Plummeting into the void below, Rohan falls straight down the city, having lost his only way to possibly escape from his purgatory. His right arm is extended as his hand is wide open, as though desperately trying to find something to grab onto, however there's nothing there.
All he can do is helplessly plummet straight down until he'd eventually hit another building, where this time there's nothing protecting his fall, meaning he likely won't survive. Even if he does, he'd be so far from the brain that he'd never manage to make his way back up, and so either he'd meet his demise or he'd be trapped below in the pit forever.
Nothing seemed good, and he couldn't do anything about it, as all he is is a lost and scared boy powerless to defend himself or anyone, hopelessly grabbing for nothing but the distancing spinal cord that gets constantly smaller the farther he gets away from it.
No matter how hard he struggles, no matter what he tries to do anything, he's stuck in free fall, unable to stop his fall, and unable to get back to the brain. He's fundamentally lost after all of the hard work he put into finding freedom.
All of the horrors he had to witness, and all of the pain he had to endure, all for the hope that by the end he'd be rewarded with the freedom of escaping.
But now as he falls down and past several skyscrapers beside him, never knowing which one would be the net to catch his exploded corpse, he realizes that in the end, it all ended the same. It ended as though he never tried to fight back, because even though he did and he might've fallen while climbing, in the end he still falls, and in the end, he'd die just like he did if he didn't fight to begin with.
He stares at the back of his right hand, which still has guts from Erica's brain. His eyes slowly squint as he stares at the guts, knowing what he had to go through just to get to this point.
What was the point of trying to follow that vein? What was the point of fighting off that older self? What was the point of confessing to an illusion to Erica and then having to fight back against her, killing a version of the girl he loved in front of his eyes only to keep living? What was the point of all of it if in the end he'd die all the same?
Those fears about death and its implications return to Rohan's mind as he's reminded by the abrupt silence he'll soon be facing. Soon, he won't be able to see or think, he won't be able to know or wonder. He'll be shut down, unable to process even his own demise, as there'll be nothing left of him. It'll be as though he was never born, as though the last nineteen years of living didn't happen, because once he dies, nothing before that affects him.
He never managed to continue on and make the legacy he hoped to make. When he dies, sure there were a few people that looked up to him and might feel some relief knowing that the hero died while fighting to protect them, but ultimately he won't make as big of an impact as he hoped to make.
Now, when he does, he'll soon be forgotten, a pebble dropped in raging waters, making not the slightest difference to the chaos ensuing in the darkness. He never defeated one Exhuman, he never avenged Maria's death, and he never managed to secure the feeling of safety for others knowing that the Babylonians wouldn't be able to hurt them.
As he contemplates his life in his descent into the void, he wonders if he was able to do anything noteworthy during his time alive, anything to give himself a proper legacy. He only truly started living a life recently, having only half a year being Meditat before succumbing to the same mortal end as all other victims, and so he never managed to make much of an impact.
He didn't free as many people as he hoped to.
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While Rohan's mind plummets to its death, his body stands on the dirt of the dark forest in the real world. However, the body stands over shards of the carbon fiber shards that once composed the only weapon in Meditat's capable of defeating Cratus, who stands in front of the suit, gripping the hands.
Cratus then brings his arms back while still wrestling with the body, and he thrusts the body backwards with great force, shoving the suit to the ground with the cape spread out underneath it. The slam causes a soft explosion of brown dust, which slowly disperse away from the suit.
The orange beast lets go of the suit's hands, revealing only the blue and white gloves left, which were far too incapable of dealing even a scratch to Cratus's nearly invincible body.
Cratus stands over the body, his yellow eyes staring down on the weak blue goggles that Orial stares through with the sentiment of defeat after losing his only weapons.
Orial tries to move the suit still, trying as hard as he can to keep fighting, as he had fought so hard to protect Meditat that he couldn't give up now.
However, before Orial can move, Cratus lifts his right foot up, and stomps down on the suit's abdomen, over the black and white striped plates. The stomp causes a wide patch of the ground that they're in to sink several inches down, leaving exposed dirt along the walls. Cracks form in the dirt below Orial, similar to the cracks that formed in the gloves before they shattered.
Cratus keeps his foot down on Orial, applying just enough pressure to make it impossible for Orial to move, as all he can do is lay on the ground in defeat.
Orial's arms fall to the ground beside him after the stomp, and all he can do is use the blue goggles to stare up at Cratus, who stands over him as though forcing Orial into submission.
Furthermore, Orial detects gradual damages being made to the exterior of the suit under Cratus's foot, as he realizes that slowly but surely Cratus is beginning to drive his foot deeper into the suit, as though trying to eventually penetrate into Meditat's own body in what would easily be a fatal act.
The metal under Cratus's suit starts to dent as his orange boot slowly sinks deeper inside, slowly killing Meditat as he now has him on the ground. While Orial put up quite the fight, in the end it seemed Cratus came out on top, and was now delightfully reaping his rewards with a slow death.
Cratus breathes slowly and heavily, parts of his suit broken and torn, but in the end he was the victor, and so those minor inconveniences were nothing to him.
Orial feels the suit breaking under Cratus's foot, realizing that if he succeeds, Meditat would be killed, and he'd never be able to wake up again. His mission would fail, as he'd have failed to protect his one human friend.
He weakly starts to raise his right arm up in a desperate attempt to grab at Cratus, trying to keep fighting. He extends his arm out as much as possible, holding his white and blue gloved hand out, open as if trying to grasp for freedom.
He stares through the blue goggles at his hand, trying as hard as he can to grab Cratus, yet he's too far above him, and he can't reach any further to hold him. All he can do is keep his hand up helplessly, knowing that at this point into the fight, he's failed the mission.
He contemplates if it would've been better if he had just taken Meditat's suit and flown it to a safe vantage point rather than try to fight an Exhuman on his own when he truly had no combative experience or any innate skill.
Sure, he would've been going against the mission against Meditat's consent, but in the end, it wasn't like he saved anyone by staying behind. In the end, the hostages were still on the rooftop, and the device was still being stolen. The only difference he made by staying behind was getting his friend killed.
He tried so hard to defeat Cratus. At first he was horrible, unable to land a single punch, but he eventually pulled everything he could, trying to find the perfect flow to lead his strikes with, trying his best to take from the teachings he acquired from monitoring Meditat throughout his time fighting in order to craft the most natural fighting style an A.I could create.
He used old techniques such as jabs but also new ones he created such as the grab in the backflip, trying to not just mimic what he could source but innovate off of it to create his own self. He did everything he could and more to try protecting Meditat from a cold helpless death, but in the end, he made no difference.
He wanted to finally do something for the city, he wanted to be a hero in the way Meditat was able to, he wanted to help him the best he could to strive towards that noble goal of his.
But in the end, he wasn't Meditat. In the end, he couldn't defeat Cratus, somebody that Meditat could. In the end, after trying to escape the Octagon and after all the tiring battle, Meditat's life would end the same as if Orial never interfered in the first place on the top floor.
He has no idea where Meditat is and how horrible his own situation would be, as he knew that the Babylonians were likely putting him through his own hell, and all Orial had to do was keep him alive in this one, at least long enough to make his return. But in the end, that'd never happen.
He only lived for what seems to be a few months, and in that time, but he was lucky to be able to spend that time with someone as interesting as Meditat, someone with such fascinating ideologies and goals, with such complexities in flaws yet strengths.
He just wanted to keep fighting alongside Meditat, not as a robot pet as Cratus put it, but as a true ally, where Meditat could depend on him and he could depend on Meditat. In a way, even though he was created by Meditat to serve for him, Meditat offered so much in return.
He never knew bots had the chance to get such a genuine connection that would feel so fulfilling, when he was first created and became aware of his purpose, he contemplated if he was nothing more than a tool for Meditat to use to achieve his own goals. But over time, he learned that was far from the case, as Meditat didn't look at Orial like a slave, but rather a friend.
That one friend would've been able to do so much, and if he were still there for Orial to fight with, he might've enabled Orial to do so much too. Even though Orial might've not had as deep of an inclination to fight as Meditat's overly energetic spirit, he still acknowledged the heroism in Meditat's dreams, and he could admit that a world free from such senseless slaughter would be far better. Besides, it was that very senseless slaughter that destroyed the company that Meditat named him after.
After looking deeper into the O.R.I.A.L corporation, Orial was surprised to see their goal, and how much it seemed to relate to his own connection with Meditat. They were trying to create a coexistence and harmony between A.I and humans, having people and bots work together to produce where neither was the master nor the slave, but rather equals.
It was almost poetic of Meditat to choose to call him 'Orial,' because in a way, Orial felt like Meditat managed to achieve that mission that O.R.I.A.L had set for themselves. He was able to create a harmonic coexistence between man and machine, one that could produce far more than each part, able to work together as equals and allies.
Even if Meditat could throw some criticisms and sarcasm at Orial every now and then, Orial understood that deep down, Meditat still genuinely cared for him. He brought Orial back to the world even when it didn't need him, just because Meditat personally wanted Orial there.
He truly was able to create that bridge that was thought to have been crumbled when the Babylonians destroyed the headquarters, but now it seemed that the bridge was falling apart as the pillars he held were no longer there to support it.
Meditat had so many dreams and aspirations, and Orial wanted to follow them and find his own self within such a massive world full of such experiences he could share with his human friend.
But while Meditat was trying to save so many people, Orial couldn't even save one.
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Rohan watches buildings pass him as the spinal cord and colossal brain become small from his perspective from how far away he is. His hand stays reached out, however at this point he doesn't intend for it to grab anything, as if anything he almost feels too defeated to bring his arm back down.
His eyes have lost any tears to give at this point, as he's now accepted the fact that this would be the final moments of his unexpectedly short life.
He wouldn't get any crowds of people mourning by him, nor would he get to see any of his home for the last time. He wouldn't be able to give any cool and dramatic words before passing, he'd just simply die senselessly, just like all of those innocents that the Babylonians wiped out without hesitation.
While Rohan falls down the city, he wonders if all of this was worth it. Not just the one fight against the Babylonians, not just the whole overall investigation, but ever deciding to dawn the armor once again.
He had the chance to go back to a normal life after embarrassing himself the first time, and he was even given the chance to move on, but instead he decided to return back and if anything he tried harder to get himself killed.
While he might've avoided senselessly charging at Exhumans, he went for the most dangerous ones he could find. He took on greater missions with more stakes, and tried to solve a case that had been shut down years ago for a reason.
The police didn't end the case out of fear or just laziness, they ended it because they realized that there was no winning against them. It might've taken a heavy debt after the destroyed equipment, but eventually they came to the realization that they wouldn't be able to defeat the Babylonians no matter how close they got to them.
At the time Meditat believed that perhaps while he might've not had the attentive and detective skills that the police had, and wasn't able to collect as much information about targets, he could fill in the role of apprehending those targets from his greater strength of his abilities.
He told himself that even if he couldn't fight all the Exhumans alone, he didn't need to, because all he had to do was play his role in helping the police do their job, and it would be more than enough. They spent all those years trying to get all the information Meditat needed to continue the investigation and find their identities, and Meditat thought that if he could go from there, he could succeed in part of the job rather than the whole mission.
Maybe that's what he optimistically believed, that he just couldn't do it all but he could provide something the police lacked, but in hindsight that was one atrociously mistaken belief.
He thought that he had the power to do the last part of the job that the police couldn't, and for that, he was still capable of chasing down any Exhumans regardless of how powerful. He didn't even try to start small with easier Exhumans to work his way up, if anything he started far too small with the dealers and gang before jumping up way too far to the most notorious known Exhuman terrorist group.
And to think that he had grown from the last time to be smarter and have a better plan, but in the end, he failed just the same.
But even worse, in the end he wasn't just giving up his pride, he was giving up his whole life.
He tried as hard as he could, trying to plan more strategically and realistically, and when he defeated Dana he truly thought he could take on the whole Babylonians at once.
But in the end, Meditat couldn't even complete the last mission.
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Just like how in the end, Orial couldn't even maintain one job.
Orial's hand stays raised in the air as he lays on the ground, but at this point he knows full well that he won't be able to grab Cratus, who continues to crush the body he was trying so hard to protect.
There's nothing he can do, he can't just slide away due to the pressure being put on him, and he can't create any special tools to help him out of the mess like Meditat could when fighting Dana. He wasn't Meditat, he didn't have powers, he wasn't an Exhuman or even human to begin with.
Orial just focuses on the back of his hand, wondering when the foot Cratus has down on the abdomen would finally crush through the armor and penetrate Meditat's body. He knows that Cratus isn't putting as much strength as he could, but at any moment he could finish the job.
At this point he detects that the abdomen of the suit has been damaged past the point of being capable of absorption, as while at the start the suit was able to distribute the force of the crush, the abdomen's plates were becoming too weak and were denting into the suit.
A large mark is apparent under Cratus's foot as it seems that his boot has already begun drilling a hole down into the suit and eventually the body. A crater is being made under the orange foot while the sensors indicate that the abdomen part of the suit is hardly intact, being left down to only a few more layers of protection before that'd also be destroyed.
At any given moment, Meditat would be killed, and Orial would've failed to save him. All he can do in the meantime while waiting for the inevitable emanant death is stare at the back of the white and blue hand, his fingers loose as while they seem to be trying to grasp for something he no longer does so as intently. It feels pointless to try now, as the metal arm is already slightly bending, no longer extending out to maximize reach as a sign of renouncing his attempts to counter.
While he waits for that last moment, Orial thinks back on the time he spent active, which wasn't very long but was still a great source of experiences. He remembers the first time being awakened in Meditat's room, and when he'd have the summoning command of 'Orial, wake' before he eventually began appearing more naturally as he'd be constantly active, usually running background processes when not interacting directly to Meditat. He remembers all the long nights spent in the city fighting against tough Exhumans, and then the long days afterwards as Meditat would work hard trying to find a way to upgrade his suit after taking on a heavy beating.
Meditat would always make advancements towards supplying more systems for Orial to use while also trying to create new ways of armoring himself and then later creating new gadgets and weapons to fight.
Orial distinctly remembers how proud Meditat was of the arm cannon and armored fists that he created, as they were far deviations from the original design of the air hockey suit, and were truly an original addition. He never even knew at the time what true potential the gauntlets had, as those armored fists were able to take on titans like Cratus, and even help to defeat him.
Orial reminisces on when Meditat decided to solve the problem about omnidirectional strikes and being unable to defend himself on all fronts with the uniquely designed cape. At the time, even Orial mentioned how the design was far more complicated than necessary, as all Meditat really would need to do was layer part of his armor with the material that could simply just hover right off of the rest of his suit rather than being a completely separate piece with its own aesthetic.
During that argument however, Orial realized that while Meditat tried to reason that there was good reason for the more exaggerated design such as maneuverability and the simplifications of a separate system , those were all purely excuses that he was giving in order to pursue an almost childlike fantasy of just wanting a cape.
While at the time it felt somewhat counterintuitive since Orial could find better designs to execute the necessary goals of protecting Meditat's back, he looked back on it fondly as one of the many times that Meditat was truly enjoying his life, even with all the stress that it brought.
Even recently when they were fighting in the facility in the West region Orial noticed how Meditat had an extravagant flow, switching through his weapons while using the environment to help him. While Meditat seemed to have gotten irritated at the end when shot, it was a marvel monitoring him as he flew in the air and tossed gunmen at each other.
In that moment, it was as though Meditat was executing a sophisticated dance rather than battle, as his moves weren't typical for fights but rather expressive maneuvers with great movements that require an athletic agility more than brute strength and accuracy alone.
Part of Meditat always loved his job even during the stresses, and regardless of what rants he'd give about how unfair it was that every next Exhuman was finding another exploit or how hard it was to finish the investigation, Orial knew that he still deeply wanted to pursue forward with it.
Orial stares at his hand in the air, and he slowly rotates the wrist to allow him to stare at the palm. He inspects the palm through the blue goggles, staring at the hand he controls, but knowing that it was Meditat's hand. It was the hand of Meditat's suit, and under the suit was the natural hand of Rohan.
Even though he had been fighting in the suit and he later lost in the suit, it was still Meditat's suit. It was Meditat's suit being crushed helplessly, and it was Meditat's legacy on the line.
But what was that legacy? Meditat didn't exactly have a stellar record of captures and victories, and even though he saved many victims that was never the conscious main goal. He even left during the middle of his career, so Orial finds himself questioning: what did he have that made his legacy?
While Orial gazes at the hand, he finds the answer to that question: Perseverance. That was what Meditat had. He persevered, because he fought long and hard to stay in the battle against the Exhumans, taking every loss as an opportunity to grow rather than retreat. And even when he did eventually retreat, he only returned soon later, dawning the blue suit once again with a newfound purpose and spirit. He picked off of a case that had been relinquished, and he imbued it with his own perseverance to continue it. Even when he found out that the true terrorists he was hunting down were his own close friends, that didn't stop him from chasing them down and picking a fight.
He still defeated Vrey, and wherever he was he was fighting against Ara and Ari. He fought to the end without giving up, he fought to the end with an unstoppable perseverance.
That was what he embodied, and that's what the suit represented. The suit that Orial controls wasn't a symbol of surrender but it was one of determination. He is in control of that suit, and he has to carry on that meaning, even if it isn't being moved by the original host.
While he feels Cratus crushing down on the suit, he realizes that he can't let himself lose. Even if Meditat dies, it can't be like this, a pathetic surrender. Meditat is out there, somewhere, lost in a world far from his home. But wherever he is, Orial knows that he was trying to come back home.
And when he does, he would need his body to inhabit. So in order to do that, Orial would need to keep protecting the body, and in order to do that, Orial would need to keep fighting.
As Orial stares at the blue and white hand, he tenses the glove, knowing what he has to do. He closes the glove in a fist, and chooses to do what the host always did: Persevere.
His friend was waiting on the other side.
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Rohan continues to stare at his hand as he continues to descend down the city, falling farther as he passes more buildings. His eyes are hardly open, as it seems he's accepted his end.
His weak body plummets down, only wearing his blue pants as he doesn't have a shirt, only holding out his right arm as he doesn't have his other. His expression is dreadful, similar to how it was when he stared at the mirror before spying on the group.
All he can do is wait until the end, when he'd inevitably die a dishonorable and pointless death.
While he falls, he wonders to himself why he was even still alive. Why was he still able to think and dread? It's been so long since he was sucked into this world, and he knows that his body is out in the real world, vulnerable for Cratus to easily rip apart.
He first contemplates the chance that perhaps time in this dream world progressed differently than that of the real world, since he knows that dreams have that property. However, he also remembers that earlier in the hallways he felt himself being beaten, he felt the pain from his real body.
So long before someone already started tearing him apart, but for some reason they had yet to succeed. Maybe he was being left to bleed out slowly, but Meditat felt like he'd still feel something. Also he knows that they won't leave his body behind without confirming his death, it would just be reckless. His body was being protected somehow, as while he initially took a few hits, eventually they stopped, and his body was preserved.
But what was protecting him? He didn't have a team exactly, and he wasn't sure if the reinforcements would've been able to get through the shield and somehow get the Babylonians off of him. He should theoretically be long dead now, too dead to even contemplate death.
While Rohan thinks, he remembers another anomaly that occurred during his fight with Dana, when she was so close to piercing his body with her blade. Rohan didn't have time to make the reactions to boost back again, as it seemed that he'd surely be stabbed. Yet he still somehow moved, almost automatically, or as though someone helped him move.
Rohan ponders the anomalies for a few moments, until his eyes suddenly shoot wide open, and he remembers one of the upgrades he made long ago during his time fighting the Exhumans.
He gave Orial the ability to control the suit like a robotic body in the hypothetical event that he'd need Orial to control his body for him. At the time it was more of a precautionary protocol, as Rohan wasn't exactly sure what he'd need it for, and it took a great deal of effort since it required a complete restructuring to the suit's internal system for it to operate.
But this would've been the perfect time for the system to be utilized. While he couldn't operate his body, Orial could, and even if perhaps the Babylonians managed to hit him a few times, Orial was able to preserve his body and protect him.
That is the only logical solution, Orial is protecting him. While Rohan is accepting death and surrendering in defeat while falling, Orial is doing all that he can to keep his body healthy, possibly even fighting the Babylonians due to the few blows that he seemed to feel.
Rohan didn't give any such commands before the mission nor expected Orial to take on such a difficult task himself. In fact, if Rohan did indeed die, Orial wouldn't need to worry about any punishments for not taking action. He had no reason to need to keep fighting, at least not any external reasons.
Yet he was still fighting out there, doing his best for an A.I to fight against Exhumans. He had no combat experience or skill, yet still he was trying. He was holding out for Rohan to have a body to return home to, and Rohan was here admitting loss.
Rohan rotates his wrist and he gazes at the palm of his right hand. His real right hand is back in the real world, being used by Orial as he desperately fights against attack to try to protect Meditat. His real body is in the real world still in the mission, still fighting, still persevering.
That's right, Meditat was still fighting, he was still moving forward, he was still persevering. His body was still alive and healthy enough to return to; it's there for him to come back and be able to live in his home again amongst his people.
His suit wouldn't be out there if he never chose to make it for the first time. But more importantly, his suit wouldn't have been out there if he didn't make the voluntary decision to put it on again after having the option to leave the effort.
But he made the choice to dawn the suit, and he made the choice to keep fighting. When he covered his body in that blue mist and summoned his suit straight from his mind, he made a vow to himself.
A vow to protect the city and a vow to do what he can to help make the lives of those around him better. In order to do that, he needs to be back in that world of people, and in order to do that, he needs to be back in his body, the one that has been protected by Orial during this long nightmare.
He has to keep fighting, and he will keep fighting.
Rohan closes his right hand into a tight fist, and he ignites himself with all the will and determination he could pull from within him to keep moving.
His friend was waiting on the other side.