Alright, time to get the plot moving! Luke is ready to get his one-way ticket to Oz!

Luke was bored.

He never thought it was possible when visiting a place like Monte d'Or, but it happened. They were sitting in the living room of the manor, having tea and talking. Well, the Professor, Randall, and Henry were talking mostly, with Angela throwing in a comment every now and then and Emmy asking the occasional question whenever something relating to archeology popped up. She was apparently eager to learn of Randall and Henry's past research on the Mask and the Norwell wall around Stansbury. But Luke had nothing to contribute.

He perked up whenever puzzles were brought up, but he could never get a word in edgewise. Randall was quite talkative after all. At first, Luke found their past stories of high school shenanigans quite entertaining, but after a while he just zoned out.

Luke put his tea down and simply glanced at the adults around him, all of them completely engrossed in their conversation. It was times like this that he wished he were older so he could join in on things like this. Luke swung his feet and leaned against the arm of the couch as none of the others so much as glanced at him. He was small and easy to forget when he was quiet like this, so he couldn't really blame them.

Luke glanced towards the door, finding it was very close to him. Judging by the sunlight peeking through the cracks, it was just barely ajar, probably from one of the other servants entering and exiting. Maybe some fresh air wouldn't hurt.

Luke looked back at the Professor, seeing that he was still talking pleasantly with his friends. Luke tried to say something to let them know that he wanted to go out, but he still couldn't even get a word in. He didn't want to interrupt them, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. Keeping his sight on the others, Luke slowly got up from his seat and made his way towards the door. He kept looking at them, just in case they noticed, but they didn't even flinch.

Luke reached the door and slipped out, letting out a sigh of relief from the desert air. He looked back at the door, not hearing the Professor calling out for him, so Luke trotted down the stairs. He walked out of the gate and into the streets when something small and furry caught his eye. "Oh, hello Trevor!" Luke greeted. He knelt down as the dog walked towards him, wagging his tail happily. "Were you waiting for me?" Luke asked.

Trevor barked, which sounded like, "I wanted to see you again."

Luke smiled and scratched Trevor's ears, "That's really nice of you Trevor." he said, before getting up. He looked ahead where the Stellar Circus was still going on, the happy music ringing through the air in the distance. "Want to go to the circus boy?" Luke asked. Trevor yipped a yes and they went on their way.

They arrived at the circus and looked at all the attractions. Maybe now he could actually see the circus without anything distracting him. His eyes were drawn to the tent, seeing that it was empty. According to the sign, the show wasn't meant to start for a about an hour or two.

Trevor sniffed the air and began to bark excitedly, catching Luke's attention. "What is it Trevor?" He asked. He couldn't catch an answer from his barks as the dog took off towards the tent. "Trevor! Wait!" Luke called, giving chase. He followed the tiny dog all the way around and caught a glimpse of him struggling under the back of the tent. "Trevor! Come back!" Luke hissed.

They weren't supposed to be here before the show started! If the ringmaster caught them, they would be in for it! He quickly lifted the tent and crawled into the tent. "Trevor!" Luke called quietly. "Trevor, where'd you go?" He heard small whines and yips a little ways away and spotted the dog sitting in front of a familiar tiger cage.

Luke smiled at the familiar friendly tiger, "Hello Maurice." he greeted. He looked down at Trevor who was wagging his tail. "You know each other?" he asked.

"He gave me food once." Trevor answered in a bark.

Luke nodded and looked at the tiger, "So how have you been Maurice?" he asked.

"Pretty good." Was what Luke could pick up from his soft growls.

"Who's there?"

Luke jumped and turned around seeing Alphonse Dalston entering the area. Luke felt a bit of relief as it wasn't the ringmaster, but they weren't out of the woods completely.

"Hey, you're Luke, right?" Dalston said, spotting him. "You're Hershel's little sidekick."

"Sorry Mr. Dalston," Luke said, bowing his head slightly. "Trevor here wanted to see Maurice again."

Dalston looked down at the little dog who was still wagging his tail in excitement at seeing a friend and frowned. "Where did you find this dog?" he asked.

"Um, he was wandering the streets." Luke answered. "He told me that he doesn't have a home."

"He told you?" Dalston asked. "What do you mean?"

Luke smiled; he had forgotten that not many people knew of his talent. "I can talk to animals Mr. Dalston," he answered. "Not completely, but enough."

Dalston seemed quite intrigued. "Well you must tell me more about this talent of yours!" he exclaimed. "In the meantime, how about I get some treats for Trevor and Maurice?"

Luke nodded, "That would be great! What do you think Trevor?" The dog barked happily and Dalston opened Maurice's cage. The tiger purred as Luke gave him a pat and Trevor happily pranced around his big paws.

And that was how Luke found himself sitting in the circus ring, talking with Dalston about animals while Trevor and Maurice gnawed on their treats. Luke couldn't remember the last time he enjoyed a conversation like this, especially with Dalston of all people. When they first met he seemed kind of arrogant and stand-offish, but when animals were a part of the equation, he became a completely different person.

"By the way," Dalston said, looking around the still empty tent. "Why are you out here all by yourself? Layton is probably looking for you."

"I don't think so." Luke answered softly, looking at the ground. "He and Emmy were having tea at the manor when I last saw them; I left and they didn't even notice."

Dalston seemed a bit shocked but nodded, "Feeling lonely?" he asked.

"A bit, I guess." Luke admitted.

"Maybe even jealous?" Dalston asked.

"What?" Luke asked, his head shooting up, "N-No! I-I'm not jealous!" he protested.

Dalston simply smirked, "Well I won't put any labels on you," he said, giving Maurice a scratch behind the ears. "But just because they didn't notice you then doesn't mean they won't ever notice you." Luke frowned in confusion. "Take me for example," Dalston said. "Back in Stansbury, Bratscot would annoy me to no end. I got so used to it that when he never said a word to me on some days I always thought he was plotting something."

Luke stifled a giggle; he could clearly picture Randall doing something like that to Dalston from the few days he's known him.

"Anyway, just don't take it too personally." Dalston continued. "And even so, who needs them when we have friends like Maurice and Trevor?"

Luke smiled and Trevor jumped into his lap. "Wow, Mr. Dalston." Luke said. "I never knew you could be so...sentimental."

Dalston rolled his eyes. "Being rivals with Ledore, I imagine his goody-goody attitude has rubbed off on me." Luke chuckled when the ringmaster burst into the tent.

"Mr. Dalston, please get Maurice back in his cage; this tent has to come down at once!" he said frantically.

Luke and Dalston got up, "What's going on? What about the show?" Dalston asked.

"It will have to wait," The ringmaster said. "There's a sandstorm coming, a big one!" Luke's eyes widened; he had forgotten that Monte d'Or was in the desert! No one had ever mentioned sandstorms during their brief time here so Luke assumed they were a rare occurrence.

Luke glanced outside and saw that the wind was starting to get steadily stronger. He poked his head outside and looked around until he saw a giant cloud of sand coming towards the town. It looked like it was moving slowly, but judging by the wind, it would be here in no time. "I have to get back." Luke muttered. "I have to get back to the manor!" Luke said.

"Luke, you have to get inside, it's too dangerous to be out there!" Dalston said.

"Don't worry, I know the way." Luke said. "C'mon Trevor!" Luke and Trevor exited the tent that was already starting to sway dangerously from the wind. "Bye Mr. Dalston!" Luke called as he ran. "Thanks for the talk!"

Dalston twisted his mustache as he watched him go, "Hope that kid gets home in time." He muttered before helping the ringmaster with the inside of the tent.

"Luke!" The Professor kept a firm grip on his hat as the wind picked up. "Luke, where are you?" He called. He stood by the gate of the Ledore manor as he looked for any sign of the boy. Where could he have run off to?

"Hersh!" Layton turned to see Randall coming towards him, holding his arm up to protect his face from the wind. "We need to get inside! It won't be long before the sand hits, and you don't want to be outside for that!" he yelled.

"Luke hasn't returned yet!" Layton yelled back over the strong wind.

"Professor!"

Layton and Randall looked towards the streets to see Emmy fighting the wind as she came towards them. Layton's heart sank as she didn't have Luke in tow. "Any sign of him?" he asked.

Emmy shook her head, "None! I can't find him anywhere!" Layton was at a loss; where could Luke be?

"Master Randall! Hershel!" Henry came towards them through the wind. "We must get inside now! The sand is going to hit at any moment!"

Randall nodded and faced Layton. "C'mon Hersh, we have to go!"

"But Luke is still out there!" Emmy protested angrily.

Henry shook his head, "There's nothing we can do now!"

Emmy looked like she was about to retort, but Layton took her arm. "Henry's right Emmy!" he said. "We won't find Luke any better if we stay out here!" Emmy frowned but resigned and he group got inside the house where Angela was waiting.

"Is everyone here?" she asked.

Randall shook his head, "No, Luke is still missing."

Emmy looked out the window as sand began to fly through the air. "Do you think he'll be alright?" she asked, failing to hide her worry.

Layton put a hand on her shoulder, "We'll just have to hope for Luke's safety." he said.

"There is a chance that he found shelter; the city is very large after all." Angela said, hoping to offer some comfort.

"We can look for him again once the storm passes, but for now, we just have to wait." Henry said.

Layton nodded and tore himself away from the window. 'Luke, my boy," he thought. 'Please be safe.'

Luke kept his head down as he stumbled through the empty streets. He had thought he would be able to run straight back to the manor, but the wind had quickly slowed him to a crawl. The sand had finally hit the city and was swirling through the air, dropping visibility greatly. He looked beside him as Trevor was beginning to move sluggishly, letting out a few hoarse coughs. Luke could see sand getting in his eyes; he had to do something!

His eyes spied his bag and he quickly scooped up Trevor. The dog was very small but he just barely fit inside. Luke closed his bag to keep the dog safe and hurried towards the the manor. At least, he hoped he was heading towards the manor. With all the sand in the air, everything looked the same!

Luke tried to cover his nose and mouth with his shirt, but he couldn't take his hands away from his cap or his bag in case they blew away. All he could do was keep his head down against the wind and try not to breathe in any sand. It wasn't long before he spotted the large wall that belonged to the Ledore manor. He managed to stumble through the gate, trying to not fall. The wind was so strong, Luke was afraid he might get blown away altogether.

He barely saw lights through the windows before having to lower his head again to keep sand out of his eyes He got to the steps and hurriedly stepped onto the first step, but he couldn't see the thin layer of sand coating it. Luke slipped and fell over, forcing himself to gasp in surprise, breathing in a mouthful of sand with it. Luke coughed and spit trying to get the sand out of his mouth, but it only served make it worse.

He coughed and coughed with every breath as he breathed in more and more sand; he couldn't breathe! He needed to get inside somewhere! Through his sandy vision, Luke spied what looked like a shed, probably to store tools for the garden. That was his best option; he could hide in there until the storm blew over. Luke stumbled over as fast as he could, his cough still getting worse until he made it.

He yanked the door open, got inside and slammed the door. Luke fell to his knees his arms supporting him as he coughed loudly and spit any remaining sand from his mouth. Trevor crawled out of his bag while Luke's coughs began to calm down a bit, allowing him to take a few sand-free breaths. His throat felt dry and scratchy, having difficulty letting clean air in. However, as he struggled to pull himself together, Luke failed to notice a large metal tool hanging precariously off a high shelf.

Luke coughed roughly, feeling as if his throat was being scratched by sharp talons; it hurt so much that his eyes watered. His vision turned spotted as he tried to breathe without coughing as the wind outside banged and knocked against the shed. Finally, the tool could no longer stay still and it fell with a clunk, right on Luke's head.

Luke only heard the tool fall to the ground as the remaining breath he had was knocked out of him and he collapsed to the floor.

Yes, sandstorms, not twisters. I mean, Monte d'Or is in the middle of the FREAKING DESERT! They must get SOMETHING akin to sandstorms! And considering the kind of damage sandstorms can do to people (like blindness) I'd say Luke got pretty lucky! On another subject, I think Luke and Dalston would be able to bond pretty greatly over their love for animals, don't you?

I'll admit, Luke's motivation for leaving is kinda weak, but I had to get Luke out of the house somehow...and I do like to think that if they went back to Monte d'Or, Luke would kinda be left out, due to Layton and the Ascot-Ledores being old friends and all. I know I felt that way at my cousin's wedding...

Anyway, next stop: Oz! Let's do this!

Review!