Okay so this is a little story/au I've had in mind for a while and I thought it would be cool to finally write it, so here we go!

TRIGGER WARNING-DEPRESSION, SELF HARM, ATTEMPTED SUICIDE(KINDA)

(??? pov)
It has been three years since the disappearance of Brandon Diablos and many things have changed throughout Atlantide. Silver from the Wondering Coins has become the new grandmaster, overseeing everything in the correct, lawful way (most of the time). Overall, everyone has slowly recovered from the events of the Grand Magic Games. Even Michael was settling down once again, having recently found his wife, after years of searching. In fact, they were happily expecting a child. On this particular day, everyone was rejoicing upon the return of Bri, who was ready to resume leading the protectors guild. Of course, not everyone's lives had improved, for that would be almost impossible. Almost. You see, sometimes all you need is to find that special person and your life will change forever.

Inside the empty guild hall of Divinus Magia, there was somone sat alone at the bar. He spent most of his days there, for it seemed there was nothing else left for him to do. His days were empty and meaningless, whilst his nights were overrun with what could have been. No matter how much he wished for it to be true, they were all fantasies; his brother would never return. This man was Ritchie Diablos. He never truly healed, leading to the Grand Magic Council taking over his guild. The only reason he stayed there was because there was nowhere else for him to go. However, this day was different. Many thoughts were racing through his mind. What's the point? I'll never see Brandon again. I'm not even a guild leader anymore. He would be so disappointed that I lost what we worked so hard to build.....

Without even realising, he dragged himself oustide, knocking over several stools on his way. He merely chuckled to himself, for he was used to messing up everything he touched. His feet seemed to move on their own, as they carried him to the middle of nowhere. After what seemed like hours of walking in suffocating silence, he stumbled over a large rock, slamming his entire body onto the ground. He briefly examined the area around him, noticing that he was in a secluded section of a forest. Why am I not even surprised. I'm always alone... Instead of even bothering to move, he decided to explore his mind. It was shockingly empty; the only things he could find were pain and regret. Everyone else was moving on with their lives. What was he doing? Nothing. Would anyone even care if.... The voice of his brother echoed in his mind: "Please don't do this! You have so much to live for!" Ritchie shook his head, beginning to cry out in pain, not wanting or expecting anyone to hear.
"I HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR! BRANDON WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO CARED! NO ONE PAYS ATTENTION TO ME ANYMORE! NO ONE RESPECTS ME ANYMORE! NO ONE WOULD CARE IF....if i....if....IF I DIED!!!"

Soon, he was mindlessly digging a sharp rock deep into the skin of his arm. He watched as his blood oozed out of the many wounds he had created, crying silently. Cut after cut. Pain. Just like the rest of his life. What would it matter if he ended it all? Michael, his best friend, barely even pays him any attention. Just one more cut. Silver was off living in gleeful bliss with Bri, with his new job supporting them. Yet another cut. His guild members looked at him like he was trash. Another cut. Cut after cut after cut. He kept going, until something stopped him. In the distance, Ritchie faintly heard the sound of someone else crying. Maybe i should go check if they're okay. Stumbling onto his feet, he trudged onwards, leaving a a dark red trail behind him. The forest casted deathly shadows down upon him, whilst he forced himself to continue walking towards that sound. Eventually, he arrived at the edge of a river, where he spotted a basket. He knelt down next to it, carefully pulling back the blanket inside, only to reveal a baby.

Ritchie was absolutely shocked. The baby continued to sob, causing him to hold them in his arms. They were wrapped tightly in a pink cloth, slowly starting to calm down, as they looked directly into his eyes. Hazel met blue.
"How did you get stuck out here?" he just barely managed to croak out, for his throat was still very sore from all of the previous sobbing. His eyes darted around the area, scanning for any signs of this baby's parents. Sadly, they were nowhere to be found. All of a sudden, a strange item within the basket caught his attention, from the corner of his eye. Using his spare hand, he picked up an envelope. The letter inside of it read:
Dear recipient,
We are so sorry to dump our child on you, however we have a good reason. These will be stated inside the second letter within this envelope, which is intended for our daughter. Please, no matter where you take her, just make sure she is safe and that one day she receives it. Thankyou so much, for if you are reading this, we can only hope that you will help our beautiful baby girl.
Sincerely, two parents in need of your help.

He knew that he definitely couldn't just leave her here, so Ritchie carefully placed the baby back into te basket, before carrying her back to his home. It took almost twice as long to make the journey back to Divinus Magia, due to the sheer amount of blood he had lost. When he finally returned, his entire field of vision was blurry. He quite literally forced himself through the door of his house and towards his bathroom. Placing the basket down on the floor, he spent half an hour cleaning his wounds, then delicately bandaging them. While he still felt very dizzy, he knew that tending to the baby was much more important. He lifted her up, as she began to stir.
"You really are insanely adorable." he spoke softly to her, making a small smile appear on her face. She looked so content, just sitting in his arms.
"Too bad I can't keep you...."

She once again looked directly into his eyes. They were so beautiful, like how the sun can glow, lighting up the sky at sunset. Pure joy could be seen from within them, unlocking long lost emotions inside of Ritchie himself.
"Let's see if we can find you some food."
After rummaging through his rather empty kitchen, he at last found some milk, which he swiftly heated up for her. Whilst bottle feeding her, he thought to himself about where he would take her.
"You know..." he turned his head to face her "that letter didn't even give you a name."
She continued to drink the milk, happily squealing and clapping her hands once she was finished.
"Aww! Hmmm.....how about Chloe? No, what about Bella? Why does nothing seem to fit you?"
Letting out a weak yawn, she gripped tightly onto his poncho with her little fists.
"I know...how does Scarlett sound? Yeah, that fits just perfectly!"
He gently rocked her to sleep, sitting on the sofa at the centre of his living room.

Oustide, the world seemed normal and everyone was carrying out their usual business. However, inside that quiet house, something had changed. For the first time in three years, Ritchie Diablos was smiling. A glimmer of hope had returned to his life, giving him a whole new meaning. Now, you may be wondering how I know all of this, so let me explain.

I am Scarlett Diablos.