John Dory had been so confident that they would be successful in their quest to save Floyd. He had refused to even let the thought cross his mind that he might not be okay. He had failed his brothers in so many ways. He couldn't fail Floyd when he had needed him more than ever.
But he had…maybe. Possibly? Honestly, John Dory didn't know if he had failed or not. After all, they had achieved the Perfect Family Harmony. They'd gotten Floyd out of that diamond prison. Those sadistic teenagers that had been torturing his brother were going to prison, and hopefully they would never have to deal with them again. In all those ways, this mission had been a success. But…but…
John Dory looked over his shoulder towards his bed. They had all regrouped in Rhonda, all of them eager to get away from this place and head home. Most importantly though they were all desperate to bring Floyd to a doctor or something, because it was painfully obvious that something was wrong. Just by looking at Floyd they could see what was wrong, but they didn't know how, or why, or what in the world they were supposed to do about this.
Floyd was sleeping, looking far too small in John Dory's bed. He had barely been conscious when they had finally gotten to him, and as soon as it was clear that he was safe he had fallen asleep and hadn't woken up yet.
It had only been a few hours since they had started the journey back, but every minute felt like an eternity to John as his confusion and anxiety ran around in circles in his head. Looking at the others, it was clear they were feeling similarly.
Clay was sitting at the front, pointedly facing away from the bed. He was writing frantically in a little notebook, muttering to himself and crossing things out as he went. Viva was sitting just behind him, trying to brush and braid through the mess that was his hair.
Branch was pacing back and forth, moving his hands and fingers in all kinds of ways as he tried to stim through his concerns. Poppy had tried to calm and comfort him at first, but when it was clear that he wasn't in a good space to listen to her she had sat down and started making a scrapbook of their adventure.
Bruce was the only one who looked calm, but he didn't seem to be at peace. He was just the only one who had control over his emotions. He was sitting next to the bed, rocking Tiny Diamond to sleep and holding Floyd's hand as he quietly sang a lullaby. He looked so natural as he took care of the two younger trolls. It felt like a slap in the face to John Dory, who had struggled and fought so much to get his brothers to be half this calm when they were kids, only for it to blow up in all of their faces.
He supposed that Bruce did have a lot of experience. He was a good dad. Maybe that would help them as they went forward from here, because unless they could figure out how to undo whatever had been done to Floyd, a dad was exactly what they would need.
John Dory approached the bed. "So, uh…how's he doing?"
"Still asleep." Bruce sighed. He looked exhausted. He gave Floyd a concerned look. "Still a child."
Bruce was the first one who had said it out-loud. It was as though they had all been afraid that if they actually said what was wrong, then that would make it that much more real.
Floyd was a child. He looked no older than he had the day that they had all left. How could somebody suddenly become twenty years younger? Obviously it had something to do with that troll essence draining thing that those teenagers were doing, but none of them knew enough about it to actually understand what had happened, let alone how to reverse it. John Dory doubted that even Velvet and Veneer actually understood what they had done.
There were so many questions that wouldn't leave John Dory's head, and he was sure his brothers were thinking about the same things. Was this something that would wear off, or did they have to fix it themselves? Could Floyd even be changed back, or was he stuck like this? Had it just been his body that had reverted, or was he mentally a child as well? If that was the case, would he have memories from his childhood, or was his mind just a blank slate?
And if Floyd was stuck like this, who would take care of him? Because though Floyd had probably lived on his own since he was about this age, that didn't mean that John Dory was eager to let it happen again. He was old enough now to realize just how young his little bro was. Floyd was just a kid.
And wow, that thought was just as dizzying and overwhelming as it had been a few hours ago.
"What are we going to do?" John Dory asked.
"We're going to fix this." Branch said tensely.
"That's not what he meant and you know it." Clay said, and boy was it weird to hear him more or less defend John Dory. "How are we supposed to fix this when we don't even know what this is?"
"We'll figure it out." Branch's tone was inching towards angry and defensive. John Dory didn't blame him. They were all scared, and it was far too easy to let fear become anger, because then you felt like you were doing something about it.
But anger just fed into anger. Especially in their family. So John Dory wasn't at all surprised when Clay retorted just as sharply.
"And what if we can't? Clay asked. "We need to have a plan about what to do if we can't fix this."
"No we don't." Branch snapped. His hands were shaking as he whipped around and glared at Clay. "Because we're going to fix this."
"But what if we can't?!" Clay shouted.
"John." Bruce hissed from the corner, his quiet voice somehow cutting through the yelling. Branch and Clay were still going at each other, but John Dory turned towards Bruce. His brother gave him a stern look, and then gave Floyd a pointed look. It was clear that he was trying to tell him something, and John Dory didn't know what.
It took him a long moment of looking at Floyd before he realized what was going on. Floyd was still laying there, looking just as asleep as before, but he wasn't on his back anymore. Instead Floyd had rolled over, curling in towards Bruce. If he was anybody else John Dory would think that they had just shifted in their sleep, but that wasn't like Floyd. His little brother had always slept like the dead, not making a single movement or sound until he woke up.
However, Floyd had also had the habit of pretending to be asleep when the bros were fighting and he was either too tired or too scared to intervene.
Branch and Clay were still yelling at each, both of them trying to cope in their own way. Branch with hope, and Clay with being realistic. John Dory would be more than happy to let them work through their emotions, but they were upsetting Floyd.
All of them were confused, but John Dory doubted that any of them was more confused than Floyd was. Did he even know who they were right now? He was probably so scared, and the fighting wasn't helping. John Dory knew from experience that he couldn't just tell them to stop though. He had to take a more indirect approach, and he knew just what to do.
John Dory walked past Branch and nudged Clay aside to get to Rhonda's controls. She had just been driving herself so far, but when he put on the breaks she stopped so quickly that the others stumbled a bit.
"Hey!" Branch staggered as he tried to find his balance again. "What's the big idea?"
"Sorry, guys, everybody out." John Dory said. "Rhonda's got some maintenance stuff she's gotta do, and it's a bit private, so I'm going to need everybody else to make themselves scarce for a bit."
"Seriously?" Branch crossed his arms. "Now?"
"I think he knows what he's talking about." Bruce said. "He's the one that knows her best." He stood up, reluctantly letting go of Floyd's hand. "Why don't we go see if we can find anything to eat? We're going to be on the road for a few more hours at least, and I don't know about you guys but I'm getting hungry."
Branch still didn't look happy, but Clay was eager to leave Rhonda. He was already talking to Viva about what kinds of fauna he suspected were in the area. Poppy took Branch's hand. She didn't say anything, but just her presence was enough for him to take a deep breath and calm down. The two of them left.
"Will you be okay with him?" Bruce asked.
"I think so." John Dory said. Bruce didn't look convinced. "But if I need anything, I'll come get you."
"You'd better." Bruce said. He gave Floyd one more concerned look before he left the armadillo bus, closing the door behind him. John Dory took a deep breath and went to his bed. He sat on the edge of it, looking at Floyd who still looked sound asleep. If it weren't for the slight hitch in his breath and the tears on his cheeks, John Dory might have almost bought his act
John Dory tapped his fingers against his thighs and tried to remember how he had dealt with this kind of thing when they were younger. The last thing he wanted to do was make things worse. "Do you wanna talk about it? If you don't…uh…we can cuddle or something." He was pretty sure that Floyd liked cuddles. Or had that been Clay? Maybe it had been both of them.
He waited for a long minute before Floyd slowly sat up and crawled across the bed, leaning against him. John Dory put his arm around him. "How're you feeling, Kiddo?"
"Fine." Floyd said quietly. He was still for a moment. "This isn't a dream, right? You guys really are big and grown-up?"
John Dory grimaced. He could only imagine how weird this was for Floyd. "Yeah, 'fraid so."
Floyd shuddered. John Dory tightened his grip on him. "Why are you guys…" Floyd trailed off, an odd look in his eyes. "Why am I little?" He was so smart. It was probably hard to even consider that he was the weird one. He probably felt just like himself, and from his point of view the rest of them were the ones who had something wrong with them. But he'd quickly figured it out. John Dory just felt bad that he didn't have any answers for him.
"I'm sorry, I don't know." John Dory said. "You were in trouble. We all came to save you, but, well, we kinda let you down, didn't we?"
Floyd pulled away and gave him a weird look. "You've never let me down."
John Dory snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. I've done nothing but let you guys down."
Floyd frowned. He knelt on the bed and put his hands on John Dory's face. "You didn't let me down." He smiled. "I mean, I'm not in trouble anymore, am I? So you guys saved me."
"You're a kid." John Dory said. That definitely wasn't supposed to have happened.
"But I feel fine." Floyd said. It didn't make John Dory feel any better about the situation, but at least Floyd wasn't feeling scared or overwhelmed about being a kid. He was just bothered by the fighting. John Dory would have to talk to the bros about that. There was no reason to upset Floyd just because they all handled their concerns in different ways.
"Sorry about the yelling." John Dory said. "Things are just kinda tense right now." He felt bad as soon as the words left his mouth. Yes, things were tense, and he was sure they would all calm down when things had calmed down in general, but it was still just an excuse, and it was one that Floyd was far too familiar with. It was the kind of thing they'd said all the time growing up. Floyd had once believed the reassurances that things would get better, but eventually he became desensitized to it all. He had come to recognize their empty promises for what they were.
If Floyd's disappointed expression was anything to go by, he was still unconvinced. Still, he nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I get it. I just…" Floyd's mouth wobbled a bit. 'I thought our family would have figured out how to get along by now."
John Dory grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. Floyd was so great at calling him out, and he didn't even realize that was what he was doing.
"We have." John Dory assured him. "We're doing so much better. I mean, it's not great, and clearly there's still some things we've gotta work out, but I think we're doing pretty good, considering…everything." He'd almost shared how long it had been since any of them had heard a word from each other. That would just needlessly upset Floyd.
John Dory knew that if his seventeen year old self had been told that he wouldn't see any of his brothers for twenty years he would have had a major breakdown. Floyd was younger, and far more sensitive than John Dory was. He'd always been the one who had tried so hard to keep their family together. It would devastated Floyd to know that they had all just moved on with their lives and wanted nothing to do with each other. He would be inconsolable.
John Dory wasn't trying to lie to Floyd, he just didn't see the point in telling him the whole truth. After all, they were moving on now, weren't they? They were talking again. They were putting in the effort. Things weren't going to go back to the way they'd been before, so why talk about it?
"I promise, we're not going to fight as much." John Dory said. "Clay and Branch were just scared. I'm sure they'll calm down when they see you're okay."
Floyd furrowed his brow. "That was Branch?"
John Dory chuckled. "Hard to believe that Bitty B grew up, huh?" Floyd nodded. He was used to Branch being a baby, and now he was twice Floyd's age. John Dory was having a hard time getting used to how old his brother's had gotten. He couldn't imagine how hard this whole thing had to be for Floyd.
"Are you sure you're okay?" John Dory asked. "Things are really weird. I'd be a little concerned if you weren't freaked out."
"I don't know." Floyd said slowly. "I mean, it's kinda weird, and I don't know what's going on. But…But I have you guys." Floyd smiled at him, and it melted John Dory's heart. He had forgotten how much he had missed that smile. He had thought he would never see it again. "What do I have to be afraid of when I have my brothers?" He had always been so sentimental and a little cheesy. It made John Dory feel more than a little guilty. Floyd was so innocent and sincere, and they had let him down over and over again. He prayed to the muses that they wouldn't mess up like that this time.
"Aw, Floyd!" John Dory felt his fondness and excitement overwhelm him. He wrapped his arms tightly around his sweet, wonderful, perfect baby brother. "We'll figure things out, yeah? Together."
"Together." Floyd nuzzled against him. "C-can I meet the others? Or are they gonna be mad?"
"No way they'll be mad." John Dory said confidently. He'd be pretty furious himself if they got mad. "I think they'll just be happy that you're awake." Floyd still looked nervous, but John Dory wasn't going to let him back out. He wanted to see his bros, so that's what they were going to do.
John Dory stood up, still holding Floyd close. He couldn't remember the last time he'd held Floyd like this. When they were younger Floyd had been just a little too big to carry around comfortably. John Dory was bigger and older now, and more than capable of carrying his little brother.
This felt so natural. John Dory thought that he would be taking any chance he could get to hold Floyd like this. It was nice.
He went outside and saw Bruce talking quietly to Clay. Branch, Poppy, and Viva weren't in sight. They'd probably gone for a small walk to clear their heads.
Clay raised an eyebrow at them as they came out. "Maintenance, huh?"
Floyd pouted and turned his head against John Dory's shoulder. He rubbed his brother's arm. "Hey, it's okay. He's not mad at you."
"I'm not mad at all." Clay said. He came up to Floyd and rustled his hair. "Just a bit freaked out, but I'm figuring it out." He put his hand on Floyd's face and made him turn his head so he could look him over better. "You feeling okay? Do you have a headache? Can you stretch your hair? On a scale of one to ten, what is your pain level?" He asked it all very quickly. It made John Dory a little dizzy to try to follow it, and Floyd looked like he was feeling the same.
Bruce pulled Clay back. "Why don't we let the doctors worry about that stuff? We'll just make sure he's comfortable."
Clay frowned, clearly not happy, but he didn't push the matter, which John Dory was grateful for. He set Floyd down. He didn't really want to, but hearing all of Clay's questions had him feeling a little worried too. They hadn't been able to see Floyd very well when he was in the diamond prison, but he hadn't looked well at all. He had more energy now, but that didn't mean he was okay. John Dory just wanted to see for himself that he was fine.
Floyd didn't look like he was in pain, but John Dory was stunned at how small his brother was. Sure, he'd felt small in his arms, but everybody felt small when they were curled up in a ball. Even standing up straight the top of Floyd's head, not counting his hair, didn't quite reach John Dory's chin. Was that really how short he had been when they were kids?
Floyd walked around a little bit, frowning slightly. He started wandering to the other side of Rhonda, walking behind her. John Dory reached out towards Floyd, ready to ask him to not wander far. Bruce put a hand on John Dory's arm.
"Let him go." Bruce said quietly. "He's going to be just fine." John Dory wasn't so sure about that, but held back and let Floyd wander just a little bit. Fortunately he didn't go far. He had barely walked out of sight before he poked his head back around Rhonda.
"Where's Branch?" Floyd asked.
"He'll be back soon." Bruce said. "He's just clearing his head."
"Oh." Floyd stepped back towards them, looking painfully uncertain. He rubbed his wrist slightly. "I-is he mad at me? Did I do something wrong?"
"What could you have done wrong?" John Dory frowned. "You haven't done anything." Just because Branch was upset about Floyd didn't mean that it was Floyd's fault. He wasn't sure how he would convince his brother of that though.
"But he doesn't want me to be little." Floyd said. He had picked up the context of their fight easily enough, and he seemed to be blaming himself. Had he done this when they were kids? How often had they let him think that he was at fault?
"I'm sure he just doesn't want you to be hurt." Bruce said. Something about his tone sounded off, as though he was telling a not-quite lie. How was it a lie though? Obviously Branch was just worried about Floyd. What could he possibly be mad at him for? It didn't even make any sense.
Floyd pouted. "I'm sorry I worried all of you." Why did he have to sound so sincere when he was apologizing for something that wasn't his fault?
"It wasn't you." Clay said. "It's those talent-sucking teenagers' faults."
Floyd blinked. "Teenagers?" He just sounded confused. He really had no idea what had happened to him. John Dory thought this might be another thing that was better off being left in the past.
"Don't worry about it." John Dory said. He ignored Bruce and Clay's odd looks aimed towards him. He really wasn't trying to brush off Floyd's question and curiosity, but what good would knowing about Velvet and Veneer do for him? It was just going to scare him. He didn't need that.
Floyd frequently used to get nightmares about being taken by a bergen. He didn't need to know that he'd been captured by another creature that was so much larger than him and wanted to steal his essence. It would just give him more nightmares.
"Hey, guys!" Poppy called out as she, Viva, and Branch came out from the trees. Branch stopped in his tracks as he just stared at Floyd. He looked as though he had seen a ghost. Now John Dory was wondering if Bruce was onto something. Was Branch feeling something more than just concern and anxiety that stemmed from that concern?
John Dory couldn't even imagine what was going through his youngest brother's head…second youngest? It was a bit confusing now. Branch was the youngest bro, but Floyd was younger than him. Did that make him the new baby of the family? Was that how it worked?
Floyd beamed broadly when he saw Branch. Whatever caution that John Dory might have seen, Floyd was oblivious to it. Maybe John Dory and Bruce were just imagining things, because Floyd was so much smarter about emotions than they were. If something was going on he would have noticed it.
"Branch!" Floyd ran towards him. He barreled into Branch, who stiffened at the touch. It took far too long for him to return the hug.
"H-hey, Floyd." Branch said somewhat forcefully. "You…you look exactly the same as the day you…the day I last saw you."
Floyd pulled back from Branch, looking confused. "Last saw me? What do you-?" He gasped, interrupting himself. "My vest! You're wearing it."
"Huh?" Branch looked down at his vest. The one that John Dory only now realized had been Floyd's favorite. How had he not realized it before? "Oh, yeah, I guess I am." Branch gave him a shaky smile and took off his vest, putting it around Floyd's shoulders. "Here. It's always suited you so much more than me."
Floyd just smiled and rubbed the vest. He opened his mouth and looked like he wanted to say something else, but Branch took a step back from him. "I'm going to go find a jacket or something. Excuse me." He stiffly walked past all of them, going back inside of Rhonda. Floyd watched him go, the excitement fading from his eyes.
"A-are you sure I didn't do something wrong?" Floyd looked at John Dory with wide eyes. He was desperate for reassurance. He wanted to give it, but he didn't know what to say. He didn't know what was wrong, but Branch really was acting oddly.
Fortunately Poppy picked up his slack. "Oh, sweetie, no, it's not you." Poppy said. "Branch just has a hard time knowing what to do with strong feelings. He just needs a little bit of time to figure things out for himself."
"Oh." Floyd looked a bit more at ease already. Thank goodness for Poppy. Floyd took her hand when she offered it. She and Viva were ready to fawn over Floyd, and he looked happy with the attention. Or maybe he was just happy that they weren't being as anxious about his very existence as his brothers were.
Poppy and Viva knew that Floyd wasn't supposed to be like this, but they didn't really know him, so it wasn't as unnerving. They just thought he was a cute kid that was easily upset, and they both wanted to cheer him up. John Dory was more than happy to let them take up that job. He didn't think he'd ever seen anybody cheer up Floyd as quickly as they did. Within seconds Floyd was giggling as Viva tried to teach him how to braid Poppy's hair.
"Maybe this won't be so bad." John Dory said. Clay gave him a familiar look, like he had said something wrong. He didn't say anything about it though or start a fight, so maybe it wasn't that big of a deal. Especially since Bruce wasn't giving him that same look. Instead he was giving John Dory a soft, almost proud look. It was weird. "What?"
"Nothing." Bruce shook his head. "Just thinking." He turned to watch Floyd. "Anybody got any ideas of what we should do with him? You know, in case this turns out to be more long-term than we hope it is."
None of them said anything. It wasn't something any of them had wanted to seriously consider. They just wanted Floyd to be better. But seeing him happy now, far different from how he had been in captivity, made John Dory wonder if maybe him being a little kid again wouldn't be so horrible.
He had messed up with his brothers when they were younger. He had been an overwhelmed child himself. He knew better now. He could do better by his brother, he was sure of it. Maybe this could be the second chance he had always wanted, and he wasn't going to mess up this time.