Chapter 21 – Confusion and Guilt

At the Layton house, everyone was mulling over what had happened and what was to come. They all knew that something big was about to occur, but as to what that could be, they had no idea. Emmy hadn't let go of the professor's hand since she had first grabbed it on their way home, and had no intention of letting go any time soon. They had sat together on the sofa; hand in hand, neither of them saying a word, for the majority of the afternoon.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Bronev sat across the table from his younger counterpart. They stared at one another, unsure of what to say. After a long silence, Leon spoke.

"What are we going to do about McIntyre, then?"

Bronev frowned. "What do you mean?

"Well, it's obvious that she is trying to hurt our Emmeline. And she may even destroy us in the process. We have to do something. Get rid of her."

"Well, I don't see what we can do," Bronev replied. "We tried tracking her down—"

"And my Emmeline found her," Leon replied. "And we managed to get the gist of what she is up to."

"What do you mean? Do you mean to say that you know what she is going to do next?" Bronev asked sharply.

"We know that she is going to get to the time machine," Leon replied. "We now that she is going to bring me and Emmeline to the future. That is all we need to know, right?"

"Yes, but how do you propose that we stop her?" Bronev asked.

"We can't," Leon replied. "Otherwise, we'll all disappear. Emmeline and I have to come to the future in order to keep everything correct, right?"

"Yes," Bronev agreed. "But what if all of that is a part of a larger plan and we all disappear anyway?"

"I'm not sure," Leon replied, "but we do know that she is going to use the machine soon, today or tomorrow, and we have to be there. She's up to something else, I can feel it, and we have to be there to prevent it, whatever it is."

Bronev frowned. "Do you have an idea of what she's going to do?"

Leon shook his head. "No. But..." he sighed. "I can't just sit here while the existence of myself and of everyone else around me is in jeopardy. I... I don't know what to do. But we have to do something."

"I say that you're right in thinking we have to be there when she does reach the machine. But I doubt that she will use it today."

Leon frowned. "Why is that?"

"Because Celeste is there, as is Markus. They will not let anyone else get to the machine, at least not until we arrive. And, as you said, she is definitely up to something else. Knowing her, from what she did last time, she won't come out into the open without more than one trick up her sleeve. She's planning a backup plan. And I'm sure that we'll find out what it is soon enough."

"Why is she out to get Emmeline? What did Emmeline do to her?" Leon asked.

"She told us, last year, before we went into the Grounds of Rebirth, that she has feelings for Layton. She is jealous of Emmeline and wants Layton for herself. She wants Emmeline out of the way."

Leon glared. "Her plan won't work. It can't, can it? What with Emmeline's older self coming here, that means that she is destined to come out of this situation unscathed."

"I think you're right," Bronev nodded. "But whether Andrea understands that is unknown."

The children were upstairs; laying on Flora's bed and trying to make sense of everything, as was everyone else. Each with a frown on their faces, they tried unsuccessfully to understand the concept of time travel and its consequences.

"Maybe she wants to make Emmy disappear so that she can have the professor to herself?" Flora suggested. "I mean, it makes sense, what with her having a crush on the professor and all."

"I think she has more than just a crush, Flora," Luke pointed out. "I think her feelings for the professor are bordering on the obsessive. Otherwise, why would she be going all out to hurt Emmy?"

"Yes, I didn't do anysing," Little Emmy pointed out."

Hershel shuddered. "I really don't like this Andrea person. Psychopaths aren't really my type."

The four of them laughed.

"But why would she make Emmy disappear? Wouldn't that make the professor disappear too?" Luke asked. "And all of us."

"And everyone we know," Flora added. "Including herself."

"And all the people that everyone we know knows, and all the people that they know, and all the people that they know..." Luke trailed off.

"Until everyone in ze vorld is just... gone," Little Emmy said.

"Well, maybe she just doesn't understand that," Flora said. "I know I don't."

Luke smiled. "Well, at least you understand that everyone could disappear if she goes along with her evil plan. I think that's more that she could fathom about this situation."

"I'm not sure, Luke. I mean, she was pretty smart to be able to come up with a plan like that," Flora pointed out. "Even if it is pure evil."

"Agreed," Little Emmy nodded.

"But it could never work! I mean she obviously knew about the future Emmy and Professor through er surveillance, and she knew that they would live n into the future, and they were still married with a son, so her plan obviously failed, didn't it?" Luke said. "So, really, it was pretty stupid of her to even attempt it!"

"Yes, but if she didn't zen future me and Hershel would disappear vis Alfendi," Little Emmy pointed out. "So, really she had to do it. If not, zen ze futures off me and Layton would not be confirmed."

"Um... uh... I really don't know," Flora admitted.

"Yeah," Luke frowned. "Me neither."

Andrea's father was positioned outside the professor's house for the majority of that day, as soon as Andrea had decided that he would test out his machine on Flora. He waited all evening for night t fall, the perfect time to do his job. But he didn't like it.

He remembered Flora's innocence, how she had done nothing wrong. She only wanted to be happy, like every child had the right to. And he would be taking all of that away from her. He didn't want that. After all, he had watched the child from a distance since he had aided the watch for the people of Midleton during the time of Vaughan's terrorising. He had seen how she had taken to Aurora, another innocent little girl caught up in a situation bigger than she was. And yet, this time, his loyalties laid with his daughter. As darkness closed in from all sides, he braced himself.

He climbed up a tree beside Flora's bedroom window and eased himself on her windowsill. He took out a wire from his pocket and placed it in the gap between the pane and the frame, easing the glass out of the window.

He climbed in silently and put the glass back in. He turned to Flora. She was fast asleep in her bed. He looked down to the floor and saw Little Emmy, who had decided to stay over. He stepped over Emmy and leaned over Flora. Silently, he unzipped his bag and pulled out his contraption. But first, he would have to ensure that the two girls would stay asleep. He pulled out a bottle of clear liquid and a cloth. Placing the memory eraser on the end of Flora's bed, he poured a generous amount of liquid onto the cloth. He held it over Little Emmy's mouth. She stirred, but then lay motionless. He did the same to Flora. There was no chance of either of them waking for at least eight hours. He proceeded with the plan.

He lifted Flora's head up and placed the helmet onto it. He turned t the controls an stopped, his thumb on the time control. How much memory would he wipe? All of it? He looked at Flora's innocent face and felt a pang of guilt. He remembered that Andrea had never specified how much memory to wipe. He knew that Andrea would need to wipe a lot of memory to make a significant impact on young Hershel and Emmy... but he decided against that. After all, Flora had been nice to him, so he decided that sparing her long-term memory would be his way of being kind to her. He set the timer to one week and pushed the button. The helmet began to vibrate and flashes of blue emitted from it. After a few minutes, the process was complete. The man removed the helmet from Flora's little head and shoved it back into the bag. He retrieved a camera and placed it carefully in her bookshelf, between a murder-mystery novel and a book of puzzles written by Akira Tago. He then crept out the bedroom door and silently down the hall, creeping gently down the stairs and slipping out the back door, relieved that his duty was finally over and that he hadn't done too much damage to Flora.

And yet, he still felt guilt pounding in his heart.