Topper sat comfortably in his chair. The room was dark and a spotlight shone upon him. In his hand was a thick book bound in leather. A pair of reading glasses rested upon his nose.

He spoke, "With every tale there is a beginning. No story is complete without a beginning. This story is no different. This is the story of pain and suffering, of trust and betrayal, of vengeance and redemption. Most of all it is the story of a man trying to find a path towards light and to leave the darkness behind with each step. I ask you this; can someone whose past is horribly filled with blood and death find a bright future or are they fated to suffer a tragic end?" He paused to close his book and stare directly ahead of him. Fixing his glasses he finished, "Fate VS Free Will, which will win? I'll let you decide on that."

Fade to black…

BLANK SLATE XIII

-1974-

6 year old Shinji Banabara was waiting for his mom to pick him up from kindergarten. He waited and waited as all his classmates left with their parents. "Where's Kaa-chan?"

"Hello, young man," a blond gentleman asked. Shinji recognized him. He was the nice doctor his mother had taken him to see.

"Hello, doctor!" Shinji greeted cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, your mother asked me to pick you up," said the doctor.

"Really?"

"Really."

Shinji's mom always told him to never talk to strangers, but the doctor wasn't a stranger. With a shrug, Shinji said, "OK!" before taking the doctor's hand.

He didn't know where he was. One moment he was just waiting for his mother and then the nice doctor came. Now, he was stripped naked and strapped to an operating table. There were also needles stuck to his body which were connected to some strange machines with wires. He was also wearing a headband with wires too.

"Begin genetic infusion and alteration," Dr. Gebok ordered. "And next begin mental reconfiguration," he added.

Shinji screamed as he felt a terrible pain run through his body. He called out loudly, "KAA-CHAN!"

-1982-

The American army base was suddenly attacked by a group of unknown hostiles. They had just suddenly appeared in the dead of night without warning. Tanks rolled out to fire at the bizarre centipede monster, only to be suddenly attacked by a barrage of needles and bombs that ripped apart metal to expose the vulnerable flesh of the soldiers within.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS FUN!" #12 laughed insanely with #00 saying nothing as he did his work. They were high in the air, dropping their deadly weapons upon the army below. Soldiers writhed and screamed in agony as bodies were ripped apart in thunderous detonations and what remained was shredded by sharp, silvery hail.

"ARGH!" the soldiers shrieked in horror as they were covered in an army of roaches that they futilely began trying to shoot. #11 watched them shoot themselves and their comrades with amusement as she forced more and more of them to be trapped in their darkest nightmares, calmly walking forward to free them of their fear-spawned illusions, only for their last sight to be of her, their deaths.

"HALT!" four army men shouted, pointing their guns at #04, who just giggled as she walked forward. "I said halt!"

#04 just responded cutely, "Boys, you should've run." Suddenly her tendrils shot out and hit the four men. They screamed horribly, shockingly loud, but only for an instant. The screams swiftly dwindled into a gurgling, rasping sigh as they turned into shriveled husks, their faces still twisted in expressions of unmitigated horror. When she spoke again, her voice was crueler. "Warned you, stupid idiots."

"This is Sergeant Anderson, we're under fire here, unable to contact anyone, we need air cover, I repeat-" he never finished as a chainsaw ripped through his neck and sent his head bouncing away in a fountain of blood. The soldier began firing at the Termite-themed enemy, only for the bullets to ricochet off his armor. The horror before them used his chainsaw to slaughter the soldier's remaining comrades, then trapped the soldier himself in his unique glue. He would play with this one slowly…

#13 jumped onto one of the tanks and grabbed the cannon before bending it into a loop without effort, the metal screeching horribly as he did so. He then tore open the hatch and looked down at the terrified soldier inside. Reaching down, he grabbed the person driving the tank before hauling up his whimpering form and snapping his neck. He then jumped off from the tank and lifted it up before he tossed it into the air. The tank crashed on several soldiers, splintering their bones in a welter of gore as it crushed them to death. As a few tanks opened fire on him, he vanished from sight. In a matter of seconds the tanks all exploded before #13 reappeared. He nonchalantly brushed off the debris on his shoulder before he went to find another target.

From GIN-SHOCKER HQ, Gebok cackled. "Do you see? Do you see? That's the power of MY #13!"

"Tsk, he is most impressive, I must say, Gebok." Dr. Arihara said, snarling with impotent fury.

"Indeed, though he is a tad too flashy for my taste." Dr. Phobist muttered as he scratched the back of his head out of boredom.

"Retreat!" a soldier shouted, running away with his platoon. Unfortunately for them, they barely made a few steps before they were cut down violently by energy blades from #10. Blood splattered everywhere and entrails steamed as they were exposed to the air. What could be seen of the soldiers' mangled faces showed frozen expressions of shock and horror.

"Heh, worthless vermin," #10 murmured. When he heard a gun clicking behind him, he flipped behind the soldier that was going to shoot him and sliced him in half. He fell with the same frozen expression of astonishment on his face as his comrades.

"Hmm," #10 heard a transmission from HQ along with the other NUMBERS.

"Well done NUMBERS. You have managed to kill all the soldiers in the base."

"It was an honor, sir," an emotionless voice that must have belonged to #13 answered. #10 rolled his eyes in disdain.

#13's hyper-sensitive ears detected something and he immediately spotted a survivor crawling away. He strode towards the severely injured, yet alive, soldier and picked him up by the back of his shirt.

"Please...don't kill me!" the soldier begged. "I have a wife and kids!"

"Irrelevant," said #13, right before he twisted the man's neck with a grisly crack, and dropped his body like a sack of potatoes.

"Mission accomplished," #13 intoned, walking away from the newly dead soldier. "Returning to base." He and the other NUMBERS began walking away to head back to GIN-SHOCKER's base. The military would think it was a terrorist attack with the media saying it was as well; after all, GIN-SHOCKER had carefully removed any evidence of their involvement.

The NUMBERS, or the Neo-Ultimate Multiple Biologically Enhanced Rider Squad, were the newest series of Kaizo Ningen developed by GIN-SHOCKER. They were each given a different set of genetic and cybernetic enhancements that made them GIN-SHOCKER's most powerful weapons. They were designated only by number. They were also identified by the type of creature their suits were based on.

#00: Hornet

#01: Leech

#02: Termite

#03: Tick

#04: Mosquito

#05: Centipede

#06: Jewel Beetle

#07: Tarantula

#08: Cricket

#09: Pill Bug

#10: Dobsonfly

#11: Mantis

#12: Dragonfly

#13: Cicada

Not only were they different in terms of appearance, but they were also different in terms of abilities. That was what happened when each of them had a different scientist working on them. The scientists came from all walks of life and had been recruited by GIN-SHOCKER for their knowledge in the fields of genetics and cybernetics. They had to be persuaded while a minority had been forced to work for GIN-SHOCKER. Nevertheless, these scientists were able to produce the NUMBERS.

The NUMBERS also varied in personality, but under GIN-SHOCKER they were able to work together as a team.

Back at GIN-SHOCKER's base, #13 lay on a table as Gebok examined him. "Doctor, when that man begged me not to kill him, he mentioned 'wife and kids.' Why is that? Why would he mention others when he himself was dying?"

"Well from what I gather from my father is that for some, life can be difficult at times and at those times they may need a support system," Gebok explained as #13 listened. "The best support for those is an unconditional bond from a family created from 'love.'" He sneered before going on. "Personally, I never understood why people cared for one another. Families are just created to produce a legacy to leave behind when the parental units are gone. Don't be like him worrying about those things; one must only care for themselves #13. Things like love are for the weak."

"... Understood," #13 murmured. He didn't ask anymore question on the matter.

-1983-

The NUMBERS were put into a single empty room as a voice was heard, booming out of an unseen source, "NUMBERS, TODAY IS THE DAY YOU WILL BE GIVEN MORE POWER! YOU WILL GIVEN A HIGHER RANK! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO...IS ANNIHILATE EACH OTHER! THE LAST KAIZO NINGEN LEFT STANDING, WINS!"

"Ehh!" #09 shouted, shocked. Did that voice say what he thought it said?

"GEBOK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Dr. Magi shouted angrily. He and the other scientists were in the observation room.

"Magi, you knew this day would come from the very start. The Great Leader only needs one ultimate weapon. Any more is just a risk of defection and destruction," Gebok sneered.

"Very true," Zestokij agreed. "Besides, I do miss a good old-fashioned guts and gore show."

"To weed out the weak and leave only the best. What a brilliant test the Great Leader has made," Dr. Arihara mused with the other scientists agreeing making Magi give disgusted look towards them.

"Why so glum, Magi? Don't have confidence in your own Kaizo Ningen?" Gebok asked as all eyes turned to the screen

"T-they can't be serious, right?" #11 fearfully asked #07 who shrugged as she tried to calm her friend down.

"Interesting..." #10 mused, wondering who would make the first killing move.

"Tsk, this is some sort of sick joke right, #00?" #05 asked but all he got was silence, making him confused. He turned around to ask again only to scream in shock making the other NUMBERS turn.

#00's head had been completely ripped off his body with said body still standing as if the one who'd done it had been too fast for #00 to react. With a certain, terrible slowness, the body crumpled with blood still spurting from its neck.

"W-wha-?" No.01 tried to say only for something to smash through his mouthguard, grab his tongue in an iron, vice-like grip, and rip it out by the roots. The maimed #01 fell back, a horrible, gurgling shriek of sheer agony bursting from his throat as he clawed at his mouth in a futile effort to stem the blood that poured from between his lips. Eyes rolling to the back of his head, he fell and did not return to his feet.

#13 stood but a short distance from both prone bodies, holding a familiar head in his right hand and a tongue in his left. He dropped them and focused his crimson eyes on the remaining NUMBERS.

"Order complied," said #13 in a mechanical voice as bright red target circles appeared on the other Kaizo Ningen in his cybernetic visual display."Terminate all targets." He vanished.

"Heh heh," Gebok grinned at how his creation easily killed two of the NUMBERS so quickly. "Two down, eleven to go."

"Oi, where did he go!" #04 shouted only to feel a hand smash through her torso as #13 reappeared and ripped her heart out.

"My... My heart..." #04 gasped as her last sight was of #13 crushing the pulsating organ in his fist before disappearing again.

"FUCK! HE'S GOING TO KILL US ALL!" #12 shouted in panic as he used his machineguns and began firing randomly in all directions in hopes of killing #13, forcing the other surviving NUMBERS to duck from the bullets

"OI! WATCH IT!" #09 shouted, but #12 just ignored him. All #12 had focused on his mind was survival. That sole, driving thought, was however, abruptly overridden by pain. He looked down to that not only were his machineguns destroyed, but his arms were bent backwards at an unnatural angle.

"ARGGH!" #12 screamed as he stumbled backwards in shock and fear, only for #13 to end his suffering by cutting him cleanly in half. Sparks flew as machines shorted out from the grisly remains and entrails boiled out from the still-standing lower torso, before that too toppled, leaving another bloody corpse.

"Heh, fool," #6 muttered knowing that if they panicked it'd be easier for #13 to wipe them out. As he slowly got up, he decided to use his ability to stop #13.

Slamming both hands to the ground, he created large crystals that shot from the earth and forced the others to jump or be impaled. "Once I take care of the big threat I'll easily kill all the others and gain that promotion," he muttered darkly as visions of glory and power filled his head.

It was those imaginings that led to his ultimate demise as a large bloody slash was made on his back

"Ack!" #06 grunted as he stumbled. He turned to see #13 bringing his gun out. #13 shot #06 at point blank range, going through his helmet, his brain and finally out the other side. The sheer force of the bullet quite literally scrambled #6's brain as it went through and grey matter dribbled from the newly made hole.

#13 saw the other NUMBERS bringing their individual weapons out. They weren't going down without a fight.

#03 tried to use his nano-ticks on #13 but the killer Kaizo Ningen summoned his sword to stab him through the throat before he could.

"URK!" An inarticulate choking noise was all that managed to emerge from #3's mouth as #13 twisted the hilt and cut forward, grating through skull and brain alike. Another Kaizo Ningen fell, as #13 he let go of his weapon.

"DIE FOOL!" #05 roared as he rushed at #13 with his Pata. #02 did the same with his chainsaws, charging from the opposite direction. However, #13 simply jumped over #05 and aimed his gun at #02's arms. With a single pull of the trigger he blasted #02's chainsaws right off and the Termite Cyborg gave a silent scream as his lethal appendages were so violently separated from him.

Landing on his feet, #13 grabbed one of the chainsaws before restoring it to working order. He rushed towards #02 with his newly acquired weapon, its hungry buzz filling the air as #02 attempted to jump away. #13 was faster though. The chainsaw cut into #02's legs thrice, chopping them down to mere stumps and causing #2 to crash to the floor, clutching what remained of those limbs in mind-blowing agony. He writhed, almost pitifully helpless on the floor, but #13 ignored his anguish and simply ended his suffering by grabbing him by the hair and twisting his neck into an unnatural angle. An audible crack echoed through the room before #02 slumped to the ground, his gaze blank and lifeless.

"YOU TEME! DON'T FORGET I'M BEHIND YOU!" #05 roared as he lunged at #13 but was spared only an indifferent-looking glance. For a moment, it seemed as though #05 would land his lethal blow, but, using his time manipulating abilities, not only was #13 now behind #05, the latter was also missing both arms and had two chainsaws stuck through his body.

"GYAAHHH!" #05 howled in agony as he slowly died from blood loss. Turning away, #13 attention fixed itself upon the others. A quick head count revealed that #09 was missing.

"CANNONBALL!" #13 looked up when he heard the yell to see #09 hurtling down upon him. #13 jumped out of the way just in time as a large crater formed beneath #9's point of impact.

Both #11 and #07 jumped at #13 with their respective weapons raised, but #13 slowed down time until it seemed almost as if they drifted through the air at a snail's crawl. He then plunged his hands into their chests and ripped their lungs out. Curling his hands into fists, he bashed in their skulls for good measure. After that he restored the flow of time. Both bodies crumpled to the ground, indisputably dead.

"#11! #07!" #09 shouted, horrified.

"You shouldn't worry about the dead. You should be more worried about yourself," #13 stated with clinical detachment as he stood behind #09. #13 grabbed #09's back armor and ripped it off before grabbing his arms.

"Oi! What are you doing!" #09 screamed. #13's answer was a vicious kick in the back. "ARGH!" #09 screamed as he felt bone and cartilage separate while tendons snapped from the violent dislocation of his shoulders.

#13 then raised the Pill Bug Cyborg above his head, holding him by an arm and a leg and slowly, inexorably pulling on both until #09's spine gave a sickening crack. #13 dropped the lifeless corpse without any further ceremony and kicked it casually aside, so it wouldn't get in his way.

#08 stared at #13 in horror. #13 had killed most of the NUMBERS off without a second thought. He hadn't even hesitated. It was at that moment that #13 spotted #08 and charged at him. He attacked with a series of punches that the Cricket Rider was barely able to block with his weapon.

"#13, why are you doing this? We're your comrades! Stop! I don't want to fight you!" #08 screamed at #13 hoping to make him see reason.

"We have been ordered to kill each other in other to attain a higher rank. As weapons, we must obey GIN-SHOCKER's orders without question," #13's voice was utterly soulless and devoid of feeling as he used a kick to send #08's weapon flying into the air, before effortlessly leaping up to grab it.

Twirling the military fork around, #13 aimed his gaze at #08 "No stop!" #08 pleaded. "I'm your friend, #13! Remember!"

With a thrust, #13 stabbed the prongs right through #08's stomach, gutting him with ease as he twisted the weapon. #08 stared at him in shock and disbelief, coughing weakly as blood trickled from his lips.

"No, we were merely associates. To have friends is a weakness," #13 stated calmly as he watched #08 fall.

"I…trusted you…" uttered 08 as the blood pooled around him before he breathed his last.

Clapping resounded. #13 turned only to see #10 admiring the various cadavers "Most impressive, #13. The way you killed them like the vermin they were… Truly magnificent." Pulling out his swords, #10 grinned at the Cicada Cyborg darkly "But I'm afraid only one of us can gain the promotion." He dashed towards his opponent, who summoned his own sword while charging towards #10

SLASH!

Both stood facing in opposite directions. Blood spurted from #13's right shoulder, but #10 frowned underneath his helmet

"Tsk, I can't believe I'm going to die at the hands of this scum!" Suddenly, a huge gout of blood erupted from #10's body as his head, arms, legs and torso were separated. Earlier, #13 had used his time manipulating abilities to slow down time so he could slice through #10's body repeatedly without him realizing it.

#13 glanced at all the dead NUMBERS. He was the last Kaizo Ningen standing. He was the winner. He was…perfect.

"CONGRATULATION'S, #13!" said Gebok as his voice was heard. "YOU TRULY ARE THE PERFECT WEAPON!"

Now that BLACK 13 had won, he deserved a reward.

It didn't take long for the download to be completed. The Riders' battles were being downloaded into his mind and he learnt about all they could do and their abilities. Of course, something else was being downloaded into his brain. #13 felt that he was changing from within through everything he was seeing.

Once the procedure was complete, Gebok declared, "I now dub thee BLACK 13!" That was #13's new name and title. It was an appropriate one after what he'd done in order to receive this new power.

Several months later, BLACK 13 was brought into a cell where a girl sat. She was dressed in a simple green gown and had fair skin with chin length brown hair and green eyes.

She was GIN-SHOCKER's prisoner and someone Gebok had ordered him to meet. He had no choice but to obey. Sitting down next to her, she looked up and asked, "Did they take you too?"

BLACK 13 blinked. She thought he was a prisoner too? How strange. Then again, considering he was her age she did not suspect he was a member of GIN-SHOCKER.

"I'm Rina," she introduced herself. "What's your name?"

Did he have a name? He'd always been known as either #13 or 'Cicada'. He had recently gained the name BLACK 13. "Kuro…Juusan."

"Nice to meet you, Kuro-kun!" she smiled.

BLACK 13 spent his free time with Rina when he wasn't out on missions or training. Since he was GIN-SHOCKER's new ultimate weapon, his training regime had increased in difficulty. This was all for him to perfect his newly downloaded abilities while at the same time to provide entertainment for Gebok.

When with Rina, they would just talk. Actually, Rina talked. She told him about her family and friends back in her hometown. Sadly, he couldn't relate considering his home was GIN-SHOCKER and he had no friends. His only 'family' was Gebok. He just sat next to her and listened as they continued to share a cell together.

BLACK 13 also began to feel a certain fondness for Rina. He looked forward to their time together. She was the only person in GIN-SHOCKER who treated him like a human being, which was strange considering he was a Kaizo Ningen. He was not a human in the traditional sense but that didn't stop her at all.

Rina only saw him as another prisoner and she coped with her captivity by talking with someone in the same boat. She was unaware that he was a member of GIN-SHOCKER.

"What are you planning, Gebok?" Dr. Magi snarled at the other scientist.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Gebok said, feigning ignorance while inspecting his fingernails.

"Don't play dumb. Why are you letting BLACK 13 be around that girl?" Dr. Magi asked. Ever since he watched his own Kaizo Ningen/son #09 die at BLACK 13's hands, he'd harbored a deep and intense hatred for the head scientist.

"Oh that!" Gebok then smirk as he replied, "That's just a little experiment of mine. I want to see if there's even a trace of humanity left in my precious BLACK 13, but I'm already starting to grow weary of it. I think I'll end it soon."

"What do you mean by that, Gebok?" Magi demanded but Gebok just whistled as he walked away, leaving Dr. Magi's question hanging. "Gebok!"

Gebok's experiment was actually to compare BLACK 13's emotional states to his power levels. Originally, BLACK 13 had been an emotionally blank slate so while his power levels had been large, they hadn't fluctuated in either direction. Always even. Gebok felt that was boring. So, when he discovered that BLACK 13 was beginning to develop human emotions after the download, he decided to see if those emotions could be nurtured. He got some positive results. BLACK 13's combat capabilities had risen quite a bit, but Gebok had grown bored.

He needed a more spectacular set of results. He needed to make BLACK 13 feel an incredibly intense emotion, so intense that his power would increase exponentially.

With a grin, the evil scientist just realized what he had to do. It would be poetic and artistic in its irony and most of all the results of his studies would lead to a more satisfying conclusion.

He would just let this game play on for a little while longer before implementing it.

"Say, Kuro-kun. When's your birthday?" Rina asked.

"My birthday?" he repeated, confused

"Your birthday," she echoed. "I want to know when it is."

"Birthday..." BLACK 13 muttered. He'd been in GIN-SHOCKER for so long that he'd forgotten when that day was "I... forgot when that is."

"Ehh, you forgot!" Rina exclaimed, surprised. She seemed thoughtful for a moment before determination set in. "Very well. In that case I'll help you remember!"

"That's, alright, Rina-chan. I don't think that's necessary."

"It's the least I could do for helping me," she told him.

"Helping you...?" He stared at her in confusion.

"Yes, if I was left here all alone, I would probably go crazy since I'm being trapped here, surrounded by these monsters and away from my family. However, with you around, I don't feel so sad! So, thank you!" she beamed.

-1984-

After shooting it, BLACK 13 kicked the last of the training dummies down. This one felt a little odd, almost as if it were heavier. Perhaps it was made out of different materials. Shrugging, he was about to return to the starting point when he noticed it. A dark pool was growing from underneath the last training dummy. Curious and unheeding of Dr. Gebok's snickering, he pressed his hand against the head of the dummy. It felt odd. Finding a flap for the fabric which made up its head, BLACK 13 removed it…and felt his heart stop as the blood drained from his face. Then it restarted, galloping twice as fast as before as a roaring sound filled his ears and his heart hammered desperately against the cage of his ribs.

"RINA!" he cried out.

"Kuro…kun…" the girl was still alive! She gasped despite the ragged hole in her chest… Her breath sounded painfully laboured. There was an unpleasant, bubbling noise every time she fought to inhale… She was drowning in her own blood…

BLACK 13 knelt to pick her body up with trembling hands, cradling her with desperate tenderness. It was as though he hoped that somehow, if he only held her close to him, death would not be able to take her as it had taken so many others he had killed. "Rina…I'm sorry…Rina…"

Rina gave BLACK 13 a weak smile; full of innocence and all the love she had felt for him before finally dying in his arms.

"No…Rina…RINA!"

GIN-SHOCKER soldiers appeared in the room. They were there to clean up the place. When one of them approached BLACK 13 to take Rina's body, he died from a violent chop to the neck.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" BLACK 13 roared.

He was surrounded. They were all around him. Watching him. There were voices. Attack. Defence. Violence. Brutality was met with brutality. No. Not mere brutality. Brutality was met with atrocity. Overpowering rage… He could not allow them to win. New mission objective…He must be the winner. He bellowed with a fury born of madness and killed them all. They fell from his attacks like wheat before a scythe.

Blades of crimson energy emerged from his forearms and ankles. As the soldiers came at him he swung and kicked, slicing them into ribbons, cutting off layer after layer of flesh in long, curling streaks of tortured muscle and spouting blood that screamed in his consciousness. When more came, he took out his gun and fired. He did not aim. He simply fired. And fired. And fired. Everything before him would die. Everything would be destroyed. The entire misery of the place that had been his life, the place that had killed his life, would be brought crashing down till it was nothing but rubble and blood. Always blood. Horrible burbling, gurgling blood that rasped painfully across his brain in labored breaths…

Then there was a loud boom. Equally loud bangs. There was the scent of smoke in the air and the sensation of heat. The sight of dancing, flickering, deadly fire… A dim corner of his mind registered success… So he escaped. People attempted to stop him. He did not know them, but he did not like them either. He fought. There was screaming. It echoed through his brain and splashed his vision with red. He disliked the screaming. He continued to run and run as far away as he could get. Then there was light. The light was pretty. He went to the light and…

Thunder crashed in the sky, showering everything in the area with a heavy coat of water. The area was a rocky mountainous place where no one really went. It was the perfect place to hide a secret, and GIN-SHOCKER had many secrets to hide. Their base had been built there and their inhumane experiments carried out for the sake of world domination. However, this base was lost to them now.

For BLACK 13 had gone rogue and escaped.

The base itself was a burning wreck. Parts of it were blown out with flames spewing from them like hell had been devouring it from the inside out. All of the guards and scientists inside were dead or long gone. Not even the Cyborg Mutant series which was made for an attack force survived the carnage. The main doors had been blown off and muddy footprints could be seen exiting the place, heading down the hidden path away from the fortress.

Making his way far from the base which he had been forced to call home, BLACK 13 was clad in blood, and soot, and his own armour. His only friend's dead face, that innocent smile still upon it, replayed in a never-ending loop at the very forefront of his mind. He had killed her with his own hands while she was disguised as a training dummy, all because Dr. Gebok wanted to see what would happen. She was just the first to die in BLACK 13's rampage against his captors/creators.

"Unnn!" the armoured figure groaned, collapsing to his knees before dropping onto his hands, letting them sink into the mud. Even his increased stamina and endurance were at their limits after all the fighting and killing he had done this day.

"Rina-chan….I'm so sorry…I didn't know you were there…I'm sorry…" his voice sounded rusty and disused; choked with a grief so vast that it did not sound quite human. He sobbed, a dry, tearing sound, his heart and brain numb with shock at his friend's blood on his hands. "…please forgive me…I'M SORRY!"

Thunder crashed as the armoured figure roared to the heavens, begging for forgiveness he felt he didn't deserve. All he wanted was his friend back, but he knew that the dead never returned to the land of the living. Ever.

"Sounds like you're in need of my services," a new voice spoke up.

BLACK 13 snarled and turned to face the one who had spoken to him. The person came in the form of a man dressed like he came out of Alice in Wonderland. He wore a blue overcoat with pinstriped pants with an orange shirt and a yellow bowtie. Perched on top of his head was a tall top hat. In his hand was an umbrella which he used to shield himself from the rain. Strangely, the mud didn't seem to stick to his shoes as he walked towards the armoured young man.

"Relax my boy," the man smiled. "I'm not with GIN-SHOCKER. Never liked those fools that much anyway. They wanted to play god when they didn't have the closest idea what being god entails."

"What…do you want?" snarled BLACK 13.

"The question is, what do YOU want?" asked the man. "You see, I'm a businessman. I go where people need something. The more desperate they are, the quicker I come. You, my boy, hit the top of that list. I just had to come with the desperation you were giving off."

"…desperate?' asked BLACK 13. "Yeah…I am desperate. So what is your business?"

"I grant wishes," the man smiled. "Anything my clients want. All I expect in return is something of equal value."

"…I don't have…much," BLACK 13 argued.

"My boy, you have plenty to offer," the man rebutted. "Now, shall I grant you a wish today? I have many other clients."

"…yes," BLACK 13 nodded. "I…I want to…want to live…be free of BLACK 13….be happy…live happy…be loved…have the life some of the other projects said they had before being dragged here…but most of all…to be far, FAR away from this sick place."

"Oh, that's an easy one," the man smiled. "I know exactly the place to send you as well. However, there will be a price."

"I'll do anything. Name your price," BLACK 13 growled.

Topper grinned. This was starting out quite well. "And also for your wish to be granted, I would need to seal your memories away," the man continued, "Every memory you've made from the time of your birth up to now."

"Heh," BLACK 13 nodded. "I don't need them. They'd do more harm than good anyway."

"Ah, I do so love a cooperative customer," the man grinned. "Well then, don't move. Otherwise this will hurt."

And BLACK 13 was no more after that…

Gebok was the only survivor of the incident. As he walked away from the wreckage, he frowned grimly. He may have gotten the results he desired, but he never expected for BLACK 13 to go rogue and berserk. Even the remote he had prepared to control BLACK 13 had not worked. It just exploded in his hand, useless.

"The Great Leader won't like this…" he murmured. He had plans to make. "Back to the drawing board."

He intended to bring back BLACK 13, at any cost, and then GIN-SHOCKER would get its ultimate weapon again.

So swore Dr. Gebok X. Shinigami in the name of GIN-SHOCKER.

A spotlight shone on Topper again, this time he was reading from a parchment. "And so begins the tale of a warrior who seeks to pass judgment upon those who'd wronged him. Will he succeed? Well, if you wish to know then go and see for yourself. It isn't hard. Just start at the beginning, as did I." He folded the parchment and put it in his hat.

KR Chrome: And so we have a full back story for Shinichi. What do you think?