Chapter 18:

Two hours had passed, and Emmy was still attempting to pry open the floor panels.

"This is impossible!" Emmy huffed.

She leaned back against the wall. "There has to be some way out."

Emmy looked around. She didn't notice anything peculiar, or any way out.

She brought her knees to her chest and laid her head face down.

"Why did this have to happen? Why did I allow myself to get caught?"

Emmy sighed. "Oh professor, I'm so sorry. This is my fault."

Emmy paused. 'I just hope he can find me.' She thought.

The professor, Luke, and Flora had continued their search for Emmy.

After driving for about two hours, something caught the groups eye.

"Professor? Is that, the harbor?" Luke asked.

Layton nodded.

Flora gasped. "We didn't go the wrong way, did we?"

No one responded.

Layton decided to get out and have a look around. They parked by a small boat near the edge of the docks.

Luke and Flora jumped out, soon followed by the professor.

"Where is she?" Luke questioned.

"I wish I knew." Layton couldn't stop worrying.

What if it was some evil mastermind using her in some scheme?

What if it was an old foe seeking revenge? Who knows what they would do to her if that were the case.

"I hope...she's...ok..." Flora had begun cry.

Luke placed an arm around her. "I'm sure she's fine, Flora. She can handle herself out there."

Flora nodded her head, but continued to cry, placing her head on Luke's shoulder.

Layton placed a comforting hand on Flora's arm. He glanced downwards. "Hm...what's this?"

He picked up a small piece of yellow fabric.

"Professor? Is that, a part of Emmy's sleeve?" Luke asked.

"I believe so." Layton responded.

Flora perked up slightly. "So, that means she was here. That's good, right? It means we are on her trail?"

"Yes, but we still don't know what direction she was taken in." Layton pondered this. He observed his surroundings.

Luke mimicked the professor, then spotted something in the distance. "Hey! There's a cat over there! Maybe it saw something!"

Flora smiled. "Go ask Luke!"

(NOTE: For anyone who has never played any of the Professor Layton games, Luke can talk to animals.)

The two ran in the direction of the cat.

"Here kitty, kitty. Can I ask you something?"

A proud looking cat sat before them. It was a very fluffy cat, decorated in brown, black, and a little grey on its back. It's stomach and chest was pure white, and so was his feet. Its extremely furry tail matched the color of its back. The cat's forehead held a small, black "M".

Luke and Flora ran at the cat, a little too excited. The cat saw them, jumped, and dashed away.

"No! Come back! We need to ask you something!" Luke yelled.

Luke ran after it, followed by Flora.

Layton noticed the two running away. "Wait! Come back you two!" Layton soon pursued them.

The cat ran for a while, then finally found a tree and climbed.

Luke and Flora, both out of breath, neared the tree.

"Here kitty! Here girl! Will you come down and talk?" Luke began.

"Girl? GIRL? I am not a girl!" the cat hissed.

Flora, unaware of the cat's statement, backed up a step.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Cat." Luke corrected.

"Mr. Cat? That is most certainly not my name!" The cat screeched. "My name is Max, thank you very much."

"Oh I'm sorry, Max." Luke repeated.

"Hmph. What do you want?" Max asked.

"We need to know if you saw a woman in a yellow coat earlier today." Luke responded.

At this point, the professor had found Luke and Flora and was listening to the current conversation, the part he could understand, at least.

"Yes I saw her." Max began. "I was awoken from my slumber when these terrible men came up. They were carrying some woman with them."

Max paused to clean his paw, then continued. "They scared one of my nine lives out of me! One dropped the woman and yelled at the other, something about her waking up. It looked like they placed something in her mouth, what do you humans call it, a container that holds liquid?"

"A bottle?" Luke suggested.

"Oh yes. That's it." Max conformed. "Anyway, after placing a bottle to her mouth, they picked her up again and took her to a boat. I don't understand why they would though. Who could enjoy riding over water in that sort of thing? You are bound to get wet!" Max shivered.

"So they took the woman out to sea?" Luke asked.

"Yes, they took her out to sea. Didn't you hear me?" Max fussed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, thank you, Max. You were most helpful!" Luke expressed.

"Of course I was. I'm always helpful." Max commented. He jumped off the tree and began cleaning himself once again.

"Professor..." Luke began.

"We need a boat." Layton finished.

Well, chapter 18 is complete! I hope you enjoyed Max the cat!

Max: Where is the tuna you promised?

Anyway, I'll try to put chapter 19 up really soon!

Max: I want my tuna...