Epilogue

Pullox's family were left in a state of conflict and guilt after watching his performance in the Hunger Games. The boy they had seen day to day wasn't the boy they knew as their son; Pullox had always been - or at least appeared - polite, respectful and intelligent. It didn't take them long to see the boy he really was, to see what he had been intending when he said he wanted to enter the arena and participate in the Hunger Games. His sister, Floy, was particularly conflicted in the long run. Her brother had always been loving to her, she worshiped the ground he walked on. She couldn't stop loving him, but it hurt to love a monster so much.

Alexandria's family were visited by the Peacekeepers not long after she had perished, because in Panem it was very commonly believed that where there was a smoke there was fire. The fact their daughter had taken such a dark turn and had basically rejected everything they taught her was devastating and painful enough, but the increased chances that they would be punished hurt even more. Thanks to Alexandria's father having such a high ranking position within District One's Peacekeeper's, they were spared - but not without any harm done to their reputation; if they did so much as think an anti-Capitol sentiment, they would meet a fate much worse than their dead daughter.

When Jericho had died, he had hoped that his family were able to forgive him. They more than forgave him - they were proud of him. His bravery and loyalty, especially for a Career, may have been easily confused for foolishness, but Jericho's father knew that he had raised his son in the right way, even if it had sent him to an early grave. Life was hard for the Aylin's - on top of losing their precious son, they struggled to run their business and keep a stable income. Like the rest of Panem, they kept their resentment to themselves and struggled on.

Mayor Draven's loss helped him secure the next Mayoral election easily, winning by a landslide sympathy vote. Similar to Mirane's father's initial plan, he campaigned on a very resistant platform, one that sought to increase District Two's autonomy, whilst ensuring a controversial campaign warned District Two tributes' of the dangers of the Hunger Games in case they felt the need to volunteer on a whim like his daughter had. But that did nothing to ease the hurt, no matter what happened, no matter who he saved, he would never win his daughter or his grandchild back, and he'd have given anything in the world to tell her one last time that he cared.

Liz's family had never recovered from her loss. The weeks before her funeral, they did nothing but sit alone and sob. When she was buried, they went around their daily life - they even sold the books and comics she once loved, as they couldn't stand the painful memories that lay around the house. To many, it seemed as if they had moved on as they engaged with their personal and professional lives in a dignified way, but they would spend the rest of their lives praying to any god out there that he looked after Liz and that they would one day see their daughter again.

Sebastian and Pullox hadn't pointed out the Reid's family's crimes for no reason at all - both of them knew there would be repercussions, both of them had cursed the Reid's name. In Panem, an accusation was all you needed to be prosecuted if you weren't granted the rights Capitolian's or the elite were, so the Reid's were immediately arrested and thrown into prison. A scan over an old crime scene had matched Trojan's father's fingerprints to the crime, leading to him to be draped from the gallows. Without any evidence against her, Mrs. Reid was merely condemned to a decade in prison, only given freedom for one day to see the girl who had murdered her son. But Mrs. Reid was a strong woman - she had lost everyone she had ever cared for, but made sure to remain vigilant, surviving for those she had lost.

The only person who had attended Honora's family were her father, mother and trainers - even her sister had outright refused to attend. Even those who detested Honora would have probably been upset to see how lonely her funeral was. It agonised her father to see how Honora had died how she had lived; in a solitary way, in a sad way, but in a way which Honora never regretted and would have never been ashamed for.

Ross' death caused devastation in his old household, but the aftershocks had rippled through District Four. He was nobody's bet to win, but nobody would have ever expected that a District Four boy would die in two consecutive Bloodbaths. This uncertainty had led to a changed mood within District Four's ancient academy and District Four in general. District Four reformed in a way that would make it much more bloodthirsty, desperate to shed the image of the 'Soft Careers' that it was famous for, for the sake of Ross, Honora and any other Career who would volunteer in the future.

Leda had started off with a lonely life, always distant from her family and without friends. It was a common and indeed tragic occurrence when a tribute would die and would leave behind a band of broken hearted people; but Leda's end was even more sad. Her family did their brief mourning, and then that was it. They moved on. Little was ever said about her again.

Magnus had a similar fate; everybody in his family had passed away, the only people who remembered him were the prisoners who had mocked, taunted and bullied him and the prison wardens who were just as cruel. They found his death almost amusing, watching him descent into insanity and die after foolishly attacking the Careers, which was something that was never going to end well. After finding his pain and torment amusing one last time, they were quick to discard him. Unlike the District partner he murdered, Magnus wasn't forgotten anytime soon, though the memories that lived on were never positive.

Brandy's death had shocked her District to the core, even though they had seen it all coming. To see an innocent girl struggle for her life, and die so brutally, was another reminder to them that the Games were brutal and unforgiving. Brandy had never felt like she had made an impact in life - she was just your average girl in District Six, and one that was developing a morphling addiction at that, but despite everything her death had certainly left an impact that her family would never recover from and her District would never forget.

Sebastian's many friends and family all mourned his passing, particularly pained by the brutality and the suffering he endured in the last moments of his life: he had always been a kind boy, if not one of the kindest; but in the arena he had evolved into a killer, an addict and someone who had constantly been betrayed. Even though it pained her, for months after his death his mother kept watching recorded segments of him Games, constantly wondering how he had felt in his last moments, or wondering what could have happened differently so that he could have come back home.

Conifer's family were proud of her, a feeling they were unused to. Not so long ago, they had known Conifer to be a stubborn and temperamental girl (which they had blamed on puberty). However the glimpses of her they saw, before the bloodbath that would finish her, made them see a girl who had grown to care for her allies and even for strangers. She died standing around and waiting for someone to be saved, and the goriness and pain of it all made them wish deep inside that she had grown into her selfish streak one last time so that she could have escaped.

Hadley's parents were lonely without him, and though they were far from cruel or cold parents they had known that Hadley had thought deep inside that they didn't love him. But he was their everything, and when they died they had felt nothingness. It took a long while for them to even begin contemplating moving on, and when they did they considered trying for one last child, just to ease the loneliness: they hoped they could tell that child just how brave its older brother was every day of its life, hoped it could become half the person Hadley was.

Darius and Mirane's families were both thrown into a storm of media attention: the story of rebels kidnapping the Victor's baby, and the press interviews where Mirane tearfully pleaded for someone to return the infant back, had led to an even greater backlash against the rebels. Eased by the reputation Mirane had given him, a lot of sympathy votes and a u-turn from a pro-independence campaign to an anti-rebel campaign, Mayor Saffell promised that those who had taken his grandson would suffer every single day. But they didn't - witchhunts across District Eight ensured that anyone but the perpetrators were scourged.

Rita's heart ached for tear every day, and she knew that nothing could help that. She fought to move on as Tear would have wanted, but owed her very life to the brave woman who sacrificed her life for her lover and then sacrificed her life to save another innocent. Though seeing Willow die made Tear's death feel like it was in vain, Rita realised quickly that Mirane may have died had she not had Willow to aid her; she liked to think Tear's legacy lay in District Eight's Victor, and the baby she had afterwards. The day she discovered Buster Saffell was born, she was inspired to go out and recover, to find love again, though she always maintained close relations with the Nikuya family.

Giovanni's father never stopped blaming himself for what had happened to his son. When he saw his son's life be blown away with a puff of smoke, he'd snapped. He assembled his men and launched a futile but bloody attack in the streets of District Nine, which ended his life and ensured both gangs had virtually collapsed. Leon, who had survived and was traumatised by the ordeal, found it in his heart to forgive his heartbroken mother and quickly moved in with her. Both were shocked by the two deaths in their family, but found it in them to continue living in solitude.

As Carlie had predicted, Devon didn't care that she had died. She was merely a business tool, and now she was unavailable he began to show little interest in the Compton's business. Seeing through his shallowness quickly, both of Carlie's parents were quick to change their views on both their dead child and their business; they had lost something precious, something worth more than any money they could collect. Ashamed, and desperate to remove themselves from public view, they sold their ranches and became recluses, able to live their lives comfortably without having to show their faces. Jared was equally shocked by the death of the girl he loved, but found it within him to move on and find love again with a stable girl who worked on the Compton's old farm.

Aurochs had left a hole in many people's hearts when he had died; he had many friends and family members who loved him. The corridors in his school seemed that bit more empty and quiet without him there, talking to everyone and cracking his bad jokes. His sister, Oriana, had nobody to play her silly pranks on. Aurochs never had the chance to make his impression on the Games; thanks to his ally, he died very abruptly. But elsewhere, his death had devastated others. Aurochs wouldn't be forgotten.

The day after Willow's death, her town had developed a respect for her that she would have never expected. Even the girls who once bullied and haggled her attended a candlelit vigil that was held by her school. That night, feeling guilty and devastated, Willow's mother confessed that she had an extramarital affair to her husband, leading to tension within the household for months. They sought counselling to help them with their marriage. They had managed to rekindle their love, but they never quite got over the loss of their daughter.

Delilah's family were now inadvertently part of the Liberal Alliance - or what used to be the Liberal Alliance. They were in the circle of rebels and watched reluctantly as the Liberal Alliance had died, crumbling into nothingness. Their gratefulness to be alive and well in District Four was almost destroyed by the constant elephant in the room: that their daughter wasn't with them, and that she never would be. They mourned quietly, saddened by the realisation that they wouldn't even be able to give her a funeral alone. Delilah was buried alone in District Eleven, her grave only visited by sympathetic strangers every blue moon.

Freya's mother had been devastated to see her daughter die on television. Freya may have been a child led astray, a child who was disowned, but she still found that a piece of her heart was broken. Not many people had known that Mrs. Garnsey was the mother of District Twelve's most despised and in demand prostitute, and she kept it that way, wanting to both grieve and live the rest of her life in peace.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, Luke's family had no time to mourn him - they had perished in the bombings of District Twelve, killed before he had even met his own grisly end as he had finished. Only one survivor rose from the ashes - Luke's younger sister, Cassandra. She bore a vengeance with her, filled with anger at the District which had killed her family and the Capitol that had killed her brother. In her anger she found the will to survive, not knowing the fate would lie ahead of her.

The President was victorious. It had been a successful year for him: an entertaining Games had produced a complacent Victor, District Thirteen had been seized despite the best efforts of everyone to push against him. His political manoeuvring had done more than win a war and crush a rebellion - it had turned the tide of public opinion against those who had tried to undermine him. He wasn't done consolidating his power or controlling his rivals, but he continued to slowly craft a web of deceit that would grow until everyone in Panem was a fly that was stuck on it.

Tobias' ending was similarly happy. He had almost ended his career, if not his life, by letting his ideas get the better of him. But he had been more than successful, and was rewarded with riches and privacy for the rest of the year. He spent a lot of time with Destiny and his two children, returning to his family man life. He occasionally visited Ruth too, but unlike last year she had seemed busy, always out or occupied. He was happy for her; after all the losses she had encountered, he was glad to see his friend and confidante was no longer alone and was occupying herself.

Rayann, shocked by the fact the Capitol still had it in for her, became a recluse. She very rarely went out, unless she was visiting her Aunt, and she had even ceased to contact Luster regularly. She knew the Capitol would do anything in their power to get her at her weakest - she didn't want to give them that satisfaction. Luster began to turn to other people, becoming a lot more social now he had less contract with Rayann. He occasionally hit the towns of District One with similarly upper class friends - to his surprise, he had even met a romantic interest, but knew he would have to cut it off before the next Games started and he had to use Yinga for strategic gain. Life became a lot better for Jynx; she slowly recovered from her illness, albeit not completely, and was grateful enough just for that. Iopian, however, didn't get the happy ending. After his father's funeral, guilt ate away at him and he had returned to a habit of unhealthy drinking that he'd thought he wouldn't reach.

The Districts had evolved politically. They were done with the instability of war and rebellion, they were done with the terrorist attacks that had cost lives and livelihoods. Though they had kept a desire to separate from the Capitol close, the events of the past year inspired a backlash against the rebels that had been unprecedented amongst the Districts. The Capitol, surprisingly, was now the beacon of rebellion in Panem, who slowly grew inspired by Romantian ideals.

Romantia was humiliated. The money and arms they had invested crashed down before them, and they knew Panem was a big enemy that they were dealing with. Two conflicting ideologies approached: it was agreed that the isolationism of the past centuries should be abandoned as the world's technology continued to grow, some believed in Panemian appeasement, others believed in hostility. Public opinion, reeling from the loss of District Thirteen, turned towards appeasement: a new President of Romantia was elected, promising to reach out to Panem in an unprecedented way. Naturally, the citizens of District Thirteen felt betrayed: they were defeated, one of their allies destroyed and the other had turned their back. As the Capitol slowly integrated Thirteen into Panem - politically and economically - they knew it wouldn't be long until the inevitable heartbreaking news came.

The rebellion was over, and as purges, blacklisting, boycotting and espionage only weakened the rebels more and more, completely eradicating them from the majority of the Districts until all rebels were either dead, refugees or ex-rebels, it became clear that it would never come back.

But while the President knew that power was fickle, he knew nothing of what the year ahead would bring...

It's complete! On the anniversary! Woo! Thank you all so much, I've had so much fun writing this story - hopefully the prologue to HuOBHu will be coming soon :)

~ToxicatedRose