| Robin writes a rune on her small mirror with lipstick - Hagalaz. (Wrath of nature, destructive, uncontrolled forces, especially the weather, or within the unconscious. Tempering, testing, trial. Controlled crisis, leading to completion, inner harmony.) She thinks to herself that she's a Witch, and Witches are meant to be Hunted. Then she thinks of that little girl she babysat, and how that little girl had to go into hiding to avoid Hunts. She looks at her glasses and decides to live, even if she's a Witch. Nagira meets with one of his contacts, who reports that someone from the American military has entered the country recently. The contact agrees to look more into the matter despite the danger. Zaizen reads his email, as usual, and his Research Gimp asks to speak with him. He asks what's wrong, and Zaizen says that they've found out a little bit about Amon's whereabouts. His wounds were treated at SOLOMON HQ, and he's probably still in Europe, but he might have re-entered Japan. Zaizen isn't sure of Amon's loyalties, but decides to let him be since Amon doesn't know any confidential information. Research Gimp starts reporting the progress of the Orbo Project. We get a pan shot of the Lair of Evil, and something bubbles in a tall green cylindrical tank, somehow catching Robin's attention many miles away. Robin realizes that Sastre isn't the last Hunter, and SOLOMON will send more. She wonders if she can fight all the Hunters, and then the shrooms kick in and she starts hallucinating about the Witch Methuselah. Methuselah says the usual useless nonsense about the answer to that question being inside her. Amon sits in a car playing with his laptop, and he finds out that the next Hunter is in Japan already, and that he's a Earth Craft user. At STN-J, everyone's very quiet, and Kosaka and Hattori notice how down everyone seems. Those two are chugging tea as usual. Michael gets the information about the new Hunter that's probably Hunting Robin, and the group discusses it. The Hunter, for his part, appears to be writing in Ogham alphabet in the earth at various points in the city. STN-J is also fully aware that Zaizen and HQ are at odds with each other, and wonder where they're supposed to stand in the argument. Miho wonders why Amon was at the invasion, Doujima says that Robin and Amon probably turned on each other, and Haruto comments that Amon hasn't come back since the raid. Hattori tries to make a lame joke to make them smile, but it falls flat and they just stare at him. We get a better look at the new Hunter; he's a creepy old man with slightly glowing eyes and a persistent cough. He's still making those chicken-scratches in the dirt everywhere. Nagira gets more information from his people, and decides that he needs to talk to Robin. He meets her outside her door, and they eat instant meals together. Robin confesses her idea about the new Hunters, and how she's trying to find them before they find her. Nagira comments that she's changed, and Robin says that she's just acting on her own for the first time, not following SOLOMON's orders. Nagira encourages Robin to go out and get more information from her friends at SNT-J, and not to be a wuss about it. The next day, Nagira hears from his informant that the guy he was investigating entered the country under his real name, as a civilian from the European Union. He also withdrew money from a bank account under his real name. Nagira can't imagine why this guy is being so obvious, unless he wants Nagira to find him. (Three guesses who this is...) Amon, in the meantime, is still playing Pong on his laptop in his car, and notes that the Hunter is still in the same location as yesterday. Michael's also hax0ring furiously to find out about the Hunter, and everyone watches him with apathetic expressions. Kosaka scolds them more half-heartedly than usual about surfing the web at work. Nagira returns to his office, wondering if Amon's being obvious just to lure him into some kind of trap. Amon, for his part, sits in his car, watching some house where an old lady lives. Robin decides to go out, and bikes out in her 1337 biking gear. She bikes over one of the Hunter's Ogham marks, alerting him to her presence. She goes to the well again and talks to Michael, asking him about any new Hunters. Michael's surprised that she doesn't want any juicy gossip about Amon, and asks her if she's going to oppose HQ. Robin says she hasn't changed, but she needs to know about the Hunter. Michael says that HQ must have hacked his information about the Hunter, because someone accessed it. Robin says that it was probably Amon who did that, not HQ, since Amon would have access to STN-J's databases. Amon watches the Hunter standing in the road, using his special military-issue night-vision goggles for spying in girl's lockerrooms. He sees Robin wheeling her bike down the road towards the Hunter, and just stands there and watches the fight. Robin notices the Hunter and sets down her bike. The Hunter uses some kind of Darkness Spell, and an Ogham Circle appears under Robin's feet. He blasts her with earth, and she defends with fire. She tries to attack with fire, but it doesn't seem to affect him, and the flames are actually reflected back at her. The entire world seems to shake to pieces in an earthquake around her, and the Hunter disappears from view. In reality, the two are just standing there in the road, blank-faced. As Amon watches, the Hunter slowly begins to walk towards Robin. Robin realizes that the earthquake is just illusion, and focuses on finding the Hunter. She suddenly sees him reaching out to her, putting his hand on her cheek as he is in real life. She hears his coughing, and can see him strangling her in the real world. She suddenly lashes out with flame, reducing the Hunter to ashes before he can defend himself. Robin pants, recovering from the battle, and Amon watches from afar like the useless gimp he is. He gets in his car, muttering to himself that it's not just the power, she's changed. "Can't you see that, big brother?" "Three hundred and twenty years have passed since the coven sank in the dark. Phantom from the past. Time that started to move again." [previous] [next] |