Layton could hear a voice. It seemed to echo. He struggled to hear what it had to say.
"...ro...s...ofe...ah...Prof...ah...PROFESSAH!" Luke's voice shouted through his unconsciousness.
Layton awoke with a gasp, breathing deeply.
"Professor! Are you alright?" Luke was panicked.
"Ugh... how long have I been out?" Layton questioned, holding his head. Waves of dizziness continued to pass through his mind.
"It's been three hours since that thing attacked you."
"The thing? What thing... Oh, right... the creature..." Layton felt a disturbance in his stomach. Something seemed to be moving within. He winced, reaching down, trying to quell the resulting nausea. Luke had a visible sign of disgust.
"Are you alright, Professor?"
"I-I'm not sure what it's doing, Luke. It doesn't feel comfortable, that's for sure..." Layton heaved as his gut began to show signs of motion. Luke stepped backwards.
The same shrill scream was heard, muffled this time from the walls of Layton's belly.
Soon Layton too joined its screams as he fell down on all fours, wailing from the stabbing pains in his stomach. He grit his teeth together as the pain soon spread to his whole body.
"Luke.." He managed to hiss out, "Get away! Now! I don't know what's happening, but I don't want you to get hurt!"
Luke obediently ran to the next room, peeking around the corner.
A fire began to grow from deep within him. A searing heat swept through his veins. His insides twisted and turned, and bitter mass crept at the back of his throat. He gave a swallow, trying to keep the process clean.
The light began to fade, and once again, he fell and stopped moving.
Luke crept towards the Professor, softly calling out the man's title.
"Pr-...Professor?"
Luke squeaked when the man looked up at him. And felt his heart stop as he spoke.
"Is that the title of this body? Professor?" An unknown voice came forth from his lips. It was deep, and almost sounded distant. It even had a slight echo.
Luke backed up as the "Professor" climbed up on all fours, before standing with some difficulty. His eyes had a reddish glow to them, although it was faint. Was Luke hallucinating, or were the man's teeth somewhat jagged?
"Well," the voice called out, "Let's see how this...'Professor'...copes with the new powers. Yes, a very lucky one he is..." A deep, rolling laugh escaped the man's throat, before a grunt was heard.
"L-Luke?"
"Prof-...professor? Is that you this time?"
"This time?"
"Professor...I think that...creature...thing...It..."
"What about it, Luke? Did something happen?"
"I think...it's possessed you!"
"What do you mean?"
"You...you were standing up...and talking...but it wasn't your voice not even close Professor..." Luke babbled on.
"Do you remember what it said, my boy?"
"It mentioned... something about powers...and how you'll cope with them..."
"..powers, my boy?"
Layton then realized the boy's focus had changed to staring at something behind the man. Layton turned around...and saw nothing.
"My boy, what are you lo-" Layton felt something brush against his pant leg. He looked... and gasped.
A tail.
A long, black, leathery looking tail.
That was trailing to his backside.
And it looked just like the imp's tail.
Layton almost went pale, giving an amused chuckle as he felt the muscles twitch, glancing as it swished back and forth.
"Well, this is certainly interesting. Luke, power up your computer. We need to do a bit of research."
–-
*click*
*patter patter patter patter patter patter*
*click*
0 results found
The professor muttered something that almost sounded like a swear to Luke. He shook it off.
"So what does this mean, Professor?" Luke questioned. The Professor let out a deep sigh.
"I suppose this means we're gonna have to play this by ear..." He idly scratched an itch on his back. "Although I do wonder just what kind of powers the creature was talking about... At least the movement is gone..."
"Do you think you might have...digested it?" Luke questioned, almost sickened by the thought.
"I honestly don't know what happened inside me, but it's obvious that whatever the creature was in the box is the one responsible for this." A low growl emitted from his belly.
"Don't tell me that was the cr-"
"Relax, Luke. I'm just a bit hungry is all. Come, let's get something to eat. We'll think more about this after a good meal, alright?"
"If you say so, professor..."
