Prologue- A Trip to the Art Gallery
"I'm all alone…I want to get out of here…When will somebody come?"
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It was a bright summer day. A day perfect for going on walks, relaxing, playing outside…and taking a trip to the art gallery. Professor Layton had decided to bring the two kids, Luke and Flora, to a newly opened art gallery.
"I'm so excited! I wonder what kind of paintings would be there?" Flora exclaimed and giggled as she held onto the Professor's left hand.
"I hope they look as good as they do in the pictures!" Luke said, excited as well.
Layton chuckled. "My, you two seem to be quite energetic today." He commented. Soon, they stood in front of a huge, white building that looked pretty much like a museum. "Here we are. "He said as they entered.
There were a couple of people already in, observing the paintings. Most were young adults but there were some children and elderly people, too. Layton and the group went to the counter to pay for the entrance.
"Luke, would you mind to get us some of the gallery's pamphlets? I'm sure they have maps on those, just in case we get separated, we can always meet up back here at the counter." Layton said, as he handed some money to the guy behind the desk.
Luke nodded and took three. One for him, One for Flora and One for the Professor. "Here you go!" he said as he handed it out.
Layton tipped his hat at the boy. "Thank you, my boy." He said with a smile.
"Professor?" Flora asked in a small voice.
"What is it, Flora?" Layton replied, looking at the girl.
"Can I go ahead and check some of the paintings?" Flora asked, a bit eager yet a bit nervous.
Layton smiled. "Of course you can, my dear. Just be sure to meet us up back here at the counter at 5:00pm." He said.
Flora glanced at the clock on the wall behind the counter. It was just 3:00pm. There was plenty of time to go around and explore. Flora then smiled and hugged the Professor. "Thank you, Professor!" she exclaimed.
Layton chuckled again. "You're welcome. Just don't bother any of the other people here." He said.
Flora nodded and left, just after Luke shouted, "Come on, Professor! According to this map here, there is a corridor filled with paintings of cats! And bunnies, too!" and the Professor's chuckle and a reply of "No need to rush, my boy."
Soon, Flora was all by herself. She passed by a lot of corridors as she looked around. There were mannequins wearing the same dresses but different in color. There was a sofa with some strange designs. A painting of a lady. A picture of a man hanged upside-down. But the one that really caught her attention was a large sculpture of a red rose. She looked at the name of the piece, not bothering with the other information as she wanted to see more art works.
"Embodiment of Spirit…"she muttered and stepped back to admire the sculpture when she bumped into a man who looked not much older than her. She looked at the man, flustered.
"O-oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you!" Flora apologized and just before the boy could reply, she interrupted him saying, "I have to go now! Bye!". She then dashed off to another corridor, only taking a small glance at the man as he watched her go, dumbfounded.
Once she lost sight of the boy, she stopped running and took a deep breath. 'Now I got to go back to check the other paintings I've missed…but what if he sees me again? I shouldn't make this a much bigger situation. It was just an accident…'Flora thought, troubled. She soon forgot it though when she looked around. The corridor was empty, except for the huge mural hanged on the wall. It was the first time she saw it and when she looked at the map, it didn't seem to be there. She read the name of the piece.
"Fabricated World…"
The moment it passed through her lips, the lights went out. Flora suddenly felt chills climb up her spine. "W-what's going on?" she said, particularly to nobody. She then started retracing her steps. It was hard since she can barely see. Oddly, she noticed that there were no other souls in sight.
"Hellooo…Anybody there? Professor? Luke? Somebody?" she called out but only silence replied to her. It was starting to creep her out but she had to be brave for now. She was sure that she'll find someone soon. But now, she regretted splitting up with the Professor.
She soon got back to the counter but there was no Luke or Professor Layton there. Where could they be? She then tried to open the door to go outside since the dark was starting to get to here when it didn't open. She tried several times but no luck. Did the gallery already closed? She felt that she wanted to cry, being left alone. Soon though, she heard a voice calling to her.
"Flora~ Come here~" it said. Flora was surprised. Maybe she wasn't alone, after all. She followed the mysterious voice as it kept calling to her and found herself back at the mural of the "Fabricated World".
She was perplexed as she saw nobody there. Then, she noticed something written in blue paint under the mural. She read it:
"Check the ground floor, Flora~ I've got a surprise for you!"
Flora, intrigued, followed and went to the ground floor. She looked around and saw nothing different when she heard a cough.
"Eeeeek!" she shouted. She then looked around. "Who's there?!" she said. She then took a deep breath and continued walking when the cat in the painting meowed…IT MEOWED…
"A-aaah!" she screamed, not expecting a painting to MEOW. She backed away and tried to run when she doubled over a couple of velvet ropes, fencing around the floor painting "Abyss of the Deep". To her surprise, she felt like she fell in water. She was about to swim back up when a giant anglerfish swallowed her…and everything was dark…