#vibing in a trustless world

[islaytonlost]

Three's a crowd

For a prompt by @madmaxou. This is a four part series. First Part, Second Part, Fourth Part

This Chapter contains: Hospitals, amnesia, siblingly saddy sad.

Disclamer: I am no professional in writing OSDD. Please do not use my fanfic to shape your views on the real world.

The newbie had kept insisting his name was Drew until the hospital staff started using that name. Much to the annoyance of Al and Fendi. Worse, he was rejecting any visits from anyone from work. Especially Lucy. 

They’d located his family, well Flora. She was the only one not off on an adventure in America. Drew said he’d talk to her. That she could help him. 

“Uhm, last time I saw you your name wasn’t Drew though. Even when we first met.”

“No, I'm like Alfendi’s guard, I protect him. When people turn nasty I protect him and then I leave. I’m out now so I need to protect him but I don’t know where the danger is!”

“Am I the danger?” Flora asks.

“No! You’re my sister and my friend! You’re my only friend right now.”

Flora smiles at him, so very brightly, “That’s so nice of you! So you want me to help you find the danger?”

“Yes!” 

“Oh, okay,” she folds her hands in her lap, “look Alfendi hasn’t spoken to me in a while I don’t know a lot.”

I told you we should have written. Al sighs, we really messed this up.

Oh right, after everyone turned their backs on us we should have written! It was her job to contact us!

They both pause for a second. 

I think we forgot to send her a christmas card before Forbodium and then after, when we got it, we never wrote back because I was scared she’d react like everyone else.  Al admits.

So like Hershal Layton we forgot her.

Yeah.

Fendi began making anguished noises, noises Drew was either ignoring or completely oblivious to. 

Flora finished summarising what she knew about him being shunned and the mystery room, “I tried writing but you never wrote back, I assumed you were busy. I didn't know there were more than one of you.”

“Do you think there’s someone else like me?” Drew leans forward, “someone who isn’t Alfendi? Someone who helps him like I do?”

“Yeah! Maybe. I really don’t know.”

“I’m sorry I, well he, never responded to your letters.”

“No it’s fine I heard some stuff from Katrielle. Lucy sent her letters.”

“Katrielle is my sister and Lucy is my coworker.”

“Could you talk to Lucy?”

“No she’s my coworker, last time I trusted one of those he shot me.”

Ohhh so that’s where Forbodium went. Fendi interjects.

Wait, the memories we’re missing go somewhere? Fendi, I don’t remember before Hershal.

I do, not all of it but I do. We’re screwed.

“I think he was using me for something, I don’t fully know it’s all foggy but I can’t trust her.”

Flora’s silent for a full minute, “I’ll talk to her, I’ll talk to all your coworkers and I’ll make sure none of them hurt you.”

“No! It could be dangerous. I may have to protect Alfendi but I want to protect you too!”

“But I’m older.”

“You buffoon, being older means nothing, I’m stronger.”

Flora smirks slightly, “alright! I’ll arm wrestle you for it.”

“Arm skills don’t work well against a knife, or a gun.”

“You’re just worried I’ll win,” she teases.

Drew couldn’t help but smile, “fine, you’re on.”

Flora won, of course she won, in her spare time she went on secret adventures. Ones that involved a lot of climbing and Alfendi/Drew had been stabbed.

“Please, be careful. They’re dangerous! You’re the only person I can trust. I can’t do this alone!”

Flora smiled but there was something sad in her eyes, “okay before I leave how about a story.”

He snorts, “I’m not a kid.”

“Do you know how the Professor adopted me?”

“No.”

Flora sat on the bed, with her brother, giving him a soft smile she began, “well my father was a great inventor and he knew my mum was going to die. So he tried to make her into a robot, in fact he made a whole village of robots just to look after me. I grew up around clockwork people, all obsessed with puzzles.”

“Like Hershel.”

“That’s probably why he came, yes,” she chuckled, “but he didn't know they were clockwork, no one did. Now, I know it’s different, very different from your childhood,” she reaches out for his hand and gives it a squeeze, “but I grew up around people I could trust and it’s a good thing. I trust the people around me.”

“No! You don’t understand they tried to kill me!”

“I don’t understand, not really but I have been kidnapped, twice. I know you cant trust everyone Drew but you know something? Most of the time you can. Don’t go following anyone into a dark alleyway and people aren’t always what they seem but if I hadn’t trusted Luke and the Professor I wouldn't be here. If we hadn't trusted you when-”

“Don’t talk about it,” his voice was stern, “please, don’t talk about when I was adopted.”

“Okay, I’m just saying, trusting you is the best thing we could have done and now, I still trust people. I trust them all the time. I trust them not to run me over when I cross the road, I trust them not to steal my luggage when I get on the train and leave it in the baggage area.”

“That’s different! There are witnesses.”

Flora holds back a chuckle, he was deadly serious after all, “so I’ll talk to them near witnesses.”

“I can't trust your judgement now, you’re too trusting.”

“We can both talk to them near witnesses.”

“What if they follow me back? What if they wait until there are no witnesses? Justin did.”

Flora hesitates, “Drew, you’re scared. Please, you have to trust someone or you’ll be like this forever. I’ll protect you, can you trust that?”

“Yes, but I’m telling you, one of them is out to get me! Just like Justin was! I know he isn’t the only one!”