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"Slow down, Flora! W-we should all stay together…!"
Flora almost takes pity on Luke; he sounds so tired, after all, and he's so much smaller than her, and he's trailing so far behind. But she has to be the first to the top of the hill, just this once. She has to spot the Thames Arms first, before anyone else is allowed to. Shoving her guilt aside, she ignores him and keeps running, despite his protests. With a burst of speed and a gasping exhale, she reaches the crest, and bends over, breathless, clutching at the stitch in her side, and gazes down the hill.
It's a breathtaking view. The river stretches out endlessly before her, and she can see the faint shapes of tall, twisted buildings on the other side. The stairway down to the docks is beautiful, too, in a wild sort of way, all overgrown with moss, the grasses and plants surrounding it growing wild and tall, barely contained by the railings. But Flora can't tear her eyes away from the lighthouse in the center of the river.
It's funny that it should catch her attention like this. It's just a small little thing, and those buildings across the river are far more foreboding. But the way it stands on its own, isolated in the middle of the rushing water… there's something intriguing about it. Something about it seems out of place, although Flora can't put a finger on what it is. She wonders if they'll get to see it up closer; if there's any mysteries lying within it.
But enough dreaming about more mysteries to solve. There's a far more urgent mission that demands her attention: the defeat of Future Layton. Flora straightens up, tucking the loose strands of hair that escaped from her ponytail behind her ears, and thinks about what will happen next. They'll arrive at the Thames Arms, and they'll find out where Future Layton is hiding. Maybe they'll have to say some sort of password or solve some sort of riddle to get the barkeep to spill his secrets. That would be fun. And then they'll find Future Layton, and then they'll defeat him, or maybe convince him to be good again, and… and…
She hasn't figured out what comes next.
She can't, really, because she doesn't know what the Future Layton is like. Is he still mostly like the professor? Is he still a gentleman at heart? Does he still love puzzles? Does he still care about Flora, or about Rosa, or about Luke's parents? Or is he a complete monster? And if he is, what made him that way? What could have twisted him into something so unlike what he used to be?
"I can hardly wait to meet him," she says quietly.
"Meet who?"
Luke's breathless voice cuts through her reverie. Flora turns. Luke stands behind her, his hands on his knees, staring up at her half-grumpily as he tries to catch his breath. "And you shouldn't run ahead so fast, Flora! What if you get lost?"
It's funny, that he doesn't want her to run ahead, when that's just what he and the professor did earlier today, when they'd left her behind at the university, when they'd taken the first opportunity to run away the moment she turned her back. But never mind that, now. Flora's mood is too high for something silly like that to bring it down. "Future Layton," she says lightly. "And I wouldn't get lost. I know what I'm doing, you know."
"I don't know, Flora," says Luke doubtfully. Then, his eyes fill with confusion. "Why would you want to meet him? He's evil, isn't he? I'm not looking forward to it at all."
Flora can understand Luke's point of view; he's known the professor far longer than she has, after all; the idea of an Evil Layton is probably too horrible for him to even want to consider. She understands him-but that won't stop her from explaining her own point of view. "Well, maybe he is." Flora shrugs. "But if he is, I want to know the reason why. There's got to be a reason." An idea lights in her mind. "He was good once, of course," she starts, her voice growing in excitement. "Maybe he can change back. Maybe we can save him."
"I'm afraid that he's beyond saving."
Flora blinks. She and Luke turn to see Big Luke coming over the crest of the hill. The older boy adjusts his cap, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. He's slightly out of breath, and Flora feels an odd bit of satisfaction that he still has trouble keeping up with her, even after all this time.
(She wonders if the Future Flora is still faster than him, too).
"He is?" asks Luke, his voice filled with disappointment.
Big Luke nods, his expression resigned, as if he'd thought about this many times before. "It's no use. You've seen the state of London." He gestures vaguely towards the buildings behind him. "All of those mob members, crawling the streets with their guns in hand. He rules the city with fear. The man he used to be is dead." His voice is distant, yet cold, and his faraway gaze has a matching iciness to it.
Flora wonders how he can be so sure.
"Have you talked to him?" Flora says the words before she can stop herself. Big Luke blinks, looking toward her, a question in his eyes. "I mean," she says, rushing to clarify, "Have you tried? Or did he… was it possible to talk to him again, and ask him why he became like this?" She stops, embarrassed; she's rambling, and she's probably annoying him...
"I… I wanted to." Big Luke avoids her gaze, turning to look over his shoulder. Flora follows his gaze; she can see the professor's top hat rising as he ascends the hill. "I can't tell you how many times I wanted to speak with him again, to get him to remember," Big Luke continues, voice quiet. "But I… I never could. He's forgotten all about me. He left me-"
He stops.
The professor's almost reached the crest of the hill.
Big Luke turns back toward Luke and Flora, his cold gaze melting away, and the calm, warm smile of earlier this afternoon appearing back in its place. "Well," he says loudly, voice cheery. "It's a good thing we have this professor with us now, isn't it? Why don't we all head down to the river now? The Thames Arms awaits."
Flora almost jumps. The shift in his demeanor is so sudden, it's almost frightening. Blinking, she looks toward Little Luke, hoping that she wasn't the only one who noticed the sudden change, but the boy has already run to the professor's side, his eyes studying the professor's face carefully. (Is he looking for any signs of evil in the professor's eyes? Is he wondering what could've changed the professor so drastically?)
"Good idea, Luke," the professor says calmly. "Let's go." He doesn't seem disturbed by Big Luke's change in attitude at all. Luke didn't seem to have noticed either, so Flora probably shouldn't be concerned either. And yet, she can't stop thinking about it.
She lets out her breath slowly, walking after the trio as they head toward the stairway. "Mind your step as you go down the stairs, everyone; the steps are rather slippery," she vaguely hears the professor say, but it's difficult to pay attention when her mind is so hard at work. She has to solve this puzzle. What could have stopped Big Luke from talking to the professor, and why did Big Luke act so differently when the professor came within earshot? It's not as if she and Luke are any more trustworthy than the professor, are they? Then, an idea dawns on her.
Could Big Luke be angry at her professor, even though he hasn't yet done anything wrong?
It's only a theory, and perhaps not a very good one. After all, Big Luke and the professor have seemed to get along quite well as far as Flora's been able to see in her short time as a part of the group. But Flora remembers what Luke had told her, when Big Luke and the professor were busy speaking to each other; the way Luke had spoken in disbelief about the way Big Luke had tested the professor's identity at the casino. "I still can't believe that he didn't believe that this was the real professor," he'd whispered furiously, loud enough that Flora wondered if Big Luke could hear him. "How could he ever doubt him?"
Something horrible must have happened to him to make his adult mind mistrust the man that he'd trusted so wholeheartedly as a child. Of course, an evil dictator ruling London would've badly affected him, as it must've affected all of the residents of this city, but it's more than that. The professor betrayed Big Luke, and then refused to ever explain why, leaving him alone.
It's awful, and Flora's heart hurts for him.
And… and yet...
(It's almost satisfying, in a way, knowing that Luke, someday, will know what it feels like for the professor to leave him behind, wanting so badly to be by his side, and yet not being able-)
(No, that's an awful thing to think. How could she think something so horrible? How-)
"Flora, is everything alright?"
Flora blinks. Big Luke stands at the top of the stairway."I just noticed that you weren't with the rest of the group," he says, inclining his head toward the stairway. "We should hurry if we want to catch up." There's an odd expression in his eyes-concern, maybe? Or something else?
Flora looks down the hill, seeing the professor and Luke at the bottom of the stairs, heading out onto the pier. "Oh. Oh, I'm okay," she says, laughing nervously, moving toward him. She hopes that Big Luke isn't mad at her for slowing him down; he'd be down there with them already if he hadn't decided to wait for her. "I was just daydreaming, I guess. Thanks for waiting for me. I'm sorry for making you come back."
"Don't apologise." Big Luke frowns, moving away from the stairway towards her. "I don't want you getting left behind."
Flora startles, then looks away, trying not to show her surprise at hearing him say that. It's so unexpected, and so different from what his younger self would say, but it's… nice, that he would come back for her.
But what made him change so much, that he'd think of coming back for her now, when he wouldn't have as a boy?
"If I may ask…" Big Luke's words cut through her thoughts. "What were you daydreaming about?" He pauses, frowning, then smiles apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't phrase that very well. But, well… you haven't stopped talking or asking questions since we met, so I was curious about what caught your attention."
Has… has she really been talking that much? Flora's face burns. "I'm sorry; I hope I wasn't being annoying," she starts, staring into the ground, too mortified to look him in the eye. If he already thinks she's annoying, then she's ruined things already, but maybe she can justify herself a little bit. "I'm just so excited by everything. I-I've barely been able to explore present London, so I'm just so excited…"
"No, no, it's fine!" Big Luke's smile vanishes, his eyes getting that odd concerned look once again. "I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's… it's honestly rather refreshing, seeing somebody with so much curiosity. My own love for the city has faded over the years, so answering your questions has sort of, well… reminded me of why I'm so desperate to save the place."
"Really?" Maybe he's only saying it to be nice, but Flora can't restrain a hopeful smile.
"Really." Luke smiles back, though there's some hesitance behind it "Go on. Ask me a question about London. Anything."
Flora notes the "about London" condition. So, no asking about his falling-out with the professor, then. She's a little disappointed, but the chance to ask him a question about London with a you're-not-annoying-me-guarantee is too good to pass up. But now, her mind is drawing a blank. Why is it that, whenever you're given a chance to ask a question, you can't think of anything, and then as soon as the chance is gone, you think of a thousand questions?
She looks around, desperately searching for something to ask about. Then, her eyes fall upon the lighthouse again. That's it! Maybe he knows something about it, why it seems so strangely out of place.
"I was actually wondering about that lighthouse," she starts tentatively. "It's kind of odd, isn't it?"
"Is it?" Luke's polite smile doesn't waver, but something in his eyes changes, just for a second. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well… there don't seem to be a lot of ships around," Flora says, thinking out loud. "This is a pier, but I haven't seen anyone sailing into port. Does it even get used for anything?"
"Just because you don't see any ships now doesn't mean there won't be any at all," Luke starts, and Flora thinks that he sounds almost defensive. But then he stops, shrugging, his expression easing. "But you're right, actually. This is more of a scenic area than anything; there isn't much shipping that goes on at this particular port."
"Then what's it for?"
"Some say that it's a symbol of the Thames," he says, gesturing vaguely towards the river.
Flora looks down into the river, hoping that something in the water will clarify his cryptic answer for her. It doesn't. "What does that even mean?" she asks, looking back toward him in confusion. "I thought you were going to give me a real answer."
To her surprise, Big Luke laughs. "I should have known better than to try being vague with you, shouldn't I?" he says, smiling broadly. "Very well. To be honest, almost nobody around here truly knows what that lighthouse is for. You're right; it's really not positioned well to guide ships. But to me… well." His laughter dies away, and his smile fades to a small smirk. "It's a symbol to me. But I'm not sure if you'd understand what the symbol represents. It's quite… esoteric."
"I could try to understand, if you'd give me a chance." Flora doesn't know why, but she feels like she's on the verge of learning something very important, and she desperately wants to know what it is.
"Well…" A conflicted expression crosses Luke's face. Then, it passes; he shrugs, turning toward the lighthouse once again. "It represents justice, to me."
It's funny, how very different he sounds when he says that word.
"But I can't explain why, at the moment," he continues. "That's all I can tell you for now. I'm sorry if I couldn't answer you quite as well as you wanted; you picked a difficult question."
"No, that's alright." Flora bites her lip; she feels like she's so close to learning something, and now she's losing her chance. Is the lighthouse connected with the professor somehow? Did something happen there? But somehow, she can't think of a question innocuous enough to ask him without seeming like she's prying too deeply. She may like to overshare about her past, but she knows that Luke isn't like her; he likes to keep the things that hurt him locked deep in his heart, where nobody else can see them. "Thank you for answering," she says, finally, heart sinking as she gives up on asking anything else. " I… I suppose they're going to get quite far ahead of us if we don't run after them now."
"Ah. You're right." Luke blinks, as if waking himself from a trance. He turns to her, a quiet smile on his face. "Undoubtedly they've found a few puzzles to solve along the way, though." He chuckles again. "But still, we should try to avoid being left behind."
The two of them take a few steps toward the stairway, but then, Luke slows, then stops entirely. "They… we did that to you quite often, didn't we?" His voice sounds odd, as if something shocking is suddenly dawning on him.
Flora blinks. "Did what?"
"Left you behind." Luke's stare is faraway; he gazes over the river, his eyes not focusing on anything in particular. "How often did we do that to you?"
The guilt of her earlier satisfaction hits her again. "O-oh, it doesn't happen that often," Flora starts hesitantly; Luke shouldn't have to feel bad on her account, not after all the horrible things that have undoubtedly happened to him. Being left behind now and then is hardly comparable to having your best friend turn into a person that you don't recognize. "And they don't mean anything by it. I mean, I am slower than them, as… as you've seen already," she says, laughing nervously. "I just get lost in my daydreams, I guess. And the professor… I think he worries about anything happening to me. And you-I mean, Little Luke is just a little boy; he doesn't think about how it… it hurts my feelings, sometimes. Just a little bit."
She's rambling again…
"So it is quite often," says Luke, half to himself. He shakes his head. "Well. That explains why I couldn't learn anything about… well. It explains things."
Flora looks at him, confused. "What things?"
"Well, it explains why I didn't expect you to come on this adventure." Luke frowns, crossing his arms. "The professor and I went on so many adventures together, and I'd forgotten the reason why you weren't a part of so many of them."
"W-well, I couldn't have come on some of the adventures," Flora says defensively. "I couldn't have done anything when I was in the tower. You and the professor had so many adventures even before meeting me."
"But there were others that you could have gone on, and yet you didn't, because we didn't let you." Luke pauses, then smiles grimly. "I suppose we're quite similar, but you've had it worse than me, in this respect."
"What do you mean?"
"I suppose I had this selfish idea that I was the only one that the professor ever abandoned," says Luke, his hand coming up to his chin, his eyes narrowing in thought. "But you face on a daily basis what I faced only once." He smiles sadly. "Well. It's interesting to know that I'm not the only one who's felt this way before. But it's a sad thing for us to have in common. Especially knowing that I was once the professor's partner in crime, in making you feel that way." He laughs humourlessly. "I should have noticed our similarities long ago. You've opened my eyes, Flora."
Somehow, Flora doesn't like the comparison between her smiling, kind, emotionally distant, but loving professor leaving her alone now and then, and Big Luke's horrible, twisted version of the professor leaving him alone forever."Well, I think the situations are quite different!" She turns to him, balling her fists. "He doesn't mean to hurt me, but he meant to hurt you. And he always comes back to me in the end. He isn't perfect, but he tries."
Somehow, though, Luke's words make her uncomfortable. Is… is the professor still there, down below on the pier, where she'd seen him before? Or did he disappear? What if… what if he dies, or disappears, or leaves her behind, and then she's lost in the future forever?
What if whatever happened to him to make him betray Luke happens now, and he betrays her too? And then… and then she'll be all alone...
"Flora?" Luke's voice sounds concerned, but so far away. "Flora, are you alright?"
They have to catch up with him.
Flora runs toward the stairway.
She hears Luke say something, his voice filled with alarm, but it doesn't matter what she says; she has to find the professor; she has to make sure he's alright…
Her foot slips.
For one terrifying moment, Flora teeters above the stairway. Everything seems to move in slow motion…
A hand grabs her arm.
"Flora, it's alright." Luke pulls her down until they're both seated on the stairway. "There's no need to run; the professor's fine." His voice is far calmer than her own emotional state, but there's something odd in his eyes again… concern? Or regret? "You don't need to worry."
Flora's hands are shaking, and her face is burning, because she'd made a scene, and she'd stupidly almost fallen to her death, and Big Luke must be remembering all of the reasons why he'd always wanted to leave her at home, and why she should never be allowed on any adventure, because she always daydreams, and she always panics, and she always does things like this, and gets in the way, and she needs to calm down, but she can't help but stutter out, "B-but the professor… he… he left you behind, didn't he? What if… what if-"
"He's right there, Flora; don't worry. He's fine. Look." Luke stands, not letting go of her hand, and guides her to her feet. He points over the railing, and Flora looks where he's pointing. The professor is there, and so is Luke, at the edge of the dock, talking to somebody. They haven't gone too far ahead. They're both there. They're safe.
Then, she realizes that Luke is still talking, a funny sort of desperation in his voice."...and since he's here, helping us, I doubt that your professor will follow the same dark path that mine did. Don't worry, alright? Now, take my arm, won't you? We'll join them together."
"But what if he does? What if he does abandon us?" It's a stupid question, but Flora can't help but long for Luke's calm reassurance.
"Well, I'm a gentleman now, Flora." Luke gently links his arm with hers. "Even if he leaves you, I'll make sure you don't get left behind again; you can rely on that promise." He gives her a smile, hesitant, but warm, and Flora tries to match it.
As they walk down the stairs, Flora clings to his arm. She doubts that she'd fall again now, now that she's not panicking anymore, but she likes the warmth and the realness of being so close to him. She's grateful that he'd do this for her. As they approach the bottom, she looks up toward his face, giving him one more hesitant smile.
He isn't looking at her anymore.
She wonders why his eyes are still locked on the lighthouse.