There was a dark room but suddenly a red light started to blink. "Energy generator upgrade complete." A robotic female voice said. The room lit up and a table came up with a human body on it. It was dressed in a waloli type dress. But it seemed as if its head was hollowed out through the face. Looking through the hole where the face should be were metal parts, cables and multiple tiny ports. A large mechanical arm with a human face on it lowered and looked at the body. Suddenly the body got up and unplugged the face from the mechanical arm. Attached behind the face was a large metal part that would fit perfectly inside the hollowed out head of the body. The body connected the face to the hole and the face automatically moved to the position where it was supposed to be. This made a mechanical whiz and a sound that sounded like steam escaping an object. The crack around the face disappeared as if it were a mask that fused with a head. "Great!" The person who had reconnected her face to her head said with a perfectly human voice.. "Well that is complete. But I have heard of something interesting. There are still full humans out there. I could use their DNA to create human bodies and reverse the mechanization process or mechanize the humans. Or maybe I can make a hybrid of tissue and machine. They all sound profitable." The young woman named Kiriko said. She often talked with herself. Slightly insane she was. Her left hand split apart and a tiny chainsaw like blade came out. It started to rotate with an electric scream. "I could maybe even use this again."

"You're late Bluebird," a male voice said in a whisper almost too soft for Galaxy's human ears. It was a constant struggle to act like a mech as she called them. Keeping a low profile and earning money through stealing and trades were her method of remaining both completely human and safe. Looking at the young man in front of her, she wasn't suite sure. She was quick enough, maybe strong enough, and definitely smart enough.

"Check your watch. I'm right on time," the blue haired girl growled. She held out a dark, gloved hand. Her red eyes looked at the taller man from behind dark purple sunglasses. She was dressed in black jeans and a dirty, torn black tank top. Until she found anything better, she would be stuck with it and the itchy blood red sweatshirt she had hidden in a fallen tree. She was tempted to look at her boots, but what would the point in that be? The usually black shoes were muddy from the route she'd taken to get here, into the heart of the Trade.

The man chuckled, taking the small chip out of her hand. "I told you it would be there. The cyborgs are so stupid." He examined the small computer chip, which apparently had some kind of new upload for him on it.

Galaxy snorted. "You're one," she mentioned, her hand remaining where it was as he paid her a good sum for the steal. "They aren't dumb, all they need is better security." She turned and walked away.

A man kneels beside a tree, panting and sweating heavily. Gasping for air like a fish, he swung wildly around, looking for something hidden among the treetops. Nothing.. Good. Hopefully he was finally away from that monstrosity. That awful, horrible thing. He'd seen full cyborgs, but at least they had a certain human appeal to them. This thing had lost it's humanity a long time ago, and now, it seemed.. it was after his. The man in question, the man out of breath beside a tree was a near pure human, the last of his kind, and for the past week, he was being pursued by a certain cyborg.

This certain cyborg went by the name Darius Omega, and it just so happened, he was directly above the sweating man.

With a robotic hiss, he dropped onto his prey. Along the fall, skin split to reveal jagged metal parts, spinning and grinding like muscles. Carbon nanotubes erupted from his back, tipped with glittering syringes as he landed on top of the man, crushing him. The man screamed out of fear and agony as sharp metal spikes and the syringes plunged into his fragile human flesh. Looking into his assailant's eyes, he watched as the facsimile of a human face morphed into that comparable to a metal demon. Multiple glowing red eyes appeared as his fake human bits disappeared. As Darius opened his maw, the man could see moving spikes up and down Omega's throat and mouth. Metal against metal drowned out his thoughts, as Darius took one final bite into the man's throat, tasting the human with specialized nanobot taste organs. The man struggled, but at the end, he stopped. They all stopped.

Darius chuckled throatily, as close to chuckling as a metal beast could get, as his cyborg features slid back into place, and fake human flash reknitted itself over, hiding his true identity once again. As Darius examined the DNA the syringes had pulled from the man, he found something that made his chuckling stop. He was not pure human. Close, but not pure enough for his needs. Anger replaced glee, and Darius threw the man into a tree in his rage, splintering the man and the tree. Metallic howling filled the forest, filling it's denizens with fear.

Omega stopped his tirade, replaced his black aviators and began to walk away, his suit repairing itself, covering the fake human body. He had recieved new coordinates for the pure DNA. The dossier was almost empty, but it told him one thing, she was here, in Osaka.

Kiriko left her large appartment and walked down the street to a large building. On it it said Hatase Industries. "There you are Miss Hatase. When are we bringing out the upgraded arms and the less risky mutation method?" A woman said who sat at a desk. The lower half of the woman was missing. Her torso was connected to something that looked like a low chair. A thick cable ran out of the bottom of her torso into a hole in the wall. "I will reveil the products today." Kiriko said. "You have a new task today. I have heard of rumors about a pure human here in the city. I want you to look into possible subjects. If you find me a pure human, you will get a bonus and an exclusive upgrade that might make your work easier."
On her way over to the lab, a girl no older than 18 came to Kiriko. She wore a special attendants outfit. It was a short black skirt with thigh highs, white boots, a high collar shirt and a tie. "You have a call" The girl said. Her head split open revealing a monitor on the monitor was Mr. Arashiyama, one of Kirikos business partners. "Miss Hatase. So when will the presentation be?" The man asked. Then Kiriko answered: "Today at noon. Sorry but I havent got much time this morning. I will call you later." Kiriko then closed the girls head back up and went on to the lab.

People were just too temperamental these days. Of all the wonderful gadgets she couldn't use and could sell, she always got stuck with something or other. So naturally, she stashed all of the stolen uploads and upgrades in a dingy old apartment. It was in an older section of Osaka and required little rent and no name. It was perfect for a human hiding from the world.

Galaxy trotted to that part of town, keeping her head high as she strode down the street, daring anybody to stop her. She stifled a sneeze, since diseases seemed rarer and rarer these days. The blue haired girl arrived at the apartment building, entering and using the stairs instead of the slow, 21st century elevator. Nobody was ever here. If they were, it was only to crash for a night and leave the city the next day. Technology was abundant here, but money was not unless you knew the right people.

She didn't typically go out during the day, due to the risk of full vision. Yes, night vision was supreme these days, but her instincts still told her to stay out of the light and in the shadows.

Sighing, Galaxy sat down on a torn couch, looking around the small apartment. She never had any food here, no, she would need to wait until later to get that. The only useful thing she had was a tiny stock of things she had no idea about. Stealing was her thing, not technology and robotics. The supplies were useless, unless the girl felt like returning them and being caught of course.

Darius strutted importantly through the bustling streets, pushing aside the inferiors with disdain. People squawked and complained, but in the end, they kept walking. Once or twice, they would pursue the issue more, but one glare would put them back in their place. Omega was disapointed, he relished combat. He walked with purpose, without needing to examine his surroundings, he could sense everything.

Soon enough, his destination appeared. Third Eye Industries had locations all over the globe. If he hadn't recieved more reports of a pure human, he would have left to Europe, to quell the anti-machine underground resistance. This was more important, or so said the CEO. He answered to him, and nobody else, meaning the Osaka Third Eye Company held no power over him, and he had near unlimited power here.

He doubted he would need it. What resistance could a purist give? He would squash her like a bug. If he could find her.

He needed to hurry, too. Reports told him that Hatase Industries was also searching for this human. If it was any other company, Darius would have dealt with them personally. He didn't like to admit it, but Hatase was dangerous. He had once attempted to intercept a major research lab, expecting security to be the usual joke, but he had almost died that day. He would proceed with caution.

He had one lead, and one lead only. Third Eye spy cameras had captured images of a strange blue-haired female at a black market district known as the Trade. He was going to meet the man she had dealt with.

"Miss Hatase. We have a problem. We have an anti-human agent, we were in conflict with some time ago, enter the country. He goes under the name Darius Omega. What should we do?" An assistant said. Kiriko then answered: "Send out investigators to keep an eye on him. If he catches one of the investigators, then you can immobilize him and bring him here. I want him alive, if he is of any interest." The assistant nodded and went to get the investigators going. Then Kiriko said: "I have influenced this city to protect those who still have human flesh and tissue. I dont need some anti-human punk destroying my plans."

Kiriko then entered a room that slowly began to fill with spectators. It was only 15 minutes until the presentation should begin.

Galaxy was oblivious to the two people who wanted to find her the most. She knew the danger of being a full human, but as far as she could tell, she was perfectly fine. The Trade kept her in business and used to talking to people. Even if the people were questionable and didn't always pay her, it was something to do in her free time. Anyways, who would care about the weird pick-pocketer girl who gave ya what you wanted?

Looking at the ceiling, she began humming a tune that had somehow been drilled into her memory. She did not recall ever having a mother. A motherly figure was rare, but she'd been cared for until she was old enough to run away from the Mechs. So why was it that this tune always seemed to sneak up on her at the best and worst times? Galaxy resisted her strong urge to begin singing the strange words of the song, knowing that making too much noise could attract attention.

As Darius strolled into the heart of the Trade, he searched for the man in a peculiar way. Closing all of his external senses, he diverted perceptors to his sensory organs, located in hidden spikes on his back. On cue, they rose, tearing through his suit, and began to operate. Before him, he could sense the whole area. Two items of interest he found. One was the man, in his usual market spot, the other was a group of strangely behaving cyborgs. They were a group in the sense of purpose and positioning, not a group packed together. He could tell them apart both by their distancing from one another and the fact that they were all hidden from the Third Eye security cameras. Third Eye was notorious for placing cameras in places extremely difficult to avoid passing through. If you couldn't been seen from one, you were trying not to be. Also, on the third camera, one of these interlopers appeared as a blur. He performed a scan on the areas, for a final test. He found what he expected. Instead of the rusty spares that most of the black market regulars had, these spies had extremely sophisticated equipment. They had made a major error, they could have gotten away by hiding as normal people. They had both overestimated and underestimated him.

As he pondered whether to attack them or to shield himself from view, he had arrived at his target location. He released a pre-emptive EMP bolt, crippling nearby cyborgs, The man screamed in pain, clutching his ears and falling to his knees. He had outdated ear upgrades, now rarely used, for a strange habit of screaming and grinding when hit by an EMP. He closed in on the man, claws extending...

As the investigators kept their distance, they noticed the subject use a short range EMP device. "Miss Hatase. He is violating law 341.1. What should we do?" One of them said. Then Kiriko answered over telecommunication: "Nothing. You are in a black market. A place full of lawless people. If they dont abide by the laws of this city, then they dont get protection. We can only protect pure humans, regardless of their class and work." The investigators then stood at their places.

Kirikos presentation was about to start: "Ladies and Gentlemen. I would like to introduce you to our new products. 15 years ago, I became the CEO of this company after my father had suffered damage beyond repairation. We were only a company for civil work modules. But after I had reformed this company, we began to make modules for entertainment, fun, work and even military grade modules. Within a year, we became one of the top three cybernetic companies in the world and the leading company in Japan. We have brought you eagle vision eyes, integrated devices, high quality anti-virus software, mutation of human flesh for more durability and safety from disease, built-in weaponry, conventional booster modules etc. Now we bring you three new technologies. Introducing the X-series of cybernetic muscles. They allow soldiers and policemen to run at speeds up to 70 km/h, lift weight up to 1 tonne and have a long lasting functionality for up to 100 years. Our next technology is the EMP resistant plating, giving mercs, soldiers and policemen safety from EMP. We also have our product called the flesh machine series. Mutated flesh and muscles that have similar functions to mechanical counterparts with the ability to expand, rotate, retract and to split, painlessly. But those were our main products. We introduce you to Hatase Aerodynamics, a new division which takes jet propulsion to a whole new level. Its first product is a turbine that does not run on fossile fuels nor on ecofuels. The turbine runs solely on electricity, creating a stream of plasma for propulsion. It is highly efficient and has a maximum thrust of 900,000 kg. It could bring jet planes to Scramjet speeds. But the technology is decades away from being able to be used risk free and efficient enough to be used for cyborg boosters." Kiriko lied about the cyborg booster part since she had made them and implanted them in herself with successful results. "By the way, all products have a very high standard of security to avoid being stolen and reverse engineered. Tampering with it will cause many essential parts to self destruct in a safe way. For repairs they will have to be brought to a Hatase specialist. Thank you for your time." Kiriko finished.

Galaxy began to doze off, still humming. She suddenly bolted upright as an alarm went off. What was that? It had never happened before. She looked around, then jumped up off of her crappy couch and ran around the small apartment. What would she bring with her? Uploads and upgrades? No, those were useless to her, especially the old ones. But what if they had her fingerprints on them? Then she would be a goner.

She grabbed a box of the old products and looked around, trying to determine where to hide them. "Toilet!" she exclaimed, running to the bathroom and dumping them in. Galaxy then did her best to flush them. Most went down and after the second flush the others were gone. After dumping the rest of the boxes, she determined food would be no problem. Nothing else she had really mattered to her-the furniture was broken and torn, the books (which had no purpose anyways) were soaked, and she never had many articles of clothing.

Grabbing her wad of cash and stuffing it into her jeans pocket, she ran out of the apartment only to face the shady landlord. "Miles," she gasped, backing against the door she'd just come out of.

The rusty cyborg grinned at her, pushing her against the door as she struggled not to cry out. "You know what that alarm is? It means that somebody's coming for me. I rigged it myself with some old things I found in your apartment. I'm quite the genius." He smiled, leaning closer to her as she grimaced. "You and I both know what you've done. You can't deny it. And once the company comes for me, they'll come for you too. I'll make sure of it." His voice was raspy and low, making her tremble. He laughed. "You don't like my voice, since I can't afford it with this old heap we live in. But you've paid well... until a month ago." He wrapped a hand around her neck as Galaxy started gasping for breath. "You owe me more then you'll ever have. I know what you are, Galaxy. I've always known."

With that, Galaxy slowly retrieved the cash from her pocket, handing it to him. He let go of her and she fell to the floor, still gasping for air. "I know what you are too Miles," she growled, starting to stand up.

"What's that Bluebird?" he asked, fingering the cash eagerly.

"That you're useless." With that, she took her pistol out and shot at him a few times, though his skin was bullet resistant. She took out her kife and pinned him to the door across the hall, stabbing him repeatedly while trying to severe a vital wire or something.

Miles quickly kicked her backwards, then his metal fingers retracted, being replaced by sharp knives. He was so low tech. He came towards her, a cyborg version of Freddy Krueger. "Any last words, Bluebird?"

Bang.

Galaxy looked at an agent who had arrived just in time to shoot him with a gun that would short out his circuit, effectively disabling him for the time being. She waved a hand to him, then ran down the hall and crashed through a window, falling a story to the ground. "Oof!" Getting up, she darted away into the woods on the outside of town, lucky that Miles was their main target and not her.

Darius held the man aloft for a while, letting him choke and cough, until letting him drop, sputtering onto the ground.

"Where is the pure human?" he asked plainly and calmly, jumping straight to the point.

"Wh-wh-wha- I don't know of any such thing in this area," he stuttered around, searching for words. Darius picked him up by his arm. In the same fluid motion, he threw him into the side of an old metal shed, crushing it into scrap tin. Darius swore, chiding himself. He mustn't kill the target, for now, he was important to him. Recovering the marketer, he asked him three more time, each was a lie, but they were getting closer to the truth. "I don't know what you're talking," about turned into "I didn't know she was a pure human," as the man became more frightened and helpful. Finally, he told him everything he knew. They were things Darius already knew, but the man did know of her basic whereabouts. That is, he knew where her favourite food stall was. She went there everyday, according to the man. With the man's usefulness worn out, Darius could have some fun with him now. Small green modules popped out of slots in his back and began to rattle. A low heavy bass frequency filled the air, rattling the surroundings. It got lower and lower and louder, and its effects began to become apparent. The cyborgs that had been crippled by the EMP, that had begun to recover either exploded at certain points, went back into a comatose state, or fell apart. Windows exploded and bricks and screws popped from their moorings. The man clutched his ears again, screaming. The bass roar stopped, and Darius grabbed the man's throat. He crushed the man's esophagus and threw him aside, leaving him to die.

So much for remaining incognito, he thought, those interlopers were sure to have noticed him by now. No matter. It was time to fully reveal himself to his shadows. He checked his scan again to find a new agent, in addition to the first three. This one was not as sophisticated, and was instead someone Darius could easily destroy. He decided to kill him, having a third party only complicated things.

He bent down to all fours, his muscles reshaping to better suit his need for speed and stealth. Loping across the Trade, he found himself in an apartment building. An alarm was blaring, and there was someone shouting upstairs. A sharp retort from a firearm stopped the shouting, the agent must have shot someone, seeing as his life signature still read on the scan. Darius leapt upwards, breaking through the roof into the second floor. There he found a broken rusty cyborg, and an unknown agent standing above him, gun smoking, and looking out of the broken window. Darius shot the agent with an EMP pulse, and sprinted up to the window.

What he saw made his day. A blue haired girl was running full speed away from the building. Darius howled, filling the air once again with the low terrible bass sound. With a single bound, he threw himself out of the building towards the running target....

"Miss Hatase. One of our agents is down. This Darius guy seems to be after a girl." One of the investigators said. Kiriko sighed and said: "The presentation is over anyways. Take him out and bring me a functioning head. With the use of lethal weapons among a crowd and the murder of a citizen as well as an agent, he is eligible for a life sentence. Resistance will turn it into a death sentence. I will send out the guardians and come after." Then the investigators went after Darius. When Darius came to a stop, the investigators started to shoot at his legs and arms. Meanwhile a sniper in 3000 meters distance was setting up, untrackable by radar with active camoflage. The sniper had all types of rounds: From a small standard bullet to a armor piercing megashell, able to badly damage any cyborg on the planet, even the more advanced ones. The guardians, female combat cyborgs who looked perfectly human on the outside but turn into faceless (partially headless) killing machines with a large arsenal, were on their way. Meanwhile Kiriko jumped from a balcony on the 41st floor and used her boosters to fly to the point of interest.

"I'm dead," Galaxy muttered as she heard the howl of an elated Mech. He must have heard the commotion and come to investigate. she could almost hear him closing in on her, attacking her, and taking her somewhere dark and cold. Who knew what such a person would do to her? Especially if they found out she was a human. What if he already knew that? If he did, then she really was dead.

She heard a few shots and started to run in a zig zag, trying to avoid any bullets that might be coming her way. She had no idea of knowing that she was not being shot at. Galaxy continued running deeper into the woods, her legs starting to ache. She was quick, but distance really wasn't her thing. Stopping, she climbed up a tree and perched on a branch towards the middle of the trunk. She closed her eyes, gasping in air.

Fuck. Why did Hatase need to interrupt? Damn her. The girl was gone, and he was now getting shot at from all directions.
He was slightly insulted that Hatase thought that three investigators could beat him. Well he'd show her how powerful he really was. He just hoped he could kill the shooters before Hatase came in with her personal army. He phased into the first interloper, stabbing him in the throat. He threw the dead one into the last agent, crushing his torso. Child's play. There. The damage was done. The girl had long since gone, but he could easily go back and find her heat signatures. He found that the place was now crawling with heavily armed female androids. Furthermore, he seen a bright light a couple miles in the distance. Zooming in, he seen Kirko Hatase herself, jetting into his position. Realizing he was extremely mad, Darius dropped into the android crowd, shooting everything he could...