Summary: Post-series. Black Ghost has revived with no opposition in sight. Reawakened in a future that should seem hopeless, 004 is forced to adapt to a reinvented enemy and a new time. The search for the remaining cyborgs has begun.

Author's Note: This is 004-centric, but I'm starting it with an OC first, just to warn. Anyone who wants to help me out with understanding the cultures I'm writing about in this story is welcome to offer advice! I'm doing my best but I have no personal understanding of them outside of what I've researched.

Dedication: To my grandfather, who passed away last summer. Also my thanks to Lupin, Wisnia and Sam for helping me with this in various ways!

The Mechanism of War

Chapter One: Flight

'Black Ghost' was a name that meant nothing to me. When I was snatched from a dark alleyway in the middle of the night, I was just another victim. But it was that name they whispered in the dark as they planned what to do with me. It was that name that first made me feel true fear. With my last moments of freedom playing out in my mind, I had heard it again, echoing over and over again until it became just a mess of sound.

The first part of my evening had been clear enough to decipher. Some fuzzy impressions of an office outing and a very tipsy walk back alone to my apartment. I hadn't made the best decisions, but I could see the drunken logic behind it. Why break the law by driving home when I could take a train ride and a short walk?

I had congratulated myself for avoiding that expensive ticket up until the headlights had appeared, searing and painfully bright. Hands had pulled and pushed me into a car as I stumbled and fell. Shadowed faces watched me scream. I had prayed to black out and wake up from the nightmare I was experiencing, and when that mercy was granted, there was some part of me that was convinced it was over.

That illusion disappeared with a small click, and the electronic whine of an intercom.

"The human test subject is awake. Proceed with the assessment of Cyborg 004."

I heard another click and then the hiss of more static before I'd even processed the announcement. Someone was speaking in English? With a growing sense of panic, I sat up, opening my eyes and looking around in complete disorientation. Everything was a blurry mess of bright lights, a hangover pounding away in my head. I was barely awake and groggy, but I felt apprehensive. Something strange was happening that I didn't fully understand.

Smaller aches and pains slowly spread throughout my body. My arms felt tender and sore, as if invisible hands were still gripping them tight, and my throat was hoarse. I wasn't lying on rough, warm pavement anymore. The ground felt unnaturally smooth and cold as ice. What was going on?

"Cyborg 004, your target is the human test subject. Use any means necessary to terminate."

The words from the intercom didn't make sense at first, and when I pieced together the meaning behind them I froze completely in place, unable to breathe or to move. Some part of me grasped that I didn't have the luxury of asking questions, that my life was now in real danger, and I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes with a ferocity that surprised me.

Finally, everything came into focus. Gone were the city streets of Seoul, but what had replaced them seemed so outlandish that I could only stare in shock at my surroundings, certain I was still dreaming. A bead of sweat trickled down my neck, and I realized it didn't matter. My survival would depend on my actions in the next few minutes.

I was in a large, rounded room lit by blinding spotlights. In front of me was some kind of mounted observation platform with dark-tinted windows, where I could only assume the people in charge of the test were watching. The walls looked dented and burned, and in some places newly welded with untarnished steel. A sick feeling settled in the pit of my stomach as I realized I was probably not the first person to wake up this way. It was a room designed for one purpose only, as a place for me to die.

All of this I noticed in the span of a few seconds, but ceased to matter when I saw red and the flash of a blade out of the corner of my eye. I tried to scream, but all that came out was a weak gasp as I felt the swipe of the blade near my shoulder, my leg and my side, all in one single precise motion.

I was on my feet immediately. My frantic eyes noticed two grooves in the otherwise uniform wall, and I slammed my body against it in desperation as bullets ricocheted off the walls. I turned and finally managed a shriek as a man dressed in red and yellow stood in front of me.

"Cyborg 004, terminate immediately!"

A blade pressed into my throat. I stopped breathing. His grey eyes were cold and hard and very serious. I desperately searched his expressionless face for any sign of compassion, or even hesitance. There wasn't a single shred of emotion or humanity to be found. A chill traveled down my spine.

He pulled away, and I collapsed from relief, my trembling even worse now that the imminent threat had retreated. I stared up at him in a mixture of astonishment and fear, unable to look away from the blade that I now saw was a fixed part of one of his hands. With a quiet click, it slid out of sight and he relaxed. I noticed smoke in the air and followed the trail down to the tips of his other hand, which appeared to be covered in some kind of metal. Jointed like armored gloves, even though I knew it must be mechanical if he could use it as a gun.

"Doctor Messerschmitt, what is the meaning of-"

There was a loud bang, and then another, over the intercom. I twitched at each shot, rising and automatically preparing to run. At a loss for what to do, I looked over again at the man, who regarded me calmly. As if he hadn't tried to kill me mere moments before.

What had changed?

I could feel the door behind me move, and stumbled back. I slipped on the polished floor and landed awkwardly on my foot, wincing at the unbearable pain that streaked up my leg. Blinking back tears, I reaching down with a shaking hand to cradle my poor foot.

"Good evening."

Glancing up at the heavily-accented greeting, I found myself looking at a very pleased older woman in a lab coat. Something in her smile and gentle eyes reminded me of a kindergarten teacher, a thought that seemed so wildly out of place I wondered for a moment if shock had driven me insane. Kneeling, she reached out and grasped my ankle, starting to massage around the heel. I cringed at the pain.

"Surviving an encounter with a zero-zero cyborg, but injuring your ankle immediately afterwards? Incredible." She said with great amusement, then moved on to examining my cuts.

When I heard her sound of disbelief, I looked down and realized that he hadn't even broken the skin. There were no large tears in the fabric, and no blood. He hadn't hurt me. I had just felt the air from the blade passing by, a fraction of an inch above my clothing.

The woman looked impressed. "Well, it appears you probably have a sprain, but otherwise you're fine."

"What's…going on…" I croaked as she stood up again, this time offering a hand and helped me up carefully, supporting me as I tried not to let my foot touch the floor.

"Well," She began with a tenderness that somehow seemed predictable, "You were supposed to die during that test, so I can't claim to have all the answers. My escape plan didn't include a malfunctioning cyborg, although I was hoping I would be able to save you."

That made me even more confused, looking at the man I could only assume she was referring to. "A cyborg…?"

She pulled out a small tablet-like device from inside her coat and started fiddling with it, her attention now completely captured by the screen. "Yes, and a dangerous one at that. I've spent years trying to reprogram him to follow my orders, progress you just erased in a ridiculously small fraction of time. Please try to keep up, I am disabling the security systems around the base as we speak and we won't be having this conversation for long."

I had to lean against the wall for support, staring at the cyborg and feeling hopelessly lost. "He's like a robot with…with human flesh?"

That thought seemed far too terrifyingly removed to be true, like something out of a horror movie from overseas. The woman continued, ignoring my question.

"It took a lot of work to make him bend to my will compared to a robot, which are conveniently less…emotional. This fellow has endured quite a lot over his lifetime, considering he practically belongs in a museum."

She smirked. "I couldn't resist restoring him to his former glory, and my hopes were his reputation might scare off my superiors long enough to buy us some time."

"He was once human?" I suddenly remembered his metal hand. Horrible visions of exposed body parts and scalpels filled my head, and I wanted to throw up. I couldn't imagine the kind of pain and suffering that would involve. I hugged myself, and shivered at the thought of something like that happening to me, unable to hold back a wave of immense pity for the cyborg.

She stopped tinkering with the screen long enough to look up at me, then shrugged. "I suppose so, I've never really given it much thought. But never mind that now, we have more important matters to attend to. I have an escape route set up, and you are welcome to join me if you so choose. I've made arrangements, so we should have a clear path out with very little resistance."

Unsure if I really wanted to trust my life to someone who had been willing to watch me die, I paused. But did I have any other choice? My purse had mysteriously disappeared, I had no way of contacting my husband or anyone who could help me, and this woman seemed like the closest thing to an authority of anything around. I didn't even know where I was, or how to get out…which wasn't even touching the list of questions I had about what had just transpired.

Reluctantly, I nodded. "I'll follow you, but I want to ask a few things."

I was startled when the woman clapped her hands together, beaming in a way that reminded me of my mother. Vaguely patronizing, but also genuinely affectionate.

"Good! Well then, I suppose I should answer some of the standard ones first, shouldn't I? My name is Doctor Eva Messerschmitt, but you can just call me Eva." She primped needlessly at her grey hair, looking far too carefree and cheerful all things considering. "You have been abducted by the Black Ghost organization for the purposes of testing one of their refurbished prototypes. The goal of your stay being, of course, to meet a timely and satisfactory death at the hands of Cyborg 004."

Eva tapped her chin thoughtfully with one finger. "Speaking of which, I hope he'll still follow my orders. 004, carry our little pink princess here."

How rude of her, I thought in annoyance. "My name is Su-Bin Tae! Now I may not be the toughest person, but-"

I choked on my words when I felt myself being lifted, my legs and back supported in a bridal carry. Being touched felt awkward, and it took everything out of me not to fight him. My headache had returned full force, and here I was being held by a strange man (cyborg, I reminded myself) in a strange place after being kidnapped by…what kind of people were behind this, come to think of it?

I looked at his blank expression once again, forcing myself to push aside the fact that he had nearly killed me. This time his eyes didn't seem quite as cold and hard as they did before, and I felt reassured. At least, after checking my skirt was still decent….

"Well, that's interesting." I saw Eva peer over her glasses and smile, as if I'd confirmed some esoteric theory of hers, and felt unnerved. Something about those light blue eyes made me feel like I was still being tested.

Putting her hands once more in her pockets, she pleasantly remarked, "Now, would you care for a tour through hell?"

I nodded, guessing it was a rhetorical question, since clearly I didn't have any other options. She laughed, and a shudder traveled through my body at the sound. I wasn't normally the kind to scare easily, setting aside the past few minutes, but there was something…off about her. Trying to ignore how unsettled the whole affair made me feel, I clung tightly to the cyborg and shut my eyes, nausea clawing at my throat. But I didn't start shaking until I heard distant gunfire.

"Looks like our time is up." Eva said brightly. "Now, 004, follow me."

It was one of the oddest experiences of my life, being carried down that corridor by a cyborg, following a crazy scientist to what I hoped was freedom. It was like a joke that needed a punch line. Would that make me the comic relief, I wondered, but then I felt uncomfortable with the direction my thoughts had taken. Why they were even here to begin with, since the woman and the cyborg were both probably foreigners? They certainly didn't look Korean, and they both seemed to respond well to English. I felt very out of place between them.

Thankfully, the walk down that long, boring hallway was uneventful. It wasn't until we turned a corner and emerged in an aircraft hanger that I truly understood what this could mean.

"How are we going to escape?" I asked, eyeing a huge plane we passed that looked like a misguided attempt to meld together a biplane and a retro-looking spaceship. I could only pray to whatever benevolent entity that might listen that we weren't going to steal an airplane.

"Steal an airplane, of course." Eva responded, as if reading my mind. "What's life without a little adventure anyways? The other prisoners are already onboard, thanks to my robot assistants. I find it's better to be fashionably late to a party, anyways."

I was shaking again, but this time with anger, and twisted myself as close to upright as I could, forcing the cyborg to put me down. "This isn't a joke! We could die!"

Eva snorted. "Calm down, you're worse than the higher ups. No sense of humor."

Halting in behind the tail of a (somewhat less uncanny looking) airplane, she pulled out her tablet and pressed the screen. The back slid open to form a ramp large enough to ferry tanks up, and Eva went inside, emerging with crutches that I gratefully accepted. She also handed me a familiar pink purse, and I felt a sudden spike of distrust. It was obvious she'd held on to it to manipulate me into coming. But why?

There was a glimmer in her eyes I didn't like, and she had a smile I recognized all too well. The kind of smile that meant she was going to tell me something I wasn't going to like and she knew it.

Sure enough, as soon as I finished putting my purse on, she spoke up. "Well, time to say your goodbyes. 004, your orders are to remain here and die in the explosion. Thank you for your assistance."

"W-What?!" I could barely believe what I was hearing. "But he's human-"

"Was human." She corrected with a quieter voice. "Honestly, he's too much of a hazard to bring with us, especially considering how helpful he could be holding them off. I know you feel grateful he spared your life, but he did nearly kill you, and I can only wonder what other things might happen if he disobeys another order."

"But…but 004 stopped himself! He saved me!"

Eva sighed, rubbing her forehead and appearing frustrated with me. "I saved him originally, that doesn't mean very much when it comes to preserving our lives. The fact is, I don't want a potentially defective weapon on board when I have plenty of top-of-the-line robots as it is. He's useless to us, and at this point it would be kinder to end his life then try to rehabilitate him. I don't like it any better than you do, but…what kind of a future do you think he would have?"

She seemed genuinely remorseful, and I was suddenly hesitant. It was wrong to let someone die…but if that person wasn't human anymore, was it really all that wrong? He could have killed me, and I knew NOTHING about this strange man. I owed him nothing. He could be a seasoned killer, and he certainly had to be dangerous if my kidnappers feared him as much as Eva said, especially if he could disobey his programming. Whatever his life had been before he'd been repurposed by Eva, he had done enough damage to intimidate an organization that had no qualms kidnapping people and making cyborgs out of others.

But at the same time…for whatever reason, he hadn't killed me, despite having every justification to go through with it. Was he just using me? Was there still a person trapped inside that cybernetic body? If he was an enemy of Black Ghost before all this, wasn't there a chance that he might have once found himself in the same circumstances as me? I had no way of really knowing, but I wanted to find out, and I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left him to die. He had, in the strangest way, saved my life. I couldn't let that go.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for an fight I didn't want to have. It felt like being back at work again. Just another business deal that required a lot of convincing and far too many promises, except I didn't have a long time to prepare and I certainly didn't have a compelling argument for how it would all pay off. If only I had proof this would work out…I wasn't one for gambles, but I would do my best.

Crossing my arms, I tried to appear more confident then I actually was. "If this organization is as big as it seems to be, you're going to need help to escape. You mentioned other cyborgs like him…if they're out there, isn't he the best way to find them? If we help him overcome whatever programming you've put into him, he might even help you willingly."

Eva looked unimpressed. "I had considered something similar, but I don't have time to watch a faulty cyborg. Disconnecting the programming would be the simple part; I have no idea how he would react or what kind of care he needs to properly restore his mind. I have a ship full of prisoners to save, and I'm running out of time."

I grit my teeth, knowing that there could be a chance I would regret my next words. "I'll look after him."

She made a tittering sound. "A pet cyborg? Wouldn't a dog be better?"

"I'm serious. With that many robots, a few can be spared if something goes wrong. It's worth the risk." I didn't bother to look diplomatic about it, I just stared her straight in the eyes, daring her to refuse me.

Instead, Eva shrugged. "Very well, if you're that attached to him, I suppose he might be useful to keep around. But if he endangers someone's life, I won't hesitate to have him terminated, even if you have a crush on him."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, I'm married."

"So was I." She said with a smirk, "He can come aboard for now, as long you keep him under control."

My stomach churned at the thought, but I didn't change my expression. "So I guess this means we're leaving?"

"Yes, so you should really hurry up." Eva crossed her arms. "You know, if helping him 'regain himself' really is your priority, maybe you should offer him a choice to come or not. His programming relies on the decision-making portion of his brain to make him successful in battle; maintaining the existing human element was the whole goal behind his reconditioning. Just think of it as being…similar to how people make decisions when lucid dreaming, or under hypnosis. He's not fully conscious, but it is his decision."

There were so many things I wanted her to elaborate on about that, but I knew my curiosity would have to wait. I tried to maneuver on my crutches to face the cyborg, aware for the first time that he probably had a human name, a life beyond the stern-looking soldier I could only see before me now. He looked very pale in this light. How defenseless he would be without someone to make sure he didn't follow anymore terrible orders? But I also grimaced, knowing I might not like whatever answer he gave me. My question would have to be worded very carefully.

"004…you can stay, or come with us."

Damn my English skills, that didn't sound as pressure-free as I'd hoped. I wasn't exactly sure what I expected from him, but I felt my breath catch in my throat when he moved to stand next to me. The gesture was bizarrely touching. Whatever it meant, I felt myself starting to have a little more faith in the person he might turn out to be. His motivations aside, this was a very trusting move on his part.

"Such stirring loyalty." Eva remarked wryly, and I became aware again that there was more at stake than just one cyborg. There was something about her voice that put me on edge, and I had to glance down on my pink flats for a moment. The clicking sound of her own shoes against the metal ramp forced me to look back up.

"I'll try to fix him once we're in safer waters. Hurry, security should be starting to catch up with us soon."

I heard a strange sound, like sizzling, and the smell of something burning reached me before a white-hot pain swiped past my shoulder. The world spun, my body smacking into a firm surface I realized could only be the ramp. It gave way, and there was a hard crack as I hit the smooth floor of the hanger, agony ripping through me.

I could only scream, the thud of another body hitting the floor flooding my own with pure terror. I felt something cold and metal cover my mouth. A hand? I was pulled away, across that seamless concrete floor into darkness before I could even scream. I could barely see the light of the hanger.

A rumbling sound filled the air, a machine coming to life under strain. I felt a burst of hot air and saw the sudden flash of fire scorching the ground. Wheels rolled past my hiding spot, and I heard angry shouts I could only assume were the security guards Eva had mentioned. With disbelief, I slowly understood that what I was seeing was my plane taking off without me.

Sobs threatened to give me up as the roar of the engines gradually faded. My only shot at freedom, and it was gone. My future away from this hell seemed to grow dimmer with every second, and that final crushing disappointment only seemed to fuel my despair. When would this end?!

"We shot one of the targets, search the area while we wait for air support. I want that scum found!"

I clapped my hands over my mouth, trying to still my breathing as I saw boots run by. My shoulder was throbbing. I knew it was probably bleeding, but I didn't have time for that now. I took inventory of my surroundings, and it didn't take me long to figure out I was under another airplane ramp. It was low enough that I could barely sit up straight, but kept me hidden enough for now.

I knew he would be behind me, and sure enough, I was right. There was Cyborg 004, with the same featureless expression as always. But I felt a sense of newfound respect for him. This was the first time he had explicitly saved me. I could remember Eva's orders that required him to protect me, that was true, but he had put himself in danger. Even though he could possibly have resisted his programming, there had been no hesitation.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. At this point, he was probably my only ally in this awful place. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed his hand, looking straight at him and trying not to wonder if there was someone looking back. If I was alone in this or not.

"004, I'm sorry, but please follow me a little while longer."

I banished all thoughts of potential failure or consequences from my mind and focused on escape routes. I could hear flight crews yelling at each other as they prepared their planes, and to my shock, I noticed a breeze coming on my left. After Eva's plane had left, they hadn't bothered to close the hanger.

It was my only option.

Now brimming with a sense of purpose, I ripped off a piece of my skirt, taking my jacket and even my shirt off to bandage my arm. I blushed a little at the thought that I was essentially stripping in front of a man, knowing what my parents would say, but tried my best to suppress my embarrassment. There were more important things to worry about.

Once I finished that, I set about maneuvering the both of us between the spaces in the planes, trying to avoid being seen. 004 seemed much more experienced than me, however; I frequently found myself pulled out of the way of a passing guard, feeling frustrated that I had to be the one leading. With my ripped clothing and a busted ankle that screamed in agony with each step I took, I looked more like the lost cause of this partnership.

Jumping at every noise, I was tense and fearful. Just another step, I told myself, and sure enough when we passed the last plane I knew I had made it. My freedom was almost secure!

"Here we go, 004." I whispered excitedly, mock saluting the passing boots of another guard. "So long idiots, I am out of here!"

I darted out silent as a mouse, only to slide to a halt as I stared down the runway. I walked over to the corner of the elevated airstrip and looked over the side. Water stretched out as far as I could see below an impossibly high cliff, and in the distance I saw no signs of light or skyscrapers in the dark sky. I was obviously nowhere near Seoul, possibly not even in Korea, and the thought was so alien to me I had to pull myself away.

The cliff leading down was extremely rocky, and in a brief moment of insanity, I wondered if we could make it by climbing. It was true that we didn't have the proper equipment, and this was a far cry from anything I'd experienced before, but was there any other choice?

I checked to make sure we hadn't been spotted, but I could only see the one guard, still walking away with his back turned. Sighing in relief, I tried to think practically. Were there any other escape routes? I couldn't really envision any that didn't end in surrender or being captured again. Both of which would inevitably end with both of us dying, or worse.

My mind was soon made up, but I knew this would be yet another decision I needed to give to the cyborg that had followed me this far.

"004…you have a choice. Follow me, or go back." I said softly, finding it very difficult to make eye contact. I did so anyways, and I knew the nervous excitement was plain on my face as I tried not to think too deeply about what I was about to propose.

"I'm going to climb down the cliffside. I know that will be dangerous, but there honestly isn't any other way we can go, unless you can fly an airplane."

Pausing, I waited for some sign that he confirmed he had heard me. Nothing, not even a twitch. Was that a no? Looking back at the guard, who would probably turn around to pass by this area again soon, I knew I had to act quickly. I started to climb down, cautiously placing my feet on two sturdy looking holds in the cliff. I looked to my left, and noticed a darker part of the water in the distance. A beach? There was no way to tell without sunlight, but it seemed like a reasonable enough goal.

Feeling slightly more confident in my plan than I had only a few seconds ago, I picked my way down the cliff warily. When I accidentally glanced down, I forced myself to look up and close my eyes, waiting for my frightened shivering to stop before I keep going. I heard a rock shift and looked up to see 004 once again following my lead, and felt comforted. If he'd chosen this way, that meant he must think we had a chance to make it as well.

Soon enough, however, I was so exhausted I was shaking. We had to make it, we just had to. I reached out, conscious of the weight of my arms. The soreness in my muscles.

My hand slipped.

At once I saw the water rise up towards me, the violent rush of air making me dizzy-headed and unable to breathe. I heard my torn clothing flap erratically around me, and registered the fact that I was falling just as I hit the water.