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~~~POST-EPILOGUE~~~

~The next day~

It was a lovely evening in the post-apocalypse with a nice breeze blowing, something always welcome after a particularly sunny day. I was strolling around the perimeter of the HAC complex, as I tended to do as a small habit when I had time to kill. The day had been long and very productive, especially with me being able to aid Kyle in learning to master one of the more crucial parts of his ferrokinetic abilities. Samantha, who already possessed enough of a grip on her own superpowers, was more than happy to help by constantly attacking her brother with ice projectiles. She called it 'learning to think under fire,' and it was just plain hilarious to watch.

All that remained in the day was one of Kyla's lovely home-cooked dinners and perhaps a good comedy movie for all four of us, courtesy of my still-functional PlayStation's hard drive full of not-quite-legally obtained media. But once I made a full loop around the base and returned to the front gate, out of all the things I thought I'd see heading towards us, a black SUV with a big OGD logo on the hood was the last thing I'd expect.

The two hybrids guarding the front gate looked at the vehicle warily and understandably so, but I wasn't deterred. If anything, I was just plain interested in seeing why our former enemies were here, especially after such a long commute. I motioned for the guards to open the gate and allow the SUV to park inside.

The doors opened, and two figures stepped out. The first was the driver; a tan-furred wolf hybrid wearing a full suit of OGD armor minus the helmet. It had been years since I had seen anyone wearing that getup, but I could see that the design was now slightly different than it used to be. Sleeker, not as bulky, and with differently colored details as opposed to solid black. As if this hybrid was just a soldier wearing his uniform for patrolling and not something as intense as heading out into a heated battle. As he exited the SUV, he opened the passenger door and pulled out a long plastic case by its handle. It reminded me of a case for holding a musical instrument, though I had a very strong feeling that he didn't come all this way for a concert.

The second passenger, riding shotgun, was a child. But like no child I had ever seen before.

Wait; is that a... red panda hybrid? Wow... I've only seen pictures of regular red pandas before, but I'm pretty sure that's what she is. That's kind of cool on OGD's part, actually. Doesn't ALWAYS have to be a dangerous animal like a leopard or wolf, definitely not anymore at least.

Whoever she was, she was dressed in a simple pair of shorts and a black t-shirt with an OGD logo on it that looked hand-painted. Definitely more casually dressed than her driver. Her hair was blonde and short, in a style that was similar to Kyla's, but with wider angles. The pair walked over to me, the little girl in particular taking her time to gaze around at the entire HAC complex. For someone who had most likely spent most of her time behind OGD's walls, her childish sense of curiosity was probably having a good time exploring a new area.

"Are you Mister Greg Ossland?" she asked.

"That'd be me, yes," I answered. "But you can just call me 'Greg.' And who might you be?"

She offered her hand, and I shook it. "My name's Beth. It's actually 'Bethany,' but don't call me Bethany. I hate that name..."

"Okay, Beth. And you are?" I asked the wolf hybrid holding the plastic case.

"Head of OGD Security, Jason McMillan. But for today, Miss Beth's personal escort from our facility to yours. It's a safer world now than it was years ago, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I'd be lying if I said we didn't pass one or two zombies along the way..."

"Oh, I can see that," I replied. "It ain't perfect, but we're getting there. So... I guess the obvious question is what brings you all the way from OGD? You must've traveled an entire day or two, at least."

The girl smiled, but didn't answer me right away. She studied me intently, as if she was trying to gauge my entire personality just based on my appearance and few spoken words. It was a little unsettling; not because she looked like more than a harmless little girl, but because she was studying me as if she knew way more about me than she was letting on.

"Um... Beth?"

She laughed as she snapped herself out of whatever observational trance she was in. "Sorry, that was kinda creepy of me... It's just that I've only heard about you in stories before now, so I just wanted to see if you were the same in real life. And it looks like you are... I can tell by looking at you. I've got an, uh... analytical mind, so to say."

"Analytical? Like, as a superpower?" I asked.

She laughed. "You could say that... But anyway, the real reason why we're here is to give you this," Beth said while motioning for Jason to hand me the case. I opened it, and inside was a gleaming zweihander sword. Long and very sharp, with an arrowhead-shaped design at the tip. There was an envelope attached to the center of the blade, with the words 'To Greg' written on it. It was held in place by two magnets, most likely used in lieu of tape to avoid leaving any sticky residue. Whoever had prepared this for me really went all-out.

"Wow... this is a beautiful sword! I mean, I make them all the time, but not nearly this shiny... I'd feel terrible if I impaled a zombie with this and got blood all over it, this is just too perfect to use."

"Well, glad you like it!" Beth smiled. "It's a gift from the head of OGD; the note should explain all that to you. What he really wants is for you to come and visit us, though. I know you might think that's crazy to ever wanna set foot back in there again, but he'd love to show you how much the company's changed its image since he took over."

Jason tapped her on the shoulder. "Miss Beth, it's getting dark. We need to start heading back now."

"Aww..." she pouted.

"You guys don't want to stay the night?" I asked. "It's no trouble."

"Thanks, but I prefer driving at night, especially for escorts" Jason replied. "I used to be in the Marines, so old habits die hard, I guess."

"Heh, I understand. I had a good friend who thought the same way."

I shook the wolf's hand goodbye, but Beth suddenly squeezed between the two of us and hugged me tightly. I was surprised, but I couldn't help but laugh and hug the adorable girl back.

"What was that for?" I asked as she reluctantly let me go at Jason's insistence.

She smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry... It's just that I owe you a lot, Greg. Never met you until now, but I owe you my entire life. And so does everyone at OGD, especially my mom and dad... Read the note attached to the sword, and you'll know why."

"Well if that's the case, then I'm honored" I replied with a sincere grin of my own. "I promise that one of these days, I'll pay you all a visit and see everything anew. In the story of my life, everything had a way of working out in the end, so I can't say I have any hard feelings over going back there."

~~~

Definitely not a visit I would've anticipated, but it turned out to be a very sweet and enlightening one.

As I watched the two OGD's drive away, I went back to admiring the shiny sword they had gifted me with. I took it out of the case and held it in my hands, loving the feel and balance of the weapon. I knew it was primarily a gift to show good will between HAC and OGD, but I just couldn't get over the feeling that there was something special about the sword in particular.

Special and... familiar.

Wait a minute...

I gave it a few swings, careful not to detach the note and send it flying, but I quickly concluded that the weight and feel of the edged weapon proved it was undeniably one of my own making. I could tell that it had been previously modified somehow, but not enough to offset the Greg-specific size and weight designs I put into every weapon I had made. Small details that only I would know to include!

I MADE this, I know it! How'd that girl get it? How did--- WAIT...

I took one closer look, and the sudden memory of why I had created the sword in the first place struck me like lightning.

This... This is...!

I tore off the note and hastily placed the weapon back into the case, opening up the envelope so quickly that it scored a small paper cut along my thumb.

It was more than a note, actually; it was a handwritten letter. I began to read... And when I finished, realizing I was correct in guessing who wrote it shook me to my core.

I read it again; just to be sure I wasn't seeing things.

And again.

And AGAIN.

Without realizing how much time I had spent reading the letter over and over, I noticed Kyle was suddenly standing right next to me. "Hey... Dad? You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something. Also, mom says it's dinner time."

My God... you have NO idea, kiddo...

I forcibly snapped myself out of my stupor. "Uh, Kyle... grab your mother for me, would you? I've got something she'll want to read..."

"Sure thing, boss" he answered as he started walking back to the apartment. But halfway, I could hear him stopping and could practically see him turning around to address me, even with my eyes still glued to the note.

"Dad... who, exactly sent those to you?"

I walked over to my son and smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "A friend did, Kyle. A good, long-lost friend of mine sent this to us."

~~~

Dear Greg,

First off, let me extend my congratulations for the ten-plus years of marriage between you and Kyla. Even without a fully-functioning Internet, word still travels pretty fast these days, and I heard that you two got hitched back in 2013. I'll admit that, from the minute I first met her, I knew that Kyla would be the girl for you. I'm glad you took the advice I gave you on the day of that ridiculous HAC test and told her how you felt. Seems like a lifetime ago, looking back now...

But I digress.

No two ways about it; I'm alive. I'm alive, I'm well, and I'm the new CEO of OGD. Surprise, surprise, I know. Like all of you at HAC, we've rebuilt everything from the ground-up and are hard at work on improving the world for both humans and hybrids. We've been primarily exploring the side-effects of the human-to-hybrid transformation process, especially the ways that the process heals the body. These days, anyone that comes to us wanting their diseases or handicaps cured can become a hybrid and join our growing population. It's crazy to think about, but this world's soon going to be populated by as many hybrids as humans. And hopefully, not by any more zombies - we're working on that, too.

Of course, the journey to get to where we are now was a long one. After I helped you and everyone else escape that underground arena, everything started collapsing around me very quickly. I knew that I wouldn't be able to climb my way out or wait for the elevator to come back, so all I could do was patiently wait for the end. But I didn't mind; I felt that sacrificing myself to allow you all to escape after everything I had done gave me enough positive karma to die peacefully.

Fate, it seemed, had different plans for me.

I'm not sure how long I stayed buried under several stories of steel and concrete, but when I finally woke up, I noticed two things. One, that I wasn't dead. And two, that my nano-tech armor was completely restored and fully equipped to my entire body. Damaged, from Kyla's ice attacks, but still functional. My technopathy, however, was still slowly returning to me, so I didn't understand how the armor could've done what it did without me telling it to. But I got my answer quickly enough; it was the work of the scientist that developed the suit in the first place. She used it to contact me and explained how she controlled it remotely, making it protect me while I was being buried alive.

I felt a very... ranged mix of emotions. I was grateful, of course, but a part of me desired to just be left buried in the ground to die. But her words... Her words had a way of encouraging me to try and escape; that if I could fight my way out of the deathtrap I was in, I would emerge as a new and better person. So I tried. Over the course of an entire day, running only on sheer willpower and not food or water, I tunneled my way back up to the surface and finally escaped the facility.

Her name is Carly, by the way. She was there when I broke through the surface, along with everyone else that managed to escape the facility, human and hybrid alike. All I could do was wheeze out a 'thank you' before passing out in her arms. Over the years, Carly helped me with much more than just rebuilding my new home; she helped me rebuild my entire life. One thing led to another, and well, now we're happily married. And she was also the first human-turned-hybrid we successfully created on our own, opting to test the procedure on herself. A red panda hybrid had never been done before, so she figured 'why not?' She's absolutely beautiful... I'm sure you'd agree. And she shares my technopathy skills, too.

_The best way I can explain it is that to me, Carly is what Kyla is to you. She was the person who gave my very grim life a new meaning; the one who quite literally brought me out from the depths of despair. Do I still miss Elizabeth? Yes, very much so. I'll admit that it wasn't an easy process at all... there was a lot of stress... and it often led to nights of unspeakable nightmares. Nightmares made even worse by the memories of the malicious things I did... _

But through it all, Carly stayed determined for both of us and made me into a much better person. Elizabeth is finally at rest, along with Brian, both kept alive only in my happy memories. I owe Carly my life, Greg, I truly do. But like I said, you of all people should understand how that feels.

And on the subject of my new family, the little bundle of joy that delivered this letter and your old sword is our daughter, Bethany. She's got her mother's looks and intelligence, but she fights as well as her dear old dad does. Don't let her age and size fool you; she'd be as deadly against the living dead as we were, if not more. I regretfully couldn't be there to deliver these things to you in person, but she really wanted to meet you; you're kind of like a celebrity to her. If she gave you any trouble, I apologize; she's quite the little rebel.

I know you're probably wondering why I waited so long to make contact with you, and the reason is simple. I wanted to wait until I had accomplished EVERYTHING I had set out to do, in both my personal life and my work-life. And now that every brick has been placed and every skeleton has been removed from my closet, the timing is right. Because as many of those cheesy self-help programs used to say, the final step is asking for forgiveness.

One of these days, however, I'll come back and visit my old home. I'm not sure how I'd be received, being both an OGD member and the worst kind of ex-HAC member... Which is why, for at least the time being, I'd like you to keep this note to yourself and Kyla. Don't tell anyone else about this until you've had a chance to come meet me for yourselves. I want you both to come visit me and my family here and see how much we've changed this place for the better. I'll be sending a helicopter to pick you up sometime soon, so I sure hope you've gotten over your fear of heights.

If either of you still resent me for what I did, then I completely understand. All I ask is a chance to apologize and for you to see the new-and-improved me. And I'm betting you're still a gamer, so I'd also love a chance to headshot some Nazi Zombies with you, too. I promise I won't use my abilities to cheat like I used to...

One way or another, you've been and always will be one of the most important people in my life, Greg. And I want you to know that.

Your friend,

Isaac Deneia

~~~

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~

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the TRUE end to this story :)

There'll be a Journal entry later on with acknowledgements or something. Right now I'm just gonna ride off the high I have for actually finishing this today :)