Chapter Seven: The City of Gold
The City of Gold was nothing like the last two cities. The buildings were made of gold, but rather than the tall, far reaching building, these were short, built more for function, it appeared. There was no source of light, making me thankful for the torch I had grabbed from the black market, and there were small, purple flowers everywhere. I also saw movement once or twice, but as soon as I focused on it, it would be gone.
I'll be honest. I was terrified.
Between the very fact that the air here could kill me, coupled with the unknown movement in the dark and the fact that I knew Hertz had people follow me in, I was very, very alone, and in a bad position.
I swept the light of my torch over the ground again, before freeze, spotting something that'll make my life a little easier.
A gold sword, looking to be in good condition, laid near the edge of the path. I picked it up, testing the weight and balance, before nodding, continuing forward.
As I walked past different small streets, I shone my light down them, hoping to spot the Professor. That was probably a bad idea.
One of the times I shined my light down between buildings, my heart stopped. A tall, spindly, purple thing was there, eating some of the flower. It froze as the light fell on it, and turned white, beady eyes on me.
Despite the flowers seeming to be its choice of food, it had razor sharp, long claws, and fangs. I let out a primal, guttural scream, and launched itself at me. With a cry of surprise, I fell backwards, swing the sword wildly at it.
The blade slashed across its face, and it let out another cry, this time of pain.
And suddenly, the City was alive with cries and guttural voices screaming. The creature dove at me again, blood splattering from the cut on its face, and tackled me.
I had just enough time to thrust my sword forward. As we fell back, the blade stabbed through the creature's stomach, killing it.
Waves of nausea rolled over me as I realized what just happened, and I quickly pushed the creature off. I didn't have much time to dwell, though, because two more of the creatures suddenly rounded the corner, charging straight at me. I braced myself, knowing if I went easy on them, I'd die.
The fight was quick. I got plenty of cuts, but I did pretty well, in my opinion. The first creature fell, just as a police officer rounded the corner. Hypnotized as he was, all of his attention was focused on me, and he didn't notice the creature… until it slashed him across the face. His mask went spinning away, and the officer gasped. I ground my teeth together, stepped forward, planting my foot on the ground, and used all of my strength in a thrust. The blade entered the creature right between the ribs, and he fell like his companions. I then turned to the officer, who was groaning, looking sick.
"Please… help…" he gasped. I dropped the sword, realizing the hypnotic spell had been broken, and ran to where his mask had landed, handing it back to him. He pulled it on, breathing the now clean air deeply.
"Thank you…" he muttered.
"You're welcome, officer. Are you okay?" I asked.
"I… think so? What happened? Where am I?" he asked. I sighed, quickly explaining as I picked the sword back up, just in case. He seemed surprised, but took it a lot better than I thought he would.
"So, this is a search and rescue then?" he asked. I nodded.
"Yes. I just hope we aren't too late…" I admitted. The man smiled at me through his mask.
"I've met this Professor once or twice. He's smart. I'm sure he figured something out," the man said. I smiled warmly at him.
"You're right. I'm sure he did too," I said. The two of us walked together, keeping an eye out for other cops, more creatures, or the professor himself.
Unfortunately, a creature found us first. And it was different than the others. This one was large, looking almost like a seal, with dark purple skin and wicked fangs.
"Wh-what is… you can't… you can't fight that, can you…?" the officer asked, backing away. The creature, at this point, was advancing on us.
"No. Run!" I cried, taking off in one direction. The officer ran in another, giving the creature pause as it looked after the two of us. I dove between the buildings, appreciating the function of their short, sturdy looks now. The alleyway twisted this way and that, and I followed it.
Until I tripped.
"Whoa!" I cried, my torch and sword flying out of my hands. I managed to catch myself (just barely) before my face hit the ground. Crawling forward, I found my torch, and swung it around to see what I tripped on.
It was Professor Layton, his back against the building, his legs sprawled in front of him. His hat was slightly askew, and he seemed to be unconscious.
"Professor?" I asked, giving his shoulder a gentle shake. No response. "Professor!" I called. His head lolled to the side slightly from my shaking, and his hat fell off. I gasped, noticing a makeshift gas mask on his face.
He had… what's the word? MacGyver'd something together, per normal.
But it must not be fully effective! I realized. Taking a deep breath, I pulled my mask off and switched it for his, putting the real gasmask on his face. Taking small breaths, I could feel my head getting a little light.
It was still letting in a little of the toxins.
"Come on, Professor," I muttered, shaking his arm again. A few more minutes rolled by, before he shifted slightly, a small groan escaping him.
"Professor!" I said gleefully.
"Flora…?" he mumbled, looking at me with bleary eyes. "Where…?"
"The City of Gold, to be honest," I said, standing. "We have to get out of here."
"R-right…" he muttered, picking up his hat and putting it on, before attempting to stand.
He immediately slid back down with a groan.
"I-I'm… sorry my dear. I believe I am too weak to walk right now…" he sighed.
"Miss!?" the officer I had been with called. Relief flooded my system.
"Over here!" I called. A few minutes later, he rounded the corner. "I found the professor, but he's too weak to walk," I explained. The officer nodded, coming over and pulling Professor Layton onto his back.
"That's fine. Come on, let's get going," he said. I nodded, following after him.
We reached the entrance to the City of Gold without incident. Thankfully, Hertz and the officers weren't there. Unfortunately, neither was Eric or Alfendi. I bit my lip in worry, but left it for now, directing the officer to set the professor near the water.
"You should too, miss. You're starting to stumble," he said. I blinked at him, only just realizing that beneath the adrenaline, my eyesight was blurred, and I felt extremely ill. I pulled the makeshift mask off and slid down next to the Professor. He smiled slightly, wrapping an arm around me.
"Thank you for coming and finding me," he said. I smiled warmly up at him.
"Of course, Professor. I was… really scared," I admitted. His arm tightened.
"I know, my dear. It's the same feeling I get whenever you, or Alfendi, or Luke go missing," he explained. I smiled, pressing my face against his shoulder. We stayed like for a while, breathing the pure, Garden air deeply, until the symptoms of the toxic air cleared from our systems.
…
A/N: Because we need more papa-Hershel moments with Flora!
