Well, we've finally reached the end, guys. This is the end of Silence of Scarlett; wrapping things up once and for all. It's been a long ride, and now I have Believe in Mii and Dream of a Tale to work on.

Epilogue
Who We Really Are

Scarlett woke up in her room in the Arena Defense Tower, silent as ever. She was still recovering from the battle against Enigma and his new team, the events playing in her head over and over again. She remembered the last words that Enigma said to her before they left the Arena:

I never wanted you anyway.

At first, they stung the wounds she thought had recovered. Scarlett had told herself, over and over again, she would move on from Enigma; her days with him were since over, but when she came face-to-face with him and his improved team, she realized how much she hurt him without even meaning to.

That morning, though, she listened to the thoughts in her mind, replaying the sentence, over and over again. After a while, she smiled slightly. The sting was fading away, and was replaced by a comforted, calm feeling. She thought she was abandoned because Enigma used to like her, but eventually she became so bad he would rather let her die than suffer through her horrible habits.

In a strange way, his cruel words comforted her. It wasn't because of something she did; it was just who he was. She saw the way he treated his monsters when they didn't do something to his liking, abusive and angry. She remembered how he slapped Verdehile for using Noble Agreement and shoved Praha into a wall when she failed to get rid of the enemy's buffs.

Sometimes he would hurt her too. The scar on her back never faded away, from when she had cut herself on the rocks of the island as he held her over the island's edge, threatening to throw her off if she screwed up one more time. She remembered how she cried, but somehow recovered and became as bubbly as always. How hadn't she seen it before? He apologized after, saying he would never do it again, and she forgave him. She shouldn't have, but he seemed charming at the time, like he really cared for her.

With rose glasses on, red flags just look like flags; she told herself, reassuring that it wasn't her fault. She just loved her old home too much – how could she still call that place her home? Her new home was better, though. Sure, it didn't have the same experience that Enigma's did, but Sara was far better than he would ever be.

Scarlett turned over in bed, onto her side. She didn't want to get out of bed. Surely the island would be okay if she just stayed in bed for a little while longer, right? She felt calmer than she ever had during her new life. She had finally broke the mental block that made her forget the nice memories with Chiwu, only choosing what she wanted to remember. It wasn't all good, though.

When she first drowned, it was strange to wake up next to the side of the lake. Scarlett could see her body, just barely, at the bottom of the lake, eyes cold and lifeless. The world around her was surrounded by that hazy aura; confusing her and leaving her delirious. In the distance a girl stood, her back turned to Scarlett. Though she was wary to ask for help, as Fedora was still fresh in her mind, she knew that she had to; she was confused and had no idea what was happening to her, and maybe this girl would help.

Scarlett stood up, slowly advancing towards the girl. Her pale blonde hair was tied up into two thin pigtails, each of which held tightly together by what looked like a butterfly. One hand touched somewhere near her hip, the other dangling down, touching the tips of her dress, a similar color to her hair. She remembered this monster from Enigma's island: Neal, the light Fairy. He used her in Trial of Ascension for a few particularly difficult stages. She knew because she was there for those stages.

"Excuse me...Miss Neal...?" She asked once close enough to be heard.

"I need...help...I think I just died..." It sounded insane when she worded it like that, but she prayed it would help.

"...So." Neal responded. Her voice was barely above a whisper; high-pitched and childlike. "You're a new spirit, hmm?"

"Y-yes, and I would appreciate it if -"

"Madame Arang would love your soul." Neal cut her off before she could continue. Scarlett took a step back, and Neal finally turned to face her. That was when she realized something was very wrong with her. Her mouth was curled into a grin could looked like it could have split her skin, but her blue eyes were filled with tears, running down her face.

No, not tears.

Blood.

Scarlett's heart stopped for a moment as she took on Neal's features. The girl laughed maniacally, and more spirits suddenly surrounded Scarlett, all of which crying for release; to move on and stop the searing pain inside of them, shredding them up. Tablo, Ophilia, Hannah, Trevor, she could see all sorts of species of monsters.

"Get away from her." A voice rang out. Unlike the other monsters there, he was not crying blood; she would have mistaken him for someone alive had he not had the same glow the other spirits had. It was Chiwu, the spirit who had saved her countless times since then. They became best friends, lovers even, as he got her away from them.

"They are Malicious Ones;" He explained to Scarlett once she was far enough that they couldn't find them, "lost souls that have been corrupted by Madame Arang." Madame Arang was a half-monster half-human hybrid who died, full of hatred for life, and her spirit did not move on. Eventually, she corrupted monsters' souls and filled them with hatred, too.

Finally, as her memories ended, Scarlett sat up, smiling. It was a real smile, and warmth filled her heart. Once she had been cold and empty, but those days were over. She wanted to talk to the islanders now. The day was new, and she felt like she was a new person, all over again. It was a wondrous feeling.

"I suppose you're not coming out today, Scarlett?" Yeon huffed, standing below her window as always. Scarlett grinned widely as she opened the door. Oh, did she have a surprise for her.

"Actually, Yeon;" She started, "I think I might just!"

The look on her face was something she'd never forget.

The hot summer day blazed on, but Scarlett actually found it...fun. She and Lyn were playing together, reading aloud a terrible romantic book about a human girl and a vampire, called Twilight and making comments as they went on. Many times Scarlett found herself falling off her seat laughing at how hilariously bad the book was, coupled with the light Amazon's commentary.

""You're dangerous?" I guessed, my pulse quickening as I intuitively realized the truth of my own words. He was dangerous. Wowie Zowie, Bella! That's some intuition ya got there! It really frys my frenches!" It was at this point Lyn had to temporarily stop reading because of how hard she was laughing.

Scarlett was giggling; the choruses of their laughter pleasant to her ears. Just a week ago she would have never even dreamed of doing something like this. She never got headaches anymore, no matter how loud any of the monsters were. It was nice to just relax and laugh with friends. She had finally moved on.

But not fully.

Sometimes she found herself awake at night, thinking back to her old home. It had been a little over a few months since she had fought him off. Enigma hated all of his monsters except the very best of them all. He would…hurt the lesser monsters. The secondhand pain of all of her friends enduring his abuse hurt Scarlett, and what he said to her hurt even more.

But that's okay.

It wasn't her fault, she could accept that now. Enigma was just a terrible person. Now she was in a loving home, with a nice Summoner, Sara. Sara loved all of her monsters equally. She found good where there was none; and showed kindness when her monsters made a mistake. She would smile, laugh a little, and reassure that it was okay, everyone made mistakes.

Scarlett found comfort in fighting with her friends – she could actually call them something beyond teammates. Charlotte was always eager to give her tips and pointers on anything she wanted, but during quiet moments, she was always there to talk. Scarlett liked her very much. She liked being with Charlotte, sitting on the Surveillance Tower with her as Natalie watched over the island.

Twice a week they would return to the town in Garen Forest just to visit Lanett. Scarlett met her half-sister, Iris. She was kind to Scarlett; never judged her for her past or anything. The four of them would train most of the time, but at other times they would just talk about anything.

Most importantly, Scarlett had made new friends.

She was closest to Atenai, whom she had met that day she was to find Shiny Mythril in Mt. Runar. The two bonded over coming from a less than spectacular home. Surprisingly, she could talk to Atenai through her mind, and there she would hear her voice; soothing and calm. Scarlett remembered all the conversations she and Atenai had together.

Scarlett recounted tales from Enigma's island, and in turn Atenai would tell her about her stories, about a Summoner who neglected all but her natural five stars and only her best four stars. Atenai, not being considered one of the best of the best, was left to fend for herself. It didn't help that her island was cruel to her; they called her a budget Chasun, which, in honesty, she was.

Scarlett was the most relieved, however, to learn that she had gone through the same thing Scarlett had when she died from the neglect. She had been summoned into another island before Sara's. She refused to leave her room sometimes, not having the energy or the will to.

Atenai would get migraines sometimes. When it happened, she said; death sounded like a better option. It took her ages to recover enough to get out of bed more often than not. She liked to believe that she was doing better, but sometimes Atenai would relapse for a day or two.

Maybe she and Atenai would never move on fully.

Scarlett snapped out of her thoughts finally as lightning was spat from the Summoning Circle. Sure, it was an island chunk away, but it was so bright that no matter where you were, you could see it. The only part of her life that didn't have its loose ends tied up into a knot was her lover, Chiwu. She hadn't seen him since battling Enigma. Perhaps he was drained of energy like she had been, and was resting. When she tried to find him the mirror dimension, though, she found nothing; no trace of him.

"Oh, sounds like we've got a new arrival!" Lyn chirped, standing up and closing the book. "Wanna come watch with me?"

"Sure, why not?" Scarlett smiled, standing up with Lyn. The two headed to the Summoning Circle, where Sara stood back, eyes wide. Atenai was watching, too. She clutched a red and silver staff in her hand, a crown of a similar color resting atop her crop of blood-colored hair.

Do you have any idea who this one might be? Scarlett thought. Atenai perked up, picking up her brain waves. If she had a mouth, she would smile just a little as she responded.

No. Atenai returned with, but I hope it is my sister Delphoi. She could hear Atenai, but at the same time all was silent; all in her mind. As the lightning faded away, the silhouette of the monster revealed it was not an Undine, as Atenai and Scarlett grew to hope. No, he looked much shorter, younger, even. Something flew around his head, and Scarlett recognized it as a bird. His color scheme was revealed, and he was a fire Pioneer. Scarlett smiled wide at the sight of her love.

He looked around, confused, and in his eyes Scarlett could see the pain he was experiencing at the sound of Sara flipping out. She made her way over and held out her hand. He looked up at her, and though his eyes were wider than she remembered, they still had that familiar glint in them. A look of remembrance flashed in Chiwu's eyes.

"Welcome back, Chiwu."