Trigger of Change

Written by Aiyumi

Disclaimer: Rockman/Mega Man, as well as any other trademark that may be referenced in this fan fiction, are properties of their respective owners. I am just a fan and do not have any relations to said people/companies.

Chapter 9: The Emotions

After Rock came back from the Ruins, he caught up with Teisel. Apparently, Tron hadn't been in the mood to talk to the blue kid, so the two of them settled their deal on their own. They agreed to meet in front of the music school the following day.

Rock returned to the Flutter, took a shower and collapsed onto the couch where the Units were sitting.

The Units looked at the tired boy sprawled beside them. Even now, it was hard for them to believe that he was the same armored Digger that had pulled all of those crazy stunts in the ruins only a few moments ago.

"You have done an excellent job, Mister Rock." Geetz complimented.

"Thanks," Rock mumbled. He didn't budge from his position even once.

The Servitor added. "From what we could observe, your skill level surpasses that of a Third Class Purifier Unit."

That comment caught Roll's interest. "A Third Class... Purifier Unit?"

"Yes." Geetz answered. "Purifier Units were ranked and organized into six classes."

Roll listened curiously. "Oh, so stronger than Third Class would be... Like halfway up the ranks, right? That's amazing, isn't it, Rock?"

But Rock wasn't listening. As soon as Geetz had mentioned the Purifier Unit classes, he recalled Yuna's words from their previous talk. "There was a very notable Purifier among them. He was the strongest of them all and ranked First Class, which meant that he was just below Sera and myself. Quite the important person, as you would say."

The strongest Purifier Unit, Rock thought. He wondered what the strength of a First Class Purifier might have been like.

"Rock?"

"Ah!" Rock jumped. "Roll, d-did you say something?"

Roll giggled at his reaction. "I said that it's amazing that they compared you with a Third Class Purifier Unit, since that's halfway up the ranks." She grinned. "And I take it that Geetz isn't one to exaggerate things, so..."

"A few... Incidents aside, it was quite impressive," Sera said.

Rock knew that Sera definitely wasn't one to exaggerate things, and that she only gave compliments out when she really meant it. "Hahaha, thanks."

"However," she quickly added, "you should stop playing around and underestimating your enemies."

"I wasn't playing around." He justified himself. "I was going easy on the Bonnes because I was trying to save them. That was part of the plan too, right?"

Even though Sera was curious to know whether Carbons could really recover from the Irregular state or not, to her, saving them was pointless since they would all be gone after the Reinitialization. The last dig had been too risky and she would rather not have had Rock take that kind of risk again on the journey to get the last key. They could even manage to lose the other keys, too, if they weren't careful enough. "This time you only got the key because you were lucky that the enemy gave up. You should count more on skill and less on luck from now on. Do you understand?"

He slowly nodded. Sera glared at him, demanding stronger confirmation, but Rock wasn't looking at her anymore. His eyes closed and soon he was fast asleep.

"He must be very tired." Roll commented.

"We should allow him to rest," Geetz said.

"Let's head back to the Sulphur-Bottom. I'll start the engines." Roll stood up from the couch and walked toward the engine room.

Geetz followed Roll out of the living room, and Sera found herself alone with Rock. She was still curious about that boy. At certain points during that dig, he had demonstrated a Second Class Purifier Unit skill level. She would have never expected that from a Carbon. Sera wondered what had changed in the current Carbons' programs. She considered many variables that might have changed, but nothing she came up with was satisfactory. In the end, she concluded that guessing wouldn't get her anywhere. She would never know the answer unless she actually examined a current Carbon program. Rock slept peacefully on the couch. The engines started and the Flutter took off, but not even the sound of the engines was able to pull the boy out from his slumber.

"If you want to know more about something, you should investigate." Sera remembered Rock's words from earlier.

That was it. She should investigate. The perfect opportunity was right there and she shouldn't waste it. Since Sera was much shorter than Rock, she had to stand up in order to reach his head. She positioned herself right in front of him. Nothing happened. She hesitantly placed a hand on top of the boy's head. His hair was still damp from his shower earlier. Rock didn't move. Sera closed her eyes in relief and concentrated on accessing his program. It took a while, and she was worried that Rock would wake up before she had a chance to find anything.

"Access from Mother Unit Number Two acknowledged." The status message finally appeared in Sera's mind. She was in.

She thought about what would be best to check first. She needed to finish the job quickly, and preferably without him waking up. Sera issued a few basic commands to get an overview of his files. ... What is this? She thought. A lone memory file blocked her way, and it was in an incredibly unusual place for a memory file. There were other things she should have been checking, like his firmware version and DNA structure, but that loose memory file piqued her curiosity. She opened it and gasped. It showed a movie from Rock's point of view. The setting seemed to be one of the control rooms assigned to Bureaucratic Units, and Rockman Juno's head hovered in the air.

"It was quite an enjoyable battle." Juno's head spoke. "In fact, I do not recall having a battle as enjoyable as this in a long time... It appears that we still have some time until Eden reaches optimal altitude. Until then, I expect you to entertain me. Even though I am a Third Class Bureaucratic Unit and not specialized in combat, I will do my best to defeat you. It will be my pleasure to terminate your program..."

Juno used to be polite and friendly, so Sera was shocked when she detected an unmistakable presence of hatred in his voice. She had never heard him talk like that... And she was even more shocked when his head floated up and attached itself to a big robotic body that had been hidden behind the room's equipment.

Sera saw the scenery spin as Rock frantically dodged left and right. Juno's attacks were fierce and he shouted maniacally like she had never heard him shout before. One thing was clear: that wasn't Juno anymore. He had gone completely Irregular.

"Aaaaah!" Rock was hit and sent flying across the room. The blow seemed very painful, but he had no time to recover. Juno was charging straight at him again. Rock blindly rolled to the side and barely avoided Juno's attempt to smack him straight through the walls of the control room.

Rock kept dodging, probably moving on instinct alone. Witnessing so many close calls wasn't for the faint of heart. Sera found herself rooting for Rock as he did what he could to run away from the maddened Bureaucratic Unit. Juno's attacks were very fast. In that combat body, the Bureaucratic Unit was much more powerful than any Second Class Unit could be. Rock was dodging most of his attacks using pure luck alone, and Sera had to admit that if he had followed her advice about counting more on skill and less on luck at that time, he probably wouldn't have left that room alive. Rock actually managed to score a few Shining Laser shots on the rare occasions his opponent stopped moving, but the fight didn't seem anywhere close to ending.

"I can't let you kill them!" Rock jumped out of the way as a fireball wooshed over his head. He shouted, "You don't understand anything! Everything that those people have gone through... All the obstacles they've faced, and the happiness they felt when they overcame them... You don't get any of that! I won't let you kill them and throw an entire century of progress away!" Rock yelled as he dodged Juno's attacks. Since the scene was from Rock's point of view, Sera couldn't see the expression on the boy's face, but his voice had taken on a tone so dangerous that she had never imagined Rock to be capable of producing it. It was totally different from the carefree manner in which he had handled his dig in the third key ruins.

"Ha Ha Ha!" Juno laughed maniacally and sent laser shots in all directions. "I only do what is required of me. Anything else is outside of the scope of my work. I am merely following protocol, and will terminate anyone that interferes with my affairs... Whoever it might be." The hatred that dripped from Juno's voice at the last part actually sent some chills down Sera's spine.

"Aaah!" One of Juno's shots hit Rock in the back and knocked the digger to the ground.

"What is the matter? Were you not going to defeat me?" Juno mocked. He stopped attacking and stared at his suffering opponent with an amused grin on his face.

Rock stood up with difficulty. "N-no... Everyone... I can't... Lose now! I still have to... Have to..." He trailed off. Energy began to build quickly inside his special weapon. "... Come on... Shining Laser, please... Save the island's future! Aaaaaaaaah!" Rock gave a furious cry and released the concentrated energy. The impact was so strong that the weapon detached from his arm and sent him flying backward. Sera could even hear the clank of his armor as he crashed violently into a wall. She could tell that it had been very painful. He probably would have suffered permanent head damage if he hadn't been wearing a helmet. The scene flickered as Rock's vision blurred.

Juno hadn't been expecting that sudden display of power. He tried to dodge the incoming strike, but the energy still made contact with the wall near him and caused a big explosion. Juno not only caught the brunt of the attack, but he was also hit by half of the nearest wall when the structure collapsed on top of him. His combat body exploded. Even though all that was left of him was a sparking head, Juno still managed to give a creepy chuckle. "It appears that I underestimated your fighting ability. I was mistaken to think I would be able to triumph over you in battle in your current state. However, my task will still be carried out. Eden is already in position to begin." Juno issued voice commands to Eden's computers and requested the island's reinitialization as well as a backup of his memories. "My memories have been successfully backed up and will be transferred to another shell." His systems began to fail and his speech gradually slowed down. "I eagerly await... Our... Next... Mee-ting..." Finally, his speech died down and his head blew up.

The Eden computer started talking. "Eden systems ready. Execution of Kattelox Island's Reinitialization Program will commence in one hundred seconds."

"No..." Rock's voice came out in a whisper. "Don't tell me all I did was for nothing..." He tried to stand up. "What should I do? I need to do something... But I can't... Move..."

The scene suddenly glitched and Sera unexpectedly lost access to its conclusion.

Sera opened her eyes. For a moment, she gaped and stared at nothing in particular. Now, Rock had her respect. She hadn't imagined that his battle with Juno could have been so intense. The boy had shown a First Class skill level during that fight, even though half of it could have been attributed to his special weapon and much of it probably had been driven by despair. Sera even felt sorry that he'd had to go through a fight as dangerous as that one. At least the Reinitialization that was about to come would be painless... No, that wasn't the problem...

"I won't let you kill them and throw an entire century of progress away!" Sera recalled how angry Rock had been when he had said that. If he ended up finding out what her true intentions were, it would undoubtedly end in a fight. She would prefer it if she didn't have to fight him. She was certain that he wouldn't pose much of a problem now that he didn't have his Shining Laser anymore, but still...

Rock suddenly stirred, and it reminded Sera that her hand was still resting on his head. She hastily pulled her hand away, but Rock noticed the movement. He held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Your hand's warm, Sera."

Sera didn't know how to respond in order to justify herself. Hopefully he hadn't noticed that she had basically invaded his mind.

Rock let go of her hand and pointed at the spot beside him on the couch. Sera reluctantly sat down.

"You look worried." Rock noted.

Sera was relieved. Rock was acting friendly and didn't seem to have noticed anything. But she was still curious. Since she'd had her access cut off prematurely, she was missing a piece of the story. Sera wanted to know what had happened afterward, but she couldn't reveal to him that she had invaded his mind and spied on his memories.

"I was recalling what you had told me earlier regarding your fight against Rockman Juno," Sera said. Rock's expression darkened a bit, but since he didn't seem to object outright to the subject, Sera felt it was safe for her to continue. "... Did he mention anything regarding backups?"

"... Backups?" Rock seemed a bit hesitant to recall his encounter with Juno again, but he made a bit of effort to answer her as honestly as he could. "Yeah... He did."

That was worrisome. Juno was insane, clearly an Irregular. They definitely weren't going to want him back. He would only bring problems if he had his memories restored to a new shell. "Do you know if any backups were performed?"

"Hmm. The computer said they were... But later, uh... It said it canceled the erasing program thing, and I think it said it deleted his backups, too..."

"Good." Sera nodded. The computer had probably detected an error in Juno's request and canceled everything. "Having backups of an Irregular such as Juno could pose problems in the future. However, if they were deleted, it ultimately doesn't matter." Sera would end that conversation. She felt a bit bad for having reminded Rock about Juno again. "That was all. You seem tired. You should sleep in your room." But Rock didn't move. "What is the matter?"

Rock seemed deep in thought. "No, it's just... I was having a weird dream..." He ran a hand through his hair. "And... Um… Yeah… It was about you..."

Sera hadn't been expecting to hear that. Could it have something to do with the scan? She hoped not.

Rock didn't wait for her to ask him to elaborate. "You were angry. Like, really really angry. I don't know why, because you didn't say anything. You just attacked everything in sight. You looked totally out of your mind..."

Strange. Where had Rock gotten that idea from? If it had been anything like the way Juno had acted in that memory file, it could have definitely had something to do with her scan. Rock's system must have detected her interference, as well as the fact that she was checking that memory file, and mixed everything up. However, even if it had been an interference-induced dream, that thought was scary. It was exactly the kind of thing Sera feared would happen if she wound up going Irregular: losing control of herself and going totally out of her mind. Only, she hadn't realized that it had already happened once.

Rock continued talking. "I kept dodging your attacks and trying to call you back to your senses, but you wouldn't listen. I think I had something I wanted to tell you, but I don't remember what it was. All I know is that I didn't... Don't... I don't want to hurt you..."

Sera tried to come up with an appropriate answer, but she couldn't find any suitable words to say. She was taking so much time to formulate her answer that Rock seemed to have dozed off again. Sera realized that he probably wouldn't listen and gave up. But then, he half-opened his eyes and began speaking incoherently.

"I... Don't want to hurt you," Rock said in a near whisper. "I promised that I'd save you... That I'd free you from... From... That... Thing. I had promised him... He wanted me to save the others too, but they're gone... But you're still here. I can still save you... I... Will save you..."

"'Him?' 'The others?'" Sera repeated. "What are you talking about?" Rock was making no sense. She hesitantly patted his arm. "Rock."

"... Huh?" Rock straightened his posture and his eyes shot open.

"I will reiterate. You should sleep in your room."

"Hmm. Okay, I'll do that." Rock blinked a few times, stood up and slowly walked away towards his room.


X:X:X:X:X

X:X:X

Hidden file detected... ... ... Configuration file "MASTER FILE 03" found. Encrypted file. Decrypting... ... ... Analyzing... ... ...

MASTER FILE 03

X:X:X

Rock slept and began to dream about the Master again.

"Today, I would like to tell you about the different kinds of assistant Units I made." The Master's voice began. "There are the Mother Units, who have the task of managing the system: One to take care of the branch on Terra, and another in charge of the branch on Elysium. Below them are the Servitor Units, who assist and protect the Mother Units. Then come the Bureaucratic Units, who carry out smaller administrative tasks for Terra's branch of the System, like executing a small scale Reinitialization Program to avoid the overpopulation of the Carbons in specific regions. There are also other Units working here on Elysium, like the Programmers that help me to fix bugs in the System or build other Units. All was well, until one of the older Bureaucratic Units began showing irregular behavior and went against the rules. That was how we lost Alfia, the first Mother Unit from Terra. After that, more Bureaucratic Units became Irregulars. We were able to terminate them with the efforts of Servitors and a few other Units. Then, the worst happened: Berta, Elysium's Mother Unit, turned against us, destroyed various Units, and effectively became an Irregular. She was eventually terminated, at the cost of the Servitors and many others. We had to program new Units for all of the categories, including the Mother Units. To prevent them from going Irregular, we began placing limits on their configuration which prevented them from performing any tasks outside the parameters of the System. Since it would take too much time to make a new program design from scratch to account for that, we used the already established blueprints, but incorporated some code that would limit their behavior. Whenever the Units are required to make any kind of decision, this limiter forces them to consult the System and enforces its rules. Since then, all of the Units have been built like this, with many of the Programmer Units supervising their configuration and looking for any programming flaws likely to make the Unit turn into an Irregular. Even with the limiters in place on our newer Units, we have no guarantee that it won't happen again… Not to mention that there are still older Units without those limiters. They have a greater chance of going Irregular. So we had to create another Unit category: the Purifier Units, which you are a part of. We began creating Purifiers and Bureaucratic Units using the 'Rockman' technology, which is very dependable. It was the same technology responsible for many breakthroughs in the relations between humans and robots in the past. The Purifiers' - and in turn, your - mission is to terminate Irregular Units. It also involves going to Terra to destroy the Elder System's Reaverbots that occasionally escape our countermeasures and activate. This is not all. However, I will leave the other details for another time. Until then, rest well."

END OF FILE

X:X:X:X:X

However, Rock didn't have time to think about his dream. He was suddenly awoken by the noise of something breaking, followed by a peculiar screech.


The Flutter arrived at its destination, but everyone decided to wait until Rock awoke to disembark. Roll was preparing something in the kitchen and Geetz stayed in the living room to talk to Sera.

"I am interested in discovering what has changed within the current Carbons' programs." Sera began. "A bit earlier, I attempted to scan the boy's system."

Data, who had followed Geetz to the living room and hid himself behind the TV, was horrified. Mother Two could have found something out about Trigger!

"Attempted?" Based on Sera's choice of words, Geetz assumed that something must have gone wrong.

"I was unable to check much. I got distracted by a displaced memory file." Sera lowered her voice. "It concerned his encounter with Third Class Bureaucratic Unit Rockman Juno. The file glitched and my access was interrupted before I was able to see everything. However I must say that Juno achieved First Class Unit strength with his unauthorized modification. The boy is also able to reach a First Class Unit skill level if pressured, and he reacted very negatively to the possibility of reinitializing that island." Sera paused. "Geetz, your Reaverbot eye sensor allows you to scan Carbons' systems without having to touch them. Whenever you have the opportunity, I want you to scan a few Carbons."

"Understood." Geetz nodded.

Data gasped. This was definitely getting dangerous! He was scared now. It would be probably better to find a safer hiding place, too. He began to move, but unfortunately for him, in his haste, he accidentally bumped into a vase that was placed near the TV, which in turn bumped into a glass ornament. The glass item fell to the ground and the shattering sound attracted the Units' attention.

"What was that?" Sera asked.

"Hmm?" Geetz looked in the noise's direction and saw the Casketts' little monkey near the TV. Such an unusual place for the robot to be.

Data gaped at the sight of the broken glass on the ground. When he noticed the Servitor looking at him, he panicked. "Keeeeee!" He flailed desperately and bumped into the vase again. This time, he knocked the vase to the ground and it also shattered. "Keeeeeeyaaaaa!" Data's eyes widened in horror and he screamed even more.

"Data!" Roll came running from the kitchen. "Ah!" She gasped when she saw the mess.

"What happened!?" Rock came hurriedly out of his bedroom. He seemed tired, but alert nonetheless.

Roll pointed at the mess on the ground. "It looks like Data knocked the vase down..."

Rock sighed in relief. "Data, you scared me! I was so tired that I forgot to close the door to my room. I heard a strange noise, and then I heard you screaming! I thought something serious was happening!"

"Sorry, Rock..." Data closed his eyes and lowered his head in shame. He had ruined Rock's well-deserved rest.

"What were you doing there, anyway?"

Data didn't have any excuse. His head was low and his eyes were closed. He didn't want to make eye contact with anyone.

"You should probably keep a closer watch on your robot." Geetz suggested. "This way you could avoid problems such as the incident at the mall yesterday."

"He isn't always like this." Rock justified. "He's been acting a bit weird these last few days. I don't know why..."

"In that case, all the more the reason to keep a closer watch on him." Geetz argued.

"... Yeah, I guess you're right." Rock admitted. He picked the small robot up and placed him on the couch. "Data, stay there while I help clean up this mess."

"Sorry, Rock, I'm sorry..." Data spoke. He was still trying to avoid eye contact with Rock. "I know you should be resting. But I, uh... I was there and... I was startled and... And..." Data didn't know how he could tell Rock about that potential danger. "You were supposed to be resting. I should be cleaning this mess, not you!"

"It's okay, Data, it's okay." Rock patted the little robot's head.

Roll disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a broom. Rock took the broom from her and proceeded to sweep the glass and vase fragments from the ground while Roll tried to save the plants in the broken vase.

Data stayed huddled on the couch looking discreetly at the Units. He could only hope that Geetz wouldn't decide to "help" and scan him to find out if he was becoming defective.


After Roll and Rock cleaned up the mess, everyone went to the kitchen. Roll poured them some tea and served the remaining cookies from the previous day. She had gotten carried away and ended up making too many cookies. "I'm sorry that I didn't have time to prepare anything different." Roll apologized to the visitors. "Sorry, Sera. I couldn't find a nice light blue tablecloth, either. Yesterday at the mall, I checked a few stores while we were looking for Data... But the tablecloths I saw weren't that nice. If I hadn't been in a hurry, I'd have searched more thoroughly..."

"Stop worrying about such insignificant details." The Mother Unit dismissed Roll's worries.

"It's not insignificant." Roll protested. "You said you like the color."

Rock added. "And we said we'd find things that you like so you could smile more, didn't we?"

Sera didn't answer, but it wasn't because she didn't want to. What she had just said didn't convey the meaning she had wanted. She felt frustrated because she didn't have a suitable answer for them. And why did her systems' temperatures have to increase slightly whenever they said things like that?

"You do not need to concern yourselves with us so much." Geetz answered for her. "We are very grateful for everything you have been doing for us."

"Yes," was all that Sera could manage to say.

Rock yawned and covered his mouth. He still seemed tired and looked like he could fall asleep on his chair at any moment. Sera noticed it and felt sorry for him. The ruins that guarded the keys were no ordinary ruins, and that last dig had clearly taken a heavy toll on him. One of the reasons he had been exploring those ruins was to get the keys for her. Sera wondered if she had been demanding too much of him. "Rock, you should probably take the day to rest and wait until tomorrow to deliver the key." She advised.

"We will inform Mister Bluecher that you successfully managed to collect the third key and that you will deliver it tomorrow," Geetz said.

"Okay, thanks." Rock nodded gratefully.


The following day, after delivering the key to the Sulphur-Bottom, Rock and Roll took the two Units and the three Servbots aboard the Flutter and went to the music school on Manda Island. Geetz and Sera sat on a bench nearby while Rock went to talk to the Bonnes. Thankfully, the Bonnes were waiting for him just like they had promised. They were wearing casual clothes without the Bonne skull logo.

"#6! #34! #29!" A Servbot came running to meet their comrades.

"Ah! Everyone!" The third Servbot, #29, said. "We missed you so much...!"

Various Servbots flanked the trio and started to cry.

"Here they are, safe and sound." Rock told Tron. "Huh?" He noticed that she was pulling a small, unfamiliar child by the hand.

"Ssshhh." Tron signaled for the little boy to be quiet.

However, he wasn't. "Babu?"

"What?!" Rock's eyes widened in surprise. "You're... Bon!"

"Yeah, the one and only! You have a problem with that!?" Tron snapped.

"He's practically a baby!"

"No, he's not!" Tron retorted.

"He looks like a toddler, but he's not. The truth is, he's actually four years old." Teisel elaborated. "But he has a weird... Problem. His mind developed normally, but his body didn't."

To make his brother's point, Bon opened his mouth for Rock to see that his teeth were still very small.

"But this is... This is... Amazing!" Rock took a step closer to Bon.

"What are you talking about?!" Tron kept shouting.

"He can control all of those machines. And he can go on digs! He's only four years old, but he practically excavated one of the keys to the Mother Lode! He's already a very accomplished digger, don't you think?"

"Babuuu..." Bon blushed at Rock's compliments.

"Um... Well..." Tron lost her composure.

"That developmental issue of his is very unusual, though." Geetz approached and addressed the Bonnes. The former pirates froze, but the Servitor continued anyway. "Miss Tron, correct?"

"Uh... Y-yeah." Tron managed a nod.

"We are planning to study your generation's anatomy in order to see what has changed since our time. Your younger brother seems to be an interesting case. If you would be so kind as to permit it, I would like to run a scan on him. Chances are that we might be able to get to the root of the problem."

"Um..." Tron glanced at Teisel for guidance, but he didn't say anything. "I'll... Think about it." She answered.

"Thank you for your consideration, Miss Tron." Geetz bowed slightly. "Mister Rock. Mistress Sera and I will await your return aboard the Flutter."

"Okay. I'll be back soon."

"Shall we... Uh, enter?" Teisel's gaze gracelessly wandered between the Servbots and the music school's entrance.

"Yeah, let's go." Rock began walking and the Bonnes followed him.


The Servbots, accompanied by Rock and the Bonnes, were taken to a classroom. The little robots were to be assigned to different sections of the orchestra and enrolled with different specialized teachers. For the moment, though, the Servbots only had to try out various instruments and decide which one each of them wanted to play. They began with the string instruments. The teacher was a young man, just at the end of his teenage years. He handed a child-sized violin to one of the Servbots and explained how to hold it. When the Servbot tried to get a sound out, a painful screech cut through the room and made everyone cover their ears.

"This is atrocious!" Teisel nearly shouted, then muttered to himself. "Maybe it was too good to be true..."

"Calm down, don't worry," The teacher said. "This is just the beginning. It happens to everyone. You just need to be patient."

Teisel sighed. "Ah. I guess you're right. That's probably the reason we've never managed to learn to play anything ourselves. We really need to learn to be patient..."

The teacher explained some more things. The Servbots listened while the Bonnes watched. "Alright. Does anyone have any questions?" The teacher asked.

"Yes, teacher!" #34 raised his hand. "I was reading this book called 'The World of the Ukulele...' Do orchestras have ukuleles?"


After nearly an hour, they left the Servbots with their teachers and exited the school. While Tron and Teisel were distracted talking, Bon gestured to Rock and beckoned for him to come over. "Ba-bu..." Bon spoke in a low voice, as if he wanted to tell him a secret.

"What is it?" Rock asked as he approached him.

Bon pointed at Tron.

"Tron? What about her?"

The little boy pointed at Tron again, then shaped a closed heart with his hands, then pointed at Rock.

"... Huh?" It took a while for Rock to understand what Bon had meant. When he did, though, he just laughed it off. "Hahahaha! Where did you get that idea from? Hahahahahahahaha!"

"Babu..." Bon protested as though he were saying, "But it's true!"

"It makes no sense. Up until yesterday, she'd been trying to kill me!" Rock argued, still laughing a bit.

Rock clearly hadn't believed him. "Babu...!" Bon stomped on the ground in frustration.

"How dare you laugh at my little brother!" Tron came running towards them. She seemed really angry.

"Babuuuuu!" Bon quickly shook his head. He pleaded with his eyes for Rock to be quiet.

"Uh... Tron?" Rock did his best to stifle his laugh. "Um... Bon is talking about things that... I think are too adult for him."

"... For example?" She demanded.

"Babuuu!" Bon desperately shook his head again. He covered his mouth as a sign to keep quiet and looked at Rock.

"Huh?" Tron noticed her little brother's strange reaction. No, Don't tell me... No, Bon is still too young! He shouldn't have noticed that! She blushed at the notion. Maybe he's been watching too much TV... Tron tried to convince herself. She looked at Rock for a while, then grabbed Bon by the hand and took him to Teisel. "Teisel! Can you stay with Bon for a moment?"

"Yeah." Teisel took Bon's other hand to allow Tron to release him. "We'll go back to the Drache."

"Alright." And she added, "... Ah, and please, no TV. "

Tron slowly walked back to where Rock was waiting. There was something she had wanted to talk to him about, but she didn't know where to begin.

"What is it?" He asked, forcing her to talk.

"Um... Do you really trust those ancients?"

"Yeah." Rock nodded firmly.

Tron shuddered. "I talked to Teisel. And, uh, they really remind us of that weird guy from Kattelox. You haven't forgotten what happened that day, did you?"

Rock shuddered at the mention of his fight with Juno, but he quickly recovered. "I told them about that, and they said they had known him. But they said that what he was doing was wrong and that he was totally out of his mind." Rock saw that Tron still wasn't convinced. "Geetz and Sera may seem a bit weird at first, but they're good people. We've been spending a lot of time with them. A few days ago, we took them to visit an island. We stopped at a park for some ice cream, then went to a mall and checked out a music store. It was lots of fun!"

"You did... What?" Tron seemed a bit jealous.

"We hung out together! Yeah, and our ship got attacked along the way, too. Geetz even helped me fight off Glyde!" Rock noticed that Tron still seemed unsure. "Are you worried about what he said, about trying to figure out the cause of Bon's problem?"

Tron was taken aback. It was as if he had read her thoughts. She simply nodded.

"I'd say, go for it. I mean, why not? Chances are that he finds the cause, and maybe a solution too. The worst thing that can happen is that everything stays the way it is now, right?"

Tron went silent for a while.

"Rock..." She began. "Aren't you... Scared?"

"Scared? Of what?"

"Scared of all of this. Scared of finding the Mother Lode. Of finding out that the Mother Lode wasn't what you'd been expecting..."

"Well, a bit." He confessed. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. But I have this feeling that there's something I'm supposed to do, and somehow I feel that it's connected to the Mother Lode. If I eventually find it and it turns out to be something good, I'll let you and your brothers know, okay?"

One side of Tron wanted her to argue back, but the other side caused her to relent and give him another nod in response. After all, Rock was Rock. Tron's softer side insisted that he was a very gentle person, and that he really would be willing to share the treasure, if the Mother Lode turned out to be one. And if it proved to be something dangerous instead, surely he would protect them, just like he had done that time on Kattelox.

"Tron?" Rock noticed the lost look in her eyes and the strange smile on her face.

"Ah!" She shook her head. "It's nothing! I just... I just, er... Hope everything goes right for my brothers and me from now on."

"It will." Rock nodded reassuringly. "And I'll be cheering you on."

"Um... Thanks." Tron desperately tried to hide the blush that crept onto her face. "Now, wh-why don't you go call your friend so we can get this scanning thing going?"

"Right. I'll be back in a sec." To Tron's relief, Rock turned away from her and walked towards the Flutter.


Rock returned to the Flutter to get Geetz, and the two of them met up with the Bonnes again. Roll and Sera had also come along to watch.

The former pirates shuddered when they saw a light flash in Geetz's Reaverbot eye.

"Do not worry. I do not mean you any harm." The Servitor tried to assuage their fears.

Bon didn't react while the scan took place. Tron was worried that Geetz might do something dangerous and didn't take her eyes off them, and Teisel was visibly trembling. The scanning process took a few minutes.

"Model B, firmware version 2.5, revision number 1902. Interesting. Very interesting..." Geetz muttered to himself. He turned to the Bonnes again. "The scan is complete. However, it seems that the current generation's anatomy is far more advanced than what we are used to analyzing. We will require data from other people for comparison. At least two people, preferably one relative and someone else completely unrelated to this one I've just scanned, so we can determine which characteristics are genetic and which are not."

Tron traded a long-lasting look with Teisel, and finally took a step forward.

"Miss Tron, please calm down." Geetz requested.

Tron gulped. She had been doing her best to hide her fear, but Geetz knew better since he was looking right into her brain, or her mind, or wherever he was looking. Tron honestly didn't want to know what he was seeing. She breathed deeply and tried to calm down.

"The scan is over." Geetz said a few minutes later. "Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Tron. Now I need someone that is not from the same family..."

"Can it be me?" Roll volunteered. Tron didn't like that her DNA or whatever would be compared to Roll's, of all people, but she wasn't the one to decide.

"Of course, Miss Roll."

Roll walked closer to him and said what was probably on everyone's minds. "I've been wondering about this for a while... That thing on your forehead looks like a Reaverbot eye."

"I have told you about the Master's research of Reaverbots, have I not? We extensively use much of the technology that resulted from his research."

"Ah, I see." Roll nodded. "Okay, you can begin."

A few more minutes later, Roll's scan was also complete.

"Scan complete. This data will be very useful." Geetz bowed in front of everyone. "Thank you all for your cooperation." He turned to the Bonnes. "We will report the results once we have concluded our analysis."

"Um... Thanks," Teisel said awkwardly. "Well, if you'll all excuse us, we need to be going. We've got to take a proper digger's license exam. If we're going to be doing things the right way from now on, that's probably the first thing we'll need to sort out."

"Okay." Rock nodded. "Good luck... No, I guess you won't need luck. The Class B test is easy. You'll be fine."


Back at the Sulphur-Bottom, Geetz spent the whole afternoon analyzing the Carbon data he had collected. "Mistress Sera. I have just concluded a preliminary analysis of the scanned Carbons' data."

That piqued her interest. She sat up on the bed to listen.

"As expected, their firmware is on version 2.5, revision number 1902, the latest Carbon firmware version and revision. However, their anatomy and program structures completely differ from what was available at the time of that firmware version's release."

"How so?" She asked in interest.

"Their programs' storage and execution work very similarly to the way it works with the Units."

Sera nodded. That explained how Yuna had been able to upload her program to a Carbon's shell.

Geetz continued. "Their shells' structure though, is a whole different story. Unfortunately, I am unable to perform a complete analysis. They have developed to the point that we might need to return to Elysium and consult the Master's notes to proceed. Much of their internal programs are also very complex. From what I could gather, rather than resembling the previous Carbons or Units, the current Carbons are closer to..." Geetz paused. He was having trouble believing it himself. He breathed deeply and completed his sentence. "They are closer to... The original humans."

"What? Do you mean that they evolved to the point of being comparable to the original humans?"

"Exactly..." Geetz seemed as shocked as she was.

Sera's eyes grew wide. "This is..." She would say "impossible," but then she recalled a particular event that had happened on Elysium. In fact, it had been one of her last arguments with Trigger.

X:X:X:X:X

"Mistress Sera, I'm here," Trigger said when he entered the room.

"Trigger, you know what you have done. You have ignored your orders once again. How many times do I need to tell you to not make contact with the Carbons?"

"They were being attacked! If I hadn't done anything, they would have died! I couldn't just ignore them and leave them to die..."

"Carbons are intended to be disposable. A few less Carbons would not make any difference."

"How can you say that!? They're people!"

"They are artificial fabrications. Nothing more than mere placeholders, strictly for the purpose of preparing Terra's environment for the true humans' reintegration."

"Did you ever talk to any of them, Mistress Sera?" Trigger's expression was unusually serious.

"There is no point in doing that," she said without as much as a second thought.

"I did." Trigger cut her off. "The Master had shown me their behavior from his monitors. But during that last mission, I stayed in the city for a while so I could finally see them in person."

"What!?" Sera was furious. "You were not supposed to make contact with the Carbons. We lost your signal for three days. Now, you are implying that you deliberately cut communications to stay in the city with the Carbons! Is that it?"

"Um. Yeah. Sorry, Mistress Sera. I had to confirm it! I needed to see it with my own eyes!"

"Trigger. This is not the first time that you have completely disobeyed a rule. You know that." She admonished him, but he ignored her.

He spoke confidently, with perhaps the most serious expression that Sera had ever seen on his face. "The Carbons... They talk like everyone else, act like everyone else. They show emotion. They get curious and try to learn things. They laugh and smile when something good happens. They show fear when they're in danger. They're normal people. They're the Master's creations, just like us, Mistress Sera. The difference is that we know what our purpose is, and they don't. Even so, they do what they need to do, while they overcome obstacles and learn and grow."

"No. You are mistaken." Sera insisted. "Only the true humans are capable of having emotions. The Carbons merely simulate human behavior. What you saw and thought was 'emotion' is false and holds no meaning whatsoever. Stop wasting your time and, as I've already said countless times, only concentrate on your duties as a Purifier Unit and nothing else."

"My duties as a Purifier Unit..." Trigger ran his hands through his hair and gave a deep sigh. "You have no idea how hard it is every time I need to terminate a Unit that's gone Irregular. I keep remembering things about them, and thinking about how not too long ago, they were one of us. I hate to think that I'm killing one of our own people... But most of them become so out of their mind that... There's no other way..." He paused. "Why does it have to be this way? Why do we need to keep fighting against ourselves like this, destroying our own people? I don't want this. I don't want anyone else to die... Why do Units go Irregular?"

"It is an unrepairable program malfunction. Whichever Unit that exhibits it must be eliminated without question or hesitation." Sera coldly responded.

Trigger looked at her sadly. "Even the Carbons feel sad when their beloved ones go away. I feel like a part of me gets ripped off every time we kill one of our own Units. What about you, Mistress Sera? Don't you feel anything towards them? Don't you care about them!?"

"I will stress this once again." She spoke, with no change to her expression. "We were created solely to serve the Master. We must focus only on our individual functions to keep the System running. Anything outside of that scope is unnecessary. The only person that should matter to us is the Master, no one else."

"But I care!" Trigger exploded. A drop of a liquid formed at the edge of his left eye and threatened to fall. "I get scared thinking that none of us are free from it, that all Units have a chance of going Irregular. All of you are special to me. So..." He bowed. "Geetz and Mistress Sera. Please, please please pleeeaaase, don't ever go Irregular, because I don't want to fight any of you, and I don't think I can afford to lose you..."

Sera had become tired of his senseless chatter. "I've already said everything. Trigger, you are dismissed." She coldly sent him off and completely disregarded his words and feelings.

Trigger couldn't keep it in anymore. More of the liquid formed in his eyes and spilled over. He didn't move from his position. His body shook uncontrollably while the liquid ran down his face.

Sera addressed him as coldly as she had the previous time. "Trigger, were you not listening to what I said? You are dismissed. Please leave."

Trigger stormed out of the room screaming as though he were being stabbed in the chest, while Sera went back to doing her work as if nothing had happened.

"Mistress Sera." Geetz spoke for the first time since they had entered the room. "Is... Is my presence strictly required at this moment?"

"No." She answered without looking at him.

"In that case... Please excuse me." Geetz turned and walked away.

X:X:X:X:X

Sera had assumed that all of the Units, including herself, hadn't been created with the capability to have emotions, since they were mostly distracting and wouldn't improve their productivity in any way. Trigger had always displayed unexplainable behavior, and that incident was the most surprising of them. It was the first time Sera had seen one of the Units cry, and it didn't look simulated. Even though she refused to admit it, that display seemed as genuine as the Master's sadness. Why was Trigger capable of that? Was he an exception? Maybe he was, since he seemed to be the exception to many rules. But why? Why was he different? Why was he special enough to nearly earn the Master's undivided attention? Okay, right. So what? Sera didn't view the act of crying as something positive, so he couldn't have gained anything from doing it... Or could he have? Trigger had always been carefree and cheerful, but at that moment, he had seemed so sad and so hurt...

"Geetz and Mistress Sera. Please, please please pleeeaaase, don't ever go Irregular, because I don't want to fight any of you, and I don't think I can afford to lose you..."

Thinking about it now made her heart tighten. But back when that event had originally happened, Trigger had seemed so hurt, and she hadn't cared. Not even one bit. Why? Why was it different now? Why was it so hard? Why did the worst part seem to be the fact that he was no longer there for her to tell him what she was feeling?

"All I know is that I didn't... Don't... I don't want to hurt you..." Rock's words from the previous day echoed in her head.

Sera gasped as the realization hit her. That was it. That was exactly the reason she didn't want to fight Rock. It was not because of any doubts about whether she could surpass his power in battle. It wasn't any kind of fear of losing to him, either. It was just because she didn't want to hurt him. As simulated as both the Units' and Carbons' feelings might have been, it was a fact that disturbing events such as the fight against Juno heavily affected Rock's demeanor and ran a risk of causing him to perform his tasks poorly. It was also a fact that Sera's program emitted annoying warning signals whenever she noticed him start to become distressed. Since her awakening, he had always treated her so well... If he eventually found out what her true intentions were, it was without question that he would become very upset. Then, Sera realized that, even if she managed to avoid a fight, she would be hurting him. After getting the four keys, maybe if she and Geetz could find a way to vanish without the Carbons noticing... No, that didn't feel right. She also felt bad for Roll, the Sulphur-Bottom crew (even though she hadn't interacted much with them), and even those Bonnes... Sera sighed. Back in the Elysian times, the other Units were beings that she couldn't have cared less about, mere components for keeping the System running, nothing more, nothing less. And now she was getting all worked up over some Carbons, who were supposed to have been mere placeholders... No, that wasn't right, either. If the Carbons had evolved to the point where they almost rivaled the original humans, it probably meant that their smiles and feelings were real.

"I won't let you kill them and throw an entire century of progress away!" Rock's words nagged at her once more. Essentially, that was what she would be doing, only on a much more catastrophic scale. She would be throwing numerous centuries of progress away. All of the Carbons' achievements wouldn't mean much to the new humanity aside from the fact that Terra had become inhabitable again. Suddenly, it seemed very unfair to simply erase all of those people. The pain in Sera's chest intensified and she had that strange sensation in her eyes once more. This time, though, she was unable to keep it suppressed. Drops of liquid formed in her eyes and rolled down her face. Sera unexpectedly gasped when she tried to take a breath. She began to panic because her programs' actions were spiraling out of control again, but her panic turned into shock when one of the drops fell onto her hand and she was finally able to take a brief look at the liquid. There was no mistaking it. Those drops were tears, just like the ones she saw falling from Trigger's eyes. Sera was crying...

"Mistress... Sera?" Geetz looked at her in concern.

"Geetz." Sera's voice came out weak and raspy. Her panic increased. Now even her speech components seemed to be failing, but she continued to speak anyway. "This seems so... Unfair. Their sadness... Their joy, their smiles, their effort... Everything seems so real... I feel they have earned the right to continue. H-however, every time I look up the rules... Every time I consult the System about what should be done... No matter which parameters I use to perform the query, the answer... Is always the same..." At the end of her speech, her voice had lowered to a whisper and she became unable to control her sobs.

Geetz had to agree. He had been wondering about the Carbons for the last few days. Interestingly, they really seemed to be able to recover from the Irregular state, according to what he had observed of Rock and the Bonnes' interaction earlier. When he saw the younger Bonne's peculiar case, he knew that this was his opportunity to scan the Carbons like Sera had requested. But to tell the truth, he had really been tempted to help the Bonnes figure out their younger brother's problem even if it wouldn't have concerned the Carbon's programming and evolution. It didn't help that he was curious about it himself. Unfortunately, he had hit a dead end. His knowledge wasn't expansive enough to really understand the current Carbons' internal workings. The only solution Geetz could think of was to return to Elysium and consult the Master's reference notes on both Carbons and original humans so he could perform a proper comparison. As if that discovery about the Carbons' evolution weren't enough, Geetz was currently witnessing another very rare phenomenon. He had always believed that all of the Units, with the exception of Trigger, were incapable of shedding tears. And now, his mistress was crying uncontrollably right before his eyes. Geetz wanted to help her, but he didn't know what he could do. He took a few tentative steps towards the bed where Sera was seated. His mistress' body shook as she cried, and he could see the fear reflecting in her eyes. Geetz's mental image of Sera had always been that of a strong and confident person, so it really bothered him to see her in such a fragile state. He couldn't take it anymore, and did the only thing that crossed his mind: he enveloped her in a tight embrace. Sera kept shaking and sobbing in his arms, but otherwise she neither complained nor tried to shove him away.

Sera was scared of losing control of her actions and accidentally hurting Geetz, but just like what had happened with Rock the previous day, the Servitor didn't seem willing to back away from her. She knew that he also wouldn't have a satisfactory answer to any of her questions, because both of them were bound by the same System's rules. Still, he had always been there for her every time she had needed him and had always performed his duties efficiently. She trusted him. He was the only person she could count on at that very moment. His hug comforted her and made her feel protected from those unknown monsters she had been fearing. Sera decided to enjoy that comfort as much as she could and leaned into him. She closed her eyes and allowed her tears to roll down her face and onto his shirt.

Neither of them knew exactly how many minutes had passed. Once Sera's tears had ceased and her body had stopped shaking, Geetz decided it was time to let go. He released her and took a few steps backwards. He expected her to snap back to her usual self and say something along the lines of, "What do you think you were doing?!" but it didn't happen.

"I am experiencing the same conflict of interests as you are..." He risked speaking up first once it became apparent that Sera wasn't going to respond. "I have also queried the System several times, and the results were always the same."

Sera sighed. She ran her hands down her cheeks, which were still a bit wet from the tears. "These were tears..." She said, relieved that her voice was mostly back to normal. "Why... Why do you think the Master gave us tears?"

"I... Do not know." Geetz admitted. "It seems there is still much that we do not understand. Not only about the Carbons, but about the Units as well. About ourselves..."

Sera kept her head low and seemed deep in thought. "Trigger had really cried that time..."

Geetz immediately understood what Sera was referring to. That moment when they had seen a Unit cry for the first time. It felt strange to him hear Sera mention Trigger's name so calmly, though.

She spoke again. "I had argued with him about the Carbons' behavior. Do you remember?"

"Yes." Geetz nodded.

"He said that the Master had shown him something on the monitoring equipment. Could Trigger have noticed their evolution back then? And could the Master have been aware of it as well?" Sera ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "If... If Trigger were still alive, we would be able to confirm this..."

"But Master Trigger is alive..." Geetz blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, but when he realized what had just tumbled out of his mouth, it was too late.

Sera raised her head. "... Wh-what did you just say?"

Geetz bit his lip. He hadn't been thinking properly. For a fraction of a second before he had spoken, it had seemed like the most logical thing to say. Clearly it hadn't been a good idea. There was no backing out now. He couldn't take back what he had said. In fact, Sera was forcing him to repeat it. Geetz took another step back, hesitated for a few seconds, mustered up his courage and said it again, a bit louder than before. "Master Trigger is alive." He cringed as Sera directed him a penetrating glare that he knew meant that she required an explanation. Demanded an explanation. Geetz gulped. He took another deep breath and prepared to elaborate, but he failed to notice that something was different this time. Sera didn't seem angry. Instead, she seemed desperate to know more. "It was... Just before we were placed in stasis. I arrived at the battleground and saw him there... He was nearly unrecognizable. It was only after several minutes of thorough scanning that I was able to confirm that it was really him. However, not long after I finished the scan, Gatts appeared and subdued me."

"I see." Sera nodded in understanding. Luckily for Geetz, she had apparently decided to focus on the Purifier and ignore the part about the fight against Gatts. "You said that Trigger had been nearly unrecognizable. What did you mean by this?"

"It turned out that he had absorbed the Master's genetic sample." Geetz answered.

So that was what had happened to the specially formatted genetic code. "He must have done that in order to hide the Master's genetic code from us. But why?"

"I do not know. However, this is not all... Aside from the genetic alterations, he had also become quite different."

"Different?" Sera pressed for details.

"Yes... His shell had reset, and its former configuration was lost. Apparently there was not enough material for his shell to regenerate up to an acceptable state, and... His appearance became similar to that of a Carbon infant."

"A Carbon... Wait, that baby...!" Sera's eyes widened. "That baby was him?!"

Geetz was surprised to hear that. "Had you seen him?"

"Very briefly, during a really short period of consciousness. I had managed to open my eyes and he had been there..." Sera recalled the little baby draped in a piece of cloth.

"Gatts and Mistress Yuna seem to know where he is now. I have been trying to ask them for details, however they refuse to reveal any major information. All that they said is that he is still alive and was placed in stasis the same way as we were."

Sera recovered her composure and locked eyes with him. "Why did you not tell me about this before?"

"Apologies." Geetz had to make an effort to keep himself from flinching. "I did not want to speak of facts that I am not completely sure about and run the risk of relaying inaccurate information." Geetz spoke in the most composed manner he could and tried to justify himself, but Sera's serious expression didn't waver. She didn't seem satisfied with his explanation. Geetz froze in his current spot and waited for Sera to throw the next cold water bucket onto his head. Before that could happen, though, the Servitor was startled by a sudden knock on the door.

"Open it." Sera spoke after a moment of hesitation.

"Yes." Geetz finally allowed himself to break his gaze from hers. He slowly approached the door and opened it. The unfortunate Sulphur-Bottom guard could not have chosen a more inopportune moment to show up. The man told Geetz that Bluecher wanted to talk to him about their progress with the keys, now that they had managed to bring the third key back for safekeeping. Geetz looked at Sera hesitantly.

"Go." She commanded, with the same stern look still on her face.

"... As you wish, Mistress Sera." Geetz gave her a quick salute and left the room with the guard.

The moment she found herself alone in the room, Sera closed her eyes and let her thoughts wander. She recalled the smiling Carbon baby. Then she recalled the adult Trigger she remembered the most, who seemed very happy interacting with the Master. She had to conclude that not only were Trigger's tears real, but his cheerfulness and his smiles had been real as well. Geetz was right. There were a lot of things they as Units didn't know about their own kind. She recalled her Servitor laughing uncontrollably in that city with Rock and Roll, and Roll's remark that Sera had smiled herself. After all that, Sera realized that the Master had not only given them tears, but he had given them the possibility of happiness and smiles, too.

"Trigger... Is alive..." Sera whispered. That revelation was still hard to believe, but strangely, she couldn't deny that she wanted it to be true, and not even the notion that Trigger had been an Irregular or that he had been the one to kill the Master could make her stop wishing it was so.

"Mistress Sera, good morning!" The Purifier's cheerful greeting rang in her head. She recalled how he tended to barge into her work area. She usually spent the whole day alone in her room. Her work flowed smoothly when no one would show up to disturb her. But Trigger always had to choose her worst days to barge into her work room and make her day even worse by grinning happily at her as if the day had been wonderful.

"Trigger is alive..." Sera repeated as if it would help her convince herself that it was true. She took a look around the eerily silent room. At that moment, she nearly wished Trigger would abruptly open that door and come greet her to prove that he was indeed alive. It was ridiculous... But she didn't care. The only thing that mattered was that... "Trigger is alive..." She said once more as the thought finally seemed to sink in completely. Trigger had been alive somewhere the entire time. She felt warm inside and her heart skipped a beat. She would still be able to see him again... No, that wasn't right. That should have been undesirable. Back on Elysium, she had tried to avoid him as much as possible. She had no reason to even consider the possibility of seeing him again. Trigger was an Irregular. He was the person who killed the Master, and Sera should have been ashamed of the fact that she had been unable to terminate him. Yet, a wave of relief washed over her at the thought that she hadn't killed Trigger. Why? Her thoughts weren't making sense! Her programs were definitely out of control again! ... But somehow, Sera didn't care. Those feelings were really comforting and she wasn't in the mood to try to fight them. "Trigger..." The First Class Purifier's name escaped her mouth once more before Sera did the one thing she had never thought she would ever do in her entire existence. She surrendered. She completely gave up on trying to make sense of her thoughts and allowed herself to enjoy these unfamiliar, unexplainable and undeniably warm sensations. Sadly, though, she was unable to see the peaceful expression and the wide smile that formed on her own face.


A/n: Alfia and Berta, the previous Mother Units, are my original creations. Their names come from "Alpha" and "Beta," obviously. I intended them to be like prototypes of the current Mother Units.

Sera scanning Rock! That was close...

And Geetz spilled it :P .