The Big O and all of its settings and characters are owned by Cartoon Network, Sunrise, and Bandai Visual.

THE BIG O:

ACT 27

ROGER THE VIGILANTE

Chapter One: A Word From Norman Burg

The old style elevator opens, and out steps a tall elderly man who's thin white hair contrasts with his bushy eyebrows and full mustache. Despite the genial expression on his face the black eyepatch concealing his left eyesocket makes him appear intimidating at first glance. He is clad in coveralls, a flannel shirt, heavy boots and gloves and is sporting a work helmet on his dome. He seems surprised to see you, and starts at your approach.

"Oh my," he says with a distinguished British accent that is out of character for his workingman's clothes. "You're early. I'm afraid that I had to repair the damage that I did with Big O and lost track of the time…" He removes his helmet to reveal the balding pate that his sparse white hair fails to cover. "As those who are familiar with the progamme, The Big O, my name is Norman Burg, and Master Roger keeps his megadeus, (that's what the highest order of giant robots are called) in a bunker under the former bank that he has turned into his personal residence. Inside the underground bunker, Big O is protected by four sturdy, reinforced walls. While I was running diagnositics on the weapons systems, I'm afraid that I accentdentally fired some of them off…" While he speaks, Norman walks behind a changing screen and emerges from the other side clad an elegant tuxedo associated with English butlers.

"The first wall was not damaged at all, and the second wall deflected the lasers and only sustained damage to the paint. The third wall absorbed the impact of the cluster bomb splendidly…but I'm afraid the fourth wall…" he trails off. He straightens his tie and clears his throat. "I'm afraid that I've broken the fourth wall entirely and have spent the entire day repairing it. Still no need to burden you with my problems, let's introduce the narrative shall we?

"The author assumes that anyone reading this has watched all twentysix epsides of The Big O, and enjoyed the series so much that twentysix episodes just isn't enough. Although turning to fanfiction is a logical way to fill the gap, the allegorical ending of the The Big O series makes it rather difficult to pick up where the series left off and forces many splendid stories on this site and others to be considered alternate universes, or AU's for short."

Norman clears his throat and straightens his jacket. "The author of this particular tale will attempt to write a third season in story form, starting with the tale you are about to read now. Should he be unable to reach this lofty goal, he at least hopes that this particular story will restore the world of Paradigm City back to normal and allow any narratives posted on this site or any others to be considered 'canon', at least by their perspective authors if no one else. It's quite a challenge, especially when one considers how long it has been since The Big O was on the air. Still let us give him our encouragement, shall we? I know that I am biased in my opinions, but there simply haven't been enough Big O stories posted lately."

Norman coughs somewhat selfconciously. "Well, I know that you have better things to do than listen to some silly old duffer dithering on about the author's notes, but I still think that it is fair to warn you that this story and its sequels are simply chock full of spoilers of everykind. The author is arrogant enough…er ambitious enough to attempt to address some of the mysteries that cropped up in the series and this may spoil the surprise to those of you who have not familiarized yourself with the programme.

"Should you want to watch episodes of The Big O, Cartoon Network is good place to start if you are in the states. I recommend purchasing them over the internet using the ebay and amazon sites. Still, for those of you who have…limited means, you can watch all of the episodes for free at Youtube if you don't mind watching them in segments and putting up with rather questionable resolution. Still, it is a good place to start.

"If you don't remember what happened on The Big O, or are unfamiliar with the programme don't worry. Nearly everybody in Paradigm City has problems with memory," Here the elderly butler grins rather cheekily. "The author has assured me that every attempt has been made to introduce The Big O to first time viewers, although that will probably result in exposition that longtime fans of the show will not need. Still it is the best compromise we can come up with and every good negotiator understands the importance of compromise."

Norman crosses to a rather archaic machine with tiny circular screen. It bears a slight resemblance to the first working electronic television invented by Philo T. Farnsworth in 1928. The butler flicks a switch and turns some knobs as static appears on the screen. "Well, let's begin Act 27 by picking up right where we left things, shall we? At the end of Act 26, Roger Smith had mysteriously been transported out of Big O and found himself replaying the footage that introduced him at the beginninng of Act 1. We will pick up there and continue just as if the show had a season three. I hope you enjoy the show."

On a desk filled with hourglasses a phone rings. Norman's hand picks up the receiver and a sinister voice says:

Next: Roger the Dreamer