Here's the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it.

Dikratsblim - Thank you so much, you're too kind. I admit that the previous chapter was a little hard to write because there wasn't a lot of room to play around with. I also missed a bunch of puzzles which is a shame. But I'm so glad you enjoyed it all the same.

I would love to write an original story, but, at the moment, I sadly haven't got the time with life and everything. But I have not given up yet. It's all in my head and all I need to do is put pen to paper...or rather keyboard to word document. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.

Fiction Fan 369 - It really shows how well they know him, huh? Kind of sweet in a way. I can't say much about what will happen (because I'll spoil it for everybody) but I can assure you that it would be great...I really hope I haven't overhyped it already. Thanks for reading.

Djinn - Thanks so much.

FanSuperAnime - I did check it out and it looks interesting; I can't wait to see how progresses. However, I still have yet to read Eden Zero, so I'll get to it after. I heard that they were making Fairy Tail: 100 Year Quest so I need to get on to that. Ah! There's too much to read and so little time! Thanks for reviewing.

wellingtonlucas282 - You're welcome. Thank you so much for reading.

Thanks for reviewing :)

Chapter 4: A Day Out In London

Staff Room, Gressenheller University

A few days had passed since they had returned from Kodh and escaped the Targent soldiers. They had been keeping low ever since to ensure that they hadn't been followed and the best way, for them, of doing that was to continue life as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Layton had been preparing lectures and giving his classes all the necessary work needed for when they leave; Emmy had been studying (in secret) the discoveries they had uncovered in Siren Lake; Sycamore had gone off to do…whatever he usually does and Edgar had volunteered to look after Aurora and get her accustomed to the modern age.

Out of concern and paranoia, Edgar has made sure that Aurora was never out in public for more than an hour; meaning that she has been cooped up either at Layton's house or at Gressenheller University where it is secure. Obviously, he feels bad about keeping her prisoner indoors all of the time, but he just can't take any risks. Laying low and making sure they weren't being followed…it made him nostalgic of what life was like back when he was a thief.

He had apologised to Aurora countless times, but the ancient girl reassured him that she was perfectly fine; he reckoned that she felt overwhelmed by everything and he honestly couldn't blame her. That's why he took it upon himself to show her the most important aspects of modern human society; everything that science, the arts and technology had to offer over the past millennia.

"So, you put the bread in here, pull down the lever and, in about five minutes, you will have perfectly toasted bread," he explained, demonstrating the contraption happily, "This is what we call the toaster."

Aurora blinked down at it; her eyes bright in curiosity, "You devote an entire machine to burn your food for you?"

"Not burn. Toast it."

She frowned slightly, "You bake bread and then, once it's done, you bake it even more. If your intention was to create this…toast, why not bake it for longer?"

"Well, what if I need the bread to make sandwiches or dip it into soup?"

"Can't you use toast to make sandwiches or use toast to dip it into soup?"

"…Fair point," he admitted, "Let's just say that…people just like it that way."

Aurora's eyes widened in realisation, "Of course. How narrow minded of me. I didn't take personal preference into account," she gasped before she leaned down and stared at the toaster in innocent curiosity, "How fascinating."

The toaster popped suddenly making her yelp in surprise and jump back; she blinked at it in sheer shock before she frowned in worry.

"I…I didn't break it, did I?" she asked hesitantly.

Edgar turned around, covered his mouth to avoid laughing, 'For crying out loud! Any more of this and I'm going to die of a cuteness overdose!' he thought while Aurora poked the toaster to see if it was alright.

The door to the staff room opened and Emmy appeared holding two rolls of paper in her hand. She smiled at them both and gestured to the objects she was carrying.

"Hey, you two. Just finished the final preparations for our trip," she chirped happily, "The Professor has just received permission from the dean to leave and Sycamore called to say that the Bostonius is just about ready to go."

"With or without the balloon?" Edgar asked.

"Without, I think."

"Shame. Kind of liked it."

Emmy turned her attention to Aurora, "So, how are things, Aurora? Are you settling in?"

"Oh yes," she politely replied, "It was quite hard at first, but it is not too bad now. I am learning quite a lot about these amazing inventions like the toaster and the kettle and the microwave oven. They are quite fascinating."

Emmy gave Edgar a weary look, "Really? Household appliances?"

"It's not like I have a lot of choice," he murmured, "Can't exactly show her all the sights of London, can I?"

"Not until now," Emmy said before she handed one of the rolled up papers to Edgar, "This is the shopping list for our trip."

He unfurled it and began to read the list; his eyes widened at the sheer number of items, "Bloody hell. Is the entire population of London coming with us?"

"Don't exaggerate. They are essential for where we are going."

"And where are we going, if I may ask?" Aurora said.

Emmy smiled happily as if she was expecting for one of them to ask them that. She went over to the table and unfurled the second roll of paper she had with her, revealing a map of the world with certain locations circled in black pen.

"It took me a while, but I was able to decipher the locations pointed out on the ceiling of the ruin on Siren Lake," she explained, "Five stars, over five locations around the world. Places that, strangely enough, had never been under archaeological investigation before."

Edgar and Aurora looked over the map curiously and saw that there was a line connecting each of the locations.

"Hoogland in the European lowlands, San Grio in the Mediterranean, Mosinnia in Turkey, Phong Gi in Indonesia, and Torrido in North Western Mexico," Edgar murmured to himself, "I've heard of the first two, but the others are just small towns or a small island," he looked up at Aurora, whose gaze never left the map, "Do you recognise these places?"

To their disappointment, she shook her head, "I...don't. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Emmy reassured her as she rolled up the map, "I guess the world must have looked really different in your time. I mean in your time, the arctics didn't exist, so most of this would have been under water," she said brightly, making Aurora frown a little.

Edgar rolled his eyes at her attempt at humour before he looked down at the list she gave him, "Are you no joining us on our shopping trip?"

"We will," Emmy told them, "But the Professor is with a class and I have some duties to do before we take off. We'll catch you up in Kensington; how does that sound?"

He gave her a sharp look, "You really expect us to get everything on this list. You got everything but the kitchen sink on here."

"Actually that's item number 129," she said, pointing it out on the list, "The Bostonius needs a new one installed, apparently."

"Where the hell am I going to get a kitchen sink on the Highstreet!?"

Kensington, London

The bus came to a gradual stop at the side of the road.

Edgar was the first to step off it and turned around to offer his hand to Aurora; she gently took his hand and cautiously stepped onto the pavement and watched in amazement as the bus they were on drove off. He led her down a shortcut, that he knew, down an alleyway which led out onto the bustling high street.

As soon as they neared the end; Aurora's eyes widened in wonder as she took in the sights. She saw dozens of people milling about, doing ordinary things; some were shopping with their friends, others were hastily getting to their jobs, while others seemed to be just enjoying the mid-day. She saw the rows of bricked houses with beautiful flowers cascading from their windowsills, the taxis and the buses trundle away down the streets, the shops with their assortment of goods that they were happily selling and children walking hand in hand with their parents. So many people in one place; living together as one unit. To Edgar, and anybody else, there was nothing out of the ordinary, but to Aurora, who had been trapped and been hidden away from modern society for centuries, it was beautiful.

Edgar saw her eyes shine as she took everything in and smiled happily. He admitted that he was a little worried about bringing her out in the open, but he was glad he did now. He had never seen such a wonderstruck expression on another person before. He gently took her hand, which brought her out of her stupor, and gestured with his head for her to follow him.

"You doing alright?" he asked as they walked down the street.

Aurora nodded slowly, "Yes…I just never seen anything like this before."

"This is only a small part of London," he told her, "Once this is all over, you can go anywhere you like and see much more. Is there somewhere you would like to stop? We have some time before we meet up with Emmy and the Prof."

She looked around before he bright eyes landed on a bakery just across the street, "That smells…really good."

"Okay, I can get you something tasty from there if you like?"

"I do not wish for you to spend your wealth on me."

"It's not a waste. Nothing can be for you," he reassured her as they crossed over the street, "And it's actually Layton's wealth, to be honest."

The two entered the bakery and he brought a pastry for both of them; Edgar then had the pleasure to enjoy the even sweeter sight of Aurora eating a maple danish for the first time. Her surprised and delighted expression was something he would treasure. They ate as they walked with Aurora asking many questions on just about everything she saw and Edgar would do his best to answer them all. They would go into small shops on the way; book shops, sweet shops and even a few toy shops; Edgar noted that she seemed to be particularly interested in the mechanical toys and seeing how they worked.

They had stopped outside a florist not too far down the road; Aurora was calmly looking over the germaniums with a small pleased smile on her face while Edgar watched on from the side. However, he suddenly looked up when he heard a young voice call out his name.

"Edgar!"

He turned and saw, much to his surprise, Tony Barde and his older sister Arianna come running down the streets towards him. They both looked older than the last time he saw them back in Misthallery; they both wore bright new clothes, they both were a little taller and Arianna had grown her hair a little to past her shoulders. At the sight of them, Edgar's eyes widened happily; he leaned down and, as soon as they were close enough, gave them both a big hug around their shoulders.

"Hello you two," he chuckled happily as he hugged them tightly, "It's been so long," he pulled back and looked down at Tony, "Look at you. You've grown so much. You're going to be taller than your sister by the end of the year."

"What!?" Arianna cried, "No he won't. I will always be taller than him!"

"No you won't! I'm going to be taller," her brother shot back, "And then I'm going to be taller than Edgar."

"Good luck with that. I've got years and years of head start," Edgar said before he turned to Arianna, "How are you feeling? You're not still feeling sick are you?"

Arianna shook her head, "No, I'm all better now thanks to the Garden..." she said before sighing sadly, "...I kind of miss it, however."

"But Arianna! You said you were excited to come to London," Tony complained.

"Sorry...I guess I feel a little homesick," she admitted with a small frown.

Edgar patted her head reassuringly, "It's fine to feel that way. But just remember that you came here to have fun, okay? You'll be home soon so enjoy what you can for now."

A smile spread across her face, "Okay, I guess you're right," she softly said.

"There you are!" they looked around to see Luke and his mother Brenda turning a corner and approaching them, "Don't run off like that guys. London's a busy place."

Edgar gave him a small wave, "Hey Luke, how are you?"

"Great thank you," he brightly replied, "I can't remember the last time we met. How are you, the Professor and Emmy?"

"They're good," he replied before he smirked and slid over to Brenda's smile, "And I'm more than pleased to see you, Mrs Triton. How about we have dinner tonight, huh?"

"My, my. Edgar I'm still happily married," Brenda chirped happily.

"Well, you know where to find me," he said with a wink.

The children stared at Edgar in bemusement; Luke and Arianna glared at him with a deadpanned look while Tony frowned in confusion.

"Please stop, Edgar," Luke sighed.

"Pervert," Arianna muttered.

"Huh?" Tony uttered.

"You'll find out when you're older."

Edgar finally pulled away and smiled down at them, "I heard you were staying at the Triton's while your mansion was being refurbished," he said, keeping to real reason secret from them, "How have you found London so far?"

"It's great!" Tony cheered, "It's so much bigger than Misthallery. We've been to the Tower of London, the Houses of Parliament, London Zoo, the Aquarium and now we're going to meet Mr. Triton at the museums."

"What are you doing, Edgar?"

"Well, kind of the same. I'm showing a friend around London for the first time."

"Oh really?" Luke asked as he looked around, "Where are they?"

Edgar turned to the florist, "She's right the-" the words got caught in his throat when he saw the Aurora was gone. He blinked in surprise; looked up and down the street in panic, "Aurora?" he uttered out loud, "Aurora? She was right there a moment ago."

"Are you referring to the girl in the pink dress at the florist," Brenda asked with a small frown, "I'm afraid that she walked off as soon as we arrived. Down that way," she told him, pointing down the road.

'Damn,' Edgar thought, ' I should have kept a better eye on her,' he berated himself before he turned back to them, "I'm sorry. I need to run after her. See you, guys. Have fun today!" he cried out before he sprinted in the direction Brenda had pointed that she had left in.

Luke and the others blinked in surprise as they watched him leave, "Strange. I wonder who he could be with," Luke hummed.

"Whoever it is. I hope he finds her," Brenda uttered with a concerned frown.

Edgar ran down the street, weaving through the crowds of people as he went. His eyes scoured his surroundings, trying to find any hint of Aurora anywhere, but, so far, not having much success.

'Come on, where could she be?' he muttered to himself, 'She was walking so she couldn't have got that far ahead...but then again she did the same thing in Kodh,' he frowned thoughtfully, 'Could her unconscious state overtaken her again. It hasn't happened every since we got back to London. If that's the case then I wonder what has triggered it.'

"Haha! I've got you now criminal!" cried the boisterous voice of Edgar's least favourite inspector. He stopped in his tracks as he saw Grosky sprint towards him, perform a forward flip over an elderly woman, much to her shock, before he blocked his path with his arms outstretched, "You're under arrest, my dear boy!"

"...For what charge?" Edgar questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Grosky opened his mouth before he frowned and stroked his chin, "Huh, I don't know. I just saw you running somewhere and just sprung into action. Must be a knee-jerk reaction. Anyway, you're free to go, criminal."

"Thanks," he grumbled, rolling his eyes, "Make yourself useful at last and tell me if you have seen a girl about my age with brown hair wearing a pink dress. Kind of looks like an ancient princess."

"Hmm, I think I saw someone of that description over by the museum."

"The museum?" Edgar hummed thoughtfully.

"I hope you're not planning on harassing her, criminal?" Grosky growled with a sharp look.

"What? Just like you're harassing me?" he shot back.

"Bah! I don't have time for your shenanigans, criminal," he said as he turned and began to march away, "I've got those slippery blighters to deal with. They will not escape the long arm of the law! FOR THE YARD!" he cried as he sprinted away, once again forward flipping over the elderly woman for the second time.

Edgar shook his head and headed toward the museum, "I swear he gets more unhinged by the day," he muttered to himself.

At the end of the road, in the middle of a green, luscious park, was a large yellow brick and marble columned building; it had tall, wide windows, a towering doorway with a beautiful stained glass window over the main doors and a large stone staircase leading up to its front entrance. This was the nearest London museum, the second biggest in London after the British Museum, and it held an assortment of historic collections from fossils to neolithic farming tools. They were very little people on the grounds and so he was able to spot Aurora standing right in front of the entrance. He raced up the stairs, crossed the grounds and stopped beside her with a relieved sigh.

"Aurora, thank God you're alright," he said as the girl continued to stare ahead at the building, "Why did you take off like that?"

Aurora stared at the museum for a few seconds with a blank, thoughtful expression before she turned to him slowly; looking at him with expressionless eyes, "Edgar?" she asked as if confused about who he was before she snapped out of her stupor, "Oh, I'm sorry. I...don't know what came over me."

Edgar frowned slightly, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes...fine...perfectly fine," her eyes glanced up at the building they were stood before, "What is this place?"

"It's a museum," he answered her, "Do you... want to go in?"

She glanced at the building once again, "Would that be alright?"

"Of course, we have some time to spare," he told her as the two began to walk up the steps to the main door, 'I remember the Prof telling me about some Azran exhibits displayed in this museum,' he thought to himself, 'I wonder if she could sense it?'

They climbed the stairs and headed for the door, but, before they could get any further, a tall police officer with a moustache stepped out and held his hand out to stop.

"Sorry, you two. The museum is closed to visitors at this time," he informed them.

Surprised, Edgar frowned slightly, "Really? Already? It's not even past midday yet."

"Is there something the matter?" Aurora asked calmly.

The police officer looked at her from beneath his helmet; his eyebrows raised at the sight of her, "Blimey! That's like something my gran would wear! I tell you, ladies and their fashion..." he muttered.

Edgar gave him a glare while Aurora glanced down at the dress she was wearing with a concerned frown.

"Come on, mate," Edgar growled at him, "What the hell was that for?"

"A-are my clothes...really that unusual..." she hummed worriedly before he patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"Of course not," he told her before he shot a glare at the officer, "He's just jealous, that's all."

The officer coughed uncomfortably, "S-sorry. Didn't mean to offend you, miss," he apologised with a stiff salute, "How can I help you?"

"We just want to know why we can't go in."

Unfortunately, the officer shook his head, "Sorry, I can't tell you that. Classified information whilst the investigation is carried out, you see, we will inform when it will open again as as soon as it has been concluded."

Aurora frowned sadly, "Oh, I guess we can't go in," she said before Edgar grinned at her.

"Don't worry, I've got this," he told her before he turned back to the officer, "So, constable, you wouldn't by chance have a, I don't know, a puzzle that you are having trouble solving? Perhaps another investigation that has been bothering you."

The officer's eyes widened, "Well, actually I do," he told them, "There's another case I'm working on while I'm standing here on guard duty. I'd appreciate a bit of help with that. If you can do that for me, I'll be sure to tell you all about the closure. All right?"

"I can do that," Edgar agreed. Aurora gave him a confused look as if she was asking how on earth he knew that would work; in response he leaned down and whispered, "Some people nowadays just have random puzzles that they want solving. Don't know why? But it's always best to ask," he told her, making her hum thoughtfully.

Puzzle Start

The officer cleared his throat and began to tell them about one of his outstanding case he was working on, "We, at the Yard, had just received a warning from a legendary safe-cracker about this next crime. In his letter, he said that he plans to break into the bank and take the treasure from one of the safes numbered from 1 to 60. He said he would steal from the one safe whose number cannot be made by adding together any combination of these numbers: 0, 1, 2, 4, 7, 15 and 31. With no number being repeated twice. We need to figure out which safe we need to keep an extra close eye on."

Edgar clicked his fingers, "Ah! This sounds like Greg's work. He's always doing things like this," he said before he noticed the odd look the officer was giving him, "Ahem, anyway, let's start by getting rid of the 0. It won't contribute anything since there's no safe labelled 0. And we can get rid of safes 1, 2, 3, 7, 15 and 31 as possibilities."

"If you add all the numbers up, you'll get 60," Aurora added, "If you take away any number from that equation then those safes can also be discredited. So 60, 59, 58, 56, 53, 45 and 29 are not the ones. "

"Neither can any of the ones under 10 or under 20," he muttered, doing some quick maths in his head, "This is taking too long. There has to be another way of thinking it," he murmured before he thought of something, "Ah! Wait a minute. If you ignore the 31 one for now and add up the others then the next number along would be the right safe since you already had used up the 1. 1+2+4+7+15 equals 29 which must mean that safe number 30 must be the one that Greg- I mean - the thief is after."

The officer hummed thoughtfully before he smiled and nodded his head, "You're right. That must be the safe."

Puzzle Solved

"Great!" the officer said gleefully, "Looks like we can take preventative measures in this case, then. Thank you for your assistance, you two. So, you want to know what the museum is closed off, correct? The truth is there's been a robbery," he told them, much to their surprise, "The scene of the crime will be closed to members of the public for the duration of the police investigation. But we expect the main galleries to reopen as soon as the detectives have completed their search of the area."

"Right, I see," Edgar hummed thoughtfully, 'I wonder if that's what Grosky has been riled up about. I wonder what has been stolen.'

"Anyway, I must get back," the officer told them, "It shouldn't be closed for too long so you come back later, okay?"

"Thanks," Edgar said before they turned and walked away back down the steps.

Aurora frowned as they began to walk back towards the high street, casting one final glance at the museum, "A robbery?" she softly said, "Are your people not content with their own possessions?"

Edgar hesitated slightly and guiltily looked away from her curious gaze, "Some people are not," he eventually said, "But others...well, they don't really have a choice. Sometimes, life deals you a bad hand and you just have to take it until... you become the way you are," he said. Aurora looked up at him, wondering what he could mean but before she could ask, he turned back to her with a grin, "Ah well, let's do something else. We have a while until we have to meet up with the Prof and Emmy," he told her, ignoring her inquisitive look.

Boutique

Later on, in a clothes boutique on the Highstreet, Layton and Edgar were waiting on a sofa just outside the changing room while Emmy rushed around the shop, picking up any item of clothing from shirts, dresses, trousers and shoes, piling them in her arms until she could barely been seen from beneath it. The two men in the group watched on in somewhat amazement at her; not quite sure what to make of it.

"So, why are we here again?" Edgar asked to nobody in particular.

"This is essential for Aurora if were trekking across the world," Emmy sharply told him as she went by, "Although, her dress is pretty, I'm afraid that she would need something much more practical."

Layton nodded, "Emmy is quite right. We are covering quite a few terrains so she would need to have something much more suitable for whatever is ahead."

"Also, it would make her stand out less. People are starting to make comments on her dress. We should at least provide her with some more...modern clothing."

Edgar gave her a deadpanned look, "Are you sure it's not because you're enjoying dressing her up?"

Emmy stopped and hummed, "To a degree, yes."

"Played with a lot of dolls back in primary school?" he asked jokingly.

"No. I actually preferred playing with my toy metal detector."

"I would totally have bullied you if we went to school together."

"You could try, but I was known for beating bullies up who dared pick on me," she shot back before picking up the last item and swiftly delivering the pile to just behind the curtain where Aurora was getting changed. After dropping the last bundle of clothing, Emmy smiled to herself and called out on the other end of the curtain, "Okay, Aurora. Try those ones on next and then see what you think," she told her, "Call for me if you need assistance."

"Or me if Emmy is not available," Edgar added before Emmy gave him a sharp kick in the leg.

"A-alright," Aurora called back unsurely, "I'm actually having trouble deciding, to be honest."

"Okay. I'll be there in a moment," she said before sending a glare at Edgar and pointing to the door, "Out," she ordered.

"Out!?" he exclaimed, "What am I? A dog?"

"Nope, you're a pig and I am not taking any chances. So out!"

Layton chuckled and patted a grumpy Edgar on the shoulder, "I'm sure it won't be long. We'll come out soon enough."

"You too, Professor," Emmy added, "Out."

"W-what? Me as well?" he uttered in surprise.

Edgar and Layton burgeoningly followed her orders and stood outside the boutique for at least ten minutes. Eventually, the door to the boutique opened and Aurora, followed closely by Emmy, stepped out; Edgar felt his heart skip a beat when he saw her. She no longer wore her pink dress or her necklace; instead Aurora wore an orange-pink sweater, lime green shorts, green socks and a pair of blue trainers. Her hair was done up in a high ponytail while a lock of her hair fell over the left side of her face. He had to admit that if somebody saw her in the street they would consider her as a normal schoolgirl, but Edgar thought she look just as stunning as she did in her previous attire; it was different, but in a good way that was hard to describe.

Aurora nervously glanced at them from the doorway, her arms were behind her back and her head was slightly bowed to the ground. Emmy, however, grinned as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders in a comforting way.

"Well?" she asked them, earning a nod from Layton.

"You look wonderful, Aurora. It really suits you," he complimented while Edgar sighed in sheer bliss.

"I can finally die knowing what happiness is," Edgar whispered with his eyes closed and his hands pressed together as if he was praying.

"Die?" Aurora question in alarm, "You're going to die because of my appearance?"

"No, he won't," Emmy said, rolling his eyes, "He's just being...him."

"Oh sweet Aphrodite. Take me to Nirvana," Edgar whispered as a small trail of blood ran from his nose.

"You're mixing up your religions," Layton told him with a small sweat drop.

Edgar wiped the blood trail from his nose as he spotted something, "Why aren't you wearing your pendent?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, I have it here," Emmy said as she took out her pendent and chain from her pocket, "I thought it stood out a bit too much so we decided on not wearing it."

Aurora nodded, "I guess if it looks unusual to you than maybe it would be better not to wear it."

Edgar hummed thoughtfully before he approached them, "Well, maybe around the head, but what about this way," he said, taking the pendent from Emmy and tying it around Aurora's neck so it hung down over her chest, "There. It's just a necklace now. That shouldn't look strange."

She looked down at her pendent and brushed her thumb over the smooth stone, "Well, if you say so," she softly said, "Are you sure I don't look weird in these clothes?"

"You look great," he reassured her with a kind smile, "It really suits you. Who know that Emmy would had good taste in clothing," he said before ducking underneath a punch sent from the assistant.

As the two fought, Aurora looked down at herself and inspected the clothes she was wearing keenly. She can't remember the last time she wore something other than her dress; it felt different, but in a good way. She smiled to herself and looked up to see Layton standing between Emmy and Edgar, stopping them from their fight.

"Well, now that's sorted," Layton said from a small smile, "Shall we continue with the rest of the shopping?"

A few hours later, with numerous bags of shopping in the grasp, Layton, Edgar, Emmy and Aurora were venturing down towards the nearest bus stop; heading back to Layton's house just before they go out and meet up with Sycamore at the airport. They were almost there when suddenly, darting around the corner at the end of the street, five burly men came sprinting before fleeing into a nearby alleyway. They wouldn't have thought much about it if Grosky hadn't sprinted around the corner as well and followed them into the alleyway.

"You can't get away from me, Targent scoundrels!" he declared as he ran out of sight.

The four of them stopped and blinked in confusion; Edgar was the first to say anything.

"Did...did he say Targent?"

Edgar and Emmy dropped their bags and ran after them down the dark, dingy alleyway. As they got to the end, they stopped short when they say the five thugs surrounding Grosky on all sides. The inspector growled at the five men and prepared for a fight when one of the thugs, a short man with spiky orange hair, pulled out a handgun from his suit and point it at Grosky.

"Looks like the jig is up for you, Sonny Jim," he sneered, "You've been sticking your nose where it don't belong."

"Bah! So Targent think you're enough to stop me, do they!?" Grosky exclaimed boldly.

The short thug grinned, "More than enough," he said before he shot at him.

BANG!

Grosky narrowly dodged the bullet and leapt into the closest thing for cover, which happened to be a dustbin, and avoided two more shots from the short thug. Just as the thug was about to fire another round at him, he was suddenly struck from the back of the head by a powerful blow before the handgun was knocked out of his hand. The thug closest to him, looked around in shock, only to have a boot slam into his face, sending him flying off his feet and into a nearby pile of rubbish. The other thugs turned in surprise at their attackers and growled threateningly as they saw Emmy and Edgar standing over their unconscious bodies of their partners.

With Grosky still stuck in the bin, Emmy and Edgar stood against the thugs and stared them down; Edgar clicked his neck to the side while Emmy clenched her fists, preparing for the inevitable fight.

"So, you want the Goliath or the two Davids?" he asked, nodding at either the large thug or the two smaller ones.

"Hmm…I'll take the Goliath, if you don't mind."

"Be my guest."

Emmy was the first charge; she sprinted towards the larger thug and roundhouse kicked him square in the stomach, making him double over in pain before she slammed the toe of her boot into his face.

One of the the two smaller thugs charged at Edgar with his fist raised, but he ducked underneath it, grabbed his wrist and shoulder and twisted it until her was bent over before kneeing him in the stomach, making him cry out in pain. He forced him to spin around and pulled him up just as the second thug was about to him with a right hook, making him hit his partner in the face instead. He kicked the first thug away before he slugged the second thug in the jaw, followed by a jab to his nose.!

Emmy, meanwhile, ducked underneath a punch from the larger thug, slid past him before kicking him in back of the knee, making it buckle under his weight. She then swung her leg around and kicked him on the back of his head with the heel of her boot, knocking him out instantly.

While she was doing that, Edgar grabbed ahold of the first thug's collar, reared back his head and slammed his forehead into his nose, sending him stumbling back. He then grabbed his flat cap from off his head and flung it into the face of the next thug charging towards him. Blinded, the second thug was confused for a few seconds before he was punched in the gut and then punched on the left side of his face, knocking him to the ground and falling unconscious.

Edgar, seeing that all the thugs had been dealt with, sighed, grabbed his cap and pulled over his head while he shook his right hand to relieve some pain.

"Bloody git's head must have been made of steel or something," he muttered, "That last one hurt."

"Maybe you're just getting weaker," Emmy suggested teasingly.

He gave her a challenging glare, "Alright. Next time, I get Goliath."

"Fine by me," she said, giving him a competitive wink.

"Where are you! Put them up, you rapscallions!" they turned and looked to see Grosky was still stuck in the bin with only his legs sticking out; he was blindly stumbling about, doing his best to look intimidating despite the obvious, "Your guns will not have an effect on me, you criminals!" he proclaimed, "Do not underestimate the power of the Yard!"

Emmy and Edgar rolled their eyes at the sight before Emmy reached out and stopped him before he run head first into a wall.

"They're defeated Inspector. Your knights in shining armour have saved you," she told him.

The bin turned to them, "Oh, Miss Altava. Good to see you… even though I can't actually see you."

Edgar observed the handguns the thugs they were using and frowned thoughtfully, "They're not your common or garden thugs you usually deal with. They looked like they have been trained in some combat," he mused out loud before turning to Grosky, "Who are these people, Grosky?" he turned around and gave the inspector a deadpanned expression as he saw he was still inside the metal bin, "You're stuck in there, aren't you?"

Grosky shuffled a bit inside the bin, "It would seem that my manly chest is preventing me from escaping. Don't worry I'll break out of here in no time at all!" he declared as he tried furiously to get it off him.

The two watched for some time as he struggled before Edgar leaned towards Emmy and whispered, "Kind of tempted to find a hill and push him down it."

"Edgar," she said scoldingly before she whispered, "There's no way we can get away with that."

"We can say it was one of the thugs."

…

…

…

"That could work."

BANG!

With a tremendous roar, Grosky used his strength and broke out of the metal bin before he chucked it to the side. He marched his way towards the short thug and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and shook him like a ragdoll.

"Targent scum, are you? Tell me, who's the leader of your little organisation, eh? Give me a name!" he demanded from the unconscious thug.

"He's not going to answer you, you moron," Edgar sighed, "Leave him alone before you cause something permanent."

Grosky looked at him and then down at the thug before he dropped him again, "Bah! Useless blighters. I'm not getting anywhere nearer to find the Targent rapscallions."

Emmy stepped up to him with an inquisitive look, "Targent? How do you know about Targent?"

"How do you know about Targent?" Grosky replied in surprise.

"I asked first."

Grosky snorted, "I have little time for this. The Yard has given me a duty and I must follow it before it gets out of hand," he gruffly said as he headed to the end of the alleyway, "I must find more of those ne'er-do-wells! FOR THE YARD!" he yelled before he sprinted out of sight.

Edgar and Emmy shared a curious look, "Scotland Yard is investigating Targent?" Edgar said, "Where did this come from?"

"I don't know," Emmy hummed in worry, "We must tell the Professor immediately about this."

"So Grosky has been ordered to find Targent hitmen?" Layton hummed as he rubbed his chin, "How extraordinary. I wonder how Scotland Yard discovered them?"

After finding Layton and Aurora back on the high street, Edgar and Emmy pulled them asked and told them what had just happened in regards to Grosky. Like them, Layton was very surprised when they finished and immediately began to think of what could be happening. Aurora, meanwhile, had gone very quiet; the joy and excitement she previously had disappeared in an instant at the mention of the corporation, making a Edgar worried.

"Targent has obviously slipped up somehow and had caught the police's attention," Edgar said, "they've been silent for so long. I mean this is the first time we've heard about them in days."

"I don't know," Emmy added, "they don't seem like the type of people who simply 'slip up'. Maybe there's something we don't know yet."

Layton nodded, "Indeed. Perhaps it's best we talk to Scotland Yard directly and discover ourselves what we know about Targent."

Emmy frowned at that, "Is that really the best course of action? I mean, we are about to take off tomorrow morning and it seems like the police are already on top of it. Let's leave it to them and focus on our plan."

"No, we ca't do that," Edgar said, "we've luckily stumbled on a possible lead to knowing who Targent is and we're going to let Grosky handle it? I admit that he has some talents, but he's not the greatest. He's like a squirrel in a peddle bin. A muscular, masculine squirrel with a stupid moustache. I think we should investigate it ourselves."

"And what if we draw Targent's attention," Emmy retorted, "Perhaps the only reason they've been quiet is because they don't know we're here."

"By the time they discover us, we'll be heading to our first destination. We can push forward the departure for tonight instead of tomorrow."

Emmy frowned and shook her head, "I don't know. I think we should stay out of this. What do you think, Professor?"

Layton sighed deeply and closed his eyes as he thought. After considering the options, Layton finally came to a conclusion.

"I believe it is best to have Professor Sycamore's opinion on this," he said, "Perhaps he would shed some light on the situation."

"There's a telephone box down there," Edgar said, nodding towards the red phone box, "Let's call the Bostonius."

"A good idea, Edgar," Layton said before they all made their way down the road.

As soon as they got close enough, Aurora gazed at the telephone box, walking around it as if inspecting it, "This…is a communication device?"

"Yes," Emmy replied as Layton opened the door and began to make the call, "It's also handy if you need to escape from a sudden shower of rain."

"I see," she murmured as prodded the side of the phone box.

'So cute,' Edgar and Emmy thought as they watched her investigate.

Layton pressed the phone against the ear and waited for the other end to pick up; after three rings, there was a firm click and then Raymond's voice came from the speaker.

"Airship Bostonius, how may I help you?"

"Hello Raymond, this is Hershel speaking," Layton greeted, "I wondered if Professor Stamford is available."

"The master is just making some repairs. I'll bring him over now," the butler grumbled before there was silence on the other end.

Not too long after, the voice of Sycmaore came through the phone, "Professor Layton. What good timing. I was about to call your office and inform you that preparations are almost ready. How goes the supply run?"

"Actually, Professor, there is a matter that I would like to discuss with you that had just occurred," Layton told him.

"Oh," Sycamore uttered with a hint of concern in his voice, "And what is it?"

Layton went on to describe what had happened with Grosky and the thugs and his search for Targent agents with Emmy and Edgar added in details whenever they could. When he finally finished, there was silence on the other end of the line as Sycamore pondered it over.

"Scotland Yard? Drat. That complicates things," he murmured, earning a confused frown from Edgar, "As a matter of fact, I have also heard some worrying news. It appears that groups of uniformed men and women have been showing up at the Azran sites all around the world. It would appear that Targent are already making their move while we've been here. We will have to assume that we'll run into them on our journey as well."

"This…is worrying," Emmy hummed, glancing over at Aurora in concern.

"Quite," Sycamore agreed, "And I have reason to believe that Scotland Yard have been investigating Azran sites too."

Edgar raised an eyebrow at that, "How does Scotland Yard know about Targent already?"

"I'm not too sure," Stamford said on the other end of the line, "Perhaps further investigation is needed. I'm sure we can delay the Bostonius departure until further notice."

"Good," Edgar firmly agreed while Emmy sighed at the decision.

"Then we are in agreement. We'll drop off our items at the University and then go straight to Scotland Yard," Layton said.

"Excellent. I'll send Raymond over to pick them up," Sycamore said before his tone became serious, "Now Professor Layton, if you don't mind, I quite like to ask you something of utmost importance."

Layton raised a single eyebrow before he put the receiver to his ear and listened to what Sycamore had to say. Edgar, Emmy and Aurora waited and watched as Layton hummed and nodded his head with a serious look on his face.

"I see. I'll ask him," he pulled the phone away and looked toward Edgar sternly, "Edgar…"

The young man noticed the shift in tone and put on a serious expression as well, preparing for whatever Layton and Sycamore is about to throw at him.

…

…

…

"…the Professor wanted to know if you got the kitchen sink that he asked for."

"Of course, I don't! And why the hell was that so dramatic!" he yelled at him.

And so, what started as a simple shopping trip had now become much more complicated as they uncover a conspiracy. What do the police know of Targent? What is Target planning on doing? And will they discover the secret kept hidden by Scotland Yard.

Find out in the next chapter as our heroes travel to Scotland Yard.

Hi everybody!

So, I cut the original chapter short because, despite not taking very long to complete, it is very complicated and I wanted to focus more on Aurora settling in. It's a shame really, because I really wanted to move on to the travelling.

Anyway, I hinted to the order of the locations they are visiting. From what I could find, there are no official places where the locations are, so I based what country they are in on the etymology of their names and the surrounding scenery and clothing worn by the characters.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time.

Thanks for reading :)

Omake - An Origin Story That Nobody Asked For

Gressenheller University

One sunny day on campus, Edgar and Emmy were carrying a stack of books from one building to the other in preparation for Layton's next lecture. They walked in comfortable silence when they spotted Professor Sally Fletcher, an lady in her thirties with fair skin, blond hair tied in a bun and pair of thick framed glasses, waking the other way. She worked as a lecturer at the university and a specialist in English language and creative writing. Edgar's eyes lit up when he saw her while Emmy tried her best to stop herself from sighing miserably at his reaction.

"Good morning, Professor," Edgar greeted in a flirty manner, "You are looking wonderful today."

Sally chuckled as she walked by, "Good morning to you, Mr Cipher and thank you," she kindly said.

Edgar watched her leave with a smile but hummed when he noticed something unusual. He turned to Emmy and gave her a curious look.

"Strange. Usually you would scold me for doing that. Are you feeling sick?" he asked in concern.

Emmy shook her head, "No, I'm just curious that's all," she told him, "You clearly have a preference for older women rather than girls your own age or younger. I'm just wondering how it came to be."

"Hey, I like girls my own age," he said before he cringed in horror, "and girls younger than me? Don't be so creepy."

"I didn't mean it like that. What I meant is why do you prefer older women?"

Edgar frowned thoughtfully and hummed, "Huh, good question. I guess it all started back when I was young and living on the streets…"

-Flashback Seven Years Ago -

Lambeth, London

Peeking around a corner on a small street in South London, a nine year old Edgar watched the bakery across the street. The bakery was owned and run by a beautiful young woman in her late twenties with curly brown hair, soft blue eyes, and a soft, kind face; she wore a white apron over a brown skirt and and a light green blouse as well as a bandanna wrapped around her head to keep her hair from falling over her eyes. He watched her set up her recently baked bread on the outside stall with keen eyes.

He had to time this right. If he gets it wrong then Agatha will wake up with nothing to eat for the whole day.

He took a deep breath as he saw the baker hum happily to herself as she set up her display before she walked back into her shop.

That's when struck.

He quickly crossed the street, checked his surroundings in case anybody else happened to be up at this time of morning, before he made it to the bread display. Swiftly, he grabbed the smallest loaf he could find before he tucked it under his jacket and hurried away. However, before he could get any further, he felt a hand gently grab on to his shoulder.

"Hey now," a female voice spoke, causing him to tense in fear. He turned around and looked up to see the stern face of the baker look down at him, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Err…I…I was just…" he stammered before she pulled away.

She made her way to her stand and took one of the larger loaves off of it before she gave it to him with a gentle smile, "This once is much bigger than that one and freshly made too," she kindly told him before she took the smaller loaf away from him and set it down on the stall.

Edgar looked at her in confusion before he looked down at the bread in his hands; suddenly he glared at the baker; suspicious at what she was doing.

The baker, however, giggled and crouched down to his height, "I won't tell the police or anything. I promise," she reassured him, "After all, stealing money, jewellery or other people's possession is a crime…but being hungry isn't," she softly said, her blue eyes sparkling happily, filled with loving kindness.

The young boy was taken aback. It has been a while since anybody has shown him in any sort of sympathy for him; his heart was a flutter and he felt butterflies in his stomach. Edgar had never felt this way before; he felt lighter than air. He looked up at the older woman in admiration while she smiled warmly down at him.

"Now then," she cheerily said, "That's an awfully large loaf of bread. Are you sharing it with anybody?"

"Umm…my sister," he shyly replied.

"Well then, perhaps you and your sister would like something sweet as well. I have some cinnamon buns in the oven right now," she said, making the young boy blush.

-Flashback End-

After he was done, Emmy looked at him in surprise; she was not expecting that at all.

'Oh I see,' she thought, 'his infatuation with older women stems from her showing him kindness. I guess, with the life he lived, he never really had parents to look after him or protect him so he took her generosity and turned it into admiration which developed over time,' she smiled contently, 'That's actually kind of sweet in a way.'

"That's not all," he continued, catching her attention, "What happened next really confirmed it."

"What…happened next?" she asked curiously.

-Flashback Seven Years Ago-

Inside the kitchen of the bakery, Edgar sat at a table and sipped a cup of tea that the baker had made from him, enjoying the warmth coming from it as it passed his lips. The baker came into the kitchen and smiled sweetly at him.

"Poor dear, you must having been freezing out there," she said before she was alerted to the sound of her oven timer go off, "Oh, those are the pastries," she said before he crossed the kitchen towards the oven and bent over to open it.

Young Edgar's eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the view of her perfect butt in her tight skirt displayed right before him, wiggling alluringly as she took out the freshly baked pasties…

…and something clicked his young brain. A spark of inspiration. An great epiphany. Something that will effect him for the rest of his life and make him the man he was today.

His eyes sparkled in joy, his cheeks grew red and a stream of blood ran from his nose…

…he would never forget this moment for the rest of his life.

-Flashback End-

Emmy gave him a dark look that was a mixture of disgust and utter disappointment in the person she considered a friend. Edgar couldn't care less and sighed dreamily as a bit of drool slid from the side of his mouth.

"The cakes and the pastries weren't the only sweet things I wanted to get my hands on that day~" he said blissfully, "I still remember it as if it was yesterday~"

Emmy's head fell limply to the side, a shadow falling over her eyes as she stared blankly into the distance, "Why do I bother?" she muttered gravelly, "This is Edgar we're talking about."

Noticing her depressed expression, he grinned and got in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, "You know," he lowly said, leaning closer to her face with a smirk, "You're older than me. That means you're exactly my type. Who knows, maybe I like you…more than friends, hmm?"

She lushed heavily at the implication, she took a step back in shock and felt her mouth fall agape, "E-Edgar…I-I-I-" she stammered, her mind going blank.

However, before she could say anything, Edgar leaned back and laughed, "Ha! That was adorable!" he chuckled, before turning away and continuing their journey, "Let's go Princess. We haven't got all day."

Emmy blinked absently as she watched him leave before she sighed good naturally and smiled, "Oh you pig. What am I going to do with you," she muttered before she followed after him.