Q&A time!

Q(jhvh777)- What happened to Roll?

A- To tell you the truth, I've never really given her much thought while I was writing this. Since all the members of the original cast, save Rockman and Blues, are long gone at this point, I guess that it's safe to say that she was either deleted during the Outbreak, or simply faded away into the mists of time, similar to how Masa, Saloma, and Miyuki are all but nonexistent post EXE. But that raises an interesting question; what does happen to a navi when their operator dies?

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Chapter 21: The Link Between the Past and Present
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Burying a person was never an enviable experience, but burying a child was even worse. Saito Hikari, the last of the Hikari family, had died from blood loss after being impaled by Pyroman's sword. While the machinery and all of the chips had been destroyed afterwards, there was no sense of victory, only sorrow.

Everyone had changed in some way, but nowhere was the changed more evident than in Slate and Zero. No longer were they impatient and harsh, but rather, they were now more subdued and less strict. Maybe it was because they felt responsible for the death, since they were the leaders.

'' You know, that was the only time in my life that I felt absolutely helpless.'' Terry told Karla one day. The two of them were outside, at the simple grave that had been dug. They had buried the boy with Rockman's PET, and the photograph of him and Meiru.

'' When you have the blood of a child on your hands, and he's expiring in front of you...'' Terry continued.

'' Oh stop saying things like that, please!'' Karla begged. '' This was undoubtedly the worst mission we've ever done, but please stop rubbing it in! It makes it even worse.''

Terry looked away. '' We never did find out how he got here...''

'' Actually, we did. You just didn't want to be spoken to. You see, Butch and Vick paid a visit to that guard house, and hidden beneath it was a laboratory.''

'' Really?'' Terry asked, interested. '' What was in it?''

'' They found an electronic file that contained a report written by Meijin Eguchi.''

'' He was the one who left that message on the Scilab file!'' Terry exclaimed.

'' Yes. He worked there, and was a good friend of the Hikari's. Anyway, he disclosed how Saito retained his youth all these years.''

'' How!''

'' You know how we can put navis in a prolonged state of stasis, right? You know, sort of like an extended sleep mode.''

'' Yeah, Rockman proved that.''

'' Well, this is similar, but with humans instead. The metabolism is slowed to induce stasis. Sort of like a hibernating animal. No, scratch that, more like the old technology of crytogenics, but without the freezing.''

'' Suspended Animation...'' Terry muttered. '' But, why would his mother allow something like that to be done to a child?''

Karla shrugged. '' I guess she wanted to spare him from the horrors of the Outbreak. This was around the time the Outbreak was at its height.''

'' So, your body doesn't age?'' Terry asked.

'' Yes, that's accurate.'' Karla answered.

'' So why did he awaken when he did?''

'' I suppose the power generator finally conked out after all this time, releasing him from the stasis.''

Terry tried to imagine what that must have been like, waking up in a strange place, with no one around. It must have been frightening.

'' So, what happened to Meiru?''

'' According to Meijin, she died not long after, after leaving the photo and the PET with her sleeping son.''

'' Suicide?''

Karla shook her head. '' No. Apparently, she died in her sleep. I guess she just didn't have the will to live anymore. She had already lost her husband, and now her son... This experiment was top secret, so Meijin corrupted the Scilab file on it, that was why we couldn't read it.

Terry recalled the beautiful, yet sad woman on Saito's photo. '' Life is so evanescent...'' he sighed. '' If you really think about it, all of this doesn't matter... in the great scheme of things...''

'' Don't talk like that! Of course this is important!'' Karla reprimanded.

'' You think that you'll live forever, but then reality wakes you up, not by killing you, but by killing someone close to you.'' Terry mused. '' That way, not only do you have to live with it, but the lesson that we're not immortals is even stronger...''

'' Well, while this experience was horrible, we can use it as a lesson, to strive harder.'' Karla told him.

He nodded. '' I guess you're right. The heroes of the past are gone now, so it's up to us, the fighters of the present, to restore justice.''

They stood for awhile, paying their respects. Terry knew, that whatever the future held in store for them, no matter if their rebellion succeeded or failed, no matter how old he got, or what his, and his friends' fates were, he would never forget the young, red headed boy, and his faithful, blue navi.

FIN

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There, it's completed. To everyone who read this, thank you.

But I'm not done with this, not by a long shot. I've got a sequel that's ready to go, and I should have it up in a few days, when time allows. Once again, thank you, readers.