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

The encounter

''Are we ready?''

Hershel and Emmy turned to Desmond, who was already standing in the doorframe. They both nodded and followed him outside. The weather had turned to worse. Droplets of cold unforgiveness rained down upon them; darkening their clothes in the process. Emmy looked up and the dreary sky, finding nothing stared back. The clouds obscured the heavens and the rain made it hard to see much farther ahead.

''Let's hope we'll find them soon.'' the professor said softly.

A constant level of anxiety had been present in his body ever since the start of it all. He partly blamed the loss of his beloved hat, who usually seemed to steady him in desperate times. The other part was with Flora and Aurora. He kept telling himself that the girls would be alright. That they would find a way to protect themselves… but he couldn't know for sure until he saw them again.

''What's that…?''

He looked to his older brother, who was staring at one particular spot deep in the woods. Next to him, Emmy's breathing quickened. He turned to look at her and saw a hint of fear in her eyes. These villains were really getting to her. He needed to do something about it quickly.

''Let's move to the edge of the forest.'' the professor proposed. ''We will have the advantage of the open space.''

He grabbed Emmy's hand and pulled her softly towards him so she would face him.

''We're not going to leave you, my dear.''

The fright in her eyes vanished and was replaced with a warm smile. She forgot that she was with them for a moment and felt relieved by the reminder.

''Yeah. Sorry. Let's move!''

The trio hurried through the bushes and between the narrow trees. They thankfully remembered the way; the mist following them at their feet. Something was following them. Of that they were sure. Thankfully, they had prepared for this.

For them.

Once they moved into the clearing, the village popped into view. The town was dark. Darker than before since the sun had disappeared. Hershel and Emmy walked up to Desmond, who was peering out over the rooftops.

''They're here somewhere…'' he mumbled.

''And we will find them soon.''

The trio abruptly turned around to the source of the voice. Appearing from inside the forest, a perfect replica of Hershel Layton, Desmond Sycamore and Emmy Altava walked out with strange smiles.

''Kind of you to reveal yourself to us.'' Emmy said with a frown.

The fake Emmy snickered. ''Well, since you escaped, the master ordered us to find you. It was only a matter of time you see.''

''Master?'' the professor asked.

''Yes,'' the fake Hershel replied. ''The one who was going to put an end to your miserable lives.''

Emmy swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. Something about the fake Hershel made her skin crawl. The unnatural smile on his lips. The way he spoke that wasn't even close to the real professor.

''Was?'' Desmond asked.

''We have now been given that honor. Much to our pleasure.'' the fake Desmond laughed.

So they were here to dispose of the originals… The trio knew what was awaiting them. All they needed to do… was defeat them.

''Only attack yourself. That way we won't accidentally hurt each other.'' Desmond called out as he got into a fighting stance.

''Smart. Let's do this.'' Emmy replied.

The professor hummed in agreement. The puppets looked over at their opponents menacingly. Something about the start of the fight broke the last straw of sanity inside of them. They began to scratch at their skin in madness, unveiling the red threads inside. An ear deafening screech erupted from within, making anyones hair stand up straight. The one with Layton's face laughed maniacally. Frothing from the mouth. Eyes rolling back into its head.

Emmy moved forward, unable to stand the bloodcurdling scream any longer. She grabbed the knife out of her boot, flipped it around in her fingers and slashed it forward towards the fake Emmy's face. The puppet however, ducked under in an unnatural way, bending and twisting its body and limbs in a way that would be impossible for humans.

Desmond and Hershel moved forward as well. They were glad they prepared for this. Desmond grabbed a small bottle of oil out of his pocket and opened it before he reached the puppet wearing his face. He feigned a punch, which made the puppet move forward rapidly. In his momentum, he threw the oil over the string puppet's back. The puppet screamed even louder, which made Desmond's ears tremble painfully.

Hershel had been dodging his puppet's lunges. He brought along a weapon that would come in handy after his brother was done with the oil. The puppet, however, had no intention to wait for that moment to arrive. He was finally able to grab Layton by one of his arms and pushed him to the ground. The puppet was heavier than expected. And also way stronger. He tried to struggle free, but suddenly felt a piece of string wrap around his neck. The string pulled tighter and tighter and tighter...

Desmond pulled a lighter out of his pocket, which Emmy had given him, and flicked it on. A small flame tried hard to survive in the damp atmosphere. The Desmond puppet lunged back with a scream, its once red pupils completely turned to black together with the rest of its eyes. It looked horrifying. Desmond tried to leap out of reach, but was just a tad too late. The puppet lashed out and scratched open a sizable chunk out of his jacket, shirt and skin. A warm feeling erupted from Desmond's side. He pressed his hand against it and felt the warmth seep through his fingers. He was probably bleeding. The puppet laughed. A disgusting sight to behold. He moved forward again, this time faster than before. Desmond was prepared and threw the lighter against his back when he moved out of the way. The fire connected with the oil and thread and instantly bursted out in flames.

The lighter fell to the ground in a dramatic fashion. Desmond watched as his counterpart screamed while the flames engulfed him. He turned to his brother, hoping to see him win as well. He gasped as he saw Hershel's eyes slowly roll back into his head while the puppet on top of him laughed maniacally. He grabbed the lighter of the ground and ran up with a scream, hoping to catch the puppet's attention. The puppet turned its face and thankfully moved up off his little brother. Hershel gasped for air. He coughed a couple of times, before the adrenaline helped him move up from the ground. He reached out behind him and grabbed the lead pipe out of his pants he had been withholding until now.

He wasn't as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as Emmy or Desmond, but he knew a thing or two about fencing. He couldn't find a blade, and the axe was way too big, but a lead pipe together with some oil and fire would do just as nicely. He moved to pipe in front of his brother, who doused the metal in oil before lighting it with an impressive flame. Not even the rain would be able to quench it. The Layton puppet's eyes had turned wide as he noticed its brethren had been defeated. The two brothers in front of him were hurt, but certainly not done yet. He had to do what he was ordered to do. He screamed again as loudly as he could and made a run towards them. Hershel sucked a deep breath in to calm himself and waited for the puppet to come close. Once it did, Desmond moved down and stretched his leg in front of the thread creature to make it trip. Hershel then experdly moved out of the way of the puppet's trajectory and pushed the pipe down its neck. With the fire against thread, nothing could stop it from sliding right through.

The puppet's body fell to the ground, no longer producing any sound. Its body burned as magnificently as the other one did, creating two piles of smoldering thread. The harsh rain fell down on the two brother's beaten down bodies. Desmond and Hershel panted hard as they watched their respective puppets burn. The professor turned to Emmy, a sense of worry bubbling up in his lower abdomen. She looked at her counterpart on the ground, the body of the other squirming slightly. When he moved closer, he could see that her eyes were clouded over. He was about to speak up, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

''Theodore Bronev.'' Desmond said behind him.

Hershel turned to look at him. He was right. They needed to confirm. They hadn't been able to see how Emmy's fight had gone. He nodded to his brother and turned back to Emmy.

''Emmeline Altava.'' he said, an ache forming in his heart.

She slanted her shoulders down and faced their direction.

''Yes, professor Layton?'' she replied.

Both Desmond and Hershel's hearts fell.

Emmy...had lost.

She was the squirming body on the ground. Their next move was important. They had to first do something about the puppet. Thankfully, Desmond had already thought of a plan and grabbed Hershel's pipe from out of his hand. Before the puppet could respond, he grabbed her shoulder and pushed the pipe through her back and out of her stomach with as much strength as he could muster. The creature screamed out of agony. They weren't sure if it actually felt pain, but it sure looked like it. Red strings started covering the pipe, holding it in place as Desmond let go. The puppet fell to the ground in defeat, wearing a harrowing expression on Emmy's face.

Hershel fell to his knees in front of the real Emmy Altava and quickly turned her around to see if she was alright. His breath stoked when he found the small knife she had been carrying, stuck inside her stomach. Thick red blood was dripping from it, blending together with the rain. Desmond joined him and stopped the professor's hand before it could reach the handle.

''We have to let it stay in. She will bleed out otherwise.'' he said in a soft voice.

The professor couldn't find a voice to respond with. All he could see was the blood and her pale face. Her breathing was shallow, drowned out by the heavy fall from the rain.

''Let's get her someplace safe.'' Desmond said calmly. ''We can't do much for now, but I promise she will live. We have to be quick otherwise the children might be in danger as well.''

He was right. The professor carefully picked her up without moving the knife too much. Desmond led the way, looking around for the children frantically. He knew Aurora would be able to handle herself, but he was still worried.

They returned to the inn. Sera was cleaning the counter when they walked in with drenched clothing, dark expressions and one very hurt girl.

''Oh mi heavens, what'in gods name have ya done lads!'' she yelled.

''Please, we need to get her treated as soon as possible. Is there a doctor in this village that would be able to help?'' Desmond asked.

''Er...well. I spose mi useless husband would qualify.'' she said while scratching her dark red hair.

''Where is he?'' the professor asked, his voice breaking slightly.

''I'll get'm.''

She hurried out of her chair and upstairs to get her husband as fast as possible. Desmond cleared the desk so the professor could lay her body down upon it. He placed her down as gently as possible. She moaned softly as her body hit the cold surface.

''It's alright.'' the professor shushed. ''We're here, Emmy.''

He wiped away a droplet of sweat from her forehead and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face. The innkeeper's husband ran downstairs and gasped at the sight in front of him. He quickly checked the wound and mumbled something incoherent under his breath.

''Are you able to help her?'' Desmond asked.

''Yes. I can. It's gon' hurt though. Lemme get mi things.''

He opened the door to the right and hurried through. Sera also walked down stairs with gloves on. She was ready to help her husband out.

''Hershel.''

The professor turned to his brother, who had placed a hand on his shoulder.

''We should go find the girls. We'll come back after we find them.''

''You're right.'' he returned. ''Let's go.''

He turned around and grabbed a hold of Emmy's hand.

''We'll be right back… I promise…''

He took one last good look at her before running after his brother. He could only hope he would see her again alive and well.

I´m sorry? Were you under the impression that everything was going to be alright?