"Here we are," Emmy said as the three of them arrived at the professor's home. Leon and the young Emmy looked on in interest as Emmy unlocked the door. They entered and went into the kitchen where Emmeline and Alfendi were engrossed in conversation.
"So, where did you and Dad get the name Alfendi from?" he asked.
Emmeline smiled. "Well, actually, neither of us wanted to call you Alfendi. We wanted to call you Leon, but fifteen years ago, when we were in the scenario our younger selves are in now, we saw you as you are now, and you were called Alfendi, so we thought, just to be safe, that we'd better call you Alfendi, just in case the world ended or something if we didn't."
"That's so weird!" he exclaimed. He turned around to see Emmy and her two newest acquaintances at the kitchen door and grinned. He turned back to his mother. "No way..."
"Way." Emmeline smiled. "You got here alright, then?"
"Wait... you knew that this would happen?" Emmy asked, shocked.
"That's right," Emmeline smiled.
"So they're supposed to be here?" Emmy asked, frowning. "But... how? I don't remember ever going into the past with Uncle Leon."
"Er... I'm not allowed to tell you that, sorry Emmy," Emmeline replied. "That's something you'll have to figure out on your own."
"So you're Emmeline too?" Leon asked.
Emmeline smiled. "Yes, I am. I'm what she is going to become twenty-seven years after your present."
"And do I have an older counterpart here?" Leon asked.
"Yes, you have one, but he is still out with the professor at the moment," Emmeline replied. "He should be back soon."
As if on cue, the front door opened again and the professor and Bronev entered the house.
"We have a bit of bad news, things are going to be on hold for about a week, as we—" the Professor stopped as he entered the kitchen. "Er..."
Bronev stared at his younger self. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
"Another mystery for us to solve, Hershel," Emmy smiled.
"I'll add it onto the list," he muttered, sitting down at the table beside Alfendi.
Leon stared at his older self, as did the young Emmy. Young Emmy looked back and forth from Bronev to Leon, smiling to herself. "I like your beard, Uncle Leon," she smiled.
Bronev laughed, as did Leon. Emmy smiled. Emmeline caught her eye and grinned at her.
"So, what are we going to call this one, then?" Alfendi asked. "Emmy and Emmeline are already taken."
"Call her Little Emmy, and present Emmy big Emmy," Emmeline replied, "but only if the need to distinguish between the Emmy's arises. Is that fair enough?"
"I don't like Little Emmy," Little Emmy complained.
"And I don't like big Emmy," Emmy said. "It makes me sound fat."
"Well, tough, because there are too many Emmy's to go around, and you can't all be called Emmy or else we'll just get confused and you'll give me another migraine," Emmeline scolded.
Emmy smiled. "Fair enough," she said as, yet again, the front door went.
"I'll go," Bronev said, leaving the kitchen. He squeezed past Layton as he left the room and Layton smiled at Leon. "Hershel Layton, how do you do?" he said, extending a hand to him.
Leon looked very confused and shook his hand. "So, there are two of you and two of me, and three of Emmeline..."
"Actually, there is three of Layton now."
Bronev re-entered the kitchen with Celeste and a teenage boy with an afro in tow.
The professor placed a hand over his eyes. "Oh dear..."
Alfendi looked from the professor to Layton to the teenage Hershel, grinning from ear to ear. "Dad," he smiled. "You never told me that you had an afro!"
"For good reason," Emmy smiled. Layton raised his eyebrows at her.
The professor turned to her. "So, I presume that this is the Hershel Layton that is supposed to be called Hershel?"
Emmeline smiled at him. "That's right."
Celeste sighed exasperatedly. "Now, is that all of them, because I don't think I can handle any more people mysteriously appearing from different time zones and strolling down from my attic."
"Er..." Emmeline looked anxiously at Layton. "I think so."
"Good."
"And Dimitri will be coming to have a look at the machine next week, so make sure no one else has access to it until then," Bronev said.
"The police will be letting him out for that?" Flora asked.
"Er... no. We will have to break him out for that," the professor said.
Everyone stared at him. Layton nodded.
"It's the only way you'll get him out," he agreed.
"But what if you get caught?" Emmy asked worriedly.
"He won't," Bronev promised. "I'll call on a few acquaintances to take care of it for me."
"Who?" Emmy asked.
"You remember Bloom, don't you? Well, I got his father out of a particularly sticky situation a couple of weeks back, so he owes me a favour. And I'm sure, if I persuade him, he'll call on a few friends of his to lend a hand."
"Er... are you sure that you can trust him?" Emmy asked nervously.
"Why not?"
"Well, last time you had him undercover... he kind of got caught."
"Well, that was because Layton here figured it out, but the London police, as we all know, are as thick as two short planks, so he should get away with it this time."
"Er... if you say so," Emmy replied, looking anxious.
Bronev placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Emmeline. We won't get the blame for this. I know it."
"Bloom?" Leon asked. "Leonard Bloom?"
"The very same," Emmeline smiled, winking at Little Emmy. She smirked and looked away.
"Er... I wonder what Luke is going to make of all of this when he arrives tomorrow?" Emmy wondered, eager to change the subject.
"Well, whatever way we put it, it's all going to come as a big shock for him, believe me," Layton smiled. "But, Luke being Luke, he'll adapt to the situation very quickly."
"Yeah," Alfendi grinned, glancing at Hershel and winking at his father.
Layton frowned at him. "What's the matter?"
Alfendi started laughing. "I still can't believe that you, you of all people, had an afro!"
The professor shook his head and Layton sighed heavily.
Emmeline grinned. "Well, you did experience all of this fifteen years ago, so you really can't say that you didn't see that coming, Hershel."
Hershel scratched his fuzzy head, looking extremely confused. "Would someone mind telling me where I am and what exactly is going on here?"
Layton sighed again. "Oh my, where to begin...?"