Pumpkin Scissors – 16

Summary:

Although he is afraid of the masked man, Mione speaks up when the man largely ignores him and instead checks up on how Hans is doing. Mione feels that he’s more useful than Hans because he was the one who distributed the drugs and got a set of documents that the masked man wanted. The masked man, however, just takes the papers, gives Mione the next shipment of drugs, and tells Hans to protect Mione. Pissed off, Mione pulls out a gun and tries to shoot the masked man, but he misses. By this time, Alice, Machs, and Oland have neared the location, and Alice decides to let Oland do what he wants in terms of fighting Hans. Still, she wonders if he can really shoot Hans after how he hesitated in the sewers.

Mione meanwhile has surrounded the masked men with his own loyal troops. He wants the masked man to recommend him for the Society of the Silver Wheel, but the man addresses Hans instead and apologizes for leaving him in such a place for so long. Since he’s being ignored, Mione tries to get Hans to obey him, but Hans actually finds the masked man’s orders more important. The masked man then pulls out two small blades from his sleeves that are attached to strings, and he throws them outward, killing most of Mione’s men in one attack. Terrified by what just happened, Mione starts to grovel and is surprised when the masked man spares his life.

Back at 3rd Section headquarters, Hunks is asking Metz about some documents, so Metz shows the captain a book that he’s carrying. Hunks finds something disturbing inside, but is interrupted when Oreld comes back with news that the 1st Section has mobilized. In fact, the 1st Section has already arrived in search of the missing documents. The masked man makes his escape, leaving Hans behind to protect Mione from the military. Alice and company also arrive on the scene and drive their way through the 1st Section forces. Seeing flames coming from one of the back rooms, Oland heads out alone, though Alice tells Machs to go with him. As for her, she’s staying behind to face the 1st Section. Machs leaves only after Alice says that, for the first time, Oland seems to have faith in her.

Alice then pulls out a large double-bladed sword from the case she was carrying it in and starts fighting the 1st Section men. Machs manages to find Oland in the passageways behind the house and the two continue on searching for Mione. Oland is worried about Alice, but Machs knows that it’ll take at least an hour for the 1st Section to get the paperwork done so that they can open fire on a noble like her. However, Machs also thinks to himself that Alice can’t last fighting alone for an hour. Back at base, word reaches Hunks that Connelly of the 1st Section is talking with the higher-ups, which means that it must be about Alice. Because of this, he decides that he needs to go have a chat with Connelly.

At the same time that Alice is thinking about how Oland has given her a battlefield, Muse Kauplan has returned to her assistant with a suitcase full of parts of an experiment – blood, skin, hair, and nail samples she took from Oland when she examined him earlier. She also believes that by tomorrow morning, they’ll be getting a full sample of either the 901 or the 908.

Preview

A good chunk of action this episode, and it was pretty nicely animated too. They’re not following the manga exactly, but close enough so that Alice still got all her cool moments. She gave off the same aura as a jedi, except without the Force. Or maybe that was just the double-bladed weapon talking. In any case, this Society of the Silver Wheel seems like a worthy opponent for Alice and the 3rd Section, assuming that they all survive their encounter with Hans and the 1st Section. We’re finally getting more and more about what the bad guys are doing, though at this point I’m also not sure whose side Muse Kauplan is on…maybe her own side.
Next week, Hans and Oland look like they’ll fight, and I’m putting my money on Oland.