A cybernetically enhanced spider tank runs amok and it falls to Section Nine to deal with it. After going on rampage at the testing facility, the tank heads towards the urban area of Niihama.
Section 9 is called in to stop the tank after the Self Defense Force refuses to involve itself due to an inability to prove terrorism. Saito uses his Sniper Rifle on the tank, but is thwarted due to the tank's capability to link into the same satellite Saito is using to aim. Meanwhile, Togusa and Ishikawa interview the tank's designer, Toshio Ooba.
Ooba reveals the identity of the tank's hijacker: Takeshi Kago, the original designer. After Kago's death by extended illness, Ooba linked Kago's brain to the tank's AI, effectively putting Kago in complete control of the tank. Ooba further reveals that Kago's possible motive may be to avenge himself upon his parents; he had serious medical problems, but his parents refused to allow him to get a cyberbody or even a cyberbrain due to their religious beliefs.
Kago's destination turns out to be his parents home, and Section 9 tries to stop him. They are unsuccessful, and Section 9 is forced to battle Kago; in the end, they disable the tank and Motoko hacks Kago's brain. However, the Major discovers during her hack that all Kago was trying to do was show his parents his new steel body.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Ambiguous Situation: Was Kago out for revenge? Or just to get the last laugh against his parents?
- Dodge the Bullet: The tank is able to dodge a sniper round from Sato by hacking the satellite he's using to aim the rifle.
- Loophole Abuse: Kago's parents forbade him for using cybernetics to save his life, but that doesn't mean he can't do so after he's dead.
- Male Gaze: There's a gratuitous shot of the Major's ass as she climbs out of her tank.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: The tank never intended to do harm to anyone.
- Spider Tank: We see them being used to their full potential in a tank vs. tank Chase Scene.
