The Earth King Has Invited You to Labyrinthia

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this very strange crossover.


Espella's voice cut through the dark of sleep. "I've brought breakfast. Everyone up!"

He grumbled his way to wakefulness, feeling around for his hat in the dark of morning. When his hand settled on a human body, Layton startled to full wakefulness, and quickly took stock of his thoughts and memories. They were all there, every detail up to falling asleep, and he took a long breath. Time to take stock of his surroundings.

For one, Mr. Wright was lying in bed next to him. The man had graciously given him the covers, by the look of it, and had his suit jacket pulled over his chest as a makeshift blanket. Slightly roused by Layton's accidental pat to the chest, Mr. Wright was taking his time to stretch his arms over his head. Layton followed his line of sight to the other side of the room, where Maya and Luke- still very much asleep- were being gently shaken awake by a breakfast-weilding Espella.

"Go away," Maya said plainly. "Sun's not up."

"Maya," Espella chided. "We're underground. We can't see the sun." As if to prove the point, she opened the shutters above their bed and flooded the room with light from the glowing crystals lining the, for lack of a better word, 'ceiling' of Labyrinthia.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." The sullen teenager, for only a teenager would rage against the idea of mornings so vehemently, turned over in bed and yanked the covers off of Luke. He woke with a questioning sound as Maya kept up her protest. "Who puts an entire town underground?"

"That's... actually what I'm here to talk to you about. Please, everyone eat." Espella placed the little tray of food on the floor and sat down on her knees. "Especially you, Sir Layton and Luke. There's much I have to explain, I think, to keep you two safe. And I'd like Mr. Wright and Maya to hear this too."

"Shouldn't we be getting to work?" Mr. Wright asked. He sat up in bed, and to Layton's utter horror, handed him his hat off of a wall shelf. He hurriedly donned his hat as Mr. Wright continued his questioning. "It seems like me and Maya should get the oven on, at least."

Espella shivered at the mention of the oven. "No no, Aunt Patty has taken care of that already. Please, eat, everyone. And I'll explain."

"All right, if you say so..." With a shy smile, Mr. Wright sidled out of the bed and took the professor's coat off of the bedpost. He offered it with one hand, the other rubbing the back of his neck in self-comfort. "Hope you... slept? Well? Sorry about the bed situation."

"I slept really well, actually..." Luke felt the need to mention. He was just barely able to bed out from his little nest of covers, yawning aloud and unrumpling his little hat. He had the whole room yawning at least once in short order. "But my back is sore..."

Maya answered, and as she spoke her voice piped higher and higher into a adoring squeak. "Probably because you sleep all curled up into a little ball like a little kitten!"

"Oy, stop that! I'm not little!" He pulled down his hat and straightened it with gusto. "And how do you know that, anyway?"

Chuckling at the little back and forth, Layton made sure his coat and shoes were on before sitting down at the breakfast spread. They soon all sat on the floor together around the little tray, and broke bread over a simple meal of rice and eggs and a thin soup. It almost felt wrong; with the smell of yeast proofing rolling up from the stairs, one would assume breakfast would include bread. Once or twice Maya was caught staring longingly down the flight, as if tempted to go down and snatch a loaf. Mr. Wright brought her back to earth with a gentle touch to the shoulder, and a least once a half-joking attempt to steal her remaining food. Everyone ate in silence, anticipating Espella's words.

"I've been... thinking, very carefully, since a few days ago." She worried her hands in her lap as she spoke. "Over the last few days I've noticed that if I try to piece together my days from beginning to end, I simply... cannot. There are holes in my memory. But I have held onto some feelings, and a few memories, like Sir Layton and Luke. I know they come from outside, I just... can't remember outside."

"You don't remember Carmine?" Layton asked.

"I... no. I've never heard that name before." Espella shook her head. "Or, I don't think I have. Maybe. But I do remember Mr. Wright and Maya."

"Well, yeah you remember us," Maya countered. "We've lived here our whole lives."

Layton hummed.

"I hear some protestation," said Maya with an air of confidence. "From Mr. Silk Hat over there."

"Maya please! That's part of what I'm talking about!" Espella hushed herself after her raise in tone. "The guards yesterday nearly hurt Sir Layton because when he said things they didn't understand, they got angry with him. I don't want anyone angry with each other, please."

Maya had the good sense to look abashed. "I wasn't angry! I was just pointing out the obvious."

Layton cradled his hand in his chin. "Indeed. But sometimes, what is obvious isn't necessarily the truth."

Mr. Wright stopped in the middle of chewing and grew a faraway look in his eyes, as if something about the statement rang home. Layton noticed with a quick glance over his shoulder, and a happy sort of tension straightened Luke's back and set Layton's mind whirring.

"Miss, if I may," Layton inquired, "I would like to raise an interesting proposition: that of the five of us, only one has been living in Labyrinthia for any period of time."

"Okay, Mr. Hat. Challenge accepted!" Maya slammed her hands into the floor, her face alight and fierce with determination. Any hint of sleepiness from that morning was long gone. "Fire away! I'll blow your argument into little pieces!"

"Maya, that's-" Mr. Wright's protestation stopped before it had even begun, his mouth hanging open mid-word. "It's... um... hmm. Carry on?"

"But-" Espella choked. "This seems very aggressive..."

"Hold your ostrich-horses a minute, Espella." Maya leaned forward. "Challenge!"

Maya's enthusiasm was infectious. Layton hid a smile behind his hand and posited, "I would raise the obvious question; if Mr. Wright and Miss Maya-"

"Miss Fey. It sounds more official."

"-had been living here their entire lives..." He pointed to Maya's robes. "Then they would certainly have a change of clothes."

"I-" Maya's smiled dropped as quickly as it had appeared. "Well of course I have a change of clothes, they're in the-" She struggled, her eyes searching the room. There were no cabinets or trunks or dressers to hold anything, simply bookshelves. She even pulled the mattress up to check underneath; nothing. "Um..."

"That's what I came to talk to you all about!" Espella interrupted. "The four of you must be from the outside... but I can't remember how any of you came here, or why, or even for how long."

"It must have been very recently, for all of us." Layton met Luke's gaze, to make sure he wasn't speaking for the both of them. "Luke and I still have our memories of Republic City from yesterday."

"That's true," Luke clarified.

"And while I cannot say with absolute certainty, Mr. Wright and Miss Fey could not have been here much longer. If I may?" He took Mr. Wright's closer arm and held it out to inspect. "His clothes haven't had a chance to wrinkle severely, nor has he acquired new clothes to better assimilate."

"Woah." Maya did an odd gesture on either side of her head. "You're blowin' my mind here, Sir Layton. I mean, I've lived in Labyrinthia my whole-"

Phoenix raised a hand, silencing Maya. "I don't remember any of 'our whole life' here."

Maya stopped in her tracks again. Luke could swear he could hear the mental brakes screeching. "Well, yeah, Nick! There was the... the time where-"

Luke grinned. "You don't remember any of it either!"

Layton nodded assuredly. "Because it didn't happen."

"But why would you be in from the outside and not remember it?" Espella asked them. "What about the War?"

"I believe," Layton stated. "That is our cue for your explanation. I am sorry to have made you wait, Espella. Now please, tell us everything you can. What war do you speak of?"

She told them The Great War, the seige of the Fire Nation against the Earth Kingdom. How it began with the genocide of the peaceful Air Nomads, and how the Water Tribes were surely next. How the Avatar had not been seen for nearly a century, long enough for humanity to doubt its existence. How the dreaded Fire Lord commanded his fierce army of bloodthirsty firebenders against the brave and noble defense forces of the Earth King each and every day, but in this fearful time came a thread of hope. A great man of fantastic powers, the benevolent and wonderful Storyteller, found that if he wrote his words, then they came true. But the Fire Lord had a dread power to match his own, and so to hone his skills and keep the people of the Earth Kindom safe, he carved Labyrinthia into the heart of the earth itself and hid its people within its walls. For so long as they stayed within, they would never be touched by the evil Fire Lord or his cruel firebenders.

"Or so he thought..." Espella swallowed thickly. "For one hundred years ago, the firebenders came and burned the city to ashes, and none escaped. The Fire Lord's dread magic found its way into Labyrinthia. The Storyteller cannot prevent the Fire Lord's actions, but he can predict them, and it is up to the people of the town to find his agents and punish them for their cruelty."

"Some all-powerful Storyteller," Maya huffed.

"Yeah," Luke agreed, "All that power and he can't even keep his people safe."

Mr. Wright shushed them both. "Look, I might not have the best grip on the situation, but even I know talk like that's going to get you on the Storyteller's bad side."

Espella nodded gravely. "As well as the town guard, and all of the citizens. They love the Storyteller dearly. He gave them life, after all."

"What about you, Espella?" Luke asked.

"He..." Espella chose her words very carefully. "I owe him very much. But I know that he is... a man. He isn't perfect. Perhaps these gaps in my memory... are pieces he hasn't written yet?"

Maya and Luke set about theorizing, about plot holes and ignoring characters for the sake of developing other townspeople. Phoenix, meanwhile, had taken note of the professor. Ever since Espella started explaining, he'd withdrawn into himself. It wasn't simple silence, not with the haunted look that clouded his small, dark eyes. His hand had even stayed firmly clamped over his mouth, hiding his expression from the baker. He hadn't moved. He hadn't spoken a word.

Something had made him dreadfully uncomfortable, and he hoped it hadn't been him. It must have been something in Espella's story, but... what?

Either way, he thought hard about what to do, and decided to lay a hand on the professor's thin shoulder. Sir Layton shook as if electrocuted and gasped aloud, turning the attention of the room solely upon him.

"Sorry." He pulled his hat low and cleared his throat. "I had become lost in thought."

Luke said, with quiet understanding, "That's okay, professor."

"Espella. I have two questions." He came back to himself. "Where does the Storyteller write his story? How do the townspeople know what he has written?"

"He writes The Story into his sacred tomes, the Historia Labyrinthia. If he fills one, it goes into The Archive at The Great Library in the center of town." Espella tugged at the tip of one of her braids. "But once a week, The Storyteller throws a great parade down the main street. His procession tosses out pages of The Story on paper. The whole town gathers to read it, and brings the pages to those who can't make it."

"So he has to write it into his big book, and write enough pages for every single person in town to have a copy?" Maya asked.

Luke needled, "And if you'd lived here your whole life you would've known that."

The professor scolded, "Luke, there is no need for that."

"Indeed. This takes up much of The Storyteller's time," Espella explained. "He is rarely seen amongst his people, lately. He spends most of his time in his palace, deep in the heart of old Labyrinthia. It is built into the wall itself, as a sign of protection."

Layton nodded. "Hmm. I believe, with this knowledge in mind, we may safely enter the town and cause no trouble. Luke, my boy, get your shoes. I believe a visit to this Archive is in order."

Luke bounced to his feet. "Right away!"

"Mr. Wright, Miss Fey, I will leave you to your work."

"Got it!" Maya cheered.

"I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for, Sir Layton." Espella cleared the dishes and stood to her feet. "I have my errands to run. We should all meet in here again at dinner and hear what Sir Layton has learned."

In the little flurry of activity, Layton stood to stand and found that Mr. Wright's hand still rested upon his shoulder. In fact, Mr. Wright seemed to be holding him there with a slight weight, and there again was that slight, shy smile.

"Hey... if there's anything else you want to talk about..." Mr. Wright implored. "I mean, I know we don't know each other all that well, but... I'll listen, at least. If it'll help."

"Indeed." He rested his hand against the brim of his hat. Not pulling it, not adjusting, just holding it. "What has brought this about, if I may ask, Mr. Wright?"

The hand left his shoulder to rub at Mr. Wright's neck. "I like helping people?"

"A noble cause," Layton smiled and stood. "For a baker."