Why was it dark? The EV-one ran on its own power source, so Jacques couldn't have blown a fuse or anything when he'd destroyed it.

Thinking about Jacques reminded Roger of the situation he was in. He didn't know why it was so dark, but it was the distraction he needed. Roger could now sneak away and escape.

Roger put his arm out in front of him so he wouldn't run into anything in the dark, and took a few cautious steps forward. He felt a wall, no, it wasn't a wall. It felt uneven and a little wet . . . almost like the wall of a cave.

Suddenly, the cavern was filled with light. Roger was right, he was in a cave. It was the cave from his adventure. The light was coming from a ghostly apparition that hovered a few feet in front of him.

The thing, whatever it was, didn't look the same for more than a second. All Roger could see was its face, which glowed brightly one second, and then dimmed the next. The thing had the face of a child one moment and that of a grown woman the next. Suddenly, Roger remembered that he'd meant to program a character that looked like this into the adventure, but he hadn't done so yet.

"You can't exist!" Roger cried. "The program was destroyed, and I haven't even created you yet!"

The thing, which was now a teenage girl, smiled serenely. "You have left the false world and entered the real world," she said, and her voice sounded more like bells than anything else.

"No, this isn't the real world," Roger protested. "This entire adventure was just destroyed in the real world."

"Perhaps the place you always considered the 'real world' was only a dream from someone here," said the now adult woman. Now, her voice sounded more like chimes.

"But my world has existed for millions of years," Roger said. "I only created this place a few years ago."

"Why should that matter?" asked the elderly woman with a voice like rain falling. "Does time make one place any more real or any less?"

Roger had a headache from the apparition's riddles. "Computer, pause program," he commanded so that it wouldn't speak to him while he tried to figure out what happened. The ghostly figure, however, didn't pause, and the computer didn't even beep to show that it had registered his command. Louder, Roger asked, "Computer, has there been an error?"

"The computer no longer exists," said the apparition, which was once again a young child. "It was destroyed, along with the rest of the false world."

Roger looked at the girl closely. She was supposed to be the only character who knew about his world, and if the computer couldn't answer him, perhaps she could. "What happened to Jacques and Andrew?" he asked.

"They were destroyed, along with the rest of the false world," said the slightly older but still very young girl.

"And what happened to my home and my town?" Roger asked.

"They were destroyed, along with the rest of the false world," the apparition repeated.

"What about the EV-one?' Roger asked, thinking that perhaps he would only get the same answer, but hoping for something new.

"When the creator of the false world was destroyed, the false world was destroyed," said the creature.

"This doesn't make any sense," Roger complained.

"It makes no less sense than the existence of magic or multiple worlds," said the woman. "Now, instead of being destroyed with the rest of the false world, you were given a new chance at life here. I suggest you go out and live your new life."

The woman then glowed brighter than she had before, and Roger had to shield his eyes with his arm. When the light became bearable and he could see again, the woman was gone.

Feeling dazed and confused, Roger wandered out of the cave. He blinked at the sun, and suddenly Laelia appeared out of nowhere and embraced him. She had tears in her eyes when she cried, "I thought you were going to die!"

Roger hugged Laelia. "Don't cry," he whispered. "I'm fine, we're both fine. You don't need to worry about Jacques or Andrew any more. I'm safe."

"You are?" Laelia asked, then she stepped back. "Does this mean you're going back home now?"

"No," Roger promised. "I'll stay here."

Laelia smiled and said, "Come on, let's go back home." She then took Roger by the hand, and led him back to Fiekirk's home, and into his new life.

The end.