DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE SERIES/COVER ART INVOLVED WITH THIS STORY.

WARNING: Reviews are refusing to show up on my screen when I check for them, so if you left a review with a question and I never got back to you, it's because of the technical difficulties right now. Weird stuff is going on here, and I'm trying to sort through it all.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: As I stated last chapter, today's Explanations/Clarifications includes my reasons for the ending that I presented last chapter. It also includes my plans for the future and closing thoughts for this story. So, with that being said, enjoy the final chapter of A Certain Sapient Virus.

Epilogue

Accelerator sat down with a sigh, bringing the cold drink up to his lips and taking a sip. Countless other espers were scattered about on the grass around him, each breathing heavily and resting up after the countless hours of work they had been put through. He was more than capable of dealing with just about anything the world could throw at him, but fighting armies of zombies—some of which looked like elephant-sized pink gorillas—for hours with limited breaks could take its toll.

Nearly five weeks had passed since his return to Academy City. Nearly five weeks since the fight to retake the city had truly begun. Prior to that, survivors were forced to huddle together while some of the most powerful espers remaining in the city faced off against the psychopath that had brought the Infected with him.

And through all that, he wasn't allowed to remain in the city. It infuriated him to no end that he was just told to pack up and leave, but ultimately, things ended up working out. Not without loss, of course, but Academy City had been put to the test, and it had come out victorious.

And then there was New York. News traveled fast when nuclear bombs were involved.

The whole story was clouded with lies, conspiracy theories, panicked American citizens, and countries pointing fingers, but the basic concept was still understood; a nuclear bomb had gone off in New York.

If anyone was in there, they didn't make it out alive.

It was odd, however, to note that it wasn't necessarily the biggest current event—at least, not in Japan. Here, Academy City was what everyone was talking about. Those in the city were reconnecting with families, and word was spreading rapidly. Accelerator didn't know how the world would respond to the news of a zombie virus, but he knew changes would be made, and more fingers would be pointed. The bomb in New York wasn't exactly common knowledge among the people of Japan at the moment, but a select few understood its significance.

Accelerator, for example, understood that New York had been the final destination of a certain shape shifting teenager.

Accelerator sighed and hung his head.

What a fucking mess. And here we are, cleaning it up and picking up the pieces of what's left.

Ever since he had been told that he should return, he had been hard at work along with the rest of Academy City's espers clearing out the Infected. Anti-Skill was pitching in, helping out in any way they could while evacuating civilians. While the Infected were being cleared off, that didn't necessarily make the place safe. In fact, the hospital was the only place where soldiers and espers alike were allowed to take off the protective gear that they had to wear.

Outside the protected hospital, however, everyone was required to wear gas masks and specialized clothing. The city was no longer willing to take any risks with the virus, and they were pulling out all the stops in order to ensure nobody else was infected.

"Wonder how the brat's doin'," Accelerator muttered. She hadn't been allowed to stick by him because she'd only be a liability, and despite the fact that it annoyed him, he was inclined to agree. The city, despite being well on its way towards recovery, was still far from safe for children. She wasn't nearly as helpless as others her age, but allowing her into the city still put her at risk.

He noticed several espers standing to go back out into the field. There were enough of them left to go out in groups, so everyone came to rest at different times. Accelerator's group had only recently returned from a trip through the city that involved a dozen skirmishes with the Infected, but the group standing was on its way back out.

Accelerator fell back with a sigh, spreading his arms out and lying on the grass.

*Page Break*

Mikoto wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her arm as she waited for the call to go through. She had her cell phone up to her ear, patiently waiting as the phone let out a dull ring as it attempted to connect to the person Mikoto had called.

For several seconds, no answer came. Shortly after Mikoto contemplated hanging up, however, she heard someone pick up the phone. "Hello?" asked an all-too-familiar voice. Mikoto grinned upon hearing her friend speaking.

"Kuroko, hey, it's Mikoto," she began.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried happily. "How are you? How are things going in the city? How is—"

Mikoto tuned her out for a second as the stream of questions poured through the phone. At the moment, she was resting in the protected hospital, waiting to be called back out into the field. Kuroko, unfortunately, had yet to fully heal from her injuries, and when citizens were first being evacuated five weeks ago, she had been ever worse. As a result, Kuroko had ended up going with countless others as they escaped the city, while Mikoto stayed behind to help.

"Heh, everything's going good so far," Mikoto said with a small smile. "There have been a few issues here and there, along with the occasional injury and, sadly, the occasional casualty, but other than that, things are looking up."

Kuroko gave a sigh of relief from her end of the line. "Onee-sama, you have no clue how glad I am to hear that," she breathed. Mikoto giggled at her friend's words before she asked a question of her own.

"How are the others? Index, Touma, Mikoro?"

"Oh they're doing fine," Kuroko answered. "Touma and Index especially. They've been really optimistic about the whole situation. Mikoro was…depressed, for some time. She's getting better, but I think it may be a little while until she's completely over…you know…Siren."

Mikoto sighed. "She'll move on eventually. We all lost someone we cared about throughout that entire nightmare, but we can't let it weigh us down. Mikoro will come to realize that sooner or later."

"Yeah," Kuroko responded before she continued on in a more cheerful tone. "On the bright side, the survivors who have made it out of the city have finally begun to truly relax. The first several weeks saw everybody getting together with their most trusted friends and sticking to each other while watching their backs after every step they take. It was crazy how paranoid and anxious they were, but it's hard to blame them after what happened."

"And now they're finally daring to believe that the whole nightmare is over," Mikoto finished with more than a little gladness in her voice. "I'm happy to hear that, Kuroko."

"Hey, kid," called a male voice. Mikoto turned around to see an Anti-Skill soldier gesturing for her to come over. She gave him a quick nod before returning her attention to Kuroko.

"Sorry, duty calls," she said sheepishly. "I've got to get going. I'll see you around, Kuroko. Get well soon!"

"Goodbye, Onee-sama!" Kuroko replied happily. "Stay safe out there!"

"I will, thanks!" Mikoto finished while hanging up. She shoved the cell phone into her pocket before jumping up from the bench she had been sitting on. A quick stretch warmed up her muscles, and soon after, she was on her way back into the fray to fight the Infected.

She was on her way to retake her home.

*Page Break*

Aleister watched the video for what felt like the hundredth time since his drone recorded it. The screen depicted the twisted remains of a large American city, one that Aleister had become all too familiar with. For several seconds, nothing happened, and then a massive ball of expanding white light spread through the city as the nuclear bomb was set off.

Aleister watched with keen eyes, observing the city as it was obliterated. The drone he had sent to watch over the Infected when Alex had left had watched the events of the Prototype's battle unfold. And in its final moments before the blast from the bomb destroyed it, it had transmitted a video feed of the heart of the virus being destroyed. A second drone was on its way there now to observe what was left of the city and to check if any of the Infected had survived.

There was something, however, that would always remain in Aleister's memory: Pariah.

He hadn't managed to get a decent shot of the creature, but a little while before the bomb went off, tentacles had begun rising out of the city, and large, dark masses of moving bodies would flow through the city in unison. Aleister wasn't entirely sure what had happened, and he found himself wondering who had set off the bomb.

Had it been Alex? Had Pariah been too much for him to defeat? Had it been Pariah? Had Alex been too much for it to defeat? He didn't know, and he disliked that. The ideal outcome was that they were both dead. Pariah had already gone insane from the virus, and it was only a matter of time before Alex followed in its footsteps.

Those two were easily the most dangerous individuals on Earth, and with them both gone, the world had two less monsters to worry about. Still, Blackwatch and Gentek lurked in the shadows, and Aleister wondered if they'd be foolish enough to create another virus or, inadvertently, another Prototype.

I can't allow research and production of the virus to continue. It needs to be stopped, destroyed. Those children beat back Ares, and it seems as though both Alex and Pariah are gone.

Aleister closed his eyes.

It would seem as though the job of stopping Blackwatch and Gentek falls to me.

A/N: Well, here we are; the official ending to A Certain Sapient Virus. The epilogue was meant to show some of the points of view of the remaining characters as they work to restore the city, as well as to try and end on a happier note, rather than leave you guys with, 'the protagonist gets himself killed to stop the antagonist'. And I know that everybody says stuff like this, but I'm going to say it anyway: thank you to everyone for all your support. Everybody who has reviewed, followed, favorited, and PMed me have contributed to this story in their own way, and I'm very grateful that this story received the amount of attention that it did. Nobody wants to write a story if nobody reads it, right? Anyway, as promised, the following Explanations/Clarifications section will contain my reasons for choosing the ending that I did. Now, without further ado, the Explanations/Clarifications:

The Ending: As I stated earlier, Pariah has had plenty of time to evolve and grow. I toyed with many ideas about how I could end the story, but I eventually came to the conclusion that Pariah would have simply become too powerful for Alex to beat considering the short amount of time he actually had to evolve. Basically, he was never going to win. So unless I employed the use of plot armor or sent in reinforcements from Academy City (which would have turned into a 'friendship = power' moment), I wouldn't have been able to create a realistic reason for Pariah to lose. That left me with a few choices, the two most obvious being that Alex loses to Pariah, or that he finds a weapon that can destroy Pariah for him. Also, I believe that a protagonist's luck can't last forever. I've seen one too many shows where the main character is some sort of death-defying demigod who ends up squeezing his/her way out of harm's way, even in a situation that involves a gun pointing at their face from point blank range. Basically, these protagonists end up living through everything and constantly coming out on top. In my opinion, ending with the death of the main character—either because he/she was defeated by a more powerful person or otherwise—gives a story a better sense of finality. Now, that does NOT mean I'm going to end every story I ever bother writing with the death of the protagonist. That would get old very, very fast.

What's Next: To be honest, I'm not sure. A sequel is unlikely, but I've still got several ideas floating around my head—some of which are suggestions from you guys—and I'm not sure which one to pick. I'm also considering taking a short break from writing, but that's just a side thought. At the moment, I've got an idea that recently came to mind that I'm seriously considering, but I won't reveal it yet. No point in starting hype/anticipation for something that's not set in stone yet. Anyway, with that said, thank you once more to everyone who got involved with this story of mine, and I hope you enjoyed reading through it. This is Anti-Atom signing off. Laters!