"Professor? Oh, Professor!"

The lanky top-hatted figure stirred with a groan, sitting up on the sofa. Must have fallen asleep at the office again, he thought with a yawn. It wasn't unusual for him when he was nose-deep in a case. This called for some coffee.

As the office door opened, the young man smiled groggily, expecting to find his faithful assistant bidding him good morning. Alfendi stretched and greeted her placidly, "Hello, Lucy."

Lucy Baker was not standing before him. Instead, it appeared to be Rosa Grimes, his father's old housekeeper and Alfendi's occasional babysitter from when he was a child.

The sad truth was that Rosa had passed away several years ago.

Understandably, Alfendi blinked at her as she was ghost. He rubbed his eyes, muttering, "I must still be half asleep…"

For someone who had apparently returned from the grave, Rosa was impeccably cheerful. She dropped an envelope in his hand.

"Sounds like someone was up researching all night… again."

Alfendi gripped the envelope tight enough to give himself a paper cut. It stung; blood beaded on his finger. His eyes widened. Was this not a dream created by his unstable mind? Absently, he opened the envelope. He gawked at the date on the letter inside. Surely, this was a prank…

"What – where did this letter come from?"

Rosa paused mid-rant to answer, "Scotland Yard, the postman said." (Finally, some familiarity.) "One of the receptionists saw it was addressed to 'Prof. Layton', so she had it forwarded straight to your office."

"But this isn't my office," Alfendi mumbled. Still, this room did feel familiar to him. He stood up to inspect the green desk, the bookshelf, the archaeological knickknacks, the mirror above the sink…

Unperturbed, Rosa set about making a cup of tea beside him and continued chatting. "Maybe someone heard about your work at the Yard and wanted to request the help of Professor Layton – "

Alfendi froze upon catching sight of his reflection. With no recollection of changing clothes, he was wearing an orange shirt, brown trousers and a… a black top hat. The top hat that his (now retired) father Hershel Layton never removed. Alfendi swore.

"Professor!" Rosa chided with a gasp.

Potty Prof seized control to growl at her. "Stop calling me that! I'm not sure what kind of sick joke you're playing, but that's not my name – "

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it's not – "

"Well, it's the name on this letter!" she snapped, throwing the letter at him again.

Alfendi snatched it from her, his eyes furiously scanning the typed message:

"Prof, I hope you're reading this! Something dead sus has happened to me. Right now I'm stuck in a town called Misthallery, somewhere in the English countryside, I think. Everyone here is bonkers! To start, the mayor, Mr. Triton believes I'm his child and won't let me leave. The other residents keep fretting about a giant monster that's destroying their homes at night. You need to get me out of here, Prof! SOS!

Love, Lucy x"

So, Lucy was in a similar predicament to him. At least she wasn't hurt, judging by her letter, though it sounded like she had been grounded by Clark Triton. More worryingly, the 'spectre' attacks she described were parallel to Hershel Layton's first adventure: The 'fated meeting' between the professor and his apprentice. (Uncle Luke could never shut up about it.)

Alfendi didn't know how or why he was here, but Lucy's safety was still paramount to him. And Misthallery was not the safest place to be right now.

First, he would call Lucy… Wait, were phones even invented back in his father's day – this day and age? (This was going to take some getting used to.) Scratch that, then. He would go straight to Misthallery… though, he really didn't have to time to wait for public transport.

Of course – his father's car! Hershel Layton had a driver's licence, so no one would question him. The issue was that Alfendi Layton didn't know how to drive.

His Potty side decided: First time for everything.

Giving Rosa a hasty apology and a goodbye, he rushed outside. He managed to locate the Laytonmobile with relative ease. Driving was another matter altogether. With Potty Prof behind the wheel, he nearly crashed into a yellow moped by Gressenheller's entrance.

Alfendi sighed as the moped rider tapped on his window, probably wanting to give him an earful. He rolled down the window, forcing himself to appear concerned.

"Nice to see you again, Professor Layton!"

Alfendi peered at a woman with a mane of wavy brown hair. After a minute, he recognised her from some of his father's old photos.

"Aren't you… Emmy Altava?"

Emmy reared her head back in surprise. "Oh, so you do remember me! Or maybe Dean Delmona told you? I'm your new – "

"My assistant, that's right." This was his first meeting with Emmy, but he did recall the odd postcard she had sent to his father. She had left the professor and Luke for… reasons.

Alfendi wasn't sure if he could trust her with his and Lucy's… situation, but he did need reach Misthallery ASAP.

"Please forgive me. I'm a tad shaken from our near-collision… Would you know how to drive a car, by any chance?"