S4E04: Wicked Hands

'''The Sayan has seemingly been caught. and the interrogation begins. Creepy events begin to happen around our heroes, including the discovery of an empty town. What is the truth that lies buried in the darkness? Where is Hellgate and what did he mean by "creating" a God Aura? What is the tragic secret that binds the Greenspan siblings together? The investigation continues...'''

"Wicked Hands" was the name of the fourth episode of the fourth season of the Xat RP, and continued the story begun in the season premiere, "Familiar Faces." It aired August 9th, 2014.

Plot Synopsis
The story begins right where the previous episode left off. Saiyo had been apprehended, and the entire base was in an uproar, trying to see the interrogation. With assistance from the Special A Unit, Wolfgang managed to disperse the crowd by threatening reprimands. As the group thinned, Aurion's presence was acknowledged, himself saying that his memories were slowly coming back.

Wolfgang allowed him to stay for the interrogation, believing him to be the Sayan's target and that watching her be convicted might shake her hold on him. Jack was also brought in to watch, though he was restrained, as agreed. Wolfgang ordered the suspect be brought in, and Saiyo was placed before them. She had clearly been crying, but attempted to put on a happy face. Once the accusations began flying, she retreated back into herself.

She was first asked to recount tthe story of her landing. She did so, but the interrogators found fault when she said she crashed in the forest. After all, she was found on the roof of ERAC HQ. Saiyo stated that she had no idea how she ended up on the roof, but she was certain that she crashed in a forest. The question of her pod came up as well.

Saiyo told the story of her crash, and how immediately after the crash she was disorientated, walking around the forest in a daze. She had no idea how she got to the roof. Furthermore, she had no idea what they referring to when it came to her pod. According to her, her pod was intact. This drew suspicion from the interrogators, who used it to prove that the real Saiyo was dead. Her pod was crushed, and when they found Jack's own, one pod was already reading as "Lost." They used this to confrim that her pod had already been destroyed.

Terminos suggested that Hellgate's presence might have altered the signals. Meanwhilke, Saiyo's persona cracked, and a more sultry and belligerent personality came forth. Power began to emanate from her body, forcing the interrogators into full alert. She used the doubt as leverage, claiming that there was no solid proof her pod had been destroyed when she landed, and suggested that maybe the Sayan dragged her to the roof. The lack of a second blood trail on the roof disproved this possibility however.

All was not looking well for Saiyo, and then Jack burst into the discussion, offering his own logic. He theorized that, assuming that the signals were not messed with, that perhaps the pod registered as 'Lost' was James' caused by the terraforming substance. If that were true, then Saiyo's pod would have to have been functional well after the crash due to when the investigators found the data. However, Jack's argument was shot down when the possibility that it was actually Saiyo's corpse that they found, and not James', came to light. Furthermore, his theory still failex to explain how Saiyo got to the roof.

Wolfgang motioned to take Saiyo to her execution, but Jack pulled a desperate gambit, claiming to be the Sayan. His claim was taken as so incredibly ludicrous that he wasn't even given proper analyzation. They demanded to see his true form, which he could not produce. If he could not, then they could safely run a blood test on his wound. If the blood matched with the one found on his pod, his claims would be officially laid to rest as bogus. Jack finally surrendered, apologizing to Saiyo as she was taken away.

Jack told his story and the story of the Greenspan siblings. Their father was a science officer for an organization called Blue Blood, which was a rogue R.A.G. faction that became more interested in the profits than in providing funds for the Rebellion's war effort. Jack explained that Blue Blood was ruthless, and willing to do anything. Their morals were bent to make "right" equate to "anything that furthers the company's goals." Kidnappings, assassinations, and human experimentation were not below them. Jack and his siblings were part of the latter category, their father apparently in charge of it.

Jack explained that Saiyo was the first one to be modified. She was gifted with great power and augmentations, but they ate away at her sanity. This was enough to discredit the formerly damning evidence that her power display during her interrogation was a result of being a Sayan. Jack went on to tell that he was the second experiment, and with him came more control. James was to be the guinea pig for the next step, which was enforcing obedience. It was at that point that Jack pulled his escape with his siblings. They escaped the research ship that was their home and crash-landed in Equestria.

Jack said that he didn't reveal any of this information because he was afraid of spies. According to him, Blue Blood had spies everywhere, including in the Rebellion. He was willing to be executed as a Sayan if it meant keeping Blue Blood away from Saiyo. Because of their shared misery, Jack wasprepared to continue the investigation by himself. So long as there was even the tiniest doubt about her guilt, Jack was going to keep seeking the truth. He then departed the base to do just that.

Wolfgang dismissed the rest of the Special A Unit, granting them well-deserved rest, and the episode ended.

Soundtrack

 * 1) Opening Theme - Main Theme (Sonic: Time Attacked)
 * 2) Sayan In The Base - Phantom ~ UNKNOWN (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinites)
 * 3) Saiyo Greenspan - The Puppet Without Strings
 * 4) The Island - terminal_entrance (Umineko no Naku no Koro ni)
 * 5) Confrontation ~ Questioning the Suspect - Examination ~ Moderate 2002 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All)
 * 6) Confrontation ~ Objection! - lastendconductor (Umineko no Naku no Koro ni)
 * 7) Confrontation ~ She's Falling Apart - Examination ~ Allegro 2002 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All)
 * 8) Jack's Defense - Pursuit ~ Questioned 2002 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All)
 * 9) Confrontation ~ Jack's Logi - Questioning ~ Moderate 2004 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trial and Tribulations)
 * 10) Confrontation ~ The Evidence Doesn't Lie - Questioning ~ Allegro 2004 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations)
 * 11) Confrontation ~ No Way Out - Pressing Pursuit ~ Cornered 2004 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations)
 * 12) Blue Blood - Sara's Theme (Breath of Fire II) (Orchestral Arrangement)
 * 13) Jack's Resolve - Strange People (Gyakuten Kenji 2 / Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path)
 * 14) Ending Theme: Dream a Dream (Pop It Don't Drop It Edit)

Trivia

 * There was supposed to be a section where the Special A Unit explores the empty town mentioned in the episode's preview, but due to time constraints it was cut. SDM plans to turn it into a solo instead, starring Jack.
 * This episode was originally going to end with the Sonic Time Attacked theme, but with the omission of the town segment SDM no longer felt that the ending was so dark as to require it.