Here's the next chapter. Hope you'll enjoy it :)

wellingtonlucas282 - No problem, glad that you enjoyed it. Happy new year to you too.

Guest - Thanks so much. Did you mean Henry Ledore?

Dikratsblim - Thank you so much. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.

Djinn - Thanks so much.

mirrorflower - Glad to hear from you again. It is a shame about Hannah. Perhaps I should involve her in an interval chapter. She is pretty good investigator so maybe she and Edgar could team up and solve a case. Henry is really suspicious and it doesn't help that Layton is keeping his past a secret. He and Edgar might clash in the future.

Thank you so much and I hope you'll like the next chapter.

Thank you all for reviewing, now onto the story :)


Chapter 5: Angela's Tears

Layton's Hotel Room

After the appearance of the Masked Gentleman and the arrest of Dalston, Layton, Edgar and Emmy returned to the Camel Hump hotel. Layton had promised his assistants to tell them what happened after Randall showed him and Angela the Mask of Chaos.

They went back to their room for a small rest before they made their way to Layton's room where the Professor had already made tea for them.

"Shall I proceeded?" Layton asked as he sipped his tea.

"That would be great, Professor," Emmy answered eagerly while Edgar sighed wearily.

Layton frowned in concern, "Is everything alright, Edgar?"

The teen shrugged, "I am still hung up by what happened," he said, "The police have no grounds arresting Dalston. I mean I can't help but feel he's been treated as scapegoat."

"I'm sure they do have a reason," Emmy reassured, "perhaps they found something that we don't know yet."

"I don't know," he murmured, "So that's Henry. Funny how he's busy when we want to talk to him, but not when Dalston was arrested."

Layton cleared his throat, "I can't really say. He certainly seems different from when I last saw him," he said, seemingly uncomfortable with the topic, "Let's not delay any further. It is getting late after all. Where did I get up to?"

"I believe Randall had just uncovered a whiteboard," Emmy told him.

"Of course," Layton said before he began telling him about his past once more.


-Flashback 18 Years Ago-


Randall's Room

"Wha-" Hershel stammered.

"What is that!?" Angela questioned as they stared at the whiteboard Randall had unfurled for them.

Written on the board were a collections of images and pieces of paper stuck to it on which ancient symbols were written upon them. The symbols were copied by hand all over the board with annotations and scribbles highlight what they could be. It first glance it looked to be a mess of arrows, doodles and symbols, but after closer inspection, they could see that Randall has been working on something. Something very complicated, indeed.

"That my friends," Randall presented, pointing to the board, "is the hidden message of Norwell!"

Hershel frowned at his friend in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"Now, now, keep your hair on and allow me to elaborate," Randall told him with an excited grin, "I have at long last cracked the riddle concealed in the Norwell wall."

"You solved the riddle that no one else ever managed to solve?" Angela questioned, "Really, Randy?"

Randall gave her an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Angie. I just wanted to see the look on your face as I unveiled everything all at once! Norwell was a hot topic when it was first discovered, but since then it's become a mere tourist attraction. Stansbury could have just faded into obscurity without anyone noticing. But not now, not with this! Have neither of you ever wondered why it was there or who built it. Well, wonder no longer, because we will soon have our answer!"

"How on Earth..." Angela began to question before opting to ask, "What does it say then?"

Randall grinned, rushed over to the other side of his room and slung a bag over his shoulder, "That is something I'd like to explain at the site itself. Come with me, my friends, to the Norwell Wall!"

Hershel's and Angela's eyes widened in shock, "You want to go there now!?" he cried.

"Shhh!" Randall hushed, nervously looking at his door as if his father would come in at any moment, "Keep it down, Hersh! Let's just slip out quietly."

"Randall," Angela began to complain, but he was already opening his window and ushering them outside.

Reluctantly, they climbed out the window and down the ivy, jumping down on the soft earth below them. Randall followed suit and as soon as he landed, he turned to them, grinned and motioned them to sneak to the entrance of his family's estate. Once they were out of danger did Randall sigh in relief.

"Phew...We're out! And my father is none the wiser."

Angela shivered as the cold wind blew, clutching her shawl closer to her, "Norwell is in the woods, isn't it? Won't it be really dark once we get past the Oldmarket? We should bring touches."

"Oh, we'll be fine," Randall reassured her, "the stars are out, and we're not going deep into the forest."

"If you say so..." Hershel murmured.

Randall laughed, "Come on then! To Norwell!" he proclaimed.

The teens fast walked down the dirt path away from the Ascot estate and towards the village. As trodden path turned into cobble stone road, they noticed that the lights of the houses were starting to flicker off, indicating that it was getting late and they should creep down Pebble Lane towards the woods. However, before they could venture any further, a grunt sounded from behind them, making them spin around in fright but calm down as soon as they saw it was only Dalston.

'How long has he been out here?' Hershel wondered briefly.

"Eh up," Dalston quietly called out to them, "where are you three slinking off to on the dark, then?"

Randall gave him his trademark grin, "Why, we're going on a pioneering expedition of great significance. Want to come?"

"Pff! I'd have love to...if you'd asked me ten years ago! You lot have fun on your little adventure."

If Randall was put off by his dismissal then he didn't show it, "How dull. And just as I was about to reveal my brilliant deductions, too!"

"Enjoy being a smart alec while you can, Ascot. We'll soon find out which of us can actually make something of his life."

"I already have made something of my life," Randall said, raising his voice a little, "You might get your name on some hotel, but I'll be in the history books!"

Angela stood in front of them and shot a furious look at the two, "Oh, give it a rest, you two," she ordered in a hushed voice before glaring at Dalston, "I'm sorry Dalston. Please don't mind Randall. We were just going, anyway."

With one hand she placed it on Randall's back and with the other she grabbed Hershel's collar and, simultaneously, pushed and pulled the two boys up the road away from Dalston, hearing the larger teen's chuckles echo down the street.

Angela sighed irritably, "Why must you two insist on antagonising each other?" Especially at this time of day," she said hotly to the two boys.

Randall grinned and walked beside her, "Oh come on, it's only banter."

"Also I didn't say anything," Hershel said, although a sharp look from Angela made him shut up.

They walked through the village until they were met with a dense forest, while in the distance, large cliffs towered over them. The dirt path ended at a white wooden fence between two large rocks which separated them from the route. On the other side of the fence, to their left, was a groundskeeper's cottage built when these parts were a tourist attraction. Although the building had long been abandoned judging by the white walls covered in moss and a few missing shingles on the roof.

Randall stopped at the gate and turned to his companions proudly, "Here we are! Within this forest lies the object of today's enterprise: the ancient Norwell wall!"

Hershel and Angela rolled their eyes.

"Yes, we know. We live here too," Herself said.

Randall shook his head sadly, "Cripes, you two. You have no soul. You have to build the mood on these trips! Motivate the troops, so to speak. Now let's proceed. With enthusiasm, please!"

He turned around, walked to the gate and tried to open...but it wouldn't budge.

"Oh, it's locked," he uttered, making the others face fault in despair.

"That's probably to keep out shady types like you," Angela sighed, "What are we going to do now?"

Randall spun around and lifted his finger into the air, "Worry not, my friends," he said before pointing the lock, "You have only to look closely to see that the gate is locked by a puzzle, solve it and we're through."

"The lock is a puzzle?" Hershel questioned in bemusement, "By definition a puzzle is easier to complete then finding a key so doesn't that go against the purpose of lock?"

"Hershel, you think way too much," Randall said as he kneeled down to investigate the lock.

"That implies that you don't think at all," Hershel mumbled.


Puzzle Start


The square lock was an unusual design. It consisted of nine smaller square panels with numbers inscribed, like this:

1 1 1

2 1 1

1 1 1

Randall pushed on one of the panels and found that they could be flipped over to reveal different numbers:

2 2 2

3 3 2

1 3 2

And after another pushing it again, Randall found that he could take the panel completely out of the lock.

'Ah, I see,' Randall thought, 'It's like a magic square. I need to make sure that every row, column and vertical set of three numbers add up to a certain amount. But I don't know what it should all add up to. Well, the only numbers on the lock are 1, 2, and 3. The highest possible number I can achieve from that is 6, so that must be what it all adds up to."

He began to flip over the panels, trying to find the right combination, but nothing seems to be working.

'There has to be an easier way. Well, the only combination I can make from the numbers is either 1,2,3 or 2,2,2. That must mean 2,2,2 is an essential to working this out and the only place that it could fit without conflict is diagonally.'

He flipped over the panels and filled in the blanks:

2 1 2

3 2 1

1 3 2

He was almost there, but there was a problem.

'This doesn't make sense, this is the only combination that makes sense,' Randall pondered before his face brightened as he remembered something, 'Oh, of course, you can take the panels out.'

He took out the middle panel and the top right panel out and swapped them over, making sure he flipped the panel now in the top right to 3 and the panel now in the middle to 2 to create:

2 1 3

3 2 1

1 3 2


Puzzle Solved


The lock popped open and Randall pushed open the gate with a flourish, "And we're in."

"Terrific Randy," Angela said, "You really did it."

Hershel nodded in agreement, "I must say I'm impressed. You have a natural talent for lock picking."

Randall stood up and frowned at his best friend, "Hang on a sec. You're making me sound like a common thief now!"

Angela giggled and pushed the two boys through the gate, "Come on, let's go!"

They walked down the winding dirt path through the forest, leaving civilisation behind. It was still fairly muddy from when it rained last night and so they kept their eyes to the ground so they won't accident slip. After a few minutes travelling through the dense vegetation, Randall hummed in surprise as he spotted something.

"There are footprints," he told the others, "It looks like...two people have been here today."

"My pa mentioned two men who wanted to see the wall earlier today," Hershel spoke up

"Did you see who they are?"

"No. I think they left quite quickly."

Randall hummed in interest, "I see. You don't usually have tourists these days. Anyway, here we are!"

They entered a clearing where they stood at a bottom of a large cliff face. In a large alcove, about thirty meters high and 20 meters wide, there was a giant wall inscribed with unreadable symbols from the bottom to the top. It was stunning to see. Even Hershel, who had little interest in the archaeology, could see how much of a marvel it was.

"There it is," Randall said, "the wall of Norwell."

Angela approached the wall and ran a hand over it, feeling the dips where the symbol has been carved into, "What does it all mean, Randall?"

"I don't have it all quite worked out yet," he admitted, "but I have decided some of the glyphs and I'm certain that the entire wall is one big map," he pointed eagerly at the wall, "Take a look, Hershel. Tell me you see it."

"A map to where?" Hershel questioned, stepping back so he could look over the entire wall, "If you're right about this, it's a radical step forward for archaeology."

"And yet the pattern's pretty obvious once you spot it," Randall said, "Oh, now I think of it, maybe it's easier if you look at this," he took off his bag, opened it and pulled out a plastic wallet filled with photographs. He took out the photos and laid them out on the stone floor and arranged them for the others, "You see, this is the wall as we see it now, but I had separated into different sections. I noticed that the wall doesn't just contain those symbols, but there are round holes in it as well," he explained, pointing at the wall and, sure enough, there were neat holes bored into the stone, "Some archaeologist thought it was ware, but I think they have a particular reason in being there. After much research, I noticed a pattern taking form in these photos and it only took a little of bit or rearranging," he began to swap the photos and when he was done, he presented it to them, "you will get the hidden message. Tell me, how well do you know your star constellations?"

They observed the photos and were astounded with what they saw. The holes, which seemed randomly placed on the wall itself, now took a different form of the recognisable Big Dipper with Polaris (or the North Star) at the bottom.

"Fascinating," Hershel uttered.

Randall nodded eagerly in agreement, "The point is that this whole wall is one giant map, pointing to a particular spot."

"It doesn't look detailed enough to be a map," Hershel pointed out.

"Don't you see?" Randall said, pointing the photos along the bottom row, "The map underneath the star chart exactly matches the terrain beyond the hills. I followed this map over the hills, all the way to its destination, and dug. And that is where I found the mask," he explained, pulling out said mask from his bag and presenting it to them.

"You dug it up?" Angela questioned angrily, "Does that mean you went off to some remote place on your own, Randall? You promises you wouldn't do anything dangerous!"

Clearly his excitement was making him blind to her distress for he just grinned at her, "Don't be cross, Angie. Take a look," he said before taking a slip of paper from his pocket and presented it to them.

It looked to be a page torn out of a notebook and on it were notes and a rough drawing of a star like shape which bore resemblance to the one of the mask's forehead.

"What is it?" Hershel asked.

"I copied this page out of Rutledge's 'Ancient Histories'," Randall explained, "Look, the symbol on the mask is exactly the same as in the book. This has to be it, the Mask of Chaos! It's a shame I couldn't find its twin, the other mask that Rutledge wrote about, but..."

"Are you sure you're not getting carried away? The symbol could just be a coincidence..."

"Perhaps," Randall interrupted Hershel's interruption, "But that's not all! The box holding the mask also contained a stone tablet. And that tablet offered its own amazing revelation."

"Another revelation," Hershel sighed.

"Honestly, this is the best part. The mask is much more than a priceless artefact. It's also a key! It's the key that will guide us to the treasure of the ancients!"

Angela was not impressed by what he said, "What, that again? You really believe this incredible treasure trove has just been lying around for centuries?"

"Oh absolutely!" Randall cried, oblivious to Angela's annoyance, "Having studied the mask, I'm quite convinced. This artefact belongs to a civilisation far, far, more ancient than anything in recorded history. Not only that, but I believe these people possessed knowledge and technology far greater than our own. The treasure we're looking for is not just some precious trinket. It's the legacy of an entire civilisation! Here look at this," he said, taking out yet another piece of notepaper out of his pocket and showing them it, "This is the secret cipher that was written on the tablet. The cipher I've cracked. The ancient people used it to leave messages for posterity. If you know the cipher, it's clear that these engravings on the inside of the mask are also a map. And where does it lead? A legendary place that has ever eluded explorers and archaeologists - fabled Akbadain!" he declared before turning to Hershel eagerly, "We have to go, Hershel! You have to come with me to Akbadain!"

Hershel didn't look too sure, but he didn't get to express his opinion.

"No!" Angela crossly told him, "You can't! It's too dangerous! I won't let you go, Randall."

Randall gave her a dull expression, "Oh, you won't let me? Just how do you plan to stop me? I still have free will, don't I?"

Angela frown turned into a frustrated snarl. Hershel took a step away from the two, not wanting to be in the crossfire of their argument.

"Randall, you complete...clod!" she shouted at him, "You are so self-centred! Sometimes, I don't even..." she gave a furious shout and snatched the Mask of Chaos out of his hands, "I've had enough!"

Before they could recover from their shock, Angela had already run off back into the forest.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Randall shouted after her, "She's run off with the mask! Dash it all! She doesn't appreciate how valuable that thing is. Come on, Hershel, we have to find her!"

"Err, all right," Hershel said before the two boys ran after Angela.


Layton's Room - The Present

"What a bastard," Edgar muttered angrily.

Layton cleared his throat awkwardly, "I wouldn't say that..."

"I would," Emmy piped up, equally as unimpressed as Edgar in regard to his childhood friend.

"...well, ahem, let's move along."


-Flashback 18 Years Ago


Memory Knoll

Just outside the village, near the Ascot Estate, was a pleasant plot of land, known by the locals as Memory Knoll.

The reason why they called it that has been lost. Some say that it was of Anglo-Saxon origin, but the word has been reinterpreted so many times over the centuries that it more resembled the current English word 'Memory' then it's original meaning. Others had suggested that it was called that because, once you visited, you will always remember the luscious green grass, the rolling hills and the gentle stream that snaked its way around it.

The point was that people would always have some sort of memory associated at the place. Some good, some that would better forgotten. When Randall, Angela, Dalston and other children of the village think of this place, they always remember how much they played and laughed until the sunset. However, Hershel had a very different memory of this place.

One that will start as soon as they found Angela, sitting on the hill and underneath the lone oak tree.

Randall and Hershel ran up to her, her back was turned to them as she held the mask tightly in her hands. Randall was slightly out of breath, but still called out to her in mild annoyance.

"Angela!" he called out as he slowed down as he approached, "Come on, now. Give me the mask," he demanded, laying a hand on her shoulder, "You're acting like a-"

The words were caught in his throat as she turned her head towards him. Tears flowed from her eyes as she looked up at him, her gentle face morphing into a expression that Randall had never seen before on her. He let go of her shoulder in surprise and Angela turned away from him. Hershel had caught up to them by that time and stopped a few paces back, watching the scene play out.

Randall sat next to her, his anger quickly ebbing away, "There now, there's no need to cry. Everything will be fine. Just trust me."

Angela glanced at him before she looked down at the mask again, "You sound just like my brother before he left," she softly said, "And he never came back, Randall!"


Layton's Room - Present

"Really?" Emmy and Edgar questioned in exasperation.

"Indeed," Layton confirmed with a sad nod.

"Your friend's an utter prat," Edgar commented.

"...Indeed."


-Flashback 18 Years Ago -


Randall looked down with a sigh, "I know I said I wouldn't do anything dangerous, but...I need that mask, Angela. I'm sorry about what happened to your brother, but I'm not him."

Hershel's shook his head, "Randall, cam we just drop this for now?"

"No Hershel, we can't!" Randall insisted, "Look, Angela. I know this is hard for you, but please-"

"Please what!?" Angela snapped at him, "Please let you go and endanger yourself while I just sit here and wait for you to never come back!?"

"I will come back, I promise," Randall told her, "I have to do this Angela. I can't just live under my father's shadow my entire life. I need this, and I need your help to do it."

Angela shook her head, not at all convinced, "Randall..."

"It's all right, Miss Angela," a new voice called out, "Master Randall will return, I know it."

They spun around in surprise to see a skinny boy around their age with short brown hair, fair skin and a rather snooty expression on his face. He wore a green shirt, light brown trousers held up by red suspenders. They didn't hear him approach. Were they so rapt up in what they were doing to notice?

"Oh, Henry," Angela gasped, "You startled me. I didn't know you were there."

"You needn't worry, Miss Angela," a young Henry told her, "Master Randall said this would be his last expedition. Isn't that right?"

Angela looked at Randall questioningly while he looked confused. Finally, he uttered unsurely, "...Yes."

"Did you say that, Randall?" Angela asked hopefully.

"Uh...of course!" Randall exclaimed, "This will be my last, and greatest, trip into the ruins," he said before giving her a pleading expression, "Angela, please."

Angela frowned for a moment, thinking it over. After a few seconds of silence, she wiped away the tears and gave him back the mask, "All right. As long as you promise not to to anything dangerous...or stupid."

"Nothing dangerous!" Randall promised, "And Hershel here will make sire I don't do anything stupid!"

Angela smiled and nodded, but on the inside she was still worried, "I...I need to go home. I'm exhausted. Please be careful."

"Always," Randall told her, before he turned to Henry, "Would you mind escorting Angela home?"

Henry nodded and smiled, "Not at all."

Henry led the way away from Memory Knoll towards the village. Angela looked back at Randall one last time before she followed him, wrapping the shawl tightly around her shoulders. Once they were out of sight, Randall turned to Hershel, excitement clear on his face.

"So Hershel, we're going to unearth the most important archaeological find in history! Aren't you excited!?" Randall asked, "Let's go back to my place and make sure we have enough supplies."

Hershel sighed reluctantly, "All right, I do hope you intend to keep your promise, Randall," she told him as they both walked back to the Ascot estate.


- Flashback End -


Layton shook his head as he recalled the memory, "If I had stopped Randall that night he might still be with us now. If only we had listened to Angela..."

Edgar and Emmy shared a concerted look, but before they could ask anything the clock chimed, snapping Layton out of his thoughts.

"My, how time flies," he said, "we must get some rest."

"I quite agree," Emmy said as she stood up, "I'm so tired, I can hardly think straight. Good night, Professor," she made her way to the door, but stopped once she noticed that Edgar hadn't followed, "Are you coming?"

Edgar turned his head and smiled reassuringly, "I'll be up in a moment. I just have some question. Do you mind, Prof?"

Layton raised a curious eyebrow, "Not at all. Good night, Emmy."

The assistant gave Edgar an odd look, but shrugged it off and left, leaving behind the two men.

"So what's Henry's relationship to Randall?" Edgar asked, "They seem to know a lot about each other."

Layton hummed slightly at the question, "Henry was employed as a servant at the Ascot Estate. They spent a lot of their childhood with each other."

"And how did he know you were on Memory Knoll despite sneaking out of the house?"

"I have no idea," Layton admitted, "He always seemed to be around at Randall's convenience. He took his role as a servant very seriously."

"He knew about the expedition?"

"Of course. Randall told me that he helped in the planning of it."

"Did he now," Edgar mused, "That's interesting."

"Edgar-"

"Henry didn't go with you two on the expedition, did he?" Edgar asked, cutting off Layton suddenly.

Layton hesitated slightly, "...No, he did not. Randall had given him the task to distract his father while we were gone. If he had come with us then we would have swiftly been caught."

"Must be a good liar," Edgar sharply pointed out.

...

...

...

...

Silence fell between the two. Layton seemed a little taken back by his interrogation, while Edgar kept a polite smile on his face. But the Professor could see the fierceness in his eyes, a look that suggested that one little slip up and Edgar will pounce. It reminded him of a lion watching its prey.

"I think that's all for now," Edgar suddenly said as he stood up and head to the door, "Night Prof."

He grabbed the door handle and was about to turn it when Layton called out to him.

"Edgar," he firmly said, "We are meeting the Ledores tomorrow for tea. I hope you will be more polite to Henry then you were with me right now."

Edgar looked back and saw the serious expression on Layton's face. His small beady eyes staring at him, emphasising his point. The teen responded with his own stern expression before he turned the handle and left the room without a single word.


Edgar watched the festival from the side of the street.

People danced in lovely dresses and suits. Some on their own while others have paired up for a waltz and moved to the joyous music that seemed to drift down the boulevard, filling the hearts of those who heard its melody. Bright lights shone, performers displayed their talents and Edgar couldn't help but smile as he saw how happy everyone was.

He didn't care about how he got here or why he was now wearing a white suit. None of the details seemed to matter anymore.

Someone cleared their throat, making him turn to see Emmy in a beautiful long-sleeved pink gown with her darker pink ribbon tied around her waist. Her hair was smoother and was placed over her shoulders. Her ensemble was topped with a white flower placed in her hair. Edgar almost choked at her appearance. She seem to shone elegantly like an angel from the heavens.

"E-Emmy-" he stammered, causing her to giggle.

She held out her hand for him to take, accompanied with a graceful smile. Edgar was confused for a moment by what she was doing until he realised that she was investing him to dance with her. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he danced and was about to deny, but he was unable to. Subconsciously, he reached out for her hand and took it, inviting her to drag him into the street and waltz with the other people.

Edgar had no idea how he was dancing perfectly, but there were a lot of things that were inexplicable at that moment as he danced with the beautiful woman under the starry night.

It seemed like they had been doing it for hours and he would have done so for even longer, if Emmy didn't pull away suddenly. He wondered if he did something wrong, but the smile on her face led him to believe that was not the case.

She began to walk back, whilst keeping her stunning smile, back into a dark alley leading away from the festivities.

Edgar frowned in confusion, "Where are you going?" he asked as he began to follow her, "Emmy, where are you going?"

The darkness enrobed him as soon as he stepped into the alley, a sudden cold breeze made him shiver as he walked down the deserted alleyway. He could no longer hear the music, nor see the bright lights. Even the night sky seemed to be muted as if he had stepped into another world.

He slowly continued his way down the alley, trying to find Emmy. He felt his hear began to beat faster as confusion turned into fear and fear turned into panic.

Finally, Edgar spotted her. Her back was turned towards him as she stood very, very still.

Unnervingly still.

"Emmy," he called out to her, slowly approaching her as he raised his hand to tap her shoulder, "Are you oka-"

He gasped in shock as soon as he touched her shoulder. It was cold.

Stone cold.

He turned her around so she would face him and cried out in fear when he saw that everything about her, her skin, her hair, her clothes, had turned completely grey. Her face frozen in expression of absolute terror.

'She's petrified,' he thought in fear.

He turned around to go back to the festival. Surely somebody there would help her. But he stopped short when another statue stood before him bearing resemblance to Layton. Like Emmy, his face was also frozen as if his worst fear was presented to him.

He turned around and saw another statue but this time it was of Janice with the exact same facial expression.

He turned again and saw Luke had been turned to stone as well.

He turned again and saw a statue of Bonnie.

He turned. Another statue.

He turned. Another statue.

No matter where he looked, everyone he has ever known or is close to him have been petrified. They surrounded him, drowning him in a sea of scared faces and stone, trapping him with no escape.

Until...they all disappeared and he was left alone in the dark alleyway. He breathed in a sigh of relief, calming himself down.

However, that's when he noticed that there was one more statue that was left behind. The sight of it turned his blood cold and made him want to scream in terror.

For right before him was the petrified form of Agatha Cipher.

Exactly the same as the day she had left him, but right now her face was twisted into sheer horror.

Edgar felt his legs grow weak and his heart stop. This was too much for him for him to bare.

That was when a giant gloved hand emerged from the darkness of the alleyway, reach above Agatha and, before he could utter a sound, slam it's palm down on Agatha, smashing it into pieces. The rest of the arm rose from the shadows, followed by a torso and legs until finally the giant 10 foot figure of the Masked Gentleman towered over him as if he was nothing but an ant.

Edgar stepped backwards, but something grabbed his ankles before he could get any further. He looked down to see petrified Emmy was holding him down, preventing him from moving. He thrashed his legs in panic, trying to get out of her grasp before the Masked Gentleman could get him.

But it was too late.

The Masked Gentleman has raised his enormous foot above him, casting a shadow over him and preparing to crush him like he did with Agatha.

"No!" he shouted, "No please stop! No! No! NO!"

He screamed as the giant foot descended on him, causing him under the Masked Gentleman's heel.


Edgar woke up with a gasp. He looked around and his breathing steadied as he realised he was in his and Emmy's hotel room.

Gone was the festival...and the alley...and the statues.

It was nothing but a nightmare.

Edgar sighed in relief and looked over at Emmy on the other side of bed, happy that he didn't wake her up. He slowly lifted the covers off of him and turned to sit on the side of bed, holding his head in hands. His throat was dry and the sweat on his brow.

He needed to go outside. Get some air. Their should be some stairs to the roof that he can use or something.

Edgar stood up and got dressed, trying his best to not make any noise, before he left and closed the door behind him. Unbeknownst to him, Emmy opened her eyes slightly and looked at the door that Edgar had left through.


The Roof

Edgar sat on the edge of the roof, overlooking the street below. It was quiet. The celebrations all over the city has been long been finished and only the dark quiet night greeted him.

He thought about what he saw in his dream. The horrified faces on everybody he knew surrounding him was almost too much for him to bare. He had never experienced something like it ever.

Edgar heard soft footsteps coming up from behind him, but he didn't turn around. He knew who was behind him.

"Sorry," he called out, "I didn't mean to wake you up."

Emmy shrugged and sat on the edge next to him, "I wasn't sleepy anyway," she told him before she frowned in concern, "Are you alright?"

Edgar sighed, "Yeah."

"Want to talk about it?"

"...No. There's no point. It was just a dream."

"Are you worried about something?" Emmy asked, "If you won't tell me what happened in the dream then you can at least tell me what's caused it."

Edgar sighed and glared down at the street below, "For a while now...I can't help but feel as if the Prof is hiding something from me."

Emmy's eyebrows raised in surprise, "But the Professor would never lie to you or anyone."

"Not lie," Edgar corrected, "just not tell the whole truth. In fact, I would prefer it if he did lied to me then at least I would have whether to trust him or not. I just don't understand why he would keep information away from me that could be important to the whole investigation. It just doesn't make sense."

Emmy frowned and nodded in understanding, "I...don't have an answer to that. You would have to ask the Professor about it."

"But if it is personal then I have no right to pry."

"I suppose," Emmy sighed, "I guess you have to find out what's a bigger priority: the investigation or the Professor. Why are you upset about it?"

Edgar tucked his legs under him and held his head in his hands, "Because you and the Prof know everything about me. I mean I only just learnt where you were born yesterday. I don't know if it's a paranoid thing or it's me feeling guilty that I never ask you about your personal lives."

Emmy gave him a sad smile and shuffled closer to him until their were shoulder to shoulder.

"Well, I can't help you about feeling paranoid, but you shouldn't feel guilty about not getting to know us better. You still have plenty of time and it's not like we're going to leave you. So, come on cheer up. Otherwise you're moodiness it's going to ruin the investigation," she joked.

Edgar chuckled and smiled a little. He felt a little bit better as he stared up at the night sky filled with stars. Emmy smiled as well and stargazed along with him. The two sat together for a while in silence, just enjoying each other's company at that moment. However, there was one last question that bothered Edgar, especially as he thought about the dream of the petrified Emmy grabbing his ankles.

"Emmy."

"Yes."

"You're not hiding anything from me are you?"

Emmy glanced at him, watching his blank face as he watched the sky. Her smile wavered slightly, but she turned away before he could see it.

"No. Of course not," she told him.

Edgar smiled, "That's good. Thank you."

And with those final words, the two teens continued to stargaze for a few more minutes before they retired for the night.


And cut.

Phew, managed to get this published before February rolls in. Hope you enjoyed it, it was quite shorter then the other chapters.

It's also this story's one year anniversary! I can't believe I've been writing for an entire year, it's felt much shorter. Thank you for all your support and I hope I'll see you guys next time.

Thanks :)