EPILOGUE!!! Working on Christmas is such a drag!

Snowflakes danced with the chilly winter wind across a dull gray sky. My breath formed a misty cloud as I exhaled. Despite the cold, I was perfectly warm under multiple layers secured snugly underneath my armor. “How pretty,” I said to myself as I extended my hand. The white specs instantly melted as they landed on me.

I sat on a large metal girder that supported a partially constructed skyscraper in the heart of downtown. Delighted by such a beautiful view, I couldn’t help but smile and kick my legs back and forth. Normally, the construction site was abuzz with drilling and hammering. But as it was Christmas Eve, there were no construction workers to be found. The place was all mine, free for me to enjoy a brief respite in peace and quiet. I took out a thermos from my pouch and poured myself a cup of hot cocoa. It was a gift from a family whose car I helped push out of a patch of snow. I took a sip, which left me pleasantly surprised. “Oo! Mint Chocolate!”

As I enjoyed my delicious cocoa, I thought about all that had occurred over the previous year and how much my life had changed. With the help of those close to me, I was able to grow as a person. I felt more like myself than I could ever remember. Free to express myself more than ever before.

The struggle and pain I went through seemed so quaint on that cold, winter day. I cringed at the thought of some embarrassing things I did, like how hard I tried pretending Daniel and Lune were two separate people. But if not for those stupid mistakes, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten to where I was then.

Maybe I wouldn’t have gotten together with Jack.

But I did! And I was! And forever would be!

I swayed side to side with a stupid grin on my face as I thought about Jack. We’d been dating for almost eight months by that point, and not a day went by that I wasn’t giddy with excitement.

“Jack is my boyfriend~!” I would catch myself singing frequently. And if I didn’t, Belliney and Jack would point it out. I couldn’t help myself!

And as I sat atop the unfinished skyscraper, taking quick sips of my hot cocoa, I sang it again with zero shame. It was our first Christmas together as a couple! Under the same roof, even!

But I still had time until then, so I continued my rounds as the happiest magical girl in the world.

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP! BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!

“Oh!” I said, quickly closing the lid to the thermos.

Swapping the thermos for my smartphone, I unlocked it and opened my magical girl app.

“Where is she,” I said, zooming out of the map of the city. “Ah ha! Oh… Pfft! Course she’d do that.”

I placed a pin on the map, then put my phone away. A tower of blue light beamed down through the gray clouds, highlighting where I needed to go. With that, Magical Knight Lune was on the job!

***

“NYA-HA-HA-HA… ACHOO!!!”

Red Sandrea had launched an all-out attack at the mall! Well, more specifically, the parking lot of the mall. And by “an all-out attack,” she was using her Shadownyans to occupy the parking spots closest to the entrance. Only a handful at that!

By the time I got there, the parking lot had turned into a massive traffic jam. People were cursing and shouting, demanding to park up front. They parked their cars, put on their turn signals, and refused to move until they could park in those spots. Didn’t matter that there were open spots at the far end of the parking lot.

Other cars were blocked behind them, one after another, until nobody could exit the parking lot. Even the ones who would gladly give up their parking spot were trapped. The traffic even began to overflow into the surrounding streets.

Red Sandrea, dressed in her usual attire despite the snow, cackled menacingly. “Yes! That’s it! Keep producing that nyegative energy! It’s Christmas Eve, and nyone of you will be able to get last-minute gifts at the mall! NYA-HA-HAAACHOO!!!” she sneezed, wiping snot from her nose.

I hovered above the parking lot, looking down at the blaring mess of cars.

“Uh oh. This is gonna turn into a full-on riot soon,” I said.

I lowered myself toward the ground, being careful not to slip on the ice.

“Red Sandrea!” I shouted.

Red turned to face me. “Nyo-ho-ho! If it isn’t Magical Knight Lune! And here I thought you would be frozen solid from coming out on this s-nyo-wy day!”

“Neither hail, sleet, or snow would stop me from defending–”

HOOOOONK!

A car blared its horn, startling me. “...From defending the people’s happiness!” I continued. “More importantly, aren’t you freezing in that?”

Red cackled. “Me? Freeze? In this mild winter storm? Nya ha ha! What do you take me for? Some weakling like-ah-AH-ACHOO!!!”

A large amount of snot shot out from her nose, splattering onto the slush-covered ground. She gripped her arms as she began to shiver, pulling her tail and cape in for warmth.

“Don’t you have any warmer outfits?” I asked.

“Just an outfit I was savin’ for the party tonight and work clothes, but I didn’t wanna reek of pizza-ah-ACHOO!”

I reached into my pouch and pulled out my old hoodie I kept for emergencies. “Here. Put this on,” I said as I tried to hand it to her.

“N-n-nyo! We’re a-a-arch enem-m-mies right now! Don’t you dare pity m-m-e!”

I sighed and put the hoodie away. “Fine. But if you wind up sick later, then–”

HOOOOOONK!!!

“...Yeah,” I finished.

Red flung her cape and tail back behind her and put her hands to her hips. “I’ll simply bring you to a quick defeat, and then go inside to warm up! Shadownyans! Attack!”

She stood there and pointed at me, waiting for the Shadownyans to attack. However, none did.

“W-what?! What’re y’all wa-wa-wa-waitin’ for?!” she shouted between clacking teeth.

“Nya!” yelled one of the Shadownyans amidst the surrounding cars.

“S-so what if ya lose the spot?! Y’all already accomplished what we wa-a-ACHOO!!! …Wanted!”

“Nya!”

“I’m gonna be scarier than those cars if y’all don’t–” Red shouted as she began marching over to the Shadownyan closest to her. But as she marched, her foot slipped on the half-melted slush, causing her to slip and fall face first onto the ground.

SPLAT!!!

The impact sent water and slush flying outward. Some splashed onto my leg, sending a shiver up my spine as the water soaked into both layers of leggings I had on.

“You alright?” I asked Red.

She continued to lay there for a moment before she slowly pushed herself back up. Her entire body was soaked to the bone. She hugged her arms in a futile attempt to keep warm as her teeth chattered.

“Hoodie?” I asked.

Again, Red shook her head. “Just get it over with.”

I let out a sigh, then reached into my pouch and pulled out my sword. Holding it before me, a white glow emanated off my body as tiny orbs of light began rising upward from the ground around me.

Once I had enough magical energy, I performed my final attack. “Heart Prism Beam!” I shouted.

My sword shot the beam outward, landing a direct hit on Red Sandrea. Once the energy dissipated, her body appeared charred as smoke rose off her.

“Aahh… Warmth.”

With that, the Shadownyans abandoned their positions on the parking spots and caught Red just before she fell back onto the slushy ground. A portal opened behind them, and they slowly carried her through.

“I’ll see you later tonight!” I said, waving goodbye.

Red held up a smoldering hand in acknowledgment, then dropped it onto her chest. Once she and the Shadownyans were through the portal, it vanished into thin air.

With victory achieved, I put my sword away and made a cute pose.

“Once again, peace in the world is restored! Thanks to Magical Knight Lu–”

Just then, the impatient cars that had been waiting for parking spots floored it. However, they spun out of control against the slick pavement and crashed into nearby parked cars. The remaining cars moved forward, only to similarly lose all patience and crash, causing a pile-up. Soon enough, nearly a quarter of the vehicles in the parking lot and the nearby street got into wrecks.

There was honking, yelling, cursing, and even fights breaking out.

I looked at the chaos unfolding before me and hung my head back in exhaustion.

“The work of a magical girl is never done…”

***

“That took foreveerrrr…” I groaned as I flew back home, completely exhausted.

I wound up staying behind for several hours and helped direct traffic while tow trucks cleared the wreckage. The onslaught of people doing last-minute Christmas shopping was seemingly endless. Even when the mall closed early for the holiday, there were still people showing up to shop.

Did the entire city procrastinate and decide to shop at the last minute all at the same time?! You gotta shop for gifts in advance, lest you wind up rushing to the store on a snowy day and crash your car because you just had to park up front! Ugh!

“The party’s going to start soon and I didn’t even get a chance to relax first,” I whined.

When I arrived in my neighborhood, I noticed a figure climbing around the roof of my house. Alarmed, I quickly flew over to my house.

“A little further up!” yelled Belliney, standing at the end of the driveway.

“Here?!” Jack responded as he moved a few steps up the roof, holding a string of lights.

“Too far! Bump it down a tad!”

“Here?!”

“Hrmm… Down more, but also to the left. No! Your other left. Wait… Right! Sorry! I meant right!”

As I flew closer, Jack saw me and waved.

I landed next to Belliney and changed into my other form. I wore a red and green party dress underneath my long wool coat. My hair, which I had abandoned the idea of getting cut and now went past my shoulders, was tied up in ribbons.

Was I dorky looking? Sure. But darn it! That year was our first Christmas together, and I was going all out!

“Setting up Christmas lights?” I said, asking the obvious.

“Mhm!” Belliney nodded. “We’re trying to set them up to look like the magical girl insignia!”

She held up a slip of paper with a crude drawing of the roof with the magical girl insignia drawn over it. Off to the side were stick figures of what I thought was supposed to be us.

“Neat!” I said. “But isn’t it kinda late to be doing it now? The party’s going to be starting soon.”

“We got started not long after you left to go on your rounds.”

“Yeah!” Jack yelled from the roof. “It was gonna be a surprise, but turns out putting up lights is trickier than I–”

Jack’s foot slipped on a patch of compacted snow, which sent him tumbling down the roof. Quickly, I changed back into Lune and flew over to catch him before he fell onto the driveway. Once caught, I lowered him down safely.

“Thanks,” Jack said.

“This is too dangerous right now!” I shouted. “You could’ve fallen and broken your neck!”

“Y-yeah…”

I turned to Belliney. “ Couldn’t you do this instead? You could fly up there or easily summon a bunch of lights, right? There’s no reason to make Jack risk his life for Christmas lights!”

“I could easily do it,” Belliney said. “But, um…”

“I insisted that I’d do it,” Jack cut in.

“Why?” I asked.

Jack blushed. “It was supposed to be a Christmas gift.”

I was surprised. “A Christmas gift?”

“I know how you said no gifts since we can’t really afford it, but I still wanted to do something for you. And I didn’t want Belliney to do it all for me. It wouldn’t have been a gift from me at that point, right?”

After hearing that, I felt bad about getting on Belliney’s case. Of course, Jack would want to do things himself. Even after I managed to convince him to move into the house, he still couldn’t shake off his old habits. Watching from the ground as a second pair of eyes was probably the only help Jack would accept from Belliney.

“I see,” I said.

I walked over to Belliney and took the Christmas lights blueprint from her.

“How about we set up the lights together?” I said, smiling at Jack.

“Then it wouldn’t be much of a gift for you,” he replied.

I walked over to him and picked him off his feet, then jumped onto the roof.

“Whoa!” he shouted in surprise.

“If the lights are a Christmas gift for me,” I said, “then my gift to you will be helping you set the lights up.”

Jack chuckled, then gave a thumbs up. “Sure thing.”

With the two of us working together, we were able to set up the Christmas lights in no time. As the sunset turned into twilight, Jack hooked up the lights to an electrical outlet, completing the job.

“You guys ready?” he shouted from the front door, his arm extended inside to flip the light switch for the porch light.

Belliney and I cheered in response.

The lights flicked on, shining brightly. After all our hard work, the results were… rather poor looking. The magical girl insignia was all warped, some of the lights were drooping over the edge of the roof, and a few bulbs were burned out.

“Huh,” I said, somewhat disappointed.

Jack walked over to Belliney and me to see the lights for himself.

“Yikes,” he said, scratching his head. “How’d we mess up so badly?”

“Oh, it’s not so bad!” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “Besides, it was our first time! And we were doing it as it was getting dark! We had a lot working against us!”

“What’s with that design on the roof? That supposed to be a dog or somethin’?”

Sneezing behind us was Red Sandrea, wearing a black turtleneck and tight jeans. A red scarf was wrapped a dozen times around her red face. She wore a black beanie that was custom-made to cover her cat ears. In her hands was a large plate wrapped in tinfoil.

Behind her was a portal, where Shadownyans were coming out one after another, meowing in excitement.

“Red!” I cheered. “You’re… not looking all that hot. Are you alright?”

“I think I caught a-a-ACHOO!!! …A cold.”

“You were underdressed this afternoon, so not surprising,” I said.

Red handed the plate over to me. “I brought tamales. Cute dress. Very on theme.”

“Oh! Thank you! There’s a bunch of food and treats inside. Why don’t you go in to warm up.”

“Thanks.”

Red went straight inside as her army of Shadownyans marched behind her.

“Do you think we’ll have enough food for everyone?” I asked, watching the endless stream of Shadownyans go inside the house.

“Maybe,” Belliney said. “But if worse comes to worst, I can always create some more!”

I glanced off to the side. “Yeah! Great! Do you mind getting the cold medicine from the bathroom and giving some to Red?” I asked, handing Belliney the plate of tamales.

“Human cold medicine isn’t going to work,” she said.

“It won’t?”

“But don’t you worry! I know an old Celestial Being remedy that’ll surely help!”

Belliney floated inside, carrying the plate of tamales above her head. Once the last of the Shadownyans entered the house, Jack walked and put his arm around me.

Despite the cold, I felt warm and cozy in Jack’s embrace. I looked up at the mess of Christmas lights that sat on my roof, smiling.

It was like a dream. Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would wind up where I was. If you had gone back a year ago and told me “This time next year, you’re going to be in a relationship with Jack. Not only that, but you’ll host a Christmas party and invite your archnemesis who’ll bring tamales,” I’d call you insane.

Crazy where life can take you.

When I looked up at Jack, I noticed that he was staring intently at me. “W-what?” I asked, blushing.

Suddenly, I was hoisted into the air by Jack. He then began to spin around and laugh merrily. His laughter was contagious, and soon I found myself giggling with joy.

He then brought me close for a kiss. I hugged him tightly as my lips pressed against his, never wanting to let go. An eternal kiss didn’t sound so bad.

Of course, we had to stop, and he placed me back on the ground.

“Merry Christmas, Daniel,” he said.

I smiled. “Merry Christmas, Jack.”

We turned to look at the Christmas lights once again. But the moment was abruptly cut short when we heard Red cry out from inside the house. “NYAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!”

“Sounds like Belliney’s cure is having the opposite effect,” I said.

“We better go check,” Jack said.

“Yeah.”

The two of us quickly made our way inside the house, where our family and friends were waiting.