Chapter Eight - Recollections

"How long has it been since the professor arrived here?" Emmy asked as she stirred her cup of coffee. They had met up in a coffee shop in the heart of London, as they had agreed to do earlier that morning before they split up, and now Raymond was under Emmy's interrogation.

"He arrived about three weeks ago," Raymond replied. "I was on my way to my lookout near Gressenheller, and I bumped into him. I recognized him straight away, and I'd say he remembered who I was, because he tried to leg it when I said hello."

"Strange..."

"He seemed very confused. He said he couldn't remember how he got here and he was asking for Katrielle."

Emmy glanced at Kat. Her face had fallen and she looked very upset.

"Then what happened?"

"I asked him where he was going, he said he had no idea. So I took him back to base, where Desmond was. Desmond seemed... surprised, although I think he was glad of the company, truth be told."

"What do you mean?" Emmy asked, suspicious.

"The master has been working on a project for some time now, and he spends most of his time shut up in his workshop. Not that he would have left anyway. He's a wanted man. It's nothing dangerous, don't worry," he added as Emmy frowned. "Since the Azran sanctuary, he needs to keep himself occupied. Without a purpose in life, he gets very bored. He likes to build vehicles and the like, although I have no idea how this particular project is going to work out. Professor Layton was helping him with it in the short while he was there, so it can't be anything destructive."

"He was helping him with a project..." Emmy said.

"Were they building a time machine?" Kat asked.

"I doubt it," Raymond smiled. "That'd be a wee bit too convenient, if you ask me."

"Did you see the project for yourself?" Vicky asked. "What did it look like?"

"A load of metal," Raymond replied. "Wiring, cables, knobs and dials... it's all still in his workshop. He ordered me not to touch any of it."

"And what did my dad do?" Kat asked.

Raymond frowned. "I remember him drawing on the blackboard... a big arch and lots of numbers..."

"Like a timeline?" Vicky suggested. "Look, what if it was a time machine they were building? And the professor was trying to triangulate the point in time he needed to travel to?"

Emmy frowned. "Triangulate?"

"Like Raymond said, the Professor was confused, and may have suffered short term memory loss as a result of the trauma inflicted on him by Hawkes in the fight-"

"So maybe he was trying to figure out how he got here?" Emmy suggested. "If he sustained a serious enough concussion, all memory of the incident and everything that happened in the days prior could be gone."

"Exactly!" Vicky smiled.

"But that does not mean they were building a time machine," Emiliana continued. "Descole started the project before the professor arrived here. Why would he want to build a time machine if not to get his brother home?"

"He had a wife who died," Emmy said quietly. "And a daughter."

"The master knows not to meddle with time," Raymond said. "He wouldn't risk the fate of the world again. He learned his lesson last time, the hard way."

Kat frowned, trying to process this. She asked herself over and over; where would he go? What would he be doing here, in this time? Not for the first time since her father's disappearance, she found herself at a loss. She didn't know where to look.

"I think we ought to look in Descole's workshop," Emiliana suggested. "It seems that is all we really have to go on for now."

"Tomorrow," Raymond nodded. "I have other business to attend to today, but if we meet here again at noon tomorrow, I would be glad to take you."

"Right," Emiliana nodded.

But Kat noticed something in Emiliana's gaze, a slight frown. It may have been nothing, but Kat suddenly got the impression that Emiliana didn't trust Raymond one bit.

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"So if there's nothing in Descole's workshop, we're back to square one," Kat said, stirring her tea continuously.

"It appears so," Emiliana said calmly, sitting back a little on Emmy's sofa, wincing as she did so.

"Do you need more painkillers?" Emmy asked her.

Emiliana shook her head. "It's just when I move..."

"I'm sorry," Kat said miserably.

"Please, stop apologizing Katrielle. It wasn't your fault. I have told you this already."

"But..."

"Don't, Katrielle. Please, stop beating yourself up over this." She patted her hand softly.

Kat sighed agitatedly. "Then why does it feel like it is my fault?"

"You are being silly, Katrielle. You never forced me to come here, and you never slashed me with that knife, either. This isn't your fault, so stop blaming yourself for this." Emiliana took Kat's hand again.

Vicky poked her head around the door. "Dinner's nearly ready."

"Great, thank you," Kat smiled, just realizing how hungry she was. She turned to Emiliana as Emmy left the room. "Emiliana?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we can trust Raymond?" she asked.

Emiliana's brow furrowed slightly. "I'm not sure yet. He is difficult to read."

"It's just earlier, you seemed... suspicious of him."

Emiliana frowned. "You picked up on that?" Her mouth quirked a little. "You are a better profiler than I thought , Katrielle."

"Why don't you trust Raymond?" Kat asked.

Emiliana looked out into the kitchen, to where Emmy was sitting. "We will talk about this later, when we are alone."

Kat nodded, getting the message. "Alright."

"Let's eat. I can hear your stomach growling already."

Kat smiled as she followed Emiliana out of the room.

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"This is your room."

Dusk had long since settled, and Kat and Emiliana were turning in for the night.

"Well, it's my room, but you two can stay here until you find a way back home." Emmy smiled tiredly.

"You should turn in yourself," Kat suggested as Emiliana bade Emmy goodnight and shut the door behind her.

"I can't. I have to wait for my friend the sofa-surfer to finish work so I can let him in." Emmy shrugged. "Anyway... try and get some sleep, you look like you could do with it."

"Goodnight," Kat smiled.

She turned the door handle and entered the room, greeted by the sight of Emiliana getting undressed. Kat blushed a little, this being the second time she had seen Emiliana in her bra that day, her gaze lingering on the bloodstained bandages which covered the knife wound on her left side. She turned her attention to the double bed in the center of the room, and the night dress that sat on the end of it, for her to use. Kat began to undress as Emiliana wandered around the room, looking at all the photographs that were on the walls and the beside table. She gingerly took one off the wall.

"Who is this little boy?" she asked Kat as she pulled off her dress. She handed it to her.

"That's Luke," Kat replied with a smile. "Did your mother ever tell you about him?"

"A little," Emiliana replied. "Not much. It was always about the Azran sanctuary, how she betrayed them." She sighed. "She always cried when she told me that story."

"Why?" Kat asked as she pulled the nightdress on over her head. "Luke always told me it wasn't her fault, that her uncle made her do it."

"She still feels guilty," Emiliana replied, sitting on the bed beside Kat. "She feels bad for leaving and never making it up to him."

Kat frowned. "Why did she leave?"

"Targent were after her. She told me that a man tried to attack her and kill her." Then Emiliana frowned. "But she is here, in London..."

"Maybe that didn't happen yet," Kat suggested.

Emiliana looked worried. Then she looked horrified.

"What is it?"

"What if they try to kill her now? She will not leave if we are here..."

"Then she has to leave as soon as we find my dad," Kat replied.

"We don't know how long that could take Katrielle." Emiliana looked frightened.

"Maybe we should tell her."

"She won't-"

"If she knows you're her daughter, she won't want to put you at risk, would she?"

Emiliana recoiled slightly. "Are you insane?" she hissed. "We must never do that! It could have serious repercussions and could erase my existence!"

"Then what?"

"I don't know," she shook her head.

"I'm sure she'll be alright, she can handle herself, just look at how she handled that man who stabbed you?"

Emiliana sighed. "I hope you are right..."

"Is that why she changed her name?" Kat asked. "You told me she changed her name."

"Yes... well, she went back to her real name. Leon Bronev changed it when he adopted her. He didn't like the name Zero. He said she was worth more than that."

"Zero..." Kat nodded. "That explains a lot. Why I could never find her, I mean. She was worried that they might try and track her down..."

"Si..."

"Is that why you don't trust Raymond?"

"... Not exactly."

"What do you mean?" Kat asked.

"I met Raymond a few times with my mother, in our time, yet when we met him today, he seemed... different. When he told us that your father and Descole were missing, he seemed indifferent to the fact. And he claimed to be keeping tabs on your father's younger self."

Kat nodded. "Why would he bother if he knew he was going to disappear without a trace in the future?" Then she paused, deep in thought.

"What is it, Katrielle?"

"You're right. We can't trust him."

"Why?"

"Flora told me... before... I don't think my father's younger self is actually in London right now."

"What? Why? Where is he?"

"He's in St. Mystere. Solving the mystery of the Golden Apple."

"Golden Apple...?" Emiliana shook her head. "How do you even know where he is?"

"Flora has this necklace, she said that Dad got it for her fifteenth birthday. Three weeks after she moved to London with him, from St. Mystere. Her birthday is in three weeks and two days from now. That means he left this morning..."

"Then why was Raymond watching his house?" Emiliana asked.

Kat smiled. "Exactly..."