Plans were made for a trip to Egypt. This time it wasn't a mystery but an artefact of interest. A crown owned by Pharoah Nymaatre. While it was believed to be fictional, Desmond had somehow acquired a map that would lead to the tomb of said Pharoah. While Elaine would have liked to have known the exact source of said map, she felt she could already guess. Desmond could have just been lucky in finding the map (possibly during their last trip to London which Elaine used to get Johanna her birthday present), or possibly more illegal ways. It could have been either really.

But it was still a trip to Egypt, and it did excite Elaine. After all, how many could say they were going on an expedition to a tomb hidden in Egypt that had yet to be discovered? Granted, there was the risk of traps being triggered, and they would have to bring a booklet with them to translate the hieroglyphs since neither she nor Desmond had fluent understanding. But they had been through worse.

All there was to do now was make sure they had everything prepared for their trip.

"Sleeping bags, food, water…" Elaine was checking the list in the library. Humming in approval since they definitely had all of those items, while Desmond was sitting in an arm chair and reading a book. "I believe we 'ave everything. Anything else you want to add to the list?"

"No, I believe you have everything down," replied Desmond as he turned a page in his book. "I'll be carrying the translation booklet on my person, and I be sure to make sure we have the appropriate tools with us to disable any possible traps."

"Good to know. It would be a shame to die only on our second adventure."

"Second?" Desmond looked up to her and raised a brow, which Elaine then mimicked.

"Do you really want to include Ambrosia through Azran sanctuary to the list?"

"… The Azran sanctuary, maybe."

"… Fine, third adventure. But only because you revealed yourself to be Descole," Elaine muttered before she folded up the list and placed it inside her pocket. "So, we're leaving the day after tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything else that needs to be noted down?"

"No."

Elaine looked back to Desmond. She hadn't told him she had spotted his letter to Professor Layton before Johanna's birthday. She figured it would be better if he told her himself. Even if she had to wait until (assuming Desmond actually sent the letter and didn't just write it for the sake of writing it) the Professor sent a response of some kind. If he actually did respond.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Elaine jilted slightly from Desmond's sudden question. "You were staring at me."

"Desole," Elaine responded. "Just thinking of a few things is all. It was just a coincidence that I was staring at you."

"Or perhaps you were dazzled by my appearance," Desmond suggested with a light smirk, pushing his glasses back up as they began to slip down slightly.

"I thought you liked to boast about your intelligence, not your good looks?"

"So you admit I'm handsome?"

"I'm merely questioning your sudden interest in your looks," Elaine stated. "But to answer your question, I wasn't dazzled. Just coincidentally staring in your direction."

"That's almost a shame." Desmond checked his pocket watch and shut his book. "We may as well retire for the night. We can look over the last of the details before we start our trip for Egypt."

"Sounds good to me," Elaine agreed as she stood up. "Anything you want to talk about before we go to bed?"

"… Yes, actually." Desmond had spoken in a slightly low tone, and Elaine sat back down. Waiting for what he had to say. He looked silently to Elaine for a moment before he spoke. "I've been thinking over a few things lately. I've… I've never been to my mother's grave. I want to, but I can't."

"Do you not know where she is buried?" Elaine guessed. It seemed the mostly likely case given her current circumstance at the time of death.

"No, I don't," Desmond admitted. "I tried searching the cemetery near my hometown. I even looked at gravestones that looked as though they could have been a hundred years old. Just on the off chance that that type of stone was picked on purpose for one reason or another. But so far I haven't been so lucky."

"I'm sorry to 'ear that," Elaine sympathised with a small frown.

"I've concluded there is only one person I can ask."

Even without the bitter tone in his voice, Elaine knew he was referring to his father, Bronev. Elaine hadn't been quite sure how exactly Desmond felt towards his father. Maybe a part of him still had an ounce of care for the old man, but a deep wound as caused by stealing Johanna and it wasn't going to mend easily. Johanna herself probably wouldn't be too keen on being near her grandfather anytime soon as well.

As for herself? She remembered the threat he made against her own parents, and while it was healing much better than the bullet wound he had given Desmond years previous, Elaine for just a moment recalled the pain of getting shot through her arm. She found it hard to completely hate the man though. He had lost it all in the end, and much to Elaine's annoyance it tugged at both her empathy and sympathy.

"You're thinking of asking Bronev?"

"To find mother's grave, it's a tempting idea," Desmond admitted grudgingly. "But I'd rather not talk to that man."

"Maybe we could go to the Nest if it's standing? There might be something there mentioning where she was buried." It was a long shot. Scotland Yard probably got everything there was there, but it was better than having nothing to suggest.

"I… I suppose since Bronev would have been leader around the time of her death, it is… a possibility. Though an extremely slim on," Desmond held his hands together, index fingers pressing hard against one another. "But in general, I doubt Targent would ever keep a role of where people are buried."

"… What about to 'ide, 'evidence'? After people who didn't comply were… 'taken care of'?"

"Well… I suppose if it was to hide evidence and there was a danger of someone finding it, then perhaps it would be useful to know where it was buried in the first place."

"Back on track though, maybe you should… Think some more about it. Unless you want to find 'er grave right away, take your time thinking. Just because Bronev would likely know doesn't mean 'e's the only one with the answer."

Desmond was silent. He wasn't looking at Elaine, though he did seem to take her words into consideration. "That is true," he finally said. "I'll think some more on it once we are finished with our work in Egypt."

OMAKE THEATRE: Where Layton characters are chibi-fied!

When Elaine was fighting Emmy in the cave in Froenburg, not too far from where the Azran sanctuary was, the first thing that came to the minds of Aurora and Luke was that this was an epic fight that many readers were possibly hoping for, and would likely be disappointed with. A fight between the only people in the series that actually do hand-on-hand combat without any need of weapons (because Emmy and the Frenchwoman were badass like that), and given how traditionally in this game the Professor is a gentleman who doesn't like women getting hurt (likely due to the psychological trauma of Claire's death), it was a little ironic that two ladies were doing the physical fighting. Granted, both Professor and Descole have had their sword fights, but this was fighting with fists and kicks! Like, say… Oh, Godzilla against the two MUTO's in the latest Godzilla movie! Which totally wasn't an excuse to say that the author saw the film the day it was released in her country.

… She thought it was a good movie, and was one of the few where the use of 3D was acceptable.

Back to this weak plot though, in the minds of Professor Layton, Descole and Bronev (men who hadn't had sex in ten years (and more in Bronev's case. "HEY!")), this fight only said one thing in their minds. One phrase that united all men. A phrase, that could possible bring about world peace if the action was done at the right time and at the right place.

Cat fight.

"Bitch!" Emmy snapped when Elaine tackled her face first to the floor and pulled her hair back.

Both women were dishevelled. Enough of the top buttons of Elaine's lilac shirt were missing to show some lovely cleavage and with the skirt of Emmy's outfit torn to make it even shorter, it gave everyone present a good chance to see her Powerpuff Girls panties.

"Professor! Shouldn't we do something?" Luke asked desperately. Sweet, innocent Luke. Unaware that he, Aurora and the two fighters were the only ones who were not thinking dirty.

"Now, now, Luke. A gentleman always watches on as two women fight in a suggestive manner," said his mentor, patting his head but not looking away from the fight as he lightly smiled. Once or twice imaging Claire taking place of one of the women.

"Yeah, so shut it brat," Descole muttered as he shoved Luke away.

"If I was ten years younger," Bronev sighed wistfully.

"One of them is mine, and the other sees you as an uncle, so fuck off!"

"Now, Descole. A gentleman doesn't swear."

"Hey, Layton. No one cares about gentleman behaviour anymore. So deal with it."

"I don't understand why you would all want to watch two females fight," said Aurora with a confused frown.

Cue Emmy managing to get out of Elaine's hold and then grab her from behind with her hands close to Elaine's breasts as she dragged the Frenchwoman near some water in an attempt to half drown her (she couldn't kill her. She was already on two strikes with the law for raiding men's homes for boxers and egging Bill Hawks' home, as well as throwing rotting fruit and veg at it, and tp-ing it. And releasing a large group of dogs in his garden that all had, er… Well, to put it bluntly. A constant dose of the shits that made them go potty every ten minutes.

Hawks and his wife had to move home due to the smell.

But back to the main story, Elaine managed to free herself and tackled Emmy into the water. In her speed, she had accidently pressed her face in the cleavage of Emmy's breasts. Not that the perverted men were going to complain. Especially with clothes clinging tightly to skin now, showing every curve and-

"Excuse me," Aurora spoke up to both women who briefly stopped their strangulation of one another to look at the Azran emissary. "But, what reason would men have to look at women fight?"

Both women frowned and looked to said men who quickly looked away, trying to think of an explanation. But when the women thought of their movements in said fight, they slowly stood up and walked towards the men.

"Professor, Uncle…"

"Dessy…"

"We want a word," they ended simultaneously, clenching their fists as the three men paled. Luke backed away along with Aurora, and soon both were met with a horrendous sight that would never leave their minds.

He wondered if his mother had done something similar when she found out Clark had tried to organise some kind of mud wrestling fight between her and a neighbour.