Angely i demony kruzhili nado mnoj, Angels and demons circle above me,
rassykhali ternii i vechnye puti. through the thorns to the stars.
Ne znaet shast'je tol'ko tot, Only those unable to perceive its call...
kto jevo zova ponjat' ne smog. ...do not know happiness.
Naljubuites', naljubuites'. Watch in awe, watch in awe.
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris.
Naljubuites', naljubuites'. Watch in awe, watch in awe.
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris.
I am calling, calling now,
spirits rise and falling.
Soboj ostat'sja dol'she. To remain myself longer.
Calling, calling, in the depths of longing.
Soboj ostat'sja dol'she. To remain myself longer.
Naljubuites', Watch in awe,
aeria gloris.
Reporting for duty.
I thought you hadn't been cleared to leave the hospital.
C'mon, lay off. I can't be the only one lying in bed at a time like this.
I'm the one who called Togusa in.
I've put together all the paperwork.
You're coming with me to the Prime Minister's residence.
Yes, sir!
You gonna be okay? You're not back to 100%, right?
I can handle it.
After all, it was Togusa who initially found out that this case even existed.
Chief.
What?
You have an emergency call from the Home Affairs Minister.
All right, put him through.
Aramaki, it's me. Are you watching channel 3-3?
No, sir.
Then turn it on!
Suspicions have surfaced that members of Public Security Section 9,
The Truth Behind the Laughing Man Incident?
Home Affairs Ministry's Public Security Org. Involved in Kidnapping of Mr. Serano?
an armed group under the direct control of the Ministry of Home Affairs,
participated in the attempted kidnapping of Mr. Ernest Serano, CEO of Serano Genomics.
Public Security Section 9 is listed as an international rescue team...
Public Security's HQ, located in Niihama City
Section 9 Involved in kidnapping of Serano?
...formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs,
but their excessive information gathering and usage of force...
...under their own authority have long been viewed with concern.
This incident indicates a strong possibility that Section 9 was also involved...
...in the string of Laughing Man incidents which occurred in 2024.
The government is taking these developments very seriously,
Major?!
I've been called in for an emergency Cabinet session.
and has announced that they will be forming a special investigatory committee,
Look at what you've gotten me mixed up in. I want you to get over here, too.
and will demand the dismantling of said section.
In the meantime, you should come up with what you're going to say in your defense.
Furthermore, the response of all related agencies to Public Security Section 9 has been...
Does this mean that the intel was leaked before the op?
Calm down. It just means that the operation is now underway.
The two of us will go to the Prime Minister's residence as planned.
Major.
Yes?
The rest of you, find out where news of our op was leaked from.
Roger.
I think this situation calls for a radical reevaluation...
...of the necessity of the Public Security sections.
The social unrest caused by the disclosure of their existence has reached the breaking point.
Mr. Prime Minister, while they may ostensibly be under the direct control of the HAM,
I'm told that there have been occasions when you personally gave them their orders.
Well, I can't say that I haven't...
Well, it's also true that they're a valuable unit with combat experience...
...that was formed as an international rescue team.
Big talk from someone who doesn't even know what's going on in his own backyard.
Anyway, they're just a death squad that gained approval in the postwar chaos...
...under the auspices of an order issued by the Prime Minister back then.
In a time when we have yet to reconcile the Self-Defense Army with Article Nine,
the public is very delicate on this issue.
At any rate, this matter can't proceed if we don't call Section 9's chief here.
What?
You'll have to excuse me, everyone. I'll be back in a moment.
What's the meaning of this? This incident has put me in a very difficult position.
You're certain to be subpoenaed as a witness, too.
You can't possibly be unaware of how inappropriate it is for me to meet you like this.
I understand. But I'd like you to see this.
What is it?
Vital, top-secret documents regarding Secretary General Yakushima.
I guess we made it in time to make a major roundup...
Who else besides you has learned of this money trail?
Now that you have read that, there is you,
there is Mr. Serano, who has decided to accuse Secretary Yakushima,
and there are my men, and that is all.
I see. Very well, then.
We will deal with Mr. Yakushima when the timing is right.
However, we're now in a crucial time before the Lower House elections.
I want the public and the media to feel like they've won a victory.
If I let a man as powerful as Mr. Yakushima go,
proportional losses on our side would probably be inevitable.
I don't quite understand what you're implying, sir.
I mean the passage of the Special Forces Bill.
You want me to throw Section 9 to the wolves?
I didn't say that.
Just a minute!
We're talking about my trust in my men! People who obey me without question at all times!
That is the asset that I've spent all this time building up! You're asking me to...
Well, I'd say that the time has come to make use of those assets, wouldn't you?
I'll see to the arrangements.
Call your men together.
Don't worry. As long as you're still alive, you can rebuild your unit.
Take us to the Ministry of Justice.
Yes, sir.
Major, it's me.
Did you manage to persuade the Prime Minister?
Assemble everyone at the Section 9 building.
Any other orders?
Don't die. Survive, no matter what.
The enemy has nine think-tank units.
Squads 3 and 4, you will drop in from above and infiltrate the hangar from the heliport.
Your top priority is the destruction of the tanks.
Squads 5 and 6, quickly capture the seven primary members...
...and gain control of the entire facility.
All units, go autistic after we go in. These people specialize in information warfare.
We'll pin 'em down with brute force!
Chief.
They're following us, all right.
I'm gonna shake 'em!
Chief!
We're here to pick you up. You still have a few things to do for us.
Making all the necessary arrangements in such a short amount of time...
The Prime Minister is certainly a capable man.
Section 9 is probably being neutralized as we speak.
It's what?!
Take him away.
Yes sir!
Chief! What's going on?!
Please, explain it to me! Chief!
Is it just me, or does the building seem different than usual?
And what's with this muster call? It's a little strange.
I don't have time to explain the situation to you right now.
Just keep quiet and carry out my orders.
Prep six blank prosthetic bodies and bring them to the command center.
Wait, are you saying...
Get to it!
Major, what the hell is going on?
Take these seeds.
Once we leave here, leak the information in them to the media and make 'em sprout.
We'll need a push from public opinion to oust the Secretary General.
Okay, we brought 'em.
I got an encrypted transmission from the Chief a while ago.
A military special forces unit is probably going to try to take this building soon.
So, the Special Forces Restriction Bill passed, huh?
By the time a special Cabinet meeting has authorized military action, it's already over.
It happens all the time.
They're here.
Once we've bought as much time as we can, we're shutting this place down.
Hangar is secure. No sign of the think-tanks.
Watch out for an ambush.
Captain, there's a record in this terminal that the think-tanks were sent back to the lab.
Crap, that's the story with all the intel we get from the top brass...
Stow the chatter!
Circumstances change at a moment's notice in the field.
Deploy teams while keeping all possibilities in mind.
Here they come!
Let's do it!
Ishikawa! Activate the building's sprinklers!
No good, huh?
It's just water.
Squad 2, give support!
Charge in with powered exoskeletons and overwhelm them!
Fall back!
With that armor, we'll never slow them down no matter how many times we hit them!
What unit are those guys with? They're pretty damn good.
They're called Umibozu.
Umibozu?
Yeah, they took part in the op to take back Nemuro.
They're famous in the underworld.
They don't officially exist, so they don't have an official unit name.
All right, it's time. We're getting out of here!
Verify the situation! See to the wounded on the double!
It looks like the members of Section 9 tried to self-destruct.
Bear in mind the possibility...
...that this is a camouflaged operation where they staged their suicides.
Don't let your guard down! Continue the search!
Roger!
Goodness, what are we going to do with you?
You know you shouldn't spill your tea like that.
Tachikoma is such a go-getter.
Oh, there's more over here...
He's a hard worker, and he made friends with all the residents right away.
He's a big help, all right.
Wait, this isn't tea!
He was auctioned off from some agency, right?
I wonder if there are any more?
I know what you mean. But what do you suppose robots like him were originally built for?
Look, the news is on! Let's watch the TV!
We interrupt this program...
...to bring you breaking news regarding Section 9.
At an emergency Cabinet meeting calling for the dismantling of Public Security Section 9,
Ministry of Home Affairs Anti-terrorist Unit
Special Forces Restriction Bill Ignored, Clash with Military in Niihama
a special forces restriction bill dealing with military deployments was passed,
but it appears that a military special forces unit stormed the facility moments ago...
...in response to Section 9's failure to respond to repeated warnings,
indicating an intent to fight to the bitter end.
We take you now live to the scene.
Hey! That's Section 9!
Moments ago, above the building which houses...
...the Section 9 complex, a military helicopter...
Doesn't look like anyone's after us for the time being.
That ploy won't buy us much time.
None of those cyberbrains had been broken in.
So...
What do we do now?
The Chief told me to survive, no matter what.
I agree with him.
From here, we'll go off in three directions to break up our pursuers.
After that, split up and go to ground in the city.
As of today, Public Security Section 9 is disbanded.
That is all.
They're severely damaged, but we believe these to be the corpses of the six members.
We're analyzing the cyberbrains for residual usage traces.
Call up Squad 5 while you're waiting for the results.
Assume that this is a camouflaged operation.
Seal off all passages you can think of, including elevator shafts, exhaust vents, and sewers.
Yes sir!
You go first.
No, you go first.
If they come after us, I'll block the tunnel with my body.
What if they ambush us at the mouth of the tunnel?
If I blocked the exit in front of you when that happened, where would you run to?
So, Section 9 is finally finished, huh?
All that work we put into it just went up in smoke.
You think so?
It was nice to have free access to all the latest maintenance and top-rate equipment,
but that's all it was.
We'll have to find a new sponsor now, that's all.
Or is it something else? Do you have some kind of attachment to the place, Batou?
Nah, not if you put it that way. If anything, I guess you could say it's memories.
Memories? That's awfully sentimental of you.
That reminds me, where's that watch you're always wearing?
I had to pick today to leave it next to my bed at my safehouse...
If they've hit Section 9, they've probably got my place secured, too.
You okay with that?
Didn't you get that watch to commemorate your final prosthetic body resizing?
I don't know who gave it to you, though...
Oh, you knew?
But don't get the wrong idea. I didn't really wear it for sentimental reasons.
Isn't the reason you've always stuck with female-model bodies...
...because you wanted slender arms that the watch's strap would fit around?
You can change your prosthetic body or your braincase,
but there are some things that you can't swap out, and you know it!
What are you so worked up about?
I changed my body and my braincase as circumstances required.
So I'll just change my memories, too.
That's enough idle chatter.
Once we're out of here, we won't be able to contact each other again.
Even if we do meet again, I might not be who I am now.
I want you to give your own survival top priority, too, Batou.
Like I've been telling you again and again, that's not true.
Then what was a member of Section 9 doing in contact with Mr. Serano...
...while impersonating the Laughing Man?
Look, that was to...
Was what?
Besides, Section 9 itself didn't even exist six years ago, right?
How the hell could it be involved with the Laughing Man incident?
Data falsification is a specialty with you guys, ain't it?
Gimme a break, would you?
Six years ago, I was an investigator at police headquarters, same as you!
All right, let's take it again from the top.
Let's split up here.
Yeah, sure.
The Major sent me. You got her usual drink?
I'm sorry, but I have loans to pay off for my prosthetic body...
If you want to live, don't put up a fight!
They already found out about this place, too?!
I don't normally take jobs from anyone but the little lady,
but this is an emergency, so maybe I'll make an exception...
Check.
And check.
The battle is going badly...
Guys...
What do you mean, sir?!
Pulling out the Armed Suit units would be...
These are not people that we can beat without taking every precaution!
The building has been secured.
At this point in time, it isn't in our best interests to take any further overt action.
Understood.
Leave two Armed Suits, and withdraw the rest!
Yes, sir. But...
I wasn't told to send them all back. Get to it!
Yes sir!
Hell, it's my own life.
What I waste it on is my own damn business.
She's so cold and human
It's something humans do
She stays so golden solo
She's so number nine
She's incredible math
Just incredible math
And is she really human?
She's just so something new
A waking lithium flower
Just about to bloom
I smell lithium now
Smelling lithium now
How is she when she doesn't surf?
I wonder what she does when she wakes up?
When she wakes up?