It was the day that changed her life forever, and her look upon life. It's usually bright and somewhat peaceful in Shinhama, Japan. But on that day, it was different. It was dark and gloomy, as if God turned the light off, and went on vacation.
The year is 2007 AD. It's been two years since the third world war ended. Since then, crime has increased by almost fifty percent. Crimes happen everywhere. Murders happen as frequently as a person breathes. Robberies occur at a daily basis. On that night, little Motoko Kusangi was in her living room, playing with her dolls. She was ten at the time, and she had no care in the world but to enjoy life. As she played with her dolls, her parents were in the kitchen making dinner. Motoko rose to her feet with her doll in her hand, and headed for the kitchen. At the split second, someone broke down the door to their home. The man was gloomy, he had a giant smirk on his face as he took a quick glance at the Desert Eagle handgun in his right hand, and took aim. He pressed on the trigger and watched as a look of fear appeared on Motoko and her family. The bullet flew and shot her in a nerve, severely damaging her and paralyzing her body. Her body hit the floor and she lost grip of the doll. She watched on as the murderer shot and killed her parents, then ran away.
The neighbor next door heard the gunshot and called the police and ambulance for Motoko. When they arrived, so did a friend of the family. It was Chief Aramaki Daisuke of Section 9, an anti criminal organization. He appeared to be a middle aged man, well dressed, and very intelligent. As he walked through the front door, a look of shock appeared on his face when he saw Motoko, as if he was struck by lightning. He ran over to her, picked her up, and rushed her to the car. Before they left the house, an officer stopped him and asked "What do you think your doing!" He replied "I am a close friend of this family, and I will make sure she is in good hands." He wrapped her in a blanket, put her in the back-seat of the cab, and told the cab driver to rush to the hospital.
Upon their arrival to the hospital, he took her in his arms and rushed her to the emergency room. The guards in front of the emergency room stood in their way, but he flashed his Section 9 badge, and proceeded to the emergency room. He told the doctors there to examine Motoko, and he laid her on the operating bed. The doctors did the usual procedures of checking the pulse, and the bodily conditions on the monitor. At the corner of the room stood Chief Aramaki, with a look of sorrow on his face. The doctor grabbed a tool, which appeared to look like oversize tweezers, to pull out the bullet from her spine. The doctors turned around to the Chief with their faces facing the floor, and began to announce the news. The doctor announced, "We are sorry Mr.Daisuke, but her entire body is paralyzed. The bullet hit a nerve in her body, which makes her unable to move. Her mind on the other hand is fully functional. We will give you sometime alone, we know this can be pretty devastating for you to hear, so just call us when you need us."
The Chief fell back into the chair behind him from hearing the news. He had that same look of sorrow in which he came in with, but his eyes showed determination. He was determined to find a way to help Motoko, who was just an innocent victim from a crime. He sat there, and he sat there. It's been an hour, and yet he had nothing. While he was thinking, he received a call from The Secret Bureau of Technology. He picked up the phone.
He said "This is Chief Aramaki Daisuke, who am I speaking to?"
The person on the phone replied "This is Charles Mustang, tech expert at the Secret Bureau of Technology."
"Hello Mr.Mustang, you called at an awful time. Unless you can make this conversation very short, good bye..."
"Actually, I heard what happened from some of my resources, and I have a solution. It hasn't been tested yet, but it will revolutionize the society of the future."
"What is this solution you speak of Mr. Mustang?"
"Well, Ms.Kusangi's body is useless to her, but her mind is still intact. Some colleagues and I have been working on a project called "Project Metal." What we plan on doing is replacing her body with a cybernetic one. Her mind will still be functional, and she will still be able to grow. Right now, that is the only solution there is. I will give you some time to think about it."
"No, we will do it right away, for her sake."
"You do understand Chief, that it's never been tested, right?"
"Very well Chief, I understand. I'm heading for the hospital right now. I will pick both of you up, and bring you to my work office. Of course, I cannot announce the name of the building and it's location, but I am willing to help."
"Greatly appreciated Mr.Mustang, I will be waiting for you in the lobby with Ms.Kusangi. See you soon."
He closed the phone, and put it in his pocket. He got up from his chair and put Ms.Kusangi in his arms. He walked to the lobby, and approached the desk. He said "I want to thank you for all your help, but I'm going to be taking her home. I'm just waiting for my ride, so thank you again." The doctors behind the desk nod as he sat down to wait. He sat there staring at her paralyzed body with such sorrow, and he closed his eyes. A few seconds later, the lobby door swings open. Chief opened his eyes as he saw a tall man, in a black trenchcoat, with glasses, and a pushback haircut enter the hospital. The man asked "You are Chief Aramaki Daisuke, correct?" He nodded. Charles said "Lets get going then, there's no time to waste."
They leave the lobby and enter Mr.Mustang's vehicle. As soon as they were all buckled in, they rushed immediately to Mr.Mustang's office. "You are going to have to put these blindfolds on. You know, for safety reasons" said Charles. He took the blindfolds from Charles and put them on Motoko and himself. During the ride, he was thinking to himself "Will this really work?", or "Am I doing the right thing?" But as he looked at Motoko, and saw that she was unable to move, he knew at the moment, that he was sure he was doing what was best.
"Having doubts Chief?" said Charles.
"Only for a second, but I know I'm doing the right thing" he replied.
"Yeah your right Chief, and not to worry, she's in good hands. We should be arriving at the working place shortly."
"Good" the Chief said as he nodded.
A couple of minutes passed and they arrived at the office. Mr.Mustang leads the Chief and Motoko inside, and removes the blindfolds from their eyes. A look of amazement appears on the face of the Chief. He had never seen so much technology put into one room. One side of the room had a little display of custom made robots that Mr.Mustang had designed. The other side of the room, on the wall, was a giant selection of guns and other useful weapons also created by Mr.Mustang. And to the right of that wall, there was another wall with future designs of robots and weapons. The Chief had found it quite amazing, so amazing that he stood there in shock. "So Mr.Mustang," he said, "you designed all these models by yourself?" Mr.Mustang replied "Yes, but if you think that's amazing, you should come and look over here." Chief walked over to where Mr.Mustang was, and right in front of him was the blue prints of "Project Metal," and what he plans to do to Motoko. It went into every little detail of each process that will be taken. While the Chief was looking at the blueprints on the wall, Mr.Mustang moved Motoko to the operating table, and got all the tools ready for the operation. "We are ready to operate. I set up a bed down the hall so you can sleep in. The operation is hard on the eyes, and also, from all you been through, you should get some rest. As I said, she's in good hands. I should be done in a couple of hours, good night Chief." The Chief nodded and replied "Good night."
The Chief made his way to the bedroom, and laid down. He had so many things on his mind that he couldn't sleep, so he sat there reading a few books for a couple of hours. While he read, he can hear the sound machinery at work in the operating room. The Chief was curious as to what other things lied in Mr.Mustang's building. He rose from the bed, and left the bedroom. He walked around the hallway, which was filled with a dozen rooms. He stumbled upon one door, which was labeled "Library," and looked inside. When he opened the door, he saw a gigantic library of books. It looked as if Mr.Mustang collected every book from around the world. He looked around at the selection to find out that almost all those books had to do with technology. The books had to do with theories of technology, the advancement of technology, and even the basics of technology. As he looked through some of the books, he saw the notes written inside of them. He closed the book, and placed it back in the shelf. he left the room and made his way to the next room. As he opened the door, he noticed that it was a private kitchen. He turned to the right and saw Mr.Mustang pouring himself a cup of coffee. As he poured, he said "I hope you didn't make a mess in my library Chief, but I hope you enjoyed my books at least." The Chief replied "I did, but how is Motoko?""She is fine. The operation was a total success. She is just resting now, she should be waking up soon." The Chief let out a giant breath as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He sat down in a chair, while Mr.Mustang handed him a cup of coffee. He took the coffee and said "Thank you...for everything." Mr.Mustang replied "It was my pleasure. Now that I know Project Metal was successful, it will rebuild society, and revolutionize the future." The Chief nodded.
They sat there, drinking coffee and chatting as minutes past away on the clock. The Chief took his last sip from his coffee, and as he put down the cup, he noticed Motoko standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. The Chief got up and looked at her, he said "Wow, that is truly amazing. Her face, her purple shoulder length hair, her purple eyes...she's real!" Mr.Mustang smiles as he watches. The Chief continues on and says "Motoko, as you know your parents have been killed, and also Mr.Mustang and I saved your life. But you shouldn't worry, I am a close friend of your family, and I will raise you as if you were one of my own. So, are you okay?" She replied "Yes, I'm fine, and thank you for all your help."
Chief grabbed his things and gave his thanks again to Mr.Mustang. Mr.Mustang gave him his cell phone number and said "If Section 9 needs anything, feel free to call. "The Chief nodded, and replied "Well I have all our things ready, so if your ready to drive me back to Section 9, that would be good." Mr.Mustang grabbed his keys and placed blindfolds on them. He directed them to the car and began to drive. He drove to Section 9's Headquarters with the help of his T-9 Graphic Locater installed on his car. He looked at the mirror, and noticed the smile on Motoko, and was glad to know that he helped put that smile on her face. And that gloomy day ended as Motoko and the others drove off to Section 9.