A/N: Okay, so I want to thank WolfieRed23 for pointing out a mistake I made, that I shall rectify in this chapter! Also, I'm very sorry for how short the last chapter was. I shall now make up for it!
Here we go!
…
Chapter Fourteen – Orange County
Miles scowled at his phone. For the past day and a half, he'd been trying to get a hold of Phoenix, but with no luck. His phone kept going straight to voicemail, like it was off, or dead or something.
"Why don't you try to call the professor?" Kay asked, perched on the couch in his office. Miles sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Because I don't have his phone number," he said, glancing up at the girl.
"Oh," she said, before shrugging. "Well, they'll probably meet up somewhere, right?" she said.
"I hope so. Before Luke and Pearl get hurt, or into too much trouble," he replied.
…
"Huh," Phoenix said, studying his phone. He and Professor Layton were lost. Orange County was tiny, and they had apparently driven right through it, into San Bernardino.
"What's wrong?" Professor Layton asked, searching for a way to turn around.
"My phone's dead. Must have forgot to charge it the night before we left." Phoenix shrugged. "That happens sometimes," he admitted. After all, he was bed with technology. Forgetting to charge his phone was common for him, even in college.
"Ah. Well, hopefully no one will have to get a hold of you," Hershel mused.
"Hopefully."
…
Pearl and Luke sat on the train, watching their chaperon. He was pacing angrily, talking on his cell. They had finally gotten to and solved the puzzle of the San Diego stone, only to not receive the key.
Someone got there before them.
"I'm sorry, Luke," Pearl said, leaning against her friend. He was kind of upset, though not nearly as angry as Dr. Volca. After all, what if it not just their group and Phoenix and the professor searching for the keys? What if the men who kidnapped his parents, and tried to get him, was also searching?
"It's okay," he said softly, leaning into her as well, enjoying her comfort.
"At least we have the first one!" she tried hopefully.
"Yeah, but what if we lost too much time with our detour to Arizona?" Luke asked, sitting up and looking at Pearl. She took his hands, tugging him gently to face her.
"I don't think we did. You are the best puzzle solver I know, and trains are faster then cars," she said. Luke looked down at their hands, then up at her. "We will reach the next maze stone and solve the puzzle." She grinned. "I just know it."
Luke smiled warmly at Pearl, feeling better.
"You're right, Pearl. Thanks," he said, hugging her. She gasped softly in surprise, her cheeks turning a little red, before hugging him back.
"Y-you're welcome," she stammered.
Volca, done on the phone, looked over at the two kids, shaking his head before finally coming over.
"We're almost there," he said. The two quickly pulled apart, looking up at him.
"Are you okay? You seemed angry," Pearl asked. Luke frowned slightly at that. He found it odd how mad Volca had gotten. After all, he was just looking for a colleague, compared to Luke, who was looking for his family.
"Yes. I'm just worried," Volca admitted, before smiling slightly. "Come on, you two. We have a puzzle to solve."
…
Finding the stone wasn't hard. After all, Orange County was a tiny county.
The stone was in a small, private university, and all it took to gain access was showing Volca's Nodir University ID and a promise not to let the kids touch it.
The stone stood in a room in the Archeology building, surrounded by other Cascadian and Mayan artifacts.
"Seems everyone has their own opinion of the origin of these stones," Volca said thoughtfully, studying the maze. Luke and Pearl studied it as well.
Luke pulled out his notebook and began sketching the maze, much like he did the last two (even if it was Pearl who solved the San Diego Maze). Volca watched over his shoulder, keeping his thoughts to himself this time.
"This is the stone of enlightenment…" Luke muttered. Volca frowned slightly, looking back to the stone. The intertwining paths on this one was a lot more complicated, but within the paths, he could see a shape.
"There's a flower!" Pearl said. Luke stopped and looked at his drawing, noticing that this time, he started with the flower shape within the maze.
"A flower… wait, isn't the Lotus the symbol of Enlightenment?" he asked, looking up at Dr. Volca.
"Well, yes, depending on the culture…" he said thoughtfully.
"And enlightenment is like a flower blooming!" Pearl said brightly, her eyes lighting up as she reached forward, pressing the space right where the stem and flower connected. Dr. Volca scowled at the back of Luke and Pearl's heads when the stone let out a soft grating noise. Again, he was bested by two middle school kids.
The square with the maze, like the first stone, flipped, revealing ancient Tibetan on the back. Dr. Volca studied it.
"What does it say?" Luke asked, his pen poised over the paper. Volca held up a finger.
"Just a moment. This one is longer then the first one," he said. Luke nodded, grinning at Pearl.
"There was a lot of dust on it, wasn't there?" he asked her. She grinned and showed him her fingers, proving that they were the first to the stone.
"Okay. Here it is," Volca said.
"'You are walking down the road to enlightenment when you come to a monk and a three-way fork in the road. The road points North, East, and West. You can ask the monk one question. He will answer honestly: yes, no, or hum if he cannot answer.' I guess we have to come up with the answer," he concluded. Luke nodded, looking down at where he wrote the riddle.
"It would have something to do with enlightenment," Pearl said with a grin, looking at Luke's book as well.
"Obviously, it has to be a yes or no answer," Dr. Volca said.
"But it can't be simple either," Luke mused.
"Well, there are three paths, and three possible answers," Pearl said brightly.
"Which means… the question has to be worded in a very specific way. What about this?" Luke said, his eyes lit up. "'If the way is not to the east, is it to the west?' That way—" Before he could finish, the stone emitted another grating sound, and the panel flipped, revealing a key. Luke grinned brightly and snatched it up, putting it in his satchel.
"How was that the answer?" Pearl asked, confused.
"Well, if the monk had said yes, the answer is west. No, and it would be east. And if he had hummed, it would be north," Luke explained.
"Oh!" Pearl gasped in understanding, admiration entering her eyes. Luke, noticing, blushed. Volca, who also needed Luke's explanation, frowned slightly, beginning to wonder why he spent so many years in school. But, again, he took a deep breath and smiled.
At least they were getting the keys, right?
"Come on, you two. Next stop, Riverside County and the Hemet stone," he said, leading the two away from the small university and back to the train station.
…
A/N: Poor Volca. That's the third time Luke and Pearl upstaged him.
The Hemet Stone is the second to last stone. What will happen now!?