Caesar took some convincing to let you borrow one of his smaller ships and a few men to sail it but Law was able to after reminding him how much extra work he'd done to help him with his projects. Law wasn't an overly sentimental guy, but he spent a bit of time that morning stuck to you, not ready for you to leave for your temporary trip. This would be the first time you'd be separated from him since you met and it honestly made you almost not want to go. But you reminded yourself it was only for a short period of time and you'd be back soon, right after talking Leo into join you.

You didn't take much with you on the ship, just the crew, some clothes, rations of course, and a short range transponder snail. Caesar and the crew knew nothing about the snail and you planned on keeping it that way. It'd connect only with the one Law had and it was strictly so you could let him know you arrived in case he'd gone through with his plan while you were gone. You'd made him promise not to do that unless he absolutely had to and he swore up and down he planned on waiting for you.

You left that morning with his promise to wait and if he couldn't do that, he promised to be waiting for you to come back until he did anything else. The small ship bucked along the turbulent waves until the island was out of sight and you already missed Law but you'd make this two weeks trip shorter if possible. It was all a matter of convincing the crew that it was in their best interests to pick up the ship's oars and get their asses in gear. You looked at the eternal pose around your wrist and watched the needle shake slightly as it pointed straight ahead. You were finally going to see your forgotten brother and that had you both nervous and excited.

----

The crew tolerated you as you were connected to Law, the one person that gave them the ability to walk again, but that was about it. But that was enough to help you convince them to pick up the ship's speed. It also helped that the sea was calm the entire journey. None of the crazy new world weather made a guest appearance on your trip and you made it to Anderais a couple days early.

The island was stuck in a perpetual fall, with it's strange short, gnarly trees covered in an array of colors. The leaves covered the ground in a thin layer and when you stepped onto land, they crunched satisfyingly underfoot. Law had given you a sum of money in case you found something you wanted while away and in turn, you gave it to the crew. As far as you were concerned, they didn't really deserve it. They fought you tooth and nail on every decision you'd made on board the ship but it'd work as a great incentive for them to keep up their pace. And to you, that made it money well spent.

The trees lined the docks on the relatively peaceful island. Everything seemed calm, and almost quite now that you thought about it. You'd turned the men loose after telling them explicitly to behave themselves and so far it seemed like they were listening, but there should have been more signs of life around.

You frowned and followed a dirt path to where you assumed the town should have been. As you walked, you noticed the trees weren't just misshapen, they were also weeping some sticky looking fluid. You stopped by a tree and reached forward to touch the substance.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

You jumped and cursed yourself mentally for not noticing another presence nearby. There was an old, dark skinned man standing nearby. He was hunched over a cane that wobbled as his hands shook but he smiled at you good naturedly.

"Why not?" You asked.

"It'll make you sick, deathly so."

"How do you know that? Someone else touch this stuff?" You settled for getting a closer look without touching it.

"Unfortunately." He sighed. "Many people did."

You raised an eyebrow at him. "They all got sick?"

"And died."

That had you worried. "As sad as that is, I'm here looking for someone."

The man shrugged. "They might be dead."

"Here's hoping he's not."

He chuckled. "Come child, these legs aren't what they used to be. We can go to my home and see about finding this friend of yours."

You debated telling him thanks but no thanks, but he was already on the move and if the subtle quiet and his words weren't enough of a hint, you were pretty sure you wouldn't find many other people able to talk to you.

He walked in silence and you fell in step beside him, going slow enough to match his shuffled pace. After a short while, he led you to a small wood cabin at the edge of what you could best describe as a ghost town. The streets were empty, windows and doors were boarded up on many of the building's. The few that still held life stood ominously with sets of eyes peering out at you here and there.

The man fell into a stiff backed chair on his porch and let out a sigh as he leaned his cane against the side of the house.

"Be a dear and go into the kitchen for me, above the stove in the cupboards is some tea and there's a kettle on the stove."

"...You want me to make tea?"

"What else would you do with those instructions?"

"Okay." You shook your head and stepped through the open door.

It seemed odd for someone to make a stranger do something like this and willingly leave them in their house alone. But you'd humor him, especially if he was going to be able to point you in the right direction.

The home was small and made up of two rooms. The main living space had a bed, a small table, and a tiny kitchen space. You figured it was best to assume the other room was the bathroom and didn't feel the need to investigate further.

Dried herbs hung from the bare beams above and were low enough that you had to duck to avoid hitting them. Lush, green plants sat in pots on every open window sill and flat surface. You had a feeling the man had a green thumb, despite his tough time getting around.

The counters in the small kitchen space were covered in plant leaves, flowers, and twine, suggesting he had yet to hang everything to dry. You brushed them to the side and reached overhead to the cabinets hanging above. Inside was nothing but glass jars of loose leaf tea leaves and each one was labeled differently. He didn't tell you what he wanted so you picked one at random, though you had to admit you were drawn to the small, colorful dried flowers inside it's mix.

It took a bit of fiddling to get the teapot open and get enough water in it to get things started. When you were done, waiting for the tell tale whistle to let you know the water was hot, you went back out to the porch and took the wicker seat across from the man. The dry material crackled slightly as you settled into it, bits of it falling at your feet. You didn't feel bad about it, there was already splintered wicker all over the floor so you were sure you weren't the first to add to the mess.

"So I'm looking for–"

"Let's not rush." The old man reached to a small table beside him and snatched up the pipe resting on it, lighting it with a match he pulled from his breast pocket. "Why don't we start with talking about the trees?"

"I get those are a problem here but I'm not on this island to solve your problems."

"I'm not asking you to." He puffed at the end of the pipe, sending rich smelling smoke in your direction. "We've already found our solution. But what do you think of the sap?"

"I dunno, you say it makes you guys sick so it can't be good."

"It doesn't just make people sick. I've seen animals touch it only to grow ill and die days later. If it touches the ground, all the nearby plants wither and die as well."

"So it kills anything living?"

He nodded. "And the trees weren't always like this. They used to be such vibrant shades of green and so healthy."

"What changed that?" You were definitely interested in this story he was leading you into and you'd waited to find Leo this long, you could wait a bit longer to hear about this.

"No one knows. Some folks suggest trade led to some foreign plant being brought here that carried the sickness but I don't buy that. No one died until the trees were effected. Others say we were cursed." He chuckled to himself. "I like that one."

"I don't believe in curses."

"Then what would you suggest happened?"

"Maybe something in the soil?" You offered.

He hummed. "That's an interesting thought."

"But that's not the answer."

"Well I said no one knows." He cackled as the kettle began to whistle loudly.

You used it as an excuse to get up and make the tea, the man shouting over his shoulder at you about there being mugs in one of the other cupboards.  After finding them, you made both of you a cup and brought them back out, placing his on the little side table.

"So what are we getting at here?" You asked. "I'm here looking for–"

"I know what you're looking for." He waved his hand dismissively. "And we'll get to that soon enough."

You wished he'd stop beating around the bush and get to whatever point he was trying to make. And to some degree, it felt a little odd that he may know why you were here when you had yet to mention anything about Leo.

"The trees." He continued. "One day, someone noticed one in particular had began to die. The leaves turned, it's color faded, and it bled the sap. Of course they went to investigate but they weren't able to pinpoint the issue, as we've already established. They still took samples of the tree to study later anyway, in case they found something of importance. Of course one of the samples they took was of the sap and they, unfortunately, had touched it in the process. After a few days, the symptoms started; difficulty breathing, a strange rash, intense internal pain, couldn't eat, sleep, or drink, among other things."

"Sounds pretty bad." You noted, sipping at the hot tea. As expected, it had a nice, florally taste to it.

"It got worse." He replied. "For those first few days without symptoms, he dealt with other folks in town and they in turn met with others. The sickness spread like a wildfire and soon enough half of the island's population was dying off. People, plants, and animals."

"How'd the rest of you avoid it?"

"We caught on to it. See, a couple years back, we had a kid move here, real sweet, real smart. He was able to pinpoint the issue and help us cut our losses. Unfortunately, he was just a kid. He was no doctor and couldn't heal those that were already sick. But he did what he could to stop the spread."

You'd perked up when he'd mentioned a kid. Though technically Leo would almost be an adult by now, you were sure some part of you would always see him as your "kid" brother.

"Who was the kid?" You had to ask, not knowing was killing you.

"I'd say you already know who he is."

"Leo?" You asked.

He smiled happily, a definite glint in his eye. "That's what he went by. I'd never seen a boy with pure white hair like his, he was quite the sight."

"Was? Did he leave, did I miss him?"

And it was then that his smile slowly dropped. "Leo did a lot to help us, more so than any stranger should have to. He'd mentioned he came here, waiting for someone else, and I'm assuming he meant you."

"Where is he?" You felt your mouth go dry in your anxiousness.

He was suddenly avoiding eye contact, almost like he felt guilty. "Leo had to come into contact with the sick to properly identify the problem and separate them from those that were still healthy."

"....He got sick too." You almost dropped the mug, clutching at it fast enough to keep it from shattering across the porch.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head. "Nothing could be done after he became sick, no one had the skill to heal him."

"So that's it?" You felt tears began to well up and your chest tighten.

All this only to find out he'd died for the sake of others. It felt like something he'd do but it didn't make it any easier to accept. Atticus was a fraud and your brother was gone, you felt like you were left with nothing, like your life was crumbling around you. Everything you'd been working for was for nothing.

"I know it's a lot to take in right now but if you like, I can show you his grave."

All you could do was nod and grasp at the locket hanging around your neck. It was all you had left of your old family now.

(A/n)
Leo is a character that is always living in the past for me but never in the present. I debated changing that for this story but I feel like that might risk changing his character.