Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Professor Layton franchise.

Chapter 20 Fighting Escalations

A gust of warm wind blew past Luke's face and a bright light flashed before his eyes. He didn't have time to progress what had just happened, when a hand grabbed him by the arm. The arm pulled him forward into the light. Luke closed his eyes, unsure what this feeling meant. The force that had pulled him along was strong. He felt warmth on his face and a recognizable smell of the desert fill his nostrils.

I'm outside?!

The boy opened his eyes and watched the open plains of sand before him while soaring through the sky. It didn't take long for the boy to follow the rules of physics and fall to the ground. The sand was rough and coarse against his face, but thankfully lessened the blow. Luke's heart was beating in his throat. He coughed out the sand that had made its way into his mouth and quickly turned around.

Behind him, he watched as Asim helped the professor through the doors. Something didn't seem right though...the professor looked incredibly pale and beads of sweat had formed on his forehead. Asim had taken a hold of Emmy and helped the professor stand up straight with support on his shoulder.

The professor didn't get hurt right? What is happening to him?

Luke moved up from his spot to rush over to his mentor, when a small hand grasped his arm.

''Luke! Are you alright?''

He turned to see the princess crouched down on her knees beside him. She looked a little worse for wear, with sand and dust clutched to her clothes and skin.

''Yes, I'm fine! I'm worried about the professor though.''

''Let's first get you all out of here. We will talk when we are safe.''

Luke nodded to the princess and helped her get up. He watched Asim move towards them while the structure was falling to pieces around their feet. He could see the inside starting to fill up with sand and rocks. They would've probably gotten crushed if they hadn't been able to move out.

''How did you...?'' Luke asked, turned to the princess.

''We tried to activate the puzzle as you did before. It seemed to have taken some damage but thankfully it still opened the doors far enough for us to pull you out.''

''I think...we might have destroyed the cave.''

The princess tightened her hold on Luke's arm.

''The most important thing is that you are alright. The cave is a building. A human being is worth much more.''

Asim had finally reached the rest of the group and placed Emmy on the ground. The professor let go of Asim's shoulder and crashed down on his knees.

''Professor!'' Luke called out, now able to finally rush to his side.

''I'm...fine Luke. Just...tired.'' the professor mumbled barely audible.

They all watched as the dune completely collapsed in on itself. The once large and impressive statues had been reduced to shaved and broken down versions of themselves. You were barely able to tell it had resembled the god. The entrance to the cave was no longer accessible, with piles of sand, stone and rumble covering it's path. The doors had sunk into the ground, with just a few symbols left to decypher. The trembling finally stopped, giving the group a moment of silence to collect their strength and thoughts.

''It seems like this place was only kept to uphold until someone activated the relic.'' the professor mumbled after some time.

He had taken a seat next to Emmy on the ground with her hand in his.

''Is that?'' the princess asked while pointing to the ring on her finger.

''The relic she was after.'' he answered.

''May I?''

The princess crouched down next to the professor and looked at him with a worried expression. The professor nodded and extended his hand towards her. She hovered her hand over his, dreading the feeling she was about to feel. The memory she was about to see.

She placed one of her fingers down on to the palm of his hand and immediately flinched from pain.

''Farah…'' Asim whispered.

She let the memories of the last hour flow through her, hearing Emmy's confession, watching her place the ring on her finger and seeing the professor and Luke run for their lives. It hurt to see everyone conflicted, but it hurt even more to feel what the professor was experiencing. She could tell this whole ordeal had left him with insecurity, self-doubt and a grave sadness. She removed her finger from his hand and sighed, suddenly exhausted.

''We should head back to Nemhat.'' she mumbled.

''I'll call over Ini-Herit* to drive us back.'' Asim said.

He turned away from the group and ran over to the car which was parked closeby.

''Right...professor, can you walk?'' Luke asked, concerned about his mentor's current state.

''Yes my boy. I'm fine really.'' The professor responded.

He got up from his spot next to Emmy and stumbled a bit to find his balance. The princess and Luke shot forward to support him, which he politely declined.

''Professor, please…'' Luke sighed.

He wanted him to just admit to it. To just accept the help. But the older man could be very stubborn at times. Luke glanced over to Emmy, who was still unconscious in the sand. Her face showed a striking sadness, almost like she knew exactly what was going on. He sloughed to the ground next to her and wiped away a strain of hair out of her face.

''Wake up soon, okay?'' he whispered with a small smile.

Asim returned with the car in tow. He moved towards Emmy to pick her up from the ground, when the professor stopped him.

''I'll carry her.''

''Eh, are you sure Ustaaz? You don't look all too well…'' Asim tried carefully.

The professor sighed and once again picked Emmy up.

''I've carried her before. See? This works out fine.''

Luke could tell from his voice that he was becoming annoyed. Something professor Layton wasn't exactly known for doing. The professor slowly walked back to the car with everyone watching his back.

He looked down at the woman in his arms, searching for an answer why exactly she would do this to herself. They weren't sure if the relic truly wiped her memory, but the intention was clear. She wanted to forget everything about her old life. Including him.

For some reason he had started to tell himself something more was going on between them. Something special. It had felt so good to see her again after all this time. To reconnect and move on. Although moving on meant something entirely different to Emmy apparently…

''Well you thought wrong.''

One of the last things she said to him. He thought wrong...He gently squeezed her arm, hoping to see her respond. Hoping she would wake up and smile at him like she had before. After saying goodbye to Claire, he had felt a sense of relief. He had finally been able to accept everything that happened surrounding them. He now knew that his love for her would always remain, but he could move on in peace. Now he was forced to say goodbye to Emmy.

Why am I thinking about Claire now?

Maybe because he was once again losing someone he cared for deeply. Albeit not in the same way… but it still caused him grief. He inwardly shook his head, trying hard to keep together his broken heart. Thinking about Claire and about losing her. Thinking about Emmy and how he lost her too...it made his world spin.

He looked ahead to see the car hazily move away from him. A hallucination? Was this Thoth's influence? He heard voices call out to him...and was the sky getting closer?

Luke watched his mentor fall onto his back in the sand. He lunged forward and called out. When he reached him, he could see droplets of sweat on his furrowed brow. The princess had kneeled down on the opposite side and Asim was quick to pick up Emmy off of him.

''This is not good. His emotions are out of control.'' The princess mumbled.

She placed the back of her hand against his forehead and sighed.

''He has a fever. It is caused by the mental turmoil within. We need to get him treated fast. Asim, could you please move them both to the car?'' she asked.

Asim nodded and proceeded to place both Emmy and the professor in the back of the jeep. Luke and the princess moved into the back as well, each making sure their friends were comfortable. The princess took Emmy's head on her lap and stroked her hair.

''Can you feel something when they're asleep?'' Luke asked while looking up at the sky.

Rain clouds had started filling up the normally blue skies, almost ironically adding to the sorrowful mood.

''No, when we are asleep, we feel nothing. We dream and we become restless at times, but the feelings are blocked off until we wake.''

''Oh..''

''I will try to find any remaining memories once she wakes Luke. I promise.''

Luke smiled at the princess, wanting badly to believe that the ring possessed no such powers to begin with. But he had seen what the ring did to Emmy. He had seen the blue light siphon into her eyes. It was strange and had caused her pain...surely it must have actually done something.

''What will you do if it is true?'' the princess asked while watching the dunes become smaller in the distance.

Luke leaned his chin onto the palm of his hand, thinking about her question.

What will we do?

He wasn't sure. Normally, the professor would make such decisions. Sometimes they would talk it over together, but that seemed a bit hard to do at the moment.

''First we will need to wait and see Emmy's condition. The professor also needs to recover from his fever. If...Emmy has indeed lost her memories, I see two options.''

''Oh?''

''One, we find a way to get her memories back...or…''

The princess waited for Luke to continue. She could tell from the grimace on his face, that he didn't want to acknowledge the other possibility.

''It's okay Luke.'' she said, trying hard to put on a warm smile.

''Or two...we will respect her wish and let her live out the rest of her life without any memory of us.''

''It would be sad...but..''

''But, we won't do that. Emmy has made a mistake.''

His eyes showed determination. He had made up his mind. The rest of the ride back to Nemhat was relatively quiet. Luke and the princess didn't exchange another word, both lost in thought. Both lost in their own feelings.

In Nemhat, Asim quickly called over a few guards to help them carry the professor and Emmy to their respective rooms. The princess informed the doctor's of the palace of the situation and insisted to start treating them immediately.

Luke was glad to hit the sheets after everything had settled down. Today had been an exhausting day. He glanced over the professor one last time that night. His sleeping form looked a little restless, probably fighting his way through a nightmare. Luke could imagine what it was about. He turned around and stared at the starry sky for another moment, before closing his eyes and falling into a deep slumber.

*Ini-Herit: He who brings back the distant one.

Most of the names actually have meaning in the story.

Asim: Shield, protector, guardian, rescuer.

Adofo: Fighter.

Farah: Happiness, joy.

Mahir: Skilled, proficient, adept.

As a little treat, I thought why not post this chapter too. This in celebration of this story hitting 40K words! Let me know what you thought!