Okay, new chapter. We get to meet Luke in this chapter, and find out who his fiancée is, although I suppose most of you already got it right. I really like this chapter for some reason, maybe because of the UK vs US car types argument. Anyway, any type of review is appreciated. PLEASE DO REVIEW THOUGH! I really need to know what you think of this, otherwise, I'll be forced to end the story.

Ahem. Anyway, here is Chapter 1: Union and Reunion (Part 1)

Feenie

X

The Professor never liked flights.

His tea juddered slightly, spilling a small splash over its rim. On the same token, the hat on his head wobbled slightly. He adjusted it and continued reading his book.

Sitting next to him was Flora. Despite being a grown woman now, she was jumpy and excited.

'Professor! I still can't believe we're going to America! This is incredible!'

The Professor laughed. He was nearly 50 now, but he still looked young, aside from the slight tinge of grey hairs he had on his head, which he neatly covered with his hat.

'Ha ha ha. Don't forget, though, Flora. We are going to investigate for Luke, remember?'

'Of course, Professor,' she said. 'But even so! Los Angeles! That's still really cool!'

She turned and gazed at the scenery outside of her window. It was a cloudless day, and beneath her she could see the fields below.

Meanwhile, the Professor thought. Imagine what Luke has done with his life. So many memories with each other, and so many more now.

He was getting old. For some reason, he was less enthusiastic about another adventure. Could this be his sign that he was too old for this?

He brushed the thoughts aside and took another swig of his tea. At that moment, the notice sound came on. A girl in an Irish accent spoke;

'Ladies and Gentlemen, the captain has now illuminated the seatbelt sign, so please put up your trays and prepare for descent.'

The Professor took one final swig of tea, then handed it back to the stewardess. He then continued with his book.

'Professor! We're nearly in America!' Flora said, gripping onto his arm.

They clambered off of the aeroplane and onto a little minibus. The Professor carried a large, heavy rucksack that Flora had chosen as hand luggage, Flora carried a book.

'Luke said he would meet us at our terminal. We should get going, the flight was delayed, so he'll be wondering where we are.' The Professor said to Flora.

'Right you are, Professor!' she said, as she stepped off the minibus. A group of stewardesses led them to passport control, then to baggage claim. Finally, they had their bags, so they walked down to the terminal.

In the lobby in the hotel, Flora expected to see Luke waiting right there for them. No one shaped or dressed like Luke was there.

'Well, it has been twelve years. Maybe he changed his style?'

They looked around. There were only a few people sitting on the plastic chairs. An old man with his dog. A ginger girl reading a book. A young boy. No one in his early twenties.

'Where on earth is Luke?' exclaimed Flora, loudly.

'Ssh, Flora, he'll be here somewhere. He did say he might be late.'

At that moment, the Professor felt a finger tap him on the back. He turned around. It was the ginger girl. She had now shut the book, holding her finger in the middle page. She was wearing a yellow suit, a blue tie, and a small gadget round her neck, on which a smile was shown on the screen.

'Hello!' she said, excitedly. 'Are you Professor Layton?' She had a thick American accent, which seemed very friendly.

The Professor nodded politely and smiled. 'That is me. Do you know Luke?'

'I do! I do know him. He asked me to come and get you. My name is Athena Cykes.'

'Oh!' said Flora, 'What a beautiful name! I'm Flora.'

'Nice to meet you!' Athena exclaimed.

A little robotic voice said out of nowhere, 'To meet you nice!'

The Professor jumped at this. 'Who was that?' said Flora, a little too enthusiastically.

'Erm… That was Widget.' Said Athena, awkwardly. 'It sometimes blurts out what I'm thinking.'

The device on her neck gave a little wink.

'Ooh, cool! Can I try?' Flora said, marvelling.

'Oh, sure!'

Athena lifted the device from her neck and handed it to Flora, who in turn placed it on her own. The screen lit up brightly, and a beaming face appeared on it.

'Wow, this is so cool!' Flora said, marvelling. 'Mega Hype!' the little device said in turn.

'Wow! That is exactly what I thinking, that is brilliant!' Flora was stunned as she handed it back to Athena.

'I must say, a remarkable piece of technology, Ms Cykes.' The Professor exclaimed. He too was interested and surprised by the advancement of computing this girl had.

Athena gushed. 'Aww, you guys are so kind. Okay, there's a taxi waiting outside, do you need a hand with any of your bags?'

'That's fine, Ms Cykes, we can manage them.' He said, and grabbed the handle of his suitcase, and readjusting the backpack.

'It's all right, you can call me Athena. Welcome to America!'

She ran to the automatic door of the terminal, and smiled as they flew open in front of her. Then she turned around, and presented it with jazz hands and a huge beam.

The Professor and Flora stepped through the door, with Athena following close behind them. Flora gasped. There were so many people! It was a lot warmer than in the UK, and the palm trees swung in the breeze. In the distance, she could see the blue horizon, decorated perfectly with skyscrapers. It was incredible.

'Err, guys?' Athena exclaimed. She stood by a large black car. 'We should be moving.'

'I want to go in the front!' exclaimed Flora. She ran around to the left hand side of the car and opened the door. The driver stared back at her as if she was mad.

'Erm, Flora, dear.' The Professor said quickly. 'We're in America, remember? The driver is on the left hand side of the car.'

Flora blushed and shut the door again. She then quickly ran round the other side and got in the front seat.

'I never knew that, Professor. Why do you have it on the right in England, then? Isn't it just really confusing when you go to other countries?' Athena asked the Professor.

'Ah, well there's a simple answer to that question…' He explained then stopped. Why on earth do England have different car types?

'And that simple answer is?' Athena said expectantly.

'Um, I'll tell you later.' He exclaimed. They both got into the back seats of the car, and they drove away, with Flora wondering why he was driving on the wrong side of the road.

They finally arrived at Luke's house at around 10 o' clock at night, American time. It was dark, but Flora was loving every minute of it. They got out of the taxi.

Athena had probably texted ahead, because a figure was standing at the doorstep as they came up the path.

Athena called out to the figure. 'Luke? Is that you?' she yelled up the path

The figure moved and called back. 'Athena! You're back! And… are they here?'

Athena gave an okay signal and ran up the driveway to him, with Professor Layton and Flora following closely behind her.

When they got to him, the Professor could see his style hadn't changed much, apart from the fact that he wasn't wearing a hat, and didn't carry a briefcase. Other than that, he was just a taller version of the Luke the apprentice to Professor Layton.

'It's been a very long time, Professor.' Luke exclaimed. He had a calm and deep voice, with soothing tones to it.

'A very long time, my boy.' The Professor replied. They both shared a smile.

'And… Flora!' Luke exclaimed. They both beamed at each other.

'Thank you both for coming over, I hope you had a nice journey.'

'The plane ride wasn't great,' the Professor stated, 'but your friend was very helpful.'

Luke then turned to Athena. 'Thank you so much for looking after them, Thena.'

'Not a problem, Lukey!' she said, and then leaned upwards. They embraced firmly.

Flora grimaced slightly, and the Professor just adjusted his hat, with a slight look of surprise on his face. 'I didn't you two were a couple.' He said as they broke apart. 'I must say, you do go well together.

'Well, we were going to wait a little later to tell you this, but…'

'We're engaged!' exclaimed Athena.

'Ah! Luke, I'm so happy for you!' Flora said, going to hug him, in a friendly way.

The Professor smiled once more. 'You have my heartiest congratulations.'