Epilogue; A; Brief; Reprieve; Brings; About; A; Brand; New; Story

"Wow, all that happened last night?"

It was Christmas Day now, the Hidden Club having their normal Christmas party together inside the clubroom, being decorated with lights, food, and a small tree in the corner of the room with a literal star glowing on top, and I had just finished explaining to everyone what had occurred yesterday, with Prez being the one to ask the question.

"Yeah, that's just an average night within this City of ours though," Hiro said, yawning next to me from my left. "Trust me, there's been way weirder nights I've experienced; one time in fact, a giant dragon showed up in the middle of the night and started to wreak havoc on everyone."

Everyone turned to him, frowning. "Uh, Hiro? I don't remember that happening at all," I said.

"No, it happened," Pinkie said, two seats to my right. "Sophomore year if I'm remembering right, and the dragon was quite big as well."

"You too mom!?" I exclaimed, and Pandora giggled next to me on my right.

"Eh, who knows? After last night, I bet anything goes in this City," Pandora said, smiling at me.

"Oh, enough about boring stuff already, I have an announcement to make!" Prez exclaimed, holding up her glass of eggnog. "Wait, actually, before that, where's Lachesis?"

"Oh, she said she wasn't coming," the Ass said simply, glancing at my direction. "She wasn't feeling too well after what happened last night."

"Eh!? Seriously, why can't all the members be here whenever I have something to say!? Oh, whatever, we can just tell her later." Prez cleared her throat before looking at Pandora.

"Starting today, Pandora will be the next member of the Hidden Club, making her our 10th and youngest member! Cheers!"

"Cheers!" We all yelled out, clanking out glasses together before chugging down the eggnog, letting out satisfying sighs in response.

"Wait, before we do anything else, did Pandora ask to join?" Hiro said, looking over at Prez suspiciously.

"Oh, I decided just now."

"Oi, you can't just force people to join this damn club yah know!" Hiro yelled out, and Prez just laughed in response.

"Oh relax, it's basically how everyone joined! Mrs. Cardea made you join against your will too!"

"Yeah, and I regret the decision every day," Hiro grumbled, pouring himself another glass of eggnog while also grabbing a slice of the chocolate cake we had bought earlier in the day.

"Well, I'm happy to join, since my Depra's here too," Pandora said, looking at me expectantly.

"I would've hoped you would have joined for a reason beyond that," I said, tossing a cookie in my mouth.

"But it's the only reason, right honey?"

"Of course, Depra is the only good thing about this club!" Hiro said, holding up his glass of eggnog. "And I'll drink to that!"

"Now we just have more ridiculous people," Hera muttered, at the right of Pinkie and to the left of Prez, who was at the other end of the table, opposite of Hiro. He was constructing an elaborate castle of fruitcake, since no one was going to eat it, and was working on one of the towers.

"You just mean Hiro and Prez right?" Caelus said, to the right of Prez, wearing a Santa hat along with suspenders, no shirt however, just the pants.

"I think you mean everyone but my wonderful son and I," Pinkie said, eating a sugar cookie with pink frosting. She was also wearing a Santa hat along with the rest of the costume, it being colored pink instead of the normal red.

"Hey, I'm normal," the Ass said, scowling at Pinkie.

"Nah, you're an ass, so of course you're ridiculous," I said, and the Ass shook his head.

"Honestly, why the hell am I even here?"

"Guys, enough about who's ridiculous in this ridiculous club already!" Prez exclaimed. Well, at least even she knows this club is weird. "Let us eat, drink, and be merry on Christmas; it's only my fourth one you know!"

"You've been alive for almost 18 years, and yet you've only celebrated it four times? What have you been doing?" Hiro asked, flipping piece of candy into his mouth.

"Who knows? I was too busy having fun with other stuff to know about Christmas."

"Yeah, that sure does sound like something you would do," I said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by Hiro over there," Prez started, putting emphasis on the last part of the sentence, "We have something we need to do today, remember?"

"We do? Do we normally do anything today? Normally we eat until it devolves into a food fight, then we spend the rest of the day fooling around with one another until late into the night," I said, frowning as I listed off the things we normally do.

"No silly, we have to welcome Pandora into the club! It's the club introduction!"

"Huh!? Since when the hell have we done that!? My introduction was a damn study session, not a fucking party!" Hiro exclaimed.

"Yeah, hold up, all I got was a water fight that scarred me to this day," the Ass agreed, the both of them glaring at Prez.

"Oh, that's because that was your introduction! It's not my fault you guys had shitty ones," Prez said, starting to laugh.

"Like hell it is!" They both yelled out, leaping towards Prez as they went to attack her.

"This is quite a lot of fun already!" Pandora laughed, watching Prez wrestle against Hiro and the Ass.

Pinkie sighed before shaking her head. "Let's leave those idiots alone. After all, it just means more sweets for me," Pinkie said, scarfing down a slice of cake before cutting herself another one.

"For all the sweets you eat, you sure don't gain anything in return," Caelus said, looking at her small, petite body. "You should really work on those assets, like Prez over there."

"Can it Caelus!" Pinkie said, throwing a cookie into his face, which promptly landed on the shelf behind him. "You have no right to sexually harass me like that!"

"It's true, she laments on it every day," Hera said, almost finished with his castle, which Pinkie toppled over. "Hey, my castle!"

"You don't need to say everything that comes to mind you idiot!" Pinkie yelled out, starting to throw the fruitcake at both Hera and Caelus.

"Oh, so this is what you meant," Pandora said, eyeing the cupcake in her hand before smiling slyly.

"Uh, what-!" I was cut off as I felt the frosting from the cupcake she was holding smear all over my face.

"Oh, fine then! Let's get this food fight started!" Prez yelled out, smashing both Hiro and the Ass' faces into two pies. I don't even know how she managed to pull that stunt off, especially since it looked like she was getting easily overpowered earlier.

I wiped off the frosting away from my eyes before letting out a smile. "Alright, you asked for it!"

I took the cake from the table and smashed into Prez's face, causing her to fall backwards before falling backwards myself, getting splashed by eggnog from Hiro.

"Disappear."

The eggnog vanished from my clothes, and I shook the rest out my hair that went down to my nose.

"Hey, that's cheating Depra! You can't use your trick like that!" Hiro said, appearing behind me before pouring more eggnog all over me. "You have to take the food like a man!"

"Gotcha!" I yelled out, thrusting eggnog of my own onto him, which he narrowly dodged, only to get hit by Pinkie with a shower of pink frosted sugar cookies.

"Damnit Pinkie, attack the people who sexually harass you!" Hiro said before throwing a piece of fruitcake at her, which she blocked in midair.

"All three of you harass me one way or another!" Pinkie yelled out, a wave of fruitcake coming down onto Hiro, Caelus, and Hera, with only Caelus being hit by the attack, with Pandora as collateral damage.

"Hey, watch where you're aiming Pinkie!" Pandora yelled out, pieing her in the face, which caused her to fall towards Prez, who was still recovering from my attack earlier.

"Aha, I can get someone! Come here you!" Prez started to use the chocolate that was over her to slather Pinkie, and all the guys stopped to look at the scene unfolding.

"H-hey! Where are you touching right now Prez!" Pinkie exclaimed, her face flushing a bright pink as she continued to be assaulted by Prez.

"That's kind of erotic, not gonna lie bois," Caelus said, snapping a picture before putting his phone back in his pocket.

"Wait! You did not just take a picture of me! I'm gonna, eep!" Pinkie got cut off as Prez rubbed their faces together, covering them both with chocolate. "Damnit, I'm gonna get you too!"

Pinkie used the cream from the pie to start to cover Prez as well, creating a strangely awe-inspiring image of black and white.

"All men, must look at me!" All the guys tensed up before we turned to Pandora, who pushed us all towards Pinkie and Prez before bringing down another cake onto us, and she grinned as she wiped some icing away from her cheek.

"There! Now, in I go!"

She jumped into the pile, where we soon all ended up covered in chocolate and cream, laughing and being merry on our Christmas Party.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You know, I don't hate you, at least not anymore."

We were borrowing the schools' showers and laundry room to clean up our clothes and ourselves, and the boys were all taking a shower at the same time in the boy's locker room.

I continued to wash myself, talking to the Ass in the stall next to mine.

"I learned for myself what type of person Lachesis was last night, and how she was using us all. You especially, were probably the one who was used the most throughout her plan. So, I don't hate you, but I don't know if I can accept you just yet either.

"I saw her last night you know." I stopped washing myself, frowning.

"You were there?"

"Not for all of it, but I heard your conversation with her, and what that Hiro-guy said as well."

Wait, why was Hiro there as well? I shook my head, continuing to wash myself as I listened.

"Those friends, or more like followers, left her for you as well after Hiro-guy showed up, and she was completely left alone. I'm not gonna fault you, but for the record, I'm not gonna condone what you did either. She really did do it all for you, despite her unsavory methods."

"Disappear."

The eggnog, which was causing my hair to be sticky, vanished, leaving it in its normal greasy, unkempt form as I proceeded to wash my hair.

"I don't care."

I well and truly don't, not after the pain and suffering she caused me. "I no longer have any reason to continue associating myself with her, and so do you, since the plan she worked so hard on is over now. You can stop being her fake boyfriend."

"… You really did change so much, it's almost frightening. If I didn't know any better, it almost sounds like you wanna kill someone right about now."

I finished washing my hair, letting the water run down by body as I stared at the faucet. "You didn't respond."

"As you said earlier, you and I no longer have to associate ourselves with her anymore; however, that also means I can do whatever the fuck I want."

We both turned the water off at the same time, and I wrapped a towel around my waist before opening the curtains to see the Ass looking directly into my eyes.

"And, you know, it seems I can't help but stick around her a while longer," the Ass said, and I met his eyes with my own.

"Do whatever you want."

He shut his eyes before sighing, looking back at me with a scowl. "As I thought, those eyes of yours are the thing that piss me off the most; the eyes that show nothing but swallow everything in it's sight, the eyes of an abyss."

I narrowed my gaze towards him, and he kept up his gaze, holding eye contact.

"Did you know, about her condition? She���s been freaking out to herself this entire time, ever since you two bastards ruined her."

"Do I look like I care?"

"Well, in case something inside you actually does, I'll tell you anyway. The future that she's looked to so earnestly all this time as now vanished away from her. At this point, she can no longer see.

I only offered silence, and he sighed, glaring at me.

"It seems, that you and I can't be friends after all, even if you no longer hate me." He turned around and started to walk away, glancing back at me.

"Because it seems I'm the one now who hates you."

I shrugged, walking the opposite direction to get my clean clothes. He can do what he wants with her.

Because if I have to deal with her again, I might very well make her disappear along with the rest.

No, not might, I will make her [die] disappear.

I changed back into my clothes, frowning at something he said earlier. He said Hiro was there also. I wonder how he knew where I was, and how I just managed to miss him as well…

"I guess that's another one of his 'Hiro' secrets, as he would say," I muttered, exhaling sharply through my nose. It seems it's just another one of those things he'll tell me one day.

I finished changing before heading back outside, noticing Pandora waiting by the door.

"Oh, were you waiting for me?"

"Nope, waiting for my honey Hiro," she purred out, reaching out for my hand.

"Well, I guess that makes the two of us then," I said, and she frowned, looking up at my face.

"What do you need with him? I was only joking you know."

"I know that," I said, giving her head pats, smiling warmly at her. "No, I just need to ask him something. Apparently, he was there last night."

"Oh, that," Pandora said, and it was my turn to frown.

"Uh, wait, why are you acting like you already know about Hiro being there?"

"Oh, I saw him spying from up above on the roof when you were busy fighting that tall guy. I think he saw the entire fight, and maybe a little bit before then too."

Huh? The hell? "Why didn't he bother helping out then? He could've at least said hi to us," I grumbled, and Pandora started to laugh.

"That's what you're worried about? Oh, never change my dear Depra," Pandora said, giving me a soft smile. "By the way, Hiro's long gone by now, he left before you."

"Why don't you lead with that!?" I yelled out, and she giggled to herself.

"It's more fun this way, plus I get to spend more time with you! Anyway, let's go on home, I don't want spend the rest of my Christmas inside school anyway."

I nodded. "Alright, let's get going then."

We walked and talked with one another, swinging our arms together as we walked out of the school, the sun setting on the horizon as we made the long walk home.

"By the way, it doesn't seem like you need me anymore," Pandora said, her hair glowing orange with the setting sun.

"Oh, you mean that then," I said. Ever since last night, I no longer had any incidents. No laughter, no voices, nothing. It was almost miraculous as it was ridiculous, and it pissed me off how easy it was to do it.

"I have to thank you again, since you've been helping me out so much this entire time. Honestly, I feel so bad at this point, I wonder how we'll ever get even," I said, looking down at the girl who had saved me countless times with naught but a single touch.

"Hmm, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You've been helping me out way more than you could ever possibly imagine, trust me on that," Pandora said, giving me a smile, this one different from all the other ones she's given me, and yet I couldn't pinpoint what exactly…

"You always say that, but you better tell me how one day," I grumbled, and she laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you everything one day. Promise," she said, holding out her pinkie.

I wrapped my pinkie around hers and said the phrase.

"Cross my heart, hope to die, toss me into the pit if I lie!" She nodded at me, giving me another grin.

In the end, I don't think this decision of mine was wrong. I don't need them, the family who hated and belittled me, when I have these friends who help bring the absolutely best within me.

And I responded with her grin with one of my own, a genuine smile, a grin that showed all my teeth.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yo, what took you two so long? And what have I said about the handholding already!? This is a PG book we're running!"

We stopped in front of my house, and I looked towards Pandora, who shrugged as we released our hands from one another, our gazes upon Hiro, who was leaning against the front door.

"Uh, why are you here? I thought you were leaving early Hiro?"

"Yeah, I did, because I needed to talk to you away from prying eyes and all that," Hiro said, giving me a sad smile. "Pandora, I would appreciate it if you would leave us please."

Pandora's eyes widened. "Are you…?"

"Nope, nothing to do with you, promise. Now go, get outta here before you find yourself 10 miles away from here suddenly."

Pandora glanced at me, and I shrugged. "It'll be fine, I needed to talk to him anyway." She nodded, and she started to jog away, waving me goodbye before rounding the corner.

Hiro sighed, looking towards the setting sun. "I assume you know by now that I was there last night."

"Yeah, I'm wondering how you even managed to find me."

"Oh, it was Lachesis, but enough about that, you should be more concerned about how you and that group of friends aren't in jail yet, which I took care of by the way."

Oh. "I didn't even think about that, especially since Iapetus is dead and all."

"And the vast amount of property damage you caused as well; oh, and let's also not forget that you attacked Clymene Corp as well." Hiro sighed, scratching his afro. "Well, I took care of all that last night; talked to Ms. Clymene herself, and let me tell yah she is ruthless with demands, I swear."

"Wait, how did you pull that off!?" I exclaimed, and he started to walk towards me, holding a picture book, which he handed to me.

"Uh, what's this?" I read the title and scowled. "Time Traveling Hero? I've never heard of this children's book before."

"Of course not, it's one of a kind," Hiro said, he nodded his head towards the book. "Read the author name."

I frowned as I read it aloud. "Uh, it says, Hiro the Hero, and Anna is Anna? What's that meant to mean?"

"It's exactly as it says, Anna and I, we wrote that book for Luna," Hiro said, turning towards the now night sky.

"Damnit Hiro, don't get cold feet now," he muttered to himself, and I stared back at the book, a question forming in my head.

"Hey, who exactly are you, Hiro?"

He started to chuckle before turning to me, his dark brown eyes reflecting the utmost seriousness. "I promised you I was gonna tell everything one day, right? Well, after last night, I don't have much of choice." He took a deep breath before a small smile appeared on his face.

"I'm the Time Traveling Hero, and also Director of an Organization called The Time Resistance Task Force, otherwise known as the TRTF for short, and the story starts with the meeting of an Unnamed Boy and the Silver Haired Girl.

"And it all started the day reality cracked."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Voices, screaming out at me once more.

The laughter, laughing even harder.

Laughter, the voices, and the voice that told me it was all a lie.

Their laughter, their voices, her voice, echoing within me.

No, that too was a lie.

They were no longer within me, no longer laughing at me.

I opened my eyes, and at long last, the tears that could no longer fall fell at her words and his words.

"Aishiteru, Depra King."

"I'm back, Major."

I smiled.

"Welcome back…"

Hidden Power Saga, Saga 1:

fin