Chapter 24:
Emmy stood in the middle of the room, struggling against Philip's goons that currently held her down.

"Hey, easy on the grip!" she yelled.

This only caused Philip to laugh again.
"I'd suggest you stop your struggling. You can't prevent the inevitable. This will be over soon enough."

Emmy shot him a hateful glance and continued to struggle.

Philip smiled, replacing his hood on his head. Rowland stood by his side, now wearing a matching hood.

"The time is upon us."

Philip pulled an old book out from under his cape and began reading from it.

"In the words of the Princess of Locusamator, Luciana, daughter of King Fitzherian III." Philip began.

"At the break of light,
There will be my knight,
Tears join us together as one;
Darkness over the land ne'er undone.
Over the horizon in midday,
Coming north from his way.
I await as promised.
Holding what is cherished.
Longing for his presence,
Filling me with splendid essence."

Philip progressed the volume of his voice and continued.

"The princess spoke of the treasure, most cherished by herself, given to her by the one she loved. Only she knows it's location. She passed on decades upon decades ago. But, her return is nigh."

Philip flipped through pages of the book, until he found a designated page. He began reading from this page, chanting phrases Emmy couldn't comprehend.

Emmy stood, frozen in confusion. She couldn't find any words to help the situation. She just couldn't figure out why she was needed.

'What is he planning?' she pondered. 'He isn't...he couldn't be...would he?'

Luke, Flora, and Nalah stood, dumbfounded.

"Professor, what on earth is going on?" Luke asked.

"It appears to be some form of ritual." Layton responded.

Nalah blinked, even more confused. "What kind of ritual?"

Layton thought for a moment, his brain working like a machine, putting all the prices together. "Of course." He breathed.

"What is it, professor?" Flora asked.

"We need to stop this ritual. Now!" Layton announced.

The other three nodded, not fully aware of the urgency.

"Arise!"

All four froze.

'We're too late." Layton breathed.

Emmy still stood in the middle of the room, eyes wide with fear. Her captors had run, wanting no part in the situation. The circle Emmy stood in the middle of began to glow a blinding, bright yellow. She covered her eyes, trying her hardest not to scream.

"Emmy!"

Emmy turned, a smile spread across her face. "Professor!"

Philip groaned. "Stay where you are!"

"Stop this at once!" Layton demanded.

"Leave Emmy alone!" Luke added boldly.

"Please don't hurt her!" Flora cried.

Philip laughed.

A deafening scream suddenly filled the chamber.

Layton quickly turned and gasped, horrified.

"Help!" Emmy screamed. The yellow circle had changed to fire, circling Emmy, leaving her with no means of escape. "What is this?"

Layton turned back to Philip. "Stop this madness."

"I'm afraid I'm no longer in control, Professor Layton." He responded coldly.

Layton looked back at Emmy, sorrow filling him quickly. Emmy's face showed pure terror, something Layton had never seen portrayed from her. He had never seen her so scared.

She looked back at him, their eyes meeting for one quick moment. The next second, pure chaos broke lose.

The flames surrounding Emmy began to grow larger and brighter, leaving Emmy to scream her friend's names behind its veil. As the flames grew, they began to spin slowly around her, forming a vortex. Emmy reached out to her companions only meters away, praying they didn't dissappear from her view.

"Emmy!" The panicked voices of the group rang through the room.

Suddenly, a voice bellowed from within the flames, shaking the room. It's words were incomprehensible, making it even more terrifying.

"What is it doing?" Nalah yelled over the noise filling the atmosphere.

The flaming vortex began spinning faster, making a tornado of fire in the middle of the room. Anything loose in the room was lifted off the ground, including a few of Philip's goons.

Inspector Rowland and Philip quickly grabbed hold of the wall, as Layton and company took hold of a pillar nearby. The professor refused to take his eyes off of the barely visible shape of Emmy, dress blowing rapidly in the direction of the wind, her cries for help barely heard over the voice, now chanting unknown words.

They watched as Emmy was engulfed in bursts of radiant light. Luke and Flora cried out her name, tears streaming down their faces, though Layton barely noticed. He watched as Emmy disappeared in the flames.

Emmy turned, receiving one final glance of the professor, before her view was clouded by bright flames. She stood in the middle of the swirling fire, strangely unharmed. She suddenly looked up and gasped.

A young woman was floating above her. The woman had long, golden hair, shimmering in the firelight and beautiful blue eyes. She wore a light blue dress, flowing in every direction.

"Who are you?" Emmy asked.

The lady smiled a kind smile. "Luciana."

Emmy frowned, confused. "The princess?"

Luciana nodded. She descended closer to Emmy. "Yes. I have been called."

Emmy's eyes grew wide. "C-called?"

"Yes." She responded in a soothing tone. "Do you know what that means, dear?"

Emmy remained silent, afraid of the answer.

Luciana smiled. "It means, it is time for my return."

Emmy gulped.

Suddenly, the princess looked less lovely and kind. She began laughing historically, her blue eyes glowing a golden color. "IT IS TIME FOR MY RETURN!"

Emmy soon collapsed, her last memory, the golden eyes, appearing to enter her soul.

The flames stopped their motion, then stopped altogether, disappearing in a flash. It appeared as if it never happened. Emmy laid in the middle of the floor, thankfully unharmed by the flames, but motionless. Layton didn't hesitate, as he quickly ran to her, followed by his apprentice.

"Emmy, are you alright?" Layton asked, panic escaping his lungs as he ran to the woman on the floor.

He finally reached her and got down on his knees to check on her. "Emmy, dear. Emmy. Please wake up."

"Please open your eyes, Emmy!" Luke spoke in a nervous voice.

Emmy's eyes shuddered for a moment. Flora and Nalah, who had followed Luke, now joined in leaning closer to Emmy, expecting her to open her eyes and be perfectly fine.

Emmy jerked her eyes opened.

"GAH!" Luke yelled, falling backwards and landing on his backside rather hard.

Flora and Nalah both gasped in shock, Flora joining Luke on the floor.

Emmy's dark brown eyes were no longer their original color. They shone a bright gold color, almost glowing.

"E-Emmy?" Luke screeched.

Emmy smiled, a devilish smile, obviously not her own. "So sorry, but this 'Emmy' is not here."

Flora let out a squeak, as Nalah fell over in shock, horrified looks coming off everyone's face.

Layton stayed over "Emmy", concern filling his face. "Emmy..."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I finally got the chance to post this! I usually write the stories and then transfer them to this site on my iPod, but sadly fanfiction won't let me log back in on it at this time. (Sigh) I did finally get the chance to get on our laptop and update though. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!