Twilight of the Papers, Part II

Episode Synopsis
The sisters are stalled in their fight for Nenene Sumiregawa. The search loses steam as they begin to make sacrifices to save each other at the same time from numerous forces. And just when all is lost.

Extended Summary
Following last episode, Maggie Mui and Michelle Cheung exchange blows with Sonny Wong. The latter easily defeats them, stripping them of their paper clothing and attempting to stab them; Michelle barely defends in time. Michelle and Anita King take another route as Maggie stays behind to fight Wong.

Maggie blocks Wong's attack, then destroys the bridge he is standing on, causing him to fall to his doom. Maggie is relieved for a moment, but is suddenly pulled down by a ribbon of paper. Wong is still standing on the bridge and somewhat annoyed.

Something explodes, distracting Dokusensha. The installation of the Perfect Language program into Nenene is stalling as Nenene fights Dokusensha. Meanwhile, Wendy Earheart prepares to transfer information as Joseph Carpenter talks to Dokusensha about abandoning the Hong Kong facility, as it may have been compromised. Dokusensha agrees to Joseph Carpenter's plan as Wendy finishes sending the data to the Special Operations Division.

Michelle and Anita enter a control room that Junior has already commandeered; he escapes as the girls enter. Michelle finds Nenene, in a sphere in the centre of the building, but security guards are coming to their position. Michelle tells Anita to escape through a ventilation shaft as she stays back to guard her escape. As the guards enter, they find their path inside blocked by paper and flying arrows. One finally manages to land a bouncing smoke bomb inside, knocking Michelle out.

The evacuation order is given as the guards find Michelle. Just as they are about to shoot her, Junior kills the guards, saving her.

Lee is ordered to "dispose of" Nenene. Lee is about to kill Nenene, but asks her why she didn't accept the programming. Nenene says that she didn't "because it wouldn't be my book. It wouldn't have been a book that I'd written myself, suffering and agonizing through the process. How could it be interesting? If I wrote such a book, I'd be too ashamed of myself to face her."

"Did you think I'd take part in such a conspiracy? What were you reading in my books?"

Anita bursts in at that moment, disabling the personnel and disarming Lee. Anita frees Nenene as Nenene passes out. Lee starts to threaten the girls, but instead decides to help Anita get Nenene out.

Michelle awakens to find the guards dead and a gun in her hand. Maggie and Wong are still fighting.

From a helicopter, Joseph Carpenter detonates the bombs Junior placed inside the building earlier, easily destroying the building. This proves to be serendipity for Maggie, as the explosion opens several tanks of printer's ink. She distracts Wong with paper, holding him in place long enough for him to be swept up by the ink. He makes a last grab at Maggie's foot, terrifying Maggie for a moment, before losing his grip and being swept away. Maggie flys away with a paper bird.

As Anita and Lee take Nenene, Lee's supervisor sees them. Lee kills him, but is mortally wounded in the process. He advises Anita to escape upwards, as the building is sinking, before sitting down on the floor. He enjoys one last smoke, commenting, "Delicious."

From the helicopter and the mainland, people witness Hong Kong island sinking into the sea. Even Wendy is amazed at the destruction.

Deep underwater, a bubble floats up to the surface, containing Anita and Nenene. Anita drags Nenene and herself onto a floating piece of furniture and calls out for her sisters. Fearing that they are lost, Anita and Nenene mourn the loss.

The girls look up to see John Woo flying towards them. Looking back down, they're overjoyed to see Michelle and Maggie on a paper gondola, floating towards them. As helicopters fly overhead, Maggie asks Michelle what will happen now. Michelle is unconcerned, as they are now together and will figure something out.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese original, Lee comments that Nenene isn't so femininely delicate when fighting the Perfect Language (see "The Papers Have Landed"). In the English dub, Lee says that it will take more than drugs to break her.
 * John Woo flying away with the lighter is similar to the scenes of doves flying in John Woo's movies.
 * Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (also known as Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR) is made of of several islands and mainland; one of them is called Hong Kong island, directly south of Kowloon.
 * The paper bubble and gondola contradict the Paper Sisters' earlier weakness to water; in an earlier episode, the girls were hit by a shower of water and all of their paper became useless.
 * As the credits end, the phone in Nenene's apartment rings, then hits the answering machine. There is a sigh, then Yomiko Readman asks, "Hello?"
 * The metal suitcase Michelle uses to carry their paper floats by as Anita calls for her sisters.
 * Each of the sisters carries a different item. Michelle holds their metal briefcase (carrying their specialty paper). Maggie wears Nenene's locket. Anita has Nenene's glasses in a pouch.
 * In this 2 part episode, Joseph Carpenter uses the Paper Sisters attack to convince the Dokusensha leadership that the location has been compromised and must be abandoned.