Aurora gazed out through the window. Professor Layton was just a speck on the ground now, as the airship flew higher into the sky.
She felt safer being back up in the Bostonius again, but it was an empty sort of safe. The sort of safe feeling that she knew was misplaced. He had only saved her for his own ends - to retaliate against Targent. She wanted to believe that he would have still rescued her out of kindness - he would have done, wouldn't he?
"Aurora?"
She didn't want to turn around, she knew what was coming next.
The Azran wanted only those with pure motives to be let into the sanctuary. But what were his motives? Just revenge? Something was driving him - something big enough to have fully engulfed Desmond Sycamore and turned him into...
"Aurora, it's time."
She looked over her shoulder. Slowly, she turned around to face him. Her hands were clasped under her chin.
The mask. He was wearing the mask again.
Descole placed the other four eggs down onto the table then stood back. He had been waiting for this.
Aurora made her way over and hovered her hands above. She could already feel the warmth radiating them. With a deep breath, she closed her sparkling blue eyes.
Layton breathed in shallow gasps, watching as the red airship took off. He couldn't believe that he had let Descole get away with the eggs - let alone Aurora.
Where would he be taking her? He wondered. He had a little look around - the streets were still empty. And where were Luke and Emmy? If they didn't get out of this place soon then they'd be at risk of getting-
Quick footsteps came running towards him. Before he could turn to look, he was gripped from the side.
"Professoor!" Luke cried, tucking himself under Layton's arm. He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering what Layton had told him on their first ever adventure: "You need to keep a clear mind" He thought. The professor would know what to do.
Layton jumped a little. "Luke, my boy. You gave me quite the surprise. I was beginning to worry where you had got to." He looked up. - there was nobody else here. His tone became suddenly very serious. "Luke, where is Emmy?"
He felt Luke tense up.
The boy released his grip and moved back with tiny steps. "E-Emmy's-" His speech tumbled with a shuddering breath. He couldn't believe what he was about to say.
"Luke... what is it? What has happened to Emmy?"
"Emmy is-" He gulped. "Emmy is part of Targent."
Aurora clutched the keystone against her chest. It felt like her head was spinning. She remembered everything. Everything that she had been created to do, and everything that would happen if she fulfilled her role.
"No..." She said, her whispy voice quivering. The memories had come like a flash of lightning, then inundated her like the downpour that followed. "I can't- It's a lie!"
They couldn't do it. Whatever happened, no one could unleash the Azran legacy.
She wanted to run, so she did.
The girl threw herself into the door of the airship, grasping the handle with both hands and pulling back with as much strength as she could manage.
"Aurora!" Descole said sharply.
Her hair flew back as she spun around. She looked up at him with widened, desperate eyes.
"As long as I remain, only ruin awaits." She said, shaking her head as her hold on the keystone grew tighter. "If I were gone-"
He staggered back. "You want me to allow you to-" He stood with his mouth held open.
To let her kill herself?
"No! You can't - I won't allow it!"
The girl fell to her knees, her hands dropped into her lap. "But what am I supposed to do?"
The world was in danger, she didn't want to live to see all of these people - these wonderful, wonderful people - suffer. If she were gone, along with the keystone, maybe there would be hope.
Descole stayed silent.
To unlock the Azran Legacy before Targent did...
It had been a goal that deep down, he knew he would never achieve.
Yet here he was - he had the keystone, he had the emissary, soon he would unlock the legacy too - somehow he had won, and he had done so without having to keep his intentions hidden.
He hadn't thought anything of the ill effects that would come of it. They didn't matter. Is what he had thought. Nothing really mattered. Everything - everyone - was already lost.
"The Azran... They wanted whoever got this far to know: 'In the place of awakening, the gateway stands.'" The words rolled off her tounge as if she was programmed to say them. She wished she hadn't have had to.
Descole exhaled quietly. He picked at the feathers on his boa as he paced towards the front of the airship.
"Raymond? Change of plan."
Did that mean..?
"Professor..? Please, you mustn't!" Aurora cried, hugging her arms around her shoulders. "What are you doing?"
"We're going back to Froenborg."
"She gave you the keys for her plane?"
Luke nodded. "She said we need to go back to Froenborg - that's where she said Descole would be heading for."
Once Layton had unlocked it, the boy clambered into the passenger seat. "Professor?" He said, leaning over onto the seat in front. "Emmy is still on our side, isn't she?"
Layton leaned to the side and turned his head. "It sounds that way." He said with a reassuring smile; but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it.
If she had been working for Targent all this time then it would explain her random, unexplained appearance when he was on his way to Misthallery. But was she really helping them? Surely betraying Bronev ran huge risks, so if she worked for him why would she try her luck by doing it?
Emmy made her way into the room. It was empty apart from the desk and chairs in the center. The heat inside was stifling.
Bronev took a seat on the far side of the desk.
"Sit." He commanded.
Emmy dropped into the empty chair opposite.
Next to her, was a young lady who looked a bit younger than herself. The girl leaned on the table with her elbow, delicately resting her chin on her hand.
"Emmeline, I'd like you to meet Alexandra." Bronev said clasping both of his hands together. "Alexandra, this is Emmeline."
The girl offered out her hand and a strand of ashy hair fell from behind her ear. "Alex." She said, her green eyes narrowing as the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile.
"Emmy." She shook the girl's hand, not quite returning the smile. As she did so something caught her eye.
On the back of her chair was a red trench coat. A crimson red trench coat.
This was the woman who had helped to kidnap Aurora.
Bronev gave a chuckle. "You should get along nicely. We recruited her to keep an eye on -"
"Here, I can fill her in." Alex interrupted.
Bronev grunted but said nothing. Emmy thought of how she'd never dream of cutting off her uncle whilst he was speaking.
"I've been following that Descole man - ugh!" Alex said in disgust. "Last I saw of him was in Kodh - went into the ruins at the lake after he had left. Except the location on the dome said that all of the eggs were on their way here to the Nest already.
Everyone assumed that it was Layton. If we'd have known it was him then we wouldn't have lost the Emissary."
Emmy shuffled in her seat. Since when did Bronev recruit people and give them all of the information straight off? she wondered.
Bronev nodded slightly. "Yes, now you two have met you can go now, don't you have a training session to go to? I expect to see you in half an hour to set off for Froenborg."
Emmy eyed the woman with suspicion as she picked up her coat and left the room.
"Don't look so shocked, Emmeline." Bronev said as he stood up out of his seat.
Emmy snapped her head towards him.
"She only knows all of that because she was listening-in." He gave a soundless chuckle. "A good habit for a spy though, wouldn't you say? She's a good shooter too - very fast. You'll both make a good team."
A good team? Emmy thought. It wouldn't work. This girl sounded as if she'd been brainwashed just like her uncle had been.
Yeaaah... I had no intentions of putting an OC into this, but Targent needed someone who wasn't a joke.
