a large crab-like mecha appears. Everyone is killed, except for McLaren, who is chased through the corridors of G&B Headquarters. The mecha disappears as the police arrive. McLaren tells them he has no idea who was behind the attack. The police assume the target was the President of G&B, who had many enemies, and that the other victims just got in the way.

MegaTokyo, Japan. June 8, 2033. Vision, a popular and mysterious American rock star, comes out of a self-imposed year-long retirement to start a new world tour, kicking off in MegaTokyo. Watching Vision's press conference on Sylia's television, Priss isn't too impressed. Linna, however, says that she feels like she knows Vision from somewhere. Nene tells her she must be thinking of someone else.

June 9. In a darkened waterfront warehouse, a team of men led by Vision's assistant Kou prepare the GD-42, the mecha that attacked Gulf & Bradley in March, for a midnight run. Upstairs, Vision -- known to the team as Reika Chang -- watches an old videodisc letter from her little sister, Irene Chang. Reika is so distracted by memories of her sister that she doesn't hear Kou come up behind her with a gun. Kou is testing her alertness, and is displeased with her inattention to her surroundings.

At the Genom laboratory later that evening, McLaren and his team check the new Boomer's progress. They are interrupted by the attack of the GD-42, piloted by Reika and Kou. The GD-42 is forced to retreat when Reika, in the pilot's seat, refuses to kill a worker who gets in their way.

June 10. A panicky McLaren tells Quincy that the mecha which attacked the night before is the same one which attacked G&B in Houston. McLaren wants to go back to Texas, but Quincy insists that he remain in MegaTokyo until the testing of the Boomer is complete. He tells McLaren that he was not the target of the attack, and that the Chang Group, the "Hou Bang", was behind it. McLaren is given a few days off to rest.

Meanwhile, Leon McNichol and Daley Wong investigate the crime scene for the AD Police, despite resistance from the "victims" of the attack. Leon suspects Genom of attempting to conceal something illegal, such as the development of a new type of Boomer.

That evening, Sylia meets Fargo at an amusement park. She initially refuses to accept the offered job of bodyguarding McLaren because of his connections to Genom. After learning the size of their fee she changes her mind. Fargo tells her that the client, McLaren himself, requires their bodyguarding to be done in secret.

June 11. After getting a earful from Leon over being told to drop the investigation, the Chief puts him and Daley on paid leave, telling them "officially" not to engage in any work... Leon and Daley take the hint. Nene's fellow ADP officer and friend, Naoko, presents her with front row tickets to Vision's upcoming concert at the New Tokyo Dome.

June 12. Leon and Daley check out a new Genom artificial island in Tokyo Bay, and catch Quincy himself on an inspection tour. Afterwards, they head for the St. Regis Hotel, where McLaren is taking his R&R under the watchful eyes of the Knight Sabers: Nene and Linna are working at the hotel, while Sylia and Priss monitor things electronically. While Leon waits in the coffee shop, Daley checks his sources and finds out that the new Genom island is a combination construction and testing ground for Boomers.

Kou's men intercept McLaren's order for a call girl that night. Elsewhere, Leon explains to Daley that he has learned that the mystery mecha was built by Kyuusei Industries, part of the Chang Conglomerate. He thinks that the death of Chairman Chang's son and daughter-in-law, apparently at the hands of Gulf & Bradley, would make an excellent motive for the attack in Houston -- if it hadn't happened fifteen years ago....

Reika, arrives at McLaren's hotel suite, posing as a call girl named "Irene." She drugs McLaren, making it look like a heart attack, and her men, disguised as ambulance attendants, spirit him away. As Nene monitors things from the outside, Linna contacts Sylia and brings her up to date. Sylia sends Priss, now in her hardsuit, to follow McLaren's ambulance, as something about it seems suspicious to her.

As Linna follows Reika from the hotel, Priss stops the ambulance. The GD-42, piloted by Kou, attacks and Priss is quickly beaten to unconsciousness. Kou, however, can't finish her off. ("I must have contracted Miss Reika's disease.")

Meanwhile, the real ambulance arrives at the hotel, and Leon and Daley realize they now have a kidnapping to investigate. Sylia follows the tracer signal from a bracelet that McLaren was given to wear, only to find the bracelet still inside the now abandoned ambulance. She also finds the badly injured Priss, who collapses in her arms. Linna, in the meantime, has followed Reika all the way to Irene Chang's grave. One of Reika's men captures her as she is about to report in. At Sylia's apartment, Priss's injuries are tended by Mackie while Sylia and Nene try to decide what to do next. Nene in particular is depressed over the night's events: McLaren was kidnapped, Priss has a broken arm, and Linna is missing. Sylia decides that since they lost Linna's signal near Irene's grave there must be a connection, and asks Nene to look into it.

Held captive in the waterfront warehouse, Linna confronts Reika with the knowledge that Reika is both Irene's older sister, and also the mysterious Vision. While they talk, Kou takes a call from Mr. Chang. He updates Chang on the situation, and passes on the news that Reika's fighting performance is the same -- she is too soft and can't bring herself to kill people.

Kou says that Reika's hatred over Irene's death is driving her to revenge, and Chang replies that this revenge was her wish. He didn't want to get her involved in the shadow world in the first place, and charges Kou with protecting her.

Meanwhile, Reika explains to Linna that her family has led the Hou Bang ("Tiger's Stripes"), a secret society, for generations, and that her father's death created a void in the successorship. She didn't really care about Hou Bang until Irene was killed by Genom. Since then, she's been determined to have her vengeance. Having killed the President of Gulf & Bradley for the death of her parents, she now intends to kill Quincy for the death of Irene. Once she has done so, she will quit singing and take over the leadership of the Hou Bang.

June 13. Kou arranges a meeting with Quincy the next day, to discuss the return of McLaren. Quincy is not interested: the new Boomer is now complete. Kou explains that since McLaren knows the weak points of the Boomer's design, there are many others who would be interested in him. Quincy finally agrees to meet with Kou at Genom's artificial island.

At ADP HQ, Leon, waving photos of Nene working at the St. Regis, blackmails her into tracking down data relating to the Chang murder and the McLaren kidnapping cases, something she was already doing for Sylia.

June 14. The day of Vision's opening concert. Nene has run into a brick wall trying to get information on Irene. Priss, who has cut off her cast and gone to the waterfront, finds and rescues Linna, locked in the now abandoned warehouse. Back at ADP HQ, Naoko reminds Nene of the concert, and ends up giving Nene the password she's been looking for. Nene tries to tell Leon what she has found, but instead of listening, he takes her with Daley and himself in pursuit of Quincy. Quincy, heading for his appointed rendezvous with Kou, is also being followed by Sylia.

On the island, Reika faces Quincy and demands his life as payment for Irene's. He doesn't know what she's talking about, and tells her she's a fool for causing such trouble. Reika pulls her gun on him, but freezes, so Kou shoots him down. Sylia, Linna, and Priss arrive and rescue McLaren, and Kou accuses the Knight Sabers of working for Genom. Before they can correct him, Quincy stands up and does it himself. Now revealed to be yet another android double of Quincy, Reika is finally able to shoot him. That causes no problem for the android, who calls for the "show to start." A new type of mecha appears from Quincy's helicopter and attacks Reika and Kou in the GD-42.

Stuck in a traffic jam, Nene finally fills Leon and Daley in on what she's learned: Irene Chang's death was the cause of all this, the Texas incident was related to the death of Irene's parents, and Vision is the culprit. Nene also tells them that she doubts that Vision is the main one involved, and asks if the circumstances will be taken into consideration.

In the meantime, the battle between the GD-42 and the Genom mecha continues, with the three Knight Sabers taking Reika and Kou's side. As the battle site is also a test area, the many booby-traps cause as much damage as the fight itself. With the GD-42 locked in an embrace with its Genom counterpart, Reika and Kou arm the self-destruct and initiate their escape systems. Kou is successfully launched clear, but the Genom mecha grabs Reika. Linna intervenes and helps her escape just before the massive explosion that destroys the island.

Afterwards, Reika, Kou, McLaren, and the three Knight Sabers wait on a partially submerged rooftop for the police to arrive. Reika tells Linna that she's going to quit singing because her revenge won't be complete until she kills Quincy. Linna slaps her, then gives her Irene's engagement ring which she had kept after Irene's death. Linna explains to Reika that Irene was just an ordinary girl, happy to have been given an engagement ring. If she wants to make Irene's dreams come true, there must be a better way than killing Quincy.

Leon, Daley, and Nene finally arrive, and McLaren quickly points out Reika and Kou as his kidnappers. Kou steps forward and says that Reika had nothing to do with it. But Leon and Daley have other ideas, and arrest McLaren for violating weapons production laws and multiple counts of soliciting prostitution. Leon thanks Vision for her help in arresting McLaren, and offers her an escort to her concert, which she gratefully accepts.