01x14 - Bohemian Rhapsody

[bunniefuu]

Welcome back.
And how was it?

—Oh, they were just thugs!
—Nothing to do with the syndicate…

—Dammit, was just a salaried employee…
—…they just wanted money to play with.

—…that gave into his temptations.
—They went to the cops penniless!

Then, what?

All of you caught the criminals, but no
clue about the bounty we’re really after?

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

They still use paper just
for all the complaints.

Dammit, they’re just harassing us.

And it’s a waste
of valuable resources!

The e-mail server is going down
from the sheer number of complaints.

There is a movement out there
to sue our company for damages…

What the hell are
the bounty-hunters doing?!

We already have a huge bounty on him!

Yes, however…

Amigo!

All you bounty-hunters in the
Sol system, how are y’all doing?

Once again, it’s time for Big sh*t!

We’ll start with today’s hot news!

They apprehended the culprit in
the series of recent Gate assaults!

Really? The bounty on him was
million Woolongs, right?

But the weird thing is that
culprits were apprehended!

What do you mean?

Apparently, they were all caught in
the act, but none were the mastermind.

Then you don’t get the reward
unless you find that mastermind?

But of course!

Oh my…

I feel sorry for all the guys
who caught the culprits!

Why the hell do these
thugs that normally just…

…rob convenience stores
att*ck at the Gates?

Maybe there are fads in crimes?

Like “Hyperspace Gates are the IN thing
among today’s fashion-conscious kids!”

“That girl won’t even look your way until…”

“…you as*ault at least
one Gate!” or something?

Hey, guys.

Why don’t we trade the
information that we each have?

And split the bounty three ways…

What do you mean?

You’re the one that
started all this, saying…

…that we should research
this case on our own.

You also said that the occasional rivalry
between comrades would be good for us.

Come on, did the reward amount
make you lose your memory?

What? You guys were really
keen on the idea, too!

After all, we all wanted the
bounty to ourselves, right?

In this case, all cases
were done the same way,

All of them infiltrated
the tollbooth…

…deftly attached the hacking unit…

…and in the exact
moment that passing ships…

…access the tollbooth
to pay the toll…

…they steal the entire
balance from the credit card.

Furthermore, the unit automatically,
sent the money data that it just stole.

It immediately launders all
the funds in a bank on Europa…

…making it impossible
to track where it went.

All the culprits that were caught
in the act have nothing in common.

Age, gender, nationality,
religion, criminal record…

And on top of it, nobody has any of
the money that they supposedly stole.

Well, that’s about all I know.

How about you?

The guy that I nabbed said that
he was just following the…

…instructions from a manual
that he got through mail-order.

Perhaps the other culprits are
reading the same manual that he was?

Manual?

This.

“A new criminal support software.”

“Right now, it’s a real bargain.
For the low introductory…”

“…price of Woolongs,
you too can be rich!”

What the hell?

It’s not easy to be a thief nowadays.

I’m sure there are people
who want manuals to help them.

And where is this mail-order company?

It’s a store that’s only on the
’net, so I don’t know where it was.

Besides, the store has already closed.

Spike, how about you?

The hacking unit that was placed
on the Gates was something that…

…couldn’t be made unless you knew
about the Gate system really well.

The mastermind’s likely someone who has
some connection to the Gate Corporation.

That was my hunch, and
I investigated that front…

The programmers would be fishy.

…but the guys from the Gate Corporation
suddenly became uncooperative.

It was as if they knew something, but
didn’t want us to find out about it.

Are you dead?

Where were we?

Well, I guess those are the
only clues we have for now…

Gimme that.

Gimme.

Yeah.

This is a memory cartridge for
playing chess over the ’net.

This piece has one match in its memory.

And, when you push it,
it connects to the ’net.

See?

And this has something to
do with this incident?

Nothing at all.

Maybe all of this is a game…

For now, continue playing
that game with the opponent.

Yup.

I’ll go talk to the Gate
Corporation guys once more.

Lesse…

Eenie, meenie, miney, moe…

Play ball!

Another bounty hunter?
I don’t care, send him back.

But he’s asking about
a chess-loving programmer…

What?!

Jet!

What, Jonathan, were
you another one that…

…went through all the
trouble to get nothing?

This thing isn’t that easy.

I believe we have given
out all the information.

What more are you saying
you would like to know?

Sorry, but there is no smoking
allowed in this building.

Oops. I’m so sorry…

Actually I had something
that I wanted you to see…

What is it?

This is a planned game.

You guys at the Gate Corporation
should know what this means.

I mean, to put a bounty on a mastermind
that we aren’t even sure exists…

…suggests that it’s someone you don’t
want the police to know about, no?

Bounty-hunters should just
look for their bounties.

I don’t know who you are, and
whether or not you used to work for…

…the ISSP, but it’s better for
you to not make any extra inquiries.

He’s going home.

Make sure he is kindly
escorted out of here.

Damn this old piece of sh*t!

I believe our risk is too great.

If that gets out to
the general public…

I am fully aware of our risk.

If we don’t catch him,
the situation will just get worse.

But why is a ghost from
years ago coming back now…?

To think that he gave
everyone a chess piece…

Chessmaster Hex…

So it is a game that he set up…

Chessmaster Hex…

No good. This doesn’t have anything
other than chess data in it.

I wonder what they were going
to do with such a thing…

If there is no meaning to the content,
maybe the pieces are the message…

Great, great!

Spike, I have a name…
Can you investigate the guy?

He might be the mastermind
behind this whole thing.

Hey, Ed.

Ed’s really busy right now.

Here, here!

Checkmate!

…or so you thought!

I’ll fork the king and the rook!

Indeed! This is either
an idiot or a genius!

I like this chap!

Chessmaster Hex. Estimated
to be years old.

A programmer that had been
dubbed a genius from his teens.

In the Cosmo-net chess tournaments, he
dominated the champion’s seat for decades.

He began work on the Hyperspace Gate
control program when he was …

…and created the central control
system that all Gates use to this day.

However, that was his fatal error.

He started to doubt the safety
of the Gates he helped create…

…and was against putting
them to practical use.

As a result, he was banned
from the Gate Corporation.

Ever since, his whereabouts
have been unknown for years…

So he’s the mastermind behind
our current string of crimes…

What do you mean?

I mean, why is he seeking revenge
years after the fact?

If we figure out where he is,
we’ll know for sure.

Hey, Ed.

Ed’s really busy right now.

Hey, you, quit playing games
so much and help out a little…

Ed, we want to figure out
where a guy named Hex is…

Hex… Hex… The Chessmaster?!

That’s who I’m playing
chess against right now!

We’re almost at the location we got from
the trace we did on Ed’s chess opponent.

You guys standing by?

I really don’t like this.

I mean, he’s basically giving
us his exact location…

Can we even trust that
trace in the first place?

—Ya think he’d be in a dump like this?
—No, I think it was… that.

I had heard once that there was a place
where all the scrapped remains of…

…obsolete Gates were gathered along with
scrap metal and abandoned spaceships…

…and that there were people
that started living there.

Why the hell do they want
to live here of all places?

That area has no nationality,
nor a government.

You don’t have to pay taxes,
and there are no cops.

I see… It’s the perfect
place to hide yourself.

It might be a trap…

This might be the
continuation of the game.

Whatever happens, happens.

Looks like we have air.

Then there is someone here…

Yo, Jet.

Jonathan!

How the hell did you get here?

Thanks for leading the way

You… were following
us the whole time?

Tough luck for you, but I have
important business with that guy,

So I’ll be going ahead.

What the?

What?

How the hell?

What is this?

What is this?

Hi!

Peace to the world…

…and love to my bank account!

You want one?

Wow! Amazing!

Chessmaster Hex?

All right, give up!

You guys…

Can you be a little quieter?

Old man!

Don’t joke with me!

Hey, wait a minute.

You won’t get away with
pretending to be senile!

Who are you?

If you don’t hand over
the money you stole…

…you’ll get a nice
hole in your brain!

That’s a big tube you got there…

Hey, whatcha doin’, Hex?

You gotta hear this. It’s my first
formidable opponent in quite a while!

Must be some player if
you have trouble winning!

But before that, where’s lunch?

What are ya saying?
You just ate lunch a while back!

Oh, is that so?

—Really, you’ve lost so much of yer mind…
—Who are these guys?

—…that all you can do is play chess!
—Dunno. But you know, this old fogey…

—Have ya lost it?
—Like you can speak… You…

To… To think my life savings
are never coming back…

Damn… Goddammit…

Anyone and everyone, you and
that guy over there…

The world is all a mistake!

What are we gonna do?
This old man doesn’t seem to…

…remember anything about
yesterday, let alone years ago!

That’s right.

Hex is no longer here.

Here we merely have an
old man that loves games…

Back then, Hex was riled up for
revenge, and planned this all out.

He made it so that this incident
would happen years later…

…during the one moment that the Gate
program gets automatically updated.

Even making those that
physically commit the crime…

…hold chess pieces to hint
that it was his doing.

However, to that old-timer,
years was too long.

He went senile,
and had completely forgotten…

…about the traps that
he himself had set.

Well, it works out better
for you this way.

Because now you don’t
have to worry about…

…the fundamental defect
in the Gates leaking out.

Although, the price you paid was
that we learned about that defect.

What do you want? Money?

Or… are you planning to leak
this information to the press?

Just leave that old guy alone.

That’s all I want.

It’s a good deal, isn’t it?

Ed would get lonely if she
lost her chess partner…

You’re playing that thing again?

Not again. Still.

Still?

You’ve been playing that
thing this whole week?!

Yeah.

I see.

Well, good luck.

Yo, newcomer. You seem happy today.

Hi!

He’s a really easygoing
fellow, isn’t he?

That he is…

Checkmate.

I lost…

Aishiteta to nageku niwa…
Too much time has passed by…

…amarinimo toki wa sugite shimatta
…to lament that we were deeply in love.

Mada kokoro no hokorobi wo…
The wind keeps blowing, while my heart…

…iyasenu mama kaze ga fuiteru
…cannot heal all the tears in it.

Kawaita hitomi de dareka naite kure
Someone, cry for me with parched eyes.

The real folk blues.

Honto no kanashimi ga shiritai dake
I only want to know what true sadness is.

Doro no kawa ni tsukatta…
Sitting in muddy water…

…jinsei mo waruku wa nai…
…isn’t such a bad life…

…ichido kiri de owaru nara…
…if it ends after the first time…

COMING EPISODE

Love… It is to believe everything.

Hey now, are you serious?

Love… It is the heart
that provides for all.

Come on… was that what
the story was about?

Love… It is the heart
that accepts everything.

You know, this is getting fishy.

Whitney… You loved me that much…

You really can’t trust
the previews on this show.

A romantic love story
for all you lovers.

Next episode: “My Funny Valentine.”

I’m sure it’s a lie.

Yeah, a lie. A lie.

MY FUNNY VALENTINE
Yeah, a lie. A lie.

MY FUNNY VALENTINE