Chapter Text
Edgar felt happier than ever being with his surrogate sisters. He held onto shopping bags that belonged to himself and the girls. Despite his slight build, everyone was always impressed with his inhuman strength.
A tinge of sadness hit him when he saw his younger sister for a split second. He hadn't seen her in six years and the guilt was killing him.
"Edgar! Let's have lunch!" The author looked up and away from his thoughts towards the redhead yelling for his name. From beside his head, he hears Karl's stomach growl.
"What are you two thinking of having?" Edgar asked as he passed over Louisa and Lucy's respective shopping bags.
"I was thinking sushi," Louisa said softly as she opened one of her shopping bags. She maneuvered the books she bought so that they weren't so cluttered. "Oh, I forgot. I got something for Karl." The strategist pulled out a silk purple bowtie gingerly. The raccoon jumped from his owner's shoulders and onto the bench beside them.
Gingerly Louisa wrapped the bow tie around Karl's neck. "Awe! Karl, you are so cute!" Lucy giggled as Karl wiggled at the new feeling around his neck. "Are you going to cry, Eddie?" Lucy asked teasingly to the author who looked close to tears. Edgar avoided eye contact. Yes, truthfully he felt tears threatening to spill. He loved seeing his oldest friend in such a cute outfit.
As if sensing the distress Karl jumped from the bench and back onto Edgar. The raccoon curled up incredibly close to the author and started purring. Lucy and Louisa watched with wide smiles as Edgar faltered and rubbed his face against Karl's furry one.
"Thank you, Karl." Edgar whispered.
"Yes, sushi sounds wonderful." Lucy said to Louisa with a smile. "Let's go!" She exclaimed.
"Then let's us go." Edgar spoke with some slight hoarseness. The two younger girls joined his side as they walked down the street looking for a place to eat sushi. People of all ages decorated the streets. People were shopping, eating, or working.
Francis had granted for the entire Guild to take a day off, and to spend time decompressing. Since they were defeated the man had become more soft and considerate of others. Most had attributed that change to Louisa.
Francis had quite the soft spot for Louisa.
Lucy has proposed that the three of them go out and shop. It had been a long time since the three of them had spent any time since the defeat at the hands of the Armed Detective Agency and Port Mafia. Since everything happened with Fyodor and the Hunting Dogs they had gotten closer with the agency.
Edgar felt his heart jump. His fingers moved so that he could feel the promise ring on his ring finger. The face of the egotistical detective was clear in his mind. Ranpo had supposedly died for a second during that time and it had given Edgar a scare so bad he distanced himself from everyone.
It took Ranpo and Francis weeks to prove to him that his fear of being at fault for everyone's death. Even still he believed that his ability was the reason everyone he cared for died. Ranpo had no actual ability and that scared Edgar dearly. Since those interactions, he and Ranpo had gotten so much closer and now they were an item.
Edgar couldn't have been happier.
"What the hell!?" Lucy's voice broke the author from his thoughts once again. On the other side of the street was a girl being pulled by some man. She was being kidnapped, that was obvious. Others tried to follow after but the man who had the child had a gun; threatening to shoot anyone.
"Oh no!" Louisa dropped her bags and almost ran out into the street until she was pulled back and Karl was pushed into her arms. Lucy called out with fear evident in her voice. Karl scrambled desperately after suddenly being pushed into the arms of Louisa.
Edgar was already halfway across the street with intent in his heeled steps. It always amazed the Guild when he would perform such feats in high heels. Margaret once commented on being jealous about it. The girls followed after leaving their shopping bags behind. Louisa kept a tight but not suffocating grip on Karl.
Edgar grabbed the man by the arm who lost his grip on the child and raised his gun. His surrogate sisters screamed for him. Lucy cursed as she began to flare up her ability to stop things from being even worse.
The little girl was grabbed once again just as the man's gun was placed right at Edgar's chest. The crowd around them was in disarray, and everyone was scared even to move. With chaotic movements, the man pulled the little girl's arm.
Louisa grabbed onto Lucy's arm. "Don't use your ability! Look there!" The strategist pulled on the redhead and pointed to the little one who was getting pulled around as the two men fought. Edgar was desperately trying to get the little away from the man. It was then that Lucy saw the specks of pink coming from the little girl.
"Edgar! The girl has an ability!"
Lucy cursed herself for yelling but Edgar needed to know if he went further with this. The author perked up as he threw the man down and once again the little girl was let go. The gun the man had had been thrown to the ground. Unexpectedly the man had a knife and went to stab Edgar.
Just as Lucy was about to use her ability now that she saw her surrogate brother's life was in danger a puff of pink smoke appeared suddenly. The little girl was curled up against a police officer who had arrived suddenly. Lucy and Louisa stepped forward. Karl wiggled and got himself out of the strategist's arms and she called for him as he ran to where Edgar was.
The pink settled and the man's once middle-aged appearance had turned to a man of old age. Edgar on the other hand was nowhere to be found. A large coat was on the ground where a lump was. The crowd was loud but police surrounded the area to stop things from getting too chaotic.
Louisa and Lucy didn't care for the police who called for them to stop. Karl was grabbed by Louisa and she hugged him close to her chest. A police officer came in their direction yelling just as Lucy lifted the coat to reveal a child...?
A boy to be exact with curly and messy hair. Wide violet and gray eyes that looked glossy and scared. The child yelped when confronted with Lucy's face.
The girls couldn't help but yell, "Edgar!?" The child jumped and grabbed onto the coat on top of him and made it cover him completely once again. This child, Edgar was so small and pale. Scared and shy beyond belief the girls couldn't imagine this was Edgar who had always been tall and had been a big brother to them.
"Hey! You two!" Lucy stood up in front of Louisa. The strategist stood back and kneeled on the coat. She saw one of the police grab the man and gently pick him up. An old man who is now in extreme pain. Lucy was talking to the officer as Louisa simply stared at the coat covering a little Edgar. She let go of Karl, and the raccoon sniffed the coat.
She saw the figure of Edgar jump slightly. The black coat was lifted to reveal Edgar looking scared but eased up seeing Karl. His eyes flickered up and he froze seeing Louisa just sitting there. Sadness and worry filled her seeing the once older man looking at her in such a way.
Edgar made a small noise when Karl jumped into his tiny lap and curled up. The raccoon let out some purrs and tiny chitters. Edgar looked down in awe with wobbly lips. Louisa noticed how big his jacket, vest, blouse, and pants were on him. His heeled boots were now on the ground and he was barefoot.
"Edgar?" Her soft voice asked. The child looked up at her with wide eyes. She watched as that fear he had disappeared and was full of familiarity. "Do you know who I am? My name is Louisa May Alcott. I'm your si-coworker." She bit her tongue and bitterness hung off of it. This child was Edgar and she was sure by this point that the ability not only reversed his age but his memories too. His sister, Rosalie was his only sister, and saying she was might confuse him.
"Louisa...May...Alcott."
The young boy's voice was very soft. The strategist's heart broke hearing such a soft and scared voice coming from Edgar. A man who had only talked to her and Lucy as if he was their older brother. She knew he did so because he saw them as Rosalie in a way. No doubt in mind was that the familiarity in his eyes was that of seeing Rosalie.
"How old are you?" Louisa asked simply. Still keeping that soft voice, like the one she kept for her younger sister before she passed.
"E-eight. I'm eight." His fingers ran through Karl's fur gently. The fur was in between his tiny fingers. She noted how the fabric of his jacket and blouse practically swallowed him.
"Louisa." She turned to see Lucy above her. Edgar jumped once again, but familiarity once again reached his wide eyes when seeing Lucy once more. This time he got a good look at her and he looked on with awe once more. "We need to take him to the hospital to make sure nothing is wrong. Plus they're going to check on the little girl there too." Lucy smiled gently when Edgar looked at her.
"Hello there, Edgar. I'm Lucy Maud Montgomery." She gleamed at the child. His wide child-like eyes exposed his winter morning colored eyes. They were sad and scared besides the familiarity and awe. "We need to go to the hospital to check on you, and we can explain everything to you." Lucy didn't dare touch him but she didn't dare stop her voice from being sweet to him.
Edgar nodded. His grip on Karl tightened as he looked at the state of his clothes. He was confused and scared at the notion of knowing nothing about what was going on.
"Louisa, how bout' you take care of Eddie and I'll get out stuff." The girls separated. Edgar watched as Lucy walked across the street towards the bags of clothes and items. They suddenly disappeared in glowing yellow when Lucy set out a hand to them. Edgar felt fear fill them because she was like him.
"Hey, it's okay." Louisa spoke softly to take him out of his thoughts. Karl snuggled up further to help the girl comfort the child. "Lucy and I are like you. We know you, and you are nothing of the sort that you've heard." Especially from him was left unsaid.
"We need to get up now. Can I touch or do not want me to?" Louisa stood up to her feet and awaited Edgar's response.
The child didn't move and only stared at her widely full of fear. Edgar was a child drowning in clothes and didn't trust her or anyone else, besides the animal in his lap. The older Edgar was like that but much less scared to talk, and had a bit of an ego, maybe even a god complex when it came to his ability and the world of his novels. This site was sad for Louisa to see. Breaking her heart to watch the man who cared for her was a broken child.
Edgar a tiny confused sound as Karl got up from his lap. He stepped out of the coat and towards Louisa and sniffed her hand. His nails wagged as he pushed his body against her hand. Louisa realized what the animal was doing so she gladly took part. Karl chittered at her soft fingers going through his fur. His black raccoon eyes looked in Edgar's direction.
Edgar and Karl despite being animal and human always knew what the other was thinking.
"I think I may need help." The boy gestured to the clothes drowning him. Louisa giggled and gently helped him to his feet. He only looked in awe as Louisa was joined by a paramedic and Lucy. They talked and the paramedic began to talk to Louisa with Lucy chiming in.
It left Edgar with his thoughts and a raccoon in his arms.
He didn't know where he was. Just then he was shut out once again and into the closet to pray. Once again he was caught writing and John yelled at him. Now he was in the streets of people who didn't look like him unlike the women who found him.
They reminded him of Henry and Rosalie. They weren't them but yet they were. Was it the eyes or the act? They were demons too. Like him, because he had a power not of this world. That's why he was thrown into the closet once again.
He grasped the names of the girls who were no less young-looking.
Louisa was gentle looking. She had brown hair and the largest sad eyes that reminded him of Rosalie. She would have been like his sister's twin if she hadn't been older and the hair color. His sister had the same colored hair as him.
He missed her.
Lucy looked fierce. Her eyes and red hair were striking to him. Her hair reminded him of the neighborhood girl down the street, Annabel Lee. However, the way she held herself and took control of things reminded him of his older brother, Henry.
He missed him, too.
"Okay, we need to get you to the hospital little one." Edgar allowed himself to be taken away. He felt uncomfortable in the arms of the paramedic. His comfort lay in the hands of the girls who followed after. The girls were allowed, thankfully, into the hospital bus.
Edgar was hooked up to vitals. The paramedic gave him some candy and made Karl pass to Louisa. The boy felt sad seeing the raccoon go but that went away when Louisa gave him a reassuring smile. He knew he shouldn't get close to these girls, because what if the curse became worse, but he couldn't help it.
Louisa and Lucy were a reminder of what he lost after his mother died.
They had arrived at the hospital and he was wheeled to a hospital room. Lucy and Louisa joined him by sitting in the two seats beside the bed. Karl scrambled to get back into his arms, and Edgar felt content again. He felt safe somehow with a whole raccoon in his arms.
"I'm going to call Fitzgerald and inform him what happened."
"What about Ranpo? I know he and Edgar had a date planned."
"Hm. The gala we planned to celebrate the win against Dostoevsky is before that. This week if I'm not mistaken."
"Yes. We just need to get the catering figured out. Fitzgerald is following my strategy to completion."
"God, I don't know why you're so dedicated to him. Anyway, since the gala is coming up and we're going to have a meeting with the agency before that then we'll tell him then."
Edgar listened intently. Numerous questions burst into his mind. Fitzgerald and Ranpo? The agency and gala? He was intrigued. He wondered when the girls would eventually tell him what was going on and why he was there. This wasn't Boston, or Massachusetts at all.
Somehow he understood too of what the people around him spoke. These ladies seem to know him, and Louisa said they were coworkers. This was so confusing to the child.
Edgar felt his muscles tense up when Lucy left with a phone. "Do not worry. We're just informing someone close to you of what happened." Louisa spoke while fiddling with the blanket-like cape over her shoulders. Edgar only nodded and hugged Karl tighter.
-
Lucy sighed heavily.
Her heart hurt badly from just looking at Edgar in the state he was in. She knew of how hurt he was as a child but not this bad. He was so pale with sunken eyes that were also the brightest. Gleaming like winter morning never seemed so disturbing to look into.
She shivered just remembering that he was behind the door. Her palm opened up to reveal the promise ring Edgar wore earlier that day. She knew when he came back he'd freak out about it.
She pocketed the ring in her dress. Fishing out her phone and opened it. Fitzgerald's name haunted her and taunted her. There was no mistake Lucy was mistreated and threatened to be put on the streets again by the man. Now, Fitzgerald was softer and treated her so much better, or tried.
Even he went back to his old habits.
Still, it took some time for her to find forgiveness even if she knew that forgiveness wasn't needed. Lucy however found herself growing attached to the American man. Maybe because of that, she hit the button after thinking of how happy that she called him of all people.
"Lucy! How nice to hear from you!" Fitzgerald spoke gleefully. She could hear the sounds of other people and the clanking of plates. He was having lunch. It reminded her of her grumbling stomach.
"Ah, good afternoon, Fitzgerald. We have a situation right now." Her voice became low thinking of Edgar. The poor man was now a poor boy who was scared of everything at the moment.
"What happened? I do know you, Louisa and sweet Edgar went out to shop today. So what happened?" Fitzgerald's voice changed. It was so scary how it changed so quickly. The man had not only become softer, but more protective. That sentiment went for everyone in The Guild. When Margaret got harassed in public by some men Fitzgerald was right at her side and threatened the men.
"We-well," Lucy couldn't help but stutter. Even now she felt the man's overwhelming presence. Even if it was just his voice she still felt intimated. "When we tried to find somewhere to eat we saw a little girl being taken by a man. He had a gun and others were trying to save the little girl." Lucy realized how crazy that sounded when coming from her voice.
"Then what?"
She shivered at his voice. "Edgar had gone after them. He stopped the man but the little girl had an ability. It activated exactly when the man pulled out a knife to stab Edgar. The girl's ability turned..." She hesitated. She wondered how Fitzgerald would feel about the words that were going to come out of her mouth.
"Lucy."
"Yes! Sorry... the ability turned Edgar into a child. When Louisa and I talked we realized that not only his age but also his memories. Louisa said he was eight, so I assume he has memories from that time." Lucy huffed. Her heart was racing and her hands were sweaty.
"I'm coming up there right now. What hospital are you three at?"
Lucy jumped at his insistence on where they were. She told him the hospital as she shuffled her feet. She was now pacing as she heard moving around and the slamming of a car door, and then the sound of a car engine.
"I'll be there as soon as I can. Take care of him." Fitzgerald was firm with his words. It wasn't a request, but a command.
Lucy couldn't help but comply, "Yes, Fitzgerald."