Arc the Lad

A mysterious air ship hijacking triggers a distress call to which bounty hunters Elk and Cougar respond with explicit instructions to rescue the passengers and capture all hijackers. Aboard, they realize that there's only one highjacker, and his motives are baffling at best. Soon, Elk and his team find themselves unwittingly at the center of an elaborate conspiracy that involves a young girl, Lieza (who has the ability to control monsters), her lion-like pet, Pandit, and a government agency engaged in human experimentation.

Following a narrated musing on destiny, episode 2 opens with Elk listening to a doctored radio report of the air ship catastrophe, just before receiving a bonus reward from the Mayor for rescuing the passengers, most of whom are guests at the opening ceremonies to unveil a new statue in reverence to a goddess, a political valuable publicity stunt for the dubious politician. Eager to start another bounty job, Elk asks Shu, a father figure to the young hunter, to join him in protecting Pandit and Lieza, now on the run from brasher bounty hunters, and man-made chimeras with government connections.

Another narrated monologue, this time on the duality mankind's brutality and altruism, yields to Shu leading the quartet into the safety of this hometown, a place where Elk feels comfortable enough to outline the whole government plot, which involves the kidnapping of children with rare powers (such as Lieza and Elk) and transforming them into monsters. An incensed Elk storms out allowing Shu the luxury of explaining Elk's tragic past to Lieza, and the young bounty hunter's vow to avenge himself on Arc, the man he believes destroyed his village and killed his family (and a man about whom the Mayor and his minions speak about with concern). And Lieza, in turn, explains her past.