Epilogue: Cleaning the Cupboard

The shock to Alan's system upon coming out of the Matrix was so great that he passed out for several hours. Even in the short span of time that he was unconscious, the images of what he had seen in Tokyo 1984 had haunted him, in-particular the Reaper's visage. He knew that would be an image that would haunt him for a long time to come.

After he had awakened, he and Miki headed back to the Wild at Heart, while Zapper, looking very pale, headed to his own apartment. In his will, Sparks had left the Wild at Heart in Miki's ownership, and the bar had finally been cleared of any police activity. Miki was partly excited at this, as she had always wanted to run her own business, though she hadn't expected it to be a bar in the wrong side of town frequented by those who broke the corporate law.

As for Alan, he was feeling glad to be doing some work behind the bar. He found that it helped him to take his mind off the terrible events of the past week. Though it was announced that the Reaper was finally gone, not many people knew the truth of the matter. Zapper, in a fit of stubbornness, hadn't mentioned that the Reaper had in fact being Catherine Powell, apparently because he did not want her memory tainted by the events.

"He's just grieving for her, Alan," Miki said reasonably when Alan commented on his own frustrations about his behaviour one day. "Let him get it out of his system. Even he will have to put all this behind him one day."

"I hope you're right," Alan muttered, idly wiping a glass. "I hate to think I'm going to lose any more team members, especially if they're going to lose it like he is."

"It's not like the jobs are coming in thick and fast, anyway," Miki replied. "We're lucky Sparks gave us this place. At least we've got something to fall back on."

At present, the bar was empty, as it was the middle of the day and Alan and Miki were still preparing for the re-opening later that night. So it was quite a surprise when the door was opened, in spite of the sign saying 'closed' being hung in a prominent position.

"We're closed!" Alan shouted without looking up. As he heard footsteps approaching the bar, he raised his head and was about to shout again when he saw that the visitor was Dr. Tanya Burton. She didn't look as ill as she had done over the past week, and even managed to smile slightly as she approached the bar.

"Is this a bad time?" she asked.

"No, I guess not," Alan muttered. He still wasn't sure if he trusted the doctor, after everything that he had learned about her. Miki too regarded her with a look of great caution.

"Look," Burton sighed, "Joey and I have been talking, and we've decided this is going to end. We're turning ourselves in at the police station. The experiments, Josie Dorset... All of it. If it wasn't for us, none of this would ever have happened."

"What about the good Detective Rigden?" Alan growled, doing an uncanny impression of Rigden.

"He's just going to have to get used to it," Burton replied. "He was involved in all of this too; he doesn't deserve to get away with anything. None of us do."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Alan replied coldly. He wanted to make it clear that he didn't think she was in the right. He wondered what it was that she had hoped to achieve by coming here, after all the damage that she and the WebRunners had done.

"I know nothing excuses what I did," Burton said, "but I couldn't pass by without saying thank you. Now I know that I could not run from this forever." She sighed, turning away with a look of palpable disgust on her face. "Ever since Josie died, I've wondered if I was the bigger monster. I often think that Varan is the real me that I have tried to hide for so long. Maybe now I can begin to tame that monster at last."

Alan gave no comment. Burton leaned in on the bar towards Alan.

"What about you, Mr. Tyler?" she said in a low tone. "Do you think you can tame your monster?" Alan looked straight at her, trying his hardest not to panic. If she was trying to extort anything out of him...

"Don't worry," Burton quickly said, perhaps sensing that she had offended Alan. "Your secret's safe with me. Over the years I've become quite adept at shielding my thoughts from psychics. The police will never find out about you or your friends."

"Well, that's good to know," Alan said. "I don't plan on being locked up like a lab experiment. I've got too much I need to do."

Burton sighed. It seemed she had taken the hint that Alan was trying to throw at her, and she turned around and started to walk back towards the door.

"For what it's worth," she said, turning around for a moment, "thank you for saving my life."

As Burton reached the door, Alan replied with a faint "You're welcome," before watching her step out of the door and back into the sprawl. Miki just shook her head in disbelief.

"I swear," she said, "I'll never understand those people."

"Honestly," Alan replied, "me neither. At least they can't hurt anyone else behind bars."

"Ouch..." Miki said, wincing. "Are you sure it's a good idea to keep bad-mouthing them?"

"Why not?" Alan asked, sarcastically. "They killed an innocent woman fifteen years ago, and didn't even attempt to make amends, not until someone tried to kill them!" He glared at the door as if Vincent Rigden had just walked through it. "I should've let them die."

"Then you'd be no better than the Reaper," Miki said, harshly. "Come on, Alan. I thought you were made of better stuff than that."

Alan sighed irritably. "I just..." he muttered. "It's just been one of those weeks."

"For all of us," Miki said. "Think about how Zapper must be feeling, since he found out that the woman he loved was a murderous psychopath! How do you expect him to be able to get over something like that?!"

"I don't know..." Alan replied. "Last time I tried to talk to him, do you know what he said to me? 'Do me a favour and don't talk to me for a long time'. It's like he's blaming me for everything!"

Miki sighed. She could not understand the way some people's minds work, a thought she found hilarious since she was a psychic.

"I feel like everything's breaking down," Alan continued. "Obatala and Berokash are still away, Zapper's mourning, and Sparks is dead... Everyone I get to know either dies or leaves. I honestly think I've been cursed since those damn experiments..."

"Oh, knock it off, Minya!" Miki suddenly exclaimed. "You really do get on my nerves sometimes, with that whole 'I live while everyone dies' malarkey! Can't you just shut up and enjoy what you've got in the here and now?!"

Alan turned to her with wide eyes. It wasn't often that Miki exploded like that, yet here she was browbeating him into stopping being so stupid. That was one of the many things that he loved about her; she was able to speak straight, smart common sense whenever it failed him. He shook his head, a smirk spreading across his face.

"Minya?" he asked.

"You heard me," Miki smirked. "It's short for Mini-Godzilla. I thought it sounded cute for a pet-name."

At this, Alan couldn't help but laugh. Knowing what he was, she was still able to make jokes about it. Maybe this whole thing could work out after all. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of his commlink announcing an incoming call. He groaned as he saw who was on the other end of the line.

"What is it?" Miki asked.

"It's Johnson," Alan said. "I suppose I'd better take this..."

THE END