Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Professor Layton franchise.
Chapter 19 Losing Battles
The entire structure had started trembling and breaking down. Pieces of rock fell besides their hurried feet and the ground shifted in place.
''Luke, be careful!'' the professor shouted when a rock nearly hit the boy on the head.
''Uh, yeah.'' Luke returned, still recovering from shock.
The professor's arms felt heavy. Emmy's eyes were still closed and her body limp. He had confirmed she was still breathing thankfully, but what had actually happened to her was still uncertain. Before he could think about the consequences any more, they had to get out. The structure was surely going to collapse at any moment.
They had just left the golden room and started crossing the stone slabs in the axe room. The axes were thankfully still in place, no longer cause of worry. Luke rushed across the makeshift bridge to the other side and turned around to wait for his mentor. Seeing Emmy's limp body in the professor's arms caused the boy's breath to falter. He still couldn't believe she was the curse which they were supposed to stop. He couldn't believe she had caused so much trouble for so many people...just to forget. He couldn't believe...she wanted to forget them.
Once the professor had safely crossed the stone bridge, the two ran through the dark tunnel towards the entrance.
''Professor, how are we going to get out?-'' Luke shouted. ''-The doors were closed when we last saw them.''
The professor thought about the entrance, recalling the intricate system of cogs and wheels that were set in place to provide the secure puzzle. He would have to find a way to open the doors. Otherwise they wouldn't last.
''Luke, do you think your friends can help us?'' the professor asked.
Luke nodded and whistled hard on his fingers. A stream of light passed above their heads and continued to rush alongside Luke towards the entrance. The tunnel opened up into the wider space where they had entered. The doors were still very much closed and the building was still very much falling apart. The professor looked up to find the cogs and wheel still set in place.
''What would you like them to do professor?'' Luke asked.
''Hm. I believe it will be impossible for us to reach that mechanism up there. Can the fireflies get in to find the safety switch? It would be installed in case of the mechanic accidentally closing himself in.'' he explained.
''Right.''
Luke instructed the bugs to find the switch, which they immediately sought out. The professor and Luke in the meantime, moved towards the door to try and push it open. They pushed as hard as they could, but the thick door wouldn't budge. If only they had Emmy's strong kick to give it a go.
''It's too heavy. We won't be able to do this alone.''- The professor called out almost inaudibly due to the heavy trembling. -''Maybe the compass room would actually be safer. It seemed like it had more integrity than these sandstone walls.''
The professor ran across the room to check if the tunnel was still intact. He shouldn't have gone a moment earlier, since a large boulder fell down right in front of him, completely sealing off the back of the room and the entrance to the tunnel. They couldn't go back now. He squeezed Emmy close to him, not wanting to think what would have happened to the two of them if he had moved a little faster. Luke would have been alone and they would have been…
''Any luck with the switch?'' he shouted back to Luke, who had moved into the corner of the room, close to the left door. ''Luke?''
The boy didn't respond, seemingly distracted by something else. The professor ran over to see what he was doing, when he stopped in shock. In Luke's hands, several died out fireflies had fallen down from above. Luke turned around to the professor and sniffled.
''They just fell down all of a sudden...I thought they had eternal life.''
''They must have served their purpose…'' The professor said sadly, aching to pull the boy close to him for comfort.
Fear started to grip the professor's heart. Without the fireflies, his back-up plan had failed. There was no way for them to open to doors without an enormous amount of strength and the entrance to the rest of the cave was sealed off as well.
He frantically looked around the room for an answer. For a way out. Maybe if there was a tiny crack somewhere, they could call out to the outside world. Maybe the princess was still there and she could help them. Maybe he could find a hole for Luke to crawl through, so at least he would be saved. He looked and looked, but found...nothing. The room was completely sealed off.
''Professor..'' Luke's tiny voice caught his attention.
He turned to look back at the lad and saw his frightened expression.
We won't make it out…
10 minutes earlier
''What is taking them so long…-'' the princess nudged the guard next to her annoyed. ''-They should have been back by now right?''
''I am not sure princess…'' Asim sighed.
The princess got up from her seat in the car and started pacing through the sand.
''We will have to wait for now.''
''I just hope they will be alright. From what Layton Ustaaz has told me, Emmy might be making an important decision there. I should've been there with them…''
''We don't know if...''
Asim was interrupted by a low rumble.
''What is…?'' the princess mumbled, before losing her balance due to the incredible tremor.
Asim shot up from the car and grabbed the princess by her arm to pull her close. The driver, who had been situated behind the wheel, fell out of the jeep in shock. They all looked at the structure in the dune in front of them, which had slowly started breaking apart.
''Something must have happened! We have to help them. Let go of me Asim!''
''No! It's too dangerous.''
''Why? Aren't you worried about them!?'' The princess yelled.
''I AM worried. About you!''
He grabbed her shoulders so she would face him. The princess looked up at her guard and blushed slightly.
No, now is not the time.
Before she could say anything in response, the shaking increased. They looked at the doors and saw chunks of stone and sand tumble down the two large statues. One of the boulders hit the right arm of the left statue, causing it to break off and crash loudly to the ground.
''They might be trapped inside Asim...you can't expect me to just sit around and wait.''
The guard looked from the princess to the doors and back again. She was right. They had to do something.
''Alright...but the moment it becomes too dangerous, you run. Promise me this.''
Farah took a hold of Asim's hand and squeezed.
''I promise.''
''Now, what is your plan?'' Asim asked while looking over to the crumbling structure.
''We have to try and open the doors. Even if we manage to open it slightly, they should be able to get out. Let us try to try it through the way Layton Ustaaz and Luke opened the door.''
Asim nodded and let go of her hand. He shouted back to the driver to get ready to get them out of here and continued to run in the direction of the doors. The princess was way ahead of him and sprinted towards the left statue.
''You take the other. We have to try to activate the puzzle again.'' she shouted to Asim.
The guard nodded to his lady and adjusted his course to the right statue. The ground shook even heavier close to the statues, making it hard for them to climb the statue's feet without almost falling off. The princess had made her way on top of the switch, waiting for Asim to join her on the other side. Asim struggled to keep his balance of the curve of the toes, but thankfully got to the switch. They looked at each other for confirmation and pressed their weight down onto the switch.
This time, no light was glowing off of the symbols. At first, the princess thought that they had failed to restart the puzzle, until the panel once again popped open in the middle of the two doors. She smiled at Asim and together they climbed down the statue of the god. They ran towards the middle, where the panel had opened, when one of the ears of Thoth broke loose from the statue. The ear fell down, close in size to a school bus, on its way to hit the princess in her path. Asim saw it happen and yelled out to her to stop running.
The princess was confused. Why would she stop running? She had to get to the panel. Thankfully, she did stop, right before the ear crushed her to death. The momentum from the heavy object crashing into the ground, caused the princess to stumble back and fall to the ground.
''Farah!'' Asim yelled.
''I'm fine! Enter to symbol Asim!'' she yelled back, hoping he would choose her friend's safety over his worry for her.
Asim stopped in front of the panel and hesitated for a moment. He knew she was stubborn and wouldn't admit to pain in a moment like this, but if it was more important than her order was the question.
''Please Asim, save them!'' she yelled in a second attempt.
She knew the guard well. They had practically grown up together. She knew how much his duty meant to him. The rubble blocked out her view of the panel and Asim entirely. He would either come running past any moment to check on her, or she would see the doors open. She vigorously hoped for the second one.
The professor was losing hope. He knew he had to calm his mind to think of a solution, but the current situation, the fear in Luke's eyes and the recent images of losing Emmy were filling his head to the brim.
''Professor what do we do?'' Luke asked again, shaking his mentors sleeve.
He had no answer. He had nothing.
Luke could see his mentor's mental state deteriorate. He was scared, just as much or even more than Luke was himself. The professor was staring at Emmy's pale face. Luke figured he blamed himself for everything. It was something the older gent had a habit of doing.
Luke decided he had to take matters into his own hands. He had to try something.
He walked over to the split between the two doors and placed his head against it. All he could do was hope someone would hear him.
''HEY! WE ARE STUCK! GET US OUT! WE NEED HELP!''
Asim could feel his hands tremble. He was afraid of making tough decisions like these. Usually Adofo was the one to take charge. He wanted to see if the princess was okay...but she ordered him to open the door.
We're not even sure if the door will open. It might be a lost cause…
''He….''
Asim turned to the door.
''Did I just...hear someone?'' he mumbled to himself.
He placed his ear against the door and listened for another sound.
''He...We..uck!...out! We nee..elp!''
The voice was soft and muffled but clear enough for the guard to understand. They needed out.
Asim had made up his mind. He opened the panel and shaped the sand to resemble to Coptic symbol for 'Enter'. He looked up at the statues in expectation. They had changed. They had broken down almost entirely, leaving a sanded down version of the god before him. He looked back at the door, hoping the mechanism inside was still intact.
He clasped his hands together and bowed his head deep down.
''Come to me, Thoth, O noble Ibis. O god who longs for Khmunu, O dispatch-writer of the Ennead, the great one of Unu. Come to me and help my friends.''
Now let's hope they will get out...