Blue Seed 2 Episode 3

This third episode of the Blue Seed 2 OVA starts off similarly to the first one, in that Kunikida is sitting in his office of the TAC building (the newly rebuilt TAC building, I gather) with the same small fan circulating the air around him (what? They rebuilt the building and it STILL doesn't have a decent central air conditioning system? The shame!!). But different from the last time, Kunikida is not sitting at his desk, poring over newly received Aragami data. Instead he is talking to Ryoko on the phone. They are making plans for the "guys" to meet up with the "girls" at a hot springs. Ryoko asks him to say something, most likely of a romantic nature, at which Kunikida balks, saying the line might be tapped. She, of course, promptly hangs up on him then. =)
    The next scene shows digital and technical paraphernalia scattered across a table along with a digital clock that is set for 300 and a series of monitors. What could this possibly mean? o_O Is someone planning a covert operation? Is another Aragami attack about to commence? No; thankfully (or perhaps, regretfully) this episode has only one Aragami in it, and that's only if you count Kusanagi. Next we see water and a little calibrated tube with a float in it, keeping track of the water levels while sinister music plays in the background. Oooh, the suspense is building.
    Then.... the music stops, the camera pulls panning across the surrounding countryside to the chirping of a solitary bird. Then a more carefree tune kicks in and the title flashes across the screen: Six Beautiful Women Journey: Explosion of the Secret Springs. More pictures of water, this time flowing from a pipe into a reservoir. And then we hear Takeuchi's voice speaking and finally learn that this is a hot springs - one that Kome's grandfather made himself. Next we see Momiji going ape over the fact that there are monkeys here at the hot springs. Valencia takes a look at them and offers the comment that they're JUST monkeys, nothing to get so excited about. But that has little effect of Momiji's childlike enthusiasm. She's still super excited and Sakura walks over, ironically noting that monkeys are Momiji's best friends (one can't help but wonder if Sakura is lumping Kusanagi in with all of the other monkeys here =P) At this point Momiji admits that she DOES speak monkey-nese.
    Koume brings a basket over and tells Valencia that she can put her clothes there. Valencia makes the comment that it's strange to put them in such an unsecured place (ooohhhh; a bit of foreshadowing here) and the girls begin to undress. Thus begins the headlong rush into fanservice as the very next shot shows us Matsu in her bra. The girls leave the building and walk out to the hot springs, greeting the old man and women already ensconced in the waters. There's some conversation about the temperature of the water and the camera keeps going back to the calibrated tube that measures the water level. Ryoko thinks it's almost too hot, but the old couple thinks it's about right. A brief shot back to the television monitors and then a man's hand holding a cell phone. He dials a number.
    The scene jumps back to Takeuchi and Matsu and their discussion about just how hot the water is, which is interrupted when Momiji informs Takeuchi that her phone is ringing. More fanservice as we see Momiji half clad in a towel and Kome in her pink bra and bikini underwear o_O...   Ryoko passes Valencia on her way to get the phone and we see Valencia sporting a green and yellow swimsuit: the only one dressed in something other than a dinky towel. The others there are completely naked, except for the aforementioned figure hugging towels they've wrapped around themselves. Matsu reminds Valencia that swimsuits are not appropriate for Japanese hot springs, but Valencia obstinately remarks that she will not give in on this particular cultural issue. Matsu asks her what she means, but we never get a chance to hear what she means as the scene jumps to Takeuchi who answers her phone to find Yaegashi on the other end.
    Yaegashi asks her if they are having fun and they wrap up details as to when the "guys" will meet up with the "girls". The scene of their conversation is interrupted by another: one of a large man sitting at a desk with a phone up to his ear, listening to a monotone busy signal. Irritated, he mumbles to himself about blowing "them" up right now if the line doesn't free up.   The scene switches back to the springs and two monkeys bathing in the water. Momiji remarks how calm they appear to be and Sakura obliquely replies it's because their "big friend" is there to watch out for them. Momiji is nonplussed; Sakura's reference to herself goes right over the top of her head.
    By this time, Takeuchi is finishing up her conversation with Yaegashi and is about to put her phone away when it rings again. This time it's a stranger. He tells Takeuchi it's a good thing that she didn't talk long on the phone and then informs her that there is a bomb at the hot springs. Ryoko tells him that that's a bad joke, but he ignores her comment and proceeds to tell her that if the water levels reach a certain height , it will trigger the bomb. Ryoko retorts that she won't believe such a crazy story and the man replies in a bored way that the triggering device will be activated when "she" goes in. Ryoko gasps and turns to see Valencia climbing into the water. She screams for Valencia to stop; not to move. Kome asks her what's wrong, and Ryoko replies that everyone must stay in the water because she's just received a bomb threat. They can't get out until she's confirmed whether or not it's a hoax. The old man asks her if that applies to he and his wife as well and Ryoko says that it does. Then Sakura asks if it applies to Momiji's "friends" too (the monkeys), and everyone realizes they have a problem if the monkeys decide to leave. Ryoko panics and commands Kome to catch them. Kome is less than pleased, calling Takeuchi a chicken, but she enlists Momiji help in rounding up the two monkeys.
    Momiji turns red and starts to protest, but Kome says they are "her friends" and so she trails after Kome to try and capture a monkey. As they stealthily approach the monkeys, Kome gives Momiji some last minute, expert "monkey catching" tips, telling her to grab the monkey's legs under the water. She counts to three and then they surge forward. Here we see that sometimes brute force is not always best when it comes to finessing a monkey =). Kome is struggling to subdue her new monkey hostage, and she looks over and sees that Momiji captured her monkey without a struggle.
    After taking a look around, Ryoko confirms that there is a bomb and they wonder what to do next when there is a loud explosion. Momiji wants to know what it was and Ryoko tells her that the terrorist has closed the road off. The phone rings again and it's the terrorist. He wants to know if Ryoko believes the bomb threat is real now. Ryoko cuts to the chase and asks him what his demands are. He tells her fifty million dollars in three hours and then hangs up leaving Ryoko aghast.
    Gathering her wits together, she phones Kunikida and he gets the same look on his face that he had when on a rollercoaster ride with Momiji in one of the very first Blue Seed episodes. He cries, "Bomb?" and then Yaegashi jumps in his seat too. The scene jumps back to Momiji and she looks at the monkey in her arms, wondering what is going to happen. Sakura swims by her doing the backstroke and tells her what will happen will happen. This fails to comfort Momiji and she sighs, looking up at the sky, thinking about Kusanagi. As she stares at the passing white clouds she sees an object falling from the sky and as it gets closer, she realizes it's Kusanagi. Much to her surprise, Kusanagi lands a few feet away from Ryoko. He tells Momiji that he's sorry to make her wait and that he's heard everything. Crossing his arms, he's ready to take charge of the situation. Takeuchi asks him if he can help and he replies yes, then wants to know what he should do first. Ryoko tells him to get into the springs and this appears to dumbfound him since he doesn't understand how that is "helping". Ryoko tells him that they need to disarm the bomb and that she needs Kome for that more than she needs him. So much for manly man power =P.
    Now Kome and Kusanagi have to switch places, and Kome asks Takeuchi to bring her her underwear, a request that Momiji seconds when she realizes that Kusanagi is getting into the water with them. Kome hears her and makes the passing observation that Momiji and Kusanagi are not getting anywhere in their relationship. Sakura responds with the careless reply that she expects them to break up over time. Their remarks anger Momiji and she tells them to mind their own business, and adds that they shouldn't spread rumors about a person when that person is standing right in front of them. o_O... As Kome and Kusanagi get ready to switch, the fans are treated to a bit more fanservice as the camera gets several close up shots of Komes breasts and Kusanagi's speedo type swimsuit   -_-;;. Finally Kusanagi is in the water and Kome is out.
    Ryoko's phone rings again and the terrorist wants to know if they have the money . Ryoko plays the diplomat and tells him they're getting it ready, but the man knows the ploy and calls her bluff, saying he's changes his mind about the money. Instead she has to answer his riddle. Takeuchi is thrown off and asks him about the money. The scene briefly switches to Kunikida and Yaegashi as they try to track down who the rogue terrorist is before bouncing back to the girls as they try to figure out the answer the terrorist's riddle. While they're mulling it over, they discover that the old woman in the spa is not doing so good. Matsu asks for a cold compress for her and they try to figure out a way to alleviate the situation. They decide to try and drain some of the hot water out of the spa and bring some cold water in from a nearby spring to try and cool the water down.
    Meanwhile, Momiji is thinking really hard about the riddle and comes up with the answer of a 30cm whale. The others want to know why a whale and she doesn't have a good reason. Kusanagi calls her an idiot ^_^ and they start arguing and their compatriots soon join in. While the members of the TAC in the water start to quibble, Ryoko is over by the trigger mechanism, talking to Yaegashi, trying to figure out a way to turn it off. Kome gets dressed and says she wants to check out something. She believes that the terrorist is in the mountains because she thinks the trigger mechanism was activated via remote, which means the terrorist has to be close by. Kome tells Ryoko that there is a shed about ten minutes from the spa and that she's going to "go clean it up". Ryoko gives her her gun and Kome takes off.
    As she leaves, Ryoko's phone rings again and it's the terrorist. He tells her that he thinks they're breaking the rules too much and that he's gong to have to respond the their actions. Ryoko backpedals and tells him that they have the answer to his riddle and Momiji supplies two very ludicrous answers. The terrorist tells her that he wishes they would respond a little more seriously and he flips a switch. They hear an explosion and Ryoko asks what he just did. The terrorist tells her that he just made a hole in the hot springs. Ryoko turns and tells Kusanagi to plug the hole before the water level can drop and Kusanagi extends his arm a looooong way and plugs up the hole.
    As the hostage TAC members manage to avert disaster, Kome is crawling through the underbrush uphill. As she scales the craggy face of a small cliff, Ryoko talks with Kome's nerdier half, Yaegashi on the phone. She tells him to call her when he finds out some information - any information - whilst Momiji is in the water asking Kusanagi if he knew the answer to the riddle, which of course, he didn't. Kome reaches the shed by this time and takes a look inside feeling a moment of triumph as she spots the terrorist. She calls Ryoko and tells her that she's going in. Ryoko tells her no matter what happens, not to kill the terrorist. Kome steps up to the door, getting ready to open it when shrapnel starts flying outwards as the terrorist fires a gun from the inside. With no choice in the matter now, Kome puts her gun around the corner of the the door and without looking starts firing.
    Momiji and the others have heard the gunfire and they are worried about Kome. After a long moment of silence, Kome enters the shed and finds the terrorist shot to pieces. She calls Ryoko to tell her that she kinda sorta... killed the terrorist (he's still breathing, but it's very clear that that won't be the case for much longer). As the two girls are discussing the situation the terrorist manages to enact one last dirty deed, and he activates the timer on the bomb. Kome and Ryoko start to panic and they lose communication with one another as Kome's cell phone battery dies. Kome frantically begins tearing the shed apart looking for something to deactivate the bomb and Ryoko talks to Yaegashi on her end who has finally found the proper disarming procedures for the bomb. They start the procedures but things are a little rushed because there isn't much time left and Ryoko doesn't have all the equipment she needs to do a proper job. Momiji and her little group in the spa watch Ryoko panicking and Sakura observes that it would be good to prepare themselves for the worst. Startled, Momiji looks her way and Sakura points out the the other monkeys that are outside the spa are about to jump in. This will definitely raise the water level and set the bomb off. Panic all around now as things come their climax. Ryoko finds the last wire to cut, Kome finds the switch box and turns it off and the monkeys jump into the water.
    Momiji clings to Kusanagi with her eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable explosion but nothing happens. Kusanagi calls Momiji's name unsteadily, as if to say, let go. But Momiji says she wants to stay there just a little longer... The episode comes to a close at a Government Management Party. Momiji is sitting next to Kusanagi at a table listening to Mr. Kunikida and Ryoko sing a song about two people who can't love each other. Kusanagi seems less than impressed by their intoxicated rendition, and that, sadly enough, is the end to the Blue Seed saga. =)