SJ Character Contest-TETSUKO

You know how I said I wasn't going to post any fan art this year? THIS DOESN'T COUNT. It's for a contest at the Fans of Samurai Jack Group. [link]

All of Tetsuko's bio except for her back story is in the image, so please click Download to view the whole thing. I currently have only two colored pics of her, [link] [link] and one fanfic with her in it that will never be finished [link] , so you may as well just read the back story to find out what her deal is.

Back Story: If you happened to meet her on the street, you would think Tetsuko was a homeless bum with a bad attitude and even worse hygiene problems. And you would be absolutely right. Tetsuko has no known family or friends, and remembers nothing about her life before she became a cyborg, not even her real name.

She woke up alone one day in the underground garbage dump of a cyberpunk city, without any idea as to how she got there. She made herself at home in the dump and only went up to street level to get food and supplies from other people’s trash, avoiding the police whenever possible. She was fairly resigned to living in squalid loneliness until a chance encounter with Jack changed everything. She had no idea who he was, and although they got off to a rocky start (her right arm was broken in a fight with the police and she blamed him for it), they soon became friends and it was Jack who gave her the name "Tetsuko." She began to trust him and let her guard down a bit, and he even paid to have her arm fixed.

But this happy time was not to last. Upon hearing the word “samurai” one day, Tetsuko was suddenly overcome by the uncontrollable urge to kill Jack. Some of her memories returned in that split second. She was formerly a cyborg assassin codenamed FE-264 from a top secret experiment called “the Iron Maiden” project. Aku’s team of evil scientists used victims from the towns he destroyed as guinea pigs. She was the only subject who survived the process of becoming a cyborg, but lost her memory from being brainwashed. Considered defective due to her faulty memory, she was disposed of in the city junkyard and forgotten. However, the word “samurai” remained the trigger for her unwilling and uncontrollable rampage.

During her battle with Jack, FE-264 used the multiple blades hidden in her body to cause serious injury to her opponent and massive amounts of damage to the area around her. Jack was forced to run from her, recognizing that she was not in control of her actions and unwilling to hurt the young woman he had been helping just days ago. Eventually she cornered him at the top of a skyscraper and prepared to deliver a killing blow, but froze at the last second. Jack realized that his friend was not yet lost, and attempted to reason with her. When he called her by the name “Tetsuko,” her mental conflict became worse and caused her body to behave erratically. As she convulsed, screamed and staggered about, she stepped to the edge of the roof and slipped, but Jack caught her just in time. He tried to pull her back up, but in his weakened state he was unable to heavy to lift her up. She had regained control of her mind but not her body, and was unable to move. Just before she slipped from Jack’s grasp, Tetsuko looked up at him, thanked him for everything, and plummeted down to the street below with a smile on her face.

Jack looked for some sign of Tetsuko on the ground, but found no trace of her anywhere. Believing her to be dead, and feeling terrible guilt for it, he left the city to resume his quest. However, Tetsuko had managed to survive the fall and fled the city. Shortly after this Aku learned for the first time that his former slave FE-264 was alive and had gone rogue. He quickly began sending robot minions after her, and for a long time she succeeded in avoiding capture. Then one day Jack found Tetsuko alive in a remote desert outpost. At first he was glad to see her again and asked how she had survived her fall, but she behaved as if she had never met him before and had no idea what he was talking about. However, when bounty hunters attacked him Tetsuko came to his aid and fought by his side. By then Jack was sure that she remembered him, but she continued to deny it and warned him to stay away from her. When more of Aku’s robots attacked, Tetsuko fought them bravely but came very close to losing until Jack came to her rescue. Still, the robots proved to be too much for the two of them and they were forced to hide.

Again Jack tried to remind Tetsuko of who he was, and at last she admitted that she had never forgotten him at all. Tetsuko confessed that she had faked her death, began a quest to discover her true identity, and avoided crossing paths with Jack until their chance meeting at the desert outpost. Jack was angry with her for having lied to him and demanded to know why, but before Tetsuko could answer they were found by Aku’s robots and the battle resumed. As they fought, Jack received a bad injury and began losing the fight. Seeing him suffer made Tetsuko angry and she tore into the enemies more aggressively than before, buying Jack the time he needed to regain his strength and finish the battle.

When all the robots were finally destroyed, Tetsuko told Jack her reason for lying to him was to keep him from getting hurt. She explained that he was the only friend she had in the world and would rather die than lose him. Jack decided to forgive Tetsuko and agreed that it would be safer for them both if they remained apart. After they went their separate ways, Aku learned that Tetsuko was still alive and placed a large bounty on her head, making her an outlaw like Jack.

To this day Tetsuko continues to roam the world in search of clues to her mysterious past. She remains undefeated by Aku’s henchmen, bounty hunters, and other villains that cross her way. Unlike Jack she is mainly concerned with her own interests and spares little time to help any strangers she meets, unless they can offer her something she wants. It is possible she may cross paths with Jack again someday, though the direction their relationship might go could lead them both into trouble.