There was a thud as something - or rather, someone - hit the tiled floor.

Layton could hear the broken whirring of machinery underneath the clamour of discomfort which could only mean that Aurora created another shockwave. There was a difference, however. Last time had created one of them bizarre shockwaves, the room had become dark - not light. As a result it seemed to come as a surprise to everyone just as equally.

Within seconds the white luminescence had gone - faded away as quickly as it had appeared. Layton squinted; everything was still a blur. If he had expected such a bright light he would have closed his eyes in preparation.

Frantic footsteps ran towards Layton, echoing as they hit the tile from the carpet. The professor then felt the grip of small hands on his arm. The hands tugged at his jacket sleeves.

"Professor! She's gone!" Luke's voice cried. His young eyes had been the first to recover from the unexpected light.

The professor looked to his left and blinked his eyes a few times. Beneath the blur, he could just about make out that not only had Aurora gone, but so had Descole.

"He's taken her!" Bronev growled. This was meant to be a fail-proof plan - under any other circumstances there would have been no chance of the man escaping. "Go after him!"

The men, who were all in various stages of recovery from the blinding light (despite wearing sunglasses), began to totter their way to the door in a rushed rabble.

"You'd better hope that we get her back." The bearded man said before storming out of the room. The large doors slammed behind him, leaving only Luke and Emmy in there along with Layton.

Even more threats Emmy thought. This was becoming a car crash because of knew that she was supposed to be working against the professor, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel concerned - after working with him for so long she had grown quite attached to the intellectual top-hatted man. She thought to be the first to speak up, but decided against it.

"What do we do, professor?" the boy asked, still tugging on Layton's jacket with small movements. He felt he had to help in some sort of way.

The professor appeared to stop to think for a moment. "I'm going after him"

"But how? Targent are much further ahead by now - we won't be able to catch up with him before they do." Luke said, his wide eyes peeking out from under his cap.

"Don't worry Luke, I have an idea. I will just need your help - and Emmy's."


A lucky escape Descole thought as he made his way through the side streets. He recalled bumping into a few Targent men as he made a beeline for the exit onto the roof, but thankfully they were too confused by the light to try to stop him. It was a risk of his that actually paid off.

Looking down at Aurora, he saw that she still not moved. That was worrying. The girl had hit her head off the wooden steps as she fell onto the tile, and he only hoped that when she came around she was still okay.

In the alleys, nothing much had changed - it was still practically silent; but that silence wouldn't last long. They will be coming. Any second. Descole thought, and quickened his pace.

"Huh?" Aurora murmured. What was happening? She could hear the fast tapping of footsteps from beneath her, but they were not her own. She tried stretching one of her limp hands but it was like her energy had been sapped.

The girl began to stir in his arms, her blue eyes like gems glimmering in the slip of sunlight that hadn't been blocked by the tall buildings. She didn't appear to be in pain - surprising after her fall. For a second he considered the possibility that she could be one of the elaborately crafted Azran robots that he had researched a couple of months prior to discovering the girl in the ice. No, that was an absurd notion. The Azran were advanced, but no robot could have the capability to feel emotion, surely.

Aurora gave a second confused mumble. As she looked up, her weary eyes met with those of Professor Sycamore.

Descole looked away immediately. It was all too familiar.

Vivid flashbacks of a young girl in his arms came to him. Her life running out of her with each staccato tick of the clock. If he closed his eyes it was almost as if he was reliving the heart-wrenching moment all over again. He was too late to save the love of his life, but he was determined that he wasn't going to let such a intelligent caring and beautiful young girl die. And yet she did.

The suffocating scent had returned as he neared the Bostonius. Paired with the memories it was beginning to get too much, the anger from earlier hadn't gone away and now it looked like it was going to rear its ugly head again.

He stumbled back up the steps of the airship where Raymond was already waiting. Thank goodness Raymond had not left him like everyone else seemed to. He only managed a grumble as he handed Aurora over to the butler.

The Scotsman hid his concerns he took the girl into his arms. It didn't seem right. Desm- Master hadn't gone there to kidnap Aurora He thought. It was obvious that his master had become attached to the strange girl. It wasn't much of a surprise, she and his daughter were very much alike.


"Be careful, professor." Luke said, edging away from the open rooftop with small steps. The height was beginning to remind him of the incident at the Reunion Inn.

"We will meet you down there." Emmy assured.

"You take care too." And with a courageous deep breath, he jumped off the rooftop.

Luke let out a nervous "Ack!", briefly parting his gritted teeth. The professor was a lot braver than he felt he could ever be.

"Come on then, Luke." Emmy said, tapping the boy on his shoulder then running off back to the lift.

With reluctance, Luke tore his eyes away from Layton. The professor knows what he's doing. he thought to reassure himself, then ran after her.


"Descole! Stop right-" Layton began, unhooking the pipe that he had been gripping onto. "There!" he finished, his words forced out as he launched himself forward.

Descole pulled out his sword almost instinctively and dashed down the steps, bringing his sword up to counter Layton's ambush.

The clang of the colliding metals echoed in their ears.

Layton was thrown backwards.

"No! I will not let them-"

A lunge from the other man came towards him; catching him unawares.

He dodged it. Just.

"I have to unlock the legacy!"

Now it was his turn to fight back.


"Don't you want to push the buttons, Luke?" Emmy asked with a mischievous grin on her lips. The boy had insisted on doing it for both trips on the way up, but this time he stood silently.

"No..."

Emmy didn't reply, expecting him to elaborate - he didn't. There was definitely something wrong. "Are you feeling all right, Luke?"

He "Do you think the professor will get to Aurora in time?" The boy said, growing quieter with each word. "I can't believe I-"

"Luke, listen here, has the professor ever let us down?" Emmy said, her tone softening.

He gulped and shook his head, holding his lips firmly shut.

"See? Don't worry!"

"But I told her that she would be safe with us all there... and she wasn't" Luke looked down at his feet. "I only wanted to help her."

Emmy lowered her eyes and leaned back onto the side of the lift. "It isn't your fault, Luke" She said. It was her fault that Aurora had been taken. It was her fault that the boy felt that he was responsible. She crouched down to look the boy in the eyes and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I know that it isn't your fault." Emmy said, just managing a smile. This proved that they were better off without her.

Finally, the doors of the lift opened.

"If you're sure..." Luke mumbled. He could hear footsteps as he exited the lift. "It will be safe to get back out, won't it?"

Bronev had told her that the other Targent members knew to ignore them - or at the very least do no more than intimidate them. "Yes, they should all be focused on catching Descole"

The pair made their way to the exit, but as Emmy opened the door, a sound made her jump.

"Emmeline?"


Firstly I need to mention that I was looking up a picture of Bronev's office and realised my memory of it was a little off, so sorry about that.

And I'm thinking there's going to be about 25 chapters in total. That may (or may not) change depending on how long each of them end up.