Chapter Text
Luke's eyes blinked open. He didn't know how long he was asleep for, but he wasn't angry anymore. His chest felt hollow and everything else felt simply crummy. At least his mind was clearer now.
I need to apologize. It had to be an amazing apology, too. He had a lot more than the fight to apologize for.
“I don't know what to do,” Luke said, then decided to do something a bit silly that he hadn't done since he was a kid. He held up his bear above his face. “Do you have any ideas, Mr. Bear?”
There was no spoken answer, of course; he wasn't a real bear. Although, looking into his button eyes stirred a memory, from just before Luke didn't feel the need to carry Mr. Bear everywhere. One of the extremely few times his parents fought, when his dad had bought a cake from the market bakery. They had it for dessert that night and they had made up. It was safe to assume there were details missing, but he had an idea.
“I think there was a stand selling cake slices,” he recalled. “Maybe they have apple cake.”
Flora had attempted to make that kind of cake recently. It was… better than her last attempt at baking. Significantly less dry and the frosting wasn't as thick. She was very excited about it, too.
“I need to get changed first,” Luke decided, hoping the dress's zipper wouldn't stick again. Honestly, he really didn't mind wearing it (except for the lace) and preferred it to normal pants, but he still wanted to go back to his button up shirt, blue sweater, and hat.
He placed Mr. Bear on his bed and retrieved his usual outfit from his suitcase. Turning around, clothes in arms, he saw the full scope of the mess he'd made. Aside from a couple of pillows thrown across the room, the sheets and blankets he'd pulled were piled between the two beds. Cleaning up would have to wait until later; apologizing was more important.
Then Luke's eyes drifted to something on the nightstand: Flora's red ribbon. He'd have to put it in his bag; it was her favorite, after all. He walked into the bathroom to change but didn't bother closing the door in absence of anyone else. The zipper didn't catch this time, fortunately, and he was relieved feeling his familiar button up and soft sweater.
However, when it was time to put on his hat, he hesitated. A gentleman was never seen without his hat, but Luke didn't feel it was right to call himself one. He slipped it into his bag along with the ribbon.
“I'll be back later, Mr. Bear,” Luke said before leaving.
-----
It took a while, and asking a few people for directions, to find the cake stand he'd noticed. It also took a good few minutes to get to the front of the line, but it gave him plenty of time to read the menu. They had apple cake. While waiting, he noticed that while most people walked away with their cake on paper plates, a few had small cake boxes with the bakery logo stamped on.
“What would you like?” A lady with twin buns and a lavender apron asked when it was his turn.
“Two slices of apple cake, please,” Luke requested.
“For now or later?”
“Later.” That explained the difference. The sounds of folding a box could be heard as he handed over the payment.
“Thank you,” she said. “Here you go!”
“Thank you,” Luke replied with a nod. “Have a nice day.”
“You too! Enjoy the festival!” The lady grinned. “Next!”
It was time to figure out where Flora would go. There was a good chance she would just wander around, but it was just as likely she went to the museum. There was no way to know for certain. The only option was to ask around, hoping someone saw her. He just had to remember she was still wearing most of her disguise.
Around him, people were having a great time, enjoying the games, food, and buying dolls and plushies. The decorations were very colorful and cute. Luke took it in for a moment. Before, the festival felt like an exciting blur. Now, it was more like walking in a moment before a big change. It was a feeling he'd gotten familiar with since becoming Professor Layton's apprentice. However, it usually came before the Professor revealed everything.
Focus, he reminded himself, looking around again with more intent, eventually deciding to approach someone in a red sweater who was digging through their purse.
“Excuse me, have you seen a girl with a low, brown ponytail and a green dress?”
“I don't think so. Are you lost?” she asked in a patronizing tone that he hadn't heard in a while, but still despised.
“ No , I'm not. Thank you anyway,” Luke responded, not wanting to be rude. Asking other people just got him either ‘no’ or ‘maybe but they couldn't remember which direction she went.’
He stopped by an alley to take a short break and couldn't help but overhear a very… lively conversation.
“-like it's actually helping!”
“It's slow but-”
“Because he made it so it goes through him so he can take credit, then charges-”
“Calm down, both of you, there's a kid watching,” the quiet one harshly said, gesturing towards Luke. The other twos’ eyes landed on him for a moment. “Do you need something?”
Well, might as well try. “I'm looking for my friend. She has wavy brown hair in a low ponytail, and she's wearing a green dress.”
They all thought for a moment then the man who was shouting answered. “I think I saw someone like that with Anthony earlier.”
“Really? Where?”
“Um… I think it was close to the museum… wait, yeah, it was.”
“Thank you!” Luke gleefully said before running off. He remembered the important parts of the roundabout way he and Flora had taken. This wouldn't take much time at all!
-----
Luke slowed down as he turned the final corner, and stopped when he saw Diana getting out of a black car. She didn't look particularly happy.
“What's wrong, Miss Quisli?” he asked after catching up. She jumped a bit in surprise. “Sorry.”
“It's alright, um… Luke?” she guessed.
“Yes.”
“To answer your first question… It's complicated… Sometimes you make a mistake and don't realize it until it's too late.”
“Really?” He was expecting to be told it's grown up things he shouldn't worry about.
“Yes, but my decisions aren't any of your concern,” Diana said. “Where's your friend?”
“We had a fight and I want to apologize. Someone said he saw her with Anthony around here,” Luke explained.
“Oh my g- I think I know exactly where they are,” she sighed.
“Where?” He perked up a little.
“The archive,” Diana answered. “So the cake stays in the box.”
“I promise it will.”
“Then let's go.”
-----
The beheaded doll was still where it was the previous night. There were two pieces of paper laid out on the table. The small, almost new one from the secret compartment and the large, old one, which was slightly more detailed but equally nonsensical to Flora.
“Do you see it?” Anthony asked.
“Not really,” she admitted.
“Fair enough. So, the paths look similar and the location of the mine kinda matches where the diamond is,” they explained. “I think my brain is a bit too fried to figure out exactly where it is right now, but we know it's in Poppeton! …Probably the forest.”
They were right. “It could be the forest,” Flora agreed.
“Yeah, but we won't know until Diana gets back,” they responded. “...I need to sit down.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, just really tired. Anyway, uh… do you two have any leads on finding Professor Layton?”
“I might, but I'd rather tell Luke first, if that's alright.” Even if she was upset with him, that'd be a very ridiculous reason to not share information relating to why they were here in the first place.
“That's fine. Just tell me if you need a driver,” Anthony said.
“Since we'll most likely have to do a breakout, I think we will,” Flora said.
“Oooo, I'll be a getaway driver. I promise to get enough sleep.”
“Thank you.”
The sound of a couple of people walking up the stairs got their attention. The door opened, and there was Diana, who looked annoyed, probably because Anthony was supposed to wait before showing anybody the maps. Behind her was Luke, and Flora found that seeing him didn't bring back any of the frustration from earlier. He had changed back into his normal outfit, minus his hat oddly enough, and he was holding a small, white box. Neither of them said anything and Luke was avoiding eye contact.
“ Anthony. ”
“Did the meeting go well?” they asked, avoiding the obvious.
“You- It certainly could have been worse,” Diana answered. “Let me see the maps.”
Flora carefully slid them over as the two newcomers took their seats. Luke put the box on the table, which allowed her to see a bakery stamp, and pulled out his notebook and pen. He started sketching something while Diana went over the maps.
After a few minutes, she reached her conclusion. “It's not a match.”
“ What ?” they all said in unison.
“It's definitely somewhere in the woods, but the house would have been recorded,” she explained.
“I was so sure ,” Anthony groaned.
“I know, I'm sorry, and I'm letting you off early so you can take a nap,” Diana stated.
“Alright, after I put up all these maps.”
“I can do that myself,” she assured them.
“Okay.” They stood up and stretched. “I'll look again tomorrow.”
“No, that's your day off. I can double check everything as I'm cleaning up. Luke… Flora, this will honestly be pretty boring, so feel free to leave.”
“We could help,” Luke offered.
“It'll be faster if I do it. I already know how everything is sorted,” Diana responded. She was being very adamant about this.
“If you're sure,” Flora said. The two of them needed to talk anyway. “Let’s go, Luke.”
“...Alright.” He closed his notebook and put it back in his bag.
“Wait for me,” Anthony said.
After getting outside, they wished Flora and Luke luck and went home, leaving the two of them alone on the sidewalk. There was more silence, and it looked like she was going to have to break it since he was staring at the ground. She could either mention her lead or ask about the bakery box.
Flora leaned down and whispered, “I have an idea of who kidnapped the Professor.”
Luke's head shot up. “Who?”
“The mayor,” she answered. “If he finds the Mollif house then he could prove he's from the family. I also found out from Lilia that he was seen with the same brutes that chased us from the general store.”
“That would make sense…” Luke paused for a moment to think. “I have an idea. We need a map and some birds. Also…”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to have a picnic?” He held up the box. “I got cake.”
“Oh!” That's what was in there.
“It'd be after asking the birds for help, but-”
“I'd love to have a picnic,” Flora answered. This seemed to be part of his apology. She noticed a slight sigh of relief from him. “What is your plan, exactly?”
“Well…”
-----
After getting a spare map from a tourist, the two of them came across black birds enjoying festival food that had been dropped on the ground.
“Are they crows or ravens?” Flora asked.
“Definitely crows. The ends of their tails are square,” Luke explained. Honestly either would've been perfect. “Can you hold the cake, please?”
“Mhm.” She carefully took the box.
Luke already had experience explaining maps to animals, and corvids were very intelligent birds. He pulled a few hint coins out of a pouch in his bag as extra incentive. He also took out his notebook and walked over to the small murder. “Hello.”
A few looked over at him.
“Could you help me with something?” he asked.
“Have you seen him before?” one asked another.
“Nope, never.”
“I'm from London,” Luke explained, fully getting their attention.
“You heard them?” A third crow was incredulous.
“Yes, I can understand animals.”
“Interesting.”
“I guess,” Luke responded. “Are you all familiar with this area?”
“Yes, do you need directions?” Back to the first.
“Not exactly.” He laid out the map on the ground. The more residential areas weren't very detailed but the mayor's house was pretty clearly indicated. “I think my friend is here.”
“Big stone box,” a fourth crow commented.
“I was thinking you could look in the windows-”
“Windows?” The third asked.
“Empty spots you can't go through,” Luke clarified.
“We hate those.”
“I understand. I don't want you to hit your head, just look and keep an eye out for something like this.” He pulled out a sliding block puzzle he'd been messing with before all of this happened. He had a feeling that no matter who was responsible, they’d have some security. Next, he turned to a notebook page with a doodle of the Professor. “Or someone like this. He's my friend.”
They all chattered, overlapping in such a way that Luke could tell they were deliberating on what to do, but not understand any specific words or phrases.
“I can give you some shiny coins if you do it.” He opened his hand for them to see.
“SHINY COINS!” the fourth crow exclaimed.
“We'll look for the tall hat man,” the first promised.
“Thank you! Oh, and I have a question.”
The second crow responded this time. “What is it?”
“Are there any good spots in the forest?”
“THE SHINY HOLE! THE SHINY HOLE!” The fourth crow again.
“It's about here, I think.” The first crow pecked a small hole in the map. “A fairly straight walk from old wood.”
“Okay,” Luke acknowledged. They probably meant either an old tree or a sign. “I'll give you the coins when you get back from the mayor's house.”
“Understood! We'll check for you at the shiny hole first,” the third said.
Luke nodded. “I need to go, thank you again.”
The murder flew off and Luke went back to Flora. “I got their help.” Out of habit, his hand moved to grab his hat brim, only to be reminded it wasn't there.
“That’s great!” she responded.
“They also told me about a great picnic spot in the forest,” he added. The walk would give him plenty of time to apologize. He'd been going over it in his head and hoped it would come out right.
“Really?”
“Mhm, it's called the ‘shiny hole.’” Luke held out his hands for the cake box.
“That sounds interesting.”
-----
The faint remains of a very old path completely tapered off into tall grass just past the sign Luke heard about from one of the crows. The wood was now unreadable, but likely once had directions. It had been interesting to see him use his ability with animals other than the local strays and pets. Although, he was back to being quiet for the first few minutes of their walk.
She heard him take a deep breath. “Flora.”
“Yes?”
“I'm really sorry about what I said, and for treating you like a fragile treasure. I really don't want you to get hurt when I could do something, but how we've been going about it isn't fair to you. You've been doing your best, and I really couldn't have done this without you,” Luke started. “And I'm sorry about getting mad at you for having fun. I think I was… a little bit… jealous that you could enjoy this, and I thought I had to handle this like… um… I'm sorry.”
“I forgive you,” Flora said. “I don't think anybody could handle this like the Professor.”
“I know,” he responded, disappointed. “I thought I should try since it might be my fault, and I’m his apprentice.”
“What do you mean it’s your fault?” That certainly wasn't the case. This was probably the mayor's fault!
“Well, maybe if I hadn't followed the Professor he wouldn't have gotten kidnapped,” Luke explained.
Oh. Come to think of it, there were definitely signs about how much this situation was getting to him. Flora had taken him at his word that he was fine, and mostly brushed off everything else.
He attempted to change the subject. “Anyway, do you think we're getting close? We've been walking for a bit and I haven't seen anything very shiny.”
“I'm sorry I didn't realize how upset you were,” Flora said.
“What? You don't have to apologize, I-”
“We're friends. I should have noticed,” she insisted.
“I should've kept a clear mind in the first place.” He really wanted to blame himself for some reason.
“Luke, You apologized for what you did wrong. Let me do the same.”
“...Okay. I forgive you.”
“And this isn't your fault. You've been doing your best, too.”
Luke stopped walking, and Flora looked back at him after a couple steps. Tears were starting to roll down his cheeks. “What's wrong?”
He shifted the cake box to one arm and wiped his tears away with the other sleeve. “N-nothing!”
“Luke…”
“I mean it this time.”
“Are you sure?” Flora didn't want to continue doing something she just apologized for.
“Yes! They're good tears, I think.” He was looking her in the eye. “I'm okay.”
“That's good,” she said, relaxing a little.
“By the way, how did you know I was referring to the Professor earlier?” Luke asked, continuing the walk.
“You're his apprentice, it was obvious,” Flora explained. Not to mention they were usually inseparable.
“Oh.”
“I was wondering, why aren't you wearing your hat? I thought a gentleman isn't seen without one,” she gently teased, though she was actually curious.
“Um… I wasn't feeling like much of a gentleman earlier,” he confessed. “It's in my bag.”
“I see.” That made some sense.
“Your ribbon is in there, too.”
“You brought my ribbon?”
“I thought you might want it,” he explained.
“Thank you!” Flora said. “That's very sweet of you.”
“It's what a gentleman does,” Luke stated with a slight smile.
She giggled in response then looked forward. “I think there's a break in the trees up ahead.”
“I think you're right,” Luke agreed.
They walked faster, not wanting to trip on any tree roots. The break was a large clearing with a hole as wide as a house in the center. Fortunately, there was a ring of grass that was wide enough and had a couple of large rocks for them to comfortably sit for the picnic. Before they did, they approached the hole and looked into it.
“Woah,” they said in unison upon seeing why it was dubbed the ‘shiny hole.’ Pink and purple crystals that resembled the one in the doll lined the inside starting part way down. The lower ones almost seemed to be glowing, but the bottom couldn't be seen.
“It's really deep…” Luke took a few steps back.
“I've never seen a hole this big,” Flora added.
“Do you think it's a sink- wait…” There was a rustle as the box was put down on a rock and he walked closer to her, digging through his bag and holding something out. “Here's your ribbon.”
She turned to face him and took the ribbon. “Thank you.” She pulled out her hair tie and began gathering her hair into its usual high ponytail.
The light blue of his hat caught her attention, it seemed Luke was feeling like a gentleman again. Flora could almost see the gears turning in his head.
“Look.” He held up his notebook, revealing that while Diana was examining the maps, he'd been sketching rough copies of them. They had even less detail but could still be understood, well, at least by them. The specific thing he was drawing attention to was the house in the middle of the trees.
“Oh!” The realization clicked and it was time to tie the bow. “I see!”
Luke grinned. “And the mines must be for the crystals!”
“And the entrance does look close on the map,” Flora noted, joining the excitement and finishing her hair.
“Mhm!”
“This calls for cake!” she declared.
“Absolutely! Let's eat!” Luke led the short distance to the rock he put the cake on.
They got situated, took out the provided forks, and decided who got which slice. Luke insisted that Flora should have the one with more icing.
“This is really good!” she said. Maybe she could ask the baker for advice after all of this was resolved.
“It's delicious!” he agreed, then paused for a moment. “Flora?”
“Yes?”
“I promise that the next time we have an investigation, I'll ask the Professor to let you join,” he said.
She blinked in surprise and smiled. “I'd love that.”
Luke smiled back and they enjoyed the cake until cawing came from overhead. The group of crows he'd talked to had returned and landed in front of them.
“One at a time, please,” he requested. “What did you see?”
The crow at the front of the group responded.
“I'll get them out as you explain.” Luke reached for his bag.
-----
Hershel would be the first to admit this wasn't exactly his best plan, being crafted on extremely short notice, but evidently Mr. Dilue hadn't caught on that he didn't actually know where the house was. He supposed there were worse places to be held than a second floor bedroom locked by puzzles out of his reach, though that only barely helped the situation. There was no way for him to find out the extent of Luke's injuries, and Flora would surely be worried. Hopefully, he wasn't so hurt that he couldn't get back to his flat. Hershel wasn't sure what he would do if he was.
He needed to keep a clear mind. There had to be another way out. If worse came to worse, there was always the conspicuous method of breaking the window. Speaking of which, Hershel was snapped out of his thoughts by cawing. A small murder of crows had arrived and seemed… excited, perhaps, when they spotted him. It was a bit strange.
Unless, of course, someone had asked them to find him, someone who could understand crows. Which logically meant Luke had somehow found his way to Poppeton. There was a good chance Flora was here, too, though that wasn't a certainty.
The crows flew off and the room returned to silence.