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

Dikratsblim - Thanks so much.

Yeah, I saw the kind of thing they were going for with Azran Legacy and it worked...sort of. It was still interesting.

Lost Future does had a really good theme and so does Spectre's Call. There's a really particular genre of music that the Layton games uses, but I can't really tell what it is. It's like jazz, but classical at the same time. Whenever I hear something like it my mind automatically goes to the games.

Ah, you know what. I haven't played the Phoenix Wright games yet. I would really like to as I wait for World Of Steam to come out. I need to fish out my 3DS from...wherever it is.

Anyway, thanks for reviewing and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

djinn - That would be nice. Maybe I can dedicate a separate chapter to it. Thanks for reading.

Girl Anime Club - Ah, cool. Thanks so much. It's hard to find other Professor Layton fanfics stories these days.

Thank you all for reviewing :)


Chapter 7: Mosinnia

Bostonius

Over the Mediterranean and into Asia, the Bostonius soon landed on the North Western side of Turkey. Raymond had a difficult time of it. The dust winds and flocks of crows made it hard for him to even get close to their destination. Eventually, like the expert he was, the butler landed in a dark forest filled with white barked trees with brownish green leaves.

Rocky mountains surrounded them on all sides, the sky was a darkish orange hue and there was a strange smell in the air that Edgar couldn't really figure out what it was. Through the gaps of the trees, they could spot the blueish stone walls of an old city that had remained protected by the terrain since its founding. A city known as Mosinnia.

Not much has been written on Mosinnia; much to Edgar's intrigue and annoyance. The very few historians who actually bothered to research it couldn't even seem to make up their minds on when it was founded; some say it was medieval; others Iron Age; while others estimate that it is much older. Most scholars agree on the former and Edgar could see why. The entire city is surrounded by high stone slab walls in a heptagon shape with each point having its own tower with arrow slits, gargoyles, pikes where they used to put traitor's heads on display; you know, the usual things you would see on a gothic building. From the glimpse of it as they were flying over, the interior of the city, especially on the eastern and western sides, was filled with stone buildings with rusty red roof tiles. To the south of there was green farmland while the north looked to be open space with a round structure in the middle of it. It didn't look populated at all, which was a little strange considering the large battlements, but Edgar assumed that it used to be much more important before that significance declined over the centuries.

As soon as the doors the airship opened and Edgar stepped outside, he took in the the flock of black crows swaming overhead, the high humidity, the dark forest around them, the spooky city walls looming in the distance and the dusty orange skies. He took a deep breath and stepped back into the Bostonius.

"Nope, the Egg's not here. Let's go back to San Grio," he told the others with a straight face.

Emmy rolled her eyes and walked past him, "Oh come on. It can't be that bad..." she said as she too stepped outside...before promptly returning with a similar expression, "...he's right. Let's go back to San Grio."

Layton shook his head in slight amusment, "Our research shows that the next location of the Azran Egg should be at Mosinnia. Isn't that right, Aurora."

Aurora frowned slightly in thought before she nodded, "I think so. I definitly sense something in this area."

Edgar sighed, "Alright, fair enough. Are you coming with us this time, Sycamore?"

Sycamore gave a small smile, "I think I will. I rather missed out on our last destination. Mosinnia is said to be one of the oldest settlements in Asia Minor and it would be ashame to miss out on its abundant history," he said as they all left the airship with Raymond left to look after it.


Main Gate Of Mosinnia

The large main gate of Mosinnia was left wide open for them. They walked through the ancient stone archway and stepped on green and white tiled floor with pockets of grass sticking out of the cracks.

Houses made of brick and stone, rising up no higher than two floors, surounded them with alleways and narrow lanes snaking throught them. It was clear that it has not been propely maintained for a while; some buildings have paint peeling off the walls while plaster has fallen away to expose the brick structure underneath. The houses were dark and decrepit and held no warmth, posters partially ripped off walls, litter and old fruit left on the streets. Over at a baker's shop nearby, there seemed to be the bones of some sort of bovine left rotting and on display. However, the most distrubing thing was the silence. Not a thing stirred inside this city, no people roamed the streets. All there was the quiet whisper of the wind that made them all shiver.

"Well, you're right about the abundant of history, Sycamore," Edgar spoke up as he lazily kicked a stone at his feet, "this place looks like it hasn't even escaped the 14th century."

"Where is everybody?" Emmy wondered before she cupped her hands over her mouth, "Merhaba! Salem! Anybody here!?" she called out, onlu to recieve silence in repsonce, "Got to say this awfully spooky."

"Did everybody leave, perhaps," Aurora suggested, casting a worried look at the bones on the baker's stall, "This seems rather unusual."

"No, it can't be. Mosinnia has been a thriving city for centuries. They can't just up and leave," Sycamore said with a frown, "It's just impossible."

"Let's investigate further, shall we?" Layton suggested, "Perhaps we can find a local resident to talk to."

A little reluctantly, they all walked deeper into the city. They followed one alleyway after and another, trying to find any evidence of civilisation left. Although, the further they travelled, the more apparent it became that there was nobody here. Rubbish littered the streets, leaking drainage pipes dripped dirty rain water from above; at one point, a rat scurried over Edgar's shoe. As far as they could tell, there was nobody here.

"Damn it. It's been ages," Edgar sighed, "Are we sure this is the place for an Azran Egg?"

"In the city of Mosinnia, sleeps the eternal pheonix," Sycamore recited from the book he had read about the city, "Or so the legend goes. Where there's a bird, there's probably an egg."

"That's...a very flawed explanation."

"I suppose it's not the most scinetific theory, but gibe that the city is enclosed in Azran walls, I'd say it has some merit."

"Um...what is a pheonix?" Aurora asked in slight confusion.

"It's a mythological bird that bursts into flames when it dies and resurects from the ashes," Edgar kindly explained as they stepped out of an alleyway and into a large plaza, "I read that Mosinnia seems to have some sort of connection to it which is why..." he looked ahead and gasped in sheer delight, "...they have a giant gold statue of one right in front of me!" he cried happily.

Edgar was right. In the middle of the plaza they had entered, dominating the area with its glittering body, was a statue of a golden pheonix standing proudly on top of a brick podium. It's mighty wings were outstretched and its long neck stood out straight so its sharp beak pointed the sky. It's ruby red eyes twinkled in the dusty sunlight down at them and made it appear that it was alive. It stood in the middle of a desolate square with wooden buildings and rough torn-up ground, making it look a little out of place.

Edgar was in total awe of the statue; his mind quickly thinking of way on how to smuggle it back on to the Bostonius; while the others admired it like any normal, law-abiding person would do.

"Would this be part of legend, Professor Sycamore?" Emmy asked.

Sycamore rubbed his chin and shook his head, "I doubt it. In the eyes of the Azran, even the most purest of gold was worthless to them."

Edgar snapped his head to him eagerly, "So...it's up for grabs then."

"Leave the statue alone. It's the city's property," Emmy scolded him.

"Come on! At least let me have a wing...or a leg!"

"Please! You'v...to...lp me!"

They turned around as rhey heard a shout from somewhere. The first sound they had heard since entering the city.

"What was that?" Emmy questioned.

"They sound close by," Layton observed, "Let's go."

They took off down the alleyways once again (although Edgar did give the statue another adoring look before he followed them) and ran as fast as they could towards where the voice had coke from. They turned a corner and instantly darted backed away as they recognised the dark uniforms of Targent down the next lane.

"Targent, they're already here," Sycamore whispered in alarm.

"This is troublesome," Layton mumurred.

Edgar poked his head around before he turned back to them with a grim expression, "Don't worry. It's only Rook and Bishop."

Rook and his partner Bishop had, somehow, also found they're way from San Grio to Mosinnia at the same time as them. The last time they saw them, they were packing up as many Popoños they could get their hands on and shipping them off to North Africa.

They poked their heads around again and saw the duo talking to a young boy a few years younger than Edgar and Aurora. He had slightly tanned skin with large sad eyes and red hair that poked out from the blue and white headscarf he was wearing. He wore a brown long-sleeved shirt and baggy blue trousers that was held up by a green fabric belt. He stood between the two goons and seemed to be desperatly pleading to them; his face filled with worry and grief.

"I thought old people were supposed to be nice!" he yelled at them, "Why won't you help me!?"

Bishop gave a dramtic gasp, "Rook, did you hear that! He called us old! Where we come from, that's a crime, you know!"

"Zip it, Bishop," Rook snarled at his erratic partner before he turned back to the desperate boy, "Look here, I have you know that I'm a perfectly eligable bachelor and I don't like being talked to."

From around the corner, Edgar coughed into his hand which sounded, strangely enough, like the word 'delusional'.

Rook looked around, wondering where the noise had come from, before glaring back at the young boy, "Anyway, move out of way. We've got important business to attend to," he snarled as he pushed him out of the way so they could get past.

"Hey Rook, I reckon the egg is this way! Let's go!" Bishop yelled as he bolted down a random alleyway.

Rook rolled his eyes and followed after him, leaving the young boy all alone in the alleyway.

"Hmph!" he grunted in annoyance, "This is why I don't trust grown-ups."

"You know, you must pretty desperate if you're asking them for help. Perhaps we can help you."

The young boy jumped at the voice and whipped around to see Edgar, Emmy, the professors and Aurora walking towards him. His surprise turned into relief as he ran up to them.

"You've come from outside, didn't you!?" Please, I really need your help," he shouted at them rapidly, "Everything's gone wrong and I've-"

"Whoa there, slow down," Emmy told him, holding up her hands to him, "We're not going to solve anything if you're panicking. Let's start with your name."

The young boy took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, "I'm sorry. My name is Umid."

"Hello Umid," Layton greeted calmly, "my name is Professor Layton and these are my collegues. Now, would you care to tell us what's wrong?"

Umid rubbed the back of his neck nervously and sighed deeply, "It's...it's the adults. They're all..." he sighed again, "One morning my mum wouldn't wake up. I shook her and shook her, but I couldn' get more than a few mumbles out of her. And the other grown-ups are exactly the same! They're all just lying there, sleeping... and have been like thag for a week."

"A week! Bloody hell," Edgar muttered, "No wonder this place looks deserted."

"So, every adult in the city is in a sort of...coma?" Aurora questioned, "How terrible."

"Please, come to my house and I'll show you," Umid told them as he pointed to a nearby alleyway, "It's nearby. Maybe you know what's going on."


Outside Umid's House

Like Umid had said, his house wasn't too far away and they were there in no time. As Sycamore and Layton went inside to see what was wrong with Umid's mother, the others stayed outside as the house was too small for all of them to be inside. They kept themselves occupied as they waited with Edgar attempting to tempt a crow to eat from his hand while the others watched on. However, the crow flew away as it was spooked by the professors stepping outside, much to Edgar's disappoinment. Umid got onto his feet and turned to the older man desperatly.

"Have you figured out what's wrong with her?" he asked in concern.

"Well, her pulse is steady and her breathing seems normal," Sycamore tolf him, "I don't believe she's in any immediate danger. You don't know what caused her to end up in this state do you?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Umid sadly said, "The only thing I can think of is...well, it's an old Mosinnian legend. You might not believe me."

"Don't worry, we won't judge," Edgar reassured as he nudged Aurora gently, "We deal with legends all the time, don't we?"

"Err...me. A legend?" Aurora uttered in bewildement.

Umid looked at them as if deciding if they were serious or not. But eventually, he nodded his head and took a deep breath.

"Well, the story goes that, long ago, a mighy phoenix with healing powers swooped down on Mosinnia and it her home. She wouldnslumber for months, even years at a time, but when she was awoken, tears of joy would stream from her eyes. Those tears were said fo cure any illness. The people of the city collected the tears and used them to heal the sick. So...if I can find the phoenix and wake her up, maybe her tears will help the grown-ups wake up too!" he explained enthusiastically before he hung his head sadly, "I don't have a choice. It's the only thing I can think of."

The others shared a look with one another.

"It's something," Edgar said.

"It certainly is," Layton agreed, "some legends do have vestiges of truth in their tails."

"So, we're looking for a phoenix," Emmy sighed as she gave a small smile, "I guess we have done stanger things in our lifetimes."

"And it could aid us in our investigation," Sycamore said, "Very well. We should start now."

Edgar opened up his notebook and began to jot down their latest mystery to date.


New Mystery - Tears of the Phoenix: It seems a legend links this city to the Azran, but what does it have to do with the adults falling asleep? Are only solution is finding the Phoenix's tears to wake them all up. All we have to do is find a mythical bird, make it cry and do it without breaking any wildlife protection laws. Sounds simple, huh.


Edgar closed his notebook and tucked it back in his pocket.

"I'm more than willing to show you anywhere in this city," Umid told them, "I'll do whatever it takes."

"Hmm," Edgar hummed, "Well, legends ars usually found in old parts of the world. Why don't you show us the oldest part of Mosinnia, Umid," he suggested.


Streets Of Mosinnia

Now with a guide leading them, they were able to navigate the narrow streets of Mosinnia far easily than before. To thier suprise, they happened upon on more children as they travelled deeper into the city. None of them looked older than fifteen with the youngest being a baby that was being looked after by their older sibling. The sight of it ws devestating for Edgar; they had to, at least, have passed a hundred children by then; all of them with parents and guardians aveing fallen victim to whatever had happened to Umid's mother.

"It has been like this for a week," Emmy sadly said as passed by two siblings, one older than the other, walk hand in hand with a sack of food for their parents, "What could have caused such a thing?"

"I don't know. It must be a disease or a curse or something like that," Umid muttered, his eyes staring down at his feet, "We're not doing well at all. We need to wake them up."

"What about the events leading up to it?" Edgar questioned, "What happened before they fell into the coma?"

Umid frowned slightly, "It was different then. We had a massive festival the night before in honour of the Phoenix. This city looked completly different. Hundreds of us gathered the streets setting up lights, doing games and playing music. We had a giant feast in the town's square wehere everybody ate until we couldn't eat another thing," he sighed sadly, "Then all the grown-ups suddenly started to fall asleep and never wake up. It happened so quikcly that we had no idea what was going on...and we still don't know."

"Well, I think we can safely say that it is not an airbourn disease," Sycamore hummed as he rubbed his chin, "Otherwise, Professor Layton, Emmy and I would have also fallen victim to it as soon as we enter the city."

"Why wasn't I included in that group?" Edgar muttered bitterly.

They stepped out of the alleyway and entered a wide plaza like the one with the statue of the phoenix. This square was located further north than the last one with the cold, stone walls of the city peeking over the buildings on the other side of the plaza. Wha stood out to them was, located in the middle of the square, there was a hill covered in dark green and orange moss, making it look a little like grass, with bits of twigs and small trees sticking out of its sides. The hill was surronded by a steep moat which too was covered in moss. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything interesting about it and, in comparison to the statue earlier, it was a dissapoinment. However, it did put forward the question on what such a thing was doing in the middle of one of the town's other square. For all they knew, it looked like a feeble attempt at creating a medieval fort; except the person making it was drunk and couldn't remember anything about fortifications except that it had a moat.

Edgar nodded towards it, "What's that?"

Umid looked over to it and slow to a stop, "Oh, that's Preesha's Hill."

"Preesha's Hill?"

"Yes...to be honest, I don't really know much about it," Umid admitted, "It's been there way before I was born and possibly before my grandparents were born. Everybody just tends to ignore it the best they can."

"I see."

"Umid!"

Before they could question any further, a young girl jogged up to them eagerly and stopped right in front of their guide. She was short; being no taller than Edgar's chest; with slightly tanned skin, a small nose and small round eyes. She wore a red and white patterned headscarf that trailed down her back and almost reahced the ground as well as a white blouse, a dark green skirt and a blue shawl around her shoulders. Despite her height, she acted about the looked and acted about the same age as Umid. She stared up at him adoringly with a bright smile on her face.

"Umid, there you are!" she pouted in well-acted annoyance, "Where've you been? Don't you know you're not supposed to keep a girl waiting?"

Umid rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry, Mehri, but it was important. These people are going to help us find the cure."

"Oh! Well, that's great news," the girl, now named Mehri happily said, "And here I was, worried that you were staying away just to spite me,' she giggled, "Silly me!"

Edgar leaned over to Emmy and whispered, "She's a little-"

"It's best you don't finish that sentence," Emmy whispered back.

"...yeah, good point."

A frown appeared on Umid's face as he cast his eyes over her towards the rest of the city, "By the way, how are the grown-ups? Did anyone wake up?"

"Well, Temir's dad tried to scratched his nose, but he missed by a good few inches. Burak's mom accidantly ate a spider...apart from that, nothing much," Mehri reported before she instantly remembered something, "Oh, gran was mumbling something about the Phoenix in her sleep. She really loves that bird."

'Oh, that's right," Umid uttered suddenly, "Your grandmother has seen the Phoenx before, hasn't she?"

They all looked at him suprised.

"And you were going to tell us this when?" Emmy asked him.

Umid shepishly chuckled, "Sorry, must have slipped my mind," he said before he cleared his throat, "Mehri's grandmother is the Keeper. She's the wisest person in the city and she looks after the old temple to the north. We might find some clues there! Shall we go and have a look?"

Edgar waved a hand in his direction, "Lay on, Macduff. Let's see this temple."

"Umm...my name is Umid."

"Just lead us to to the temple," Edgar sighed miserably.

Back through the alleyways, they soon came to building that appeared much, much older than the ones they've seen before. Strangely enough, this building, despite its age, looked far cleaner and much neater. It looked like a church from the outside but as they stepped through the stone arch and into the front courtyard, they could see how very different it was. The courtyard was ten meters wide and twice as long; it had stone pillars, decorated by the stone rams heads, holding up verandas on either side. On the far side was the entrance to the temple, a large grey stone building that housed the chapel where they could see a large glass-stained window of a phoenix wth outstrecthed wings above the alter. Within the couryard itself, there where crooked tombstones displayed on either side of the path. However, what caught Sycamore's and Layton's attention, was the archway into the chapel. It was made of blusih grey blocks and inscribed with a script that looked very familair; it was Azran.

"How stunning," Sycamore said as he observed the archway keenly, "This is without a doubt Azran stone. But I can discern very little from the design. It's unfortunate that the person who would know the subject is incapacitated."

Edgar looked around the courtyard and leaned against a nearby statue, "Speaking of which. Where is this keeper?"

Umid sweat dropped and pointed to the statue under his arm, "You're leaning on her."

Edgar looked down and saw that it wan't a statue at all, but a very old woman. She was short, just like her grandaughter, with dark skin, a very large nose and very small eyes concealed behind large glasses. She wore a yellow headscarf and a plain red dress that reached her ankles. The most interesting thing (and the reason why he thought she was an inanimate object) was that she was sleeping whilst standing up.

Edgar lifted his arm off her head and striaghtened her head scarf, "Ha! Whoops! Sorry," he laughed as she contniued to sleep away, "Does she usually sleep standing up?"

"She's has always been liks this," Umid said, "She won't wake up, but she won't lie down either. It's pretty strange."

"Her legs must be terribly tired by now," Aurora said in worry.

The Keeper snorted in her sleep, revealing her blanked and crooked teeth to them.

"Ph...Phoenix..." she muttered whilst in her slumber, "...wake the...ph...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!"

"Wake the Phoenix?" Aurora asked in confusion.

"...zzzzzzzzzz...solve...mural...lies...sleeping..."

"Solve mural," Layton hummed thoughtfully, "How perculiar."

"You don't suppose it's a clue in solving how to wake up the Phoenix," Emmy suggested as she looked around the area, "What could it mean?"

Sycamore looked towards the gravestones and crouched down beside one of them. He inspected it closley before he rubbed chin in thought.

"The temple appears to be dedicated to the phoenix legend," he said, "These stone slabs are, in fact, not gravestones, but historical tablets."

Emmy frowned, "Well, that's interesting, but it's not much use to us if we can't read them...'

"What about this one?" Edgar questioned, pointing to one tablet amongst the others.

It wasn't obvious at first, but the tablet was a lot differnet from the rest of them. Firstly, the slab was a shade of blue that resembled the same material used by the Azran for their buildings. Secondly, the inscription wasn't in Turkish. The others quickly walked over and saw what he was looking at and insatntly agreed with him.

"That's definitely Azran script," Layton said with a nod, "Aurora could you translate it for us?"

Aurora gave a shy nod an croouched down next to the stone slab, "The Phoenix grants guidance only to the chosen few, those who bear the celestial burden and complete the perpetual cycle," she read out loud, "Igneous bird, born of dawn's west rays, cast your flaming wings over noon skies tll your journey ends under an eastern moon. Those who complete the cycle, find your way to the entrnace of the Phoenix's protection," she said before she looked up at them, "That's all it says."

After hearing the translated script, Sycamore hummed and walked away, "It is said that when a phoenix dies, it rises from the ashes, reborn. One might say that it represents the circle of life. It seems the tablet is asking us to depict this cycle in some way...yet where is the most crucial element, the circle itself?"

"Umm...could this be it."

They looked up and saw Umid over by the archway into the temple. He was pointing out something on the arch wall, encouraging them all to inspect it for themselves. Inscribed in archaic design was a mural that depicted three suns; one on the top, one on the bottom right and one on the bottom left. Connected these suns were small bird carvings that resembled phoenixs in mid-flight soaring around to visit each sun in circle. In the middle of the circle was a carving of some sort of tree which had a large phoenix perched atop its branches with its wings outstrethced.

"The Keeper mentioned murals in her sleep and so my mind insantly went to this one," Umid explained, "Look, you can even move the suns and change them to moons."

He demonstrated by moving the top sun and sliding it to the left. The tablet that had the sun design slid easily away beneath the stone wall and reveled to them a cresent moon instead.

"Very well spotted, Umid," Layton complimented, "All we have to do is align the patterns to match the story on the tablet."

"Okay then," Edgar said as he reached for the bottom left sun, "'Dawn's west rays'. That should go hear," he said as he moved the tablet so that both the sun and the moon is partially reveled, symobling the dawn.

"'Noon skies' must mean this," Aurora said as she moved the top sun tablet back to its original position.

"And the 'eastern moon' must go here,' Emmy finished as she moved the bottom right tablet so it revealed the crescent moon instead.

As soon as the last tablet was in place, the flying phoenixs lit up an eerie blue.

There was a rumbling sound followed by the ground beneath them shaking slightly before it stopped just as quickly as it started.

"Why does that always happen when we solve puzzles?" Edgar muttered as he adjusted his hat on his head, "Why couldn't it be more subtle?"

Layton frowned slightly as he turned his attention towards the city, "According to the tablet, our next step is to find the 'Phoenix's Protection'. But I am not sure what that could mean."

"Well," Sycamore said, "When I think of protection, I think of Mosinnia's high walls. If that's the case, then the entrnace to the 'Phoenix's Protection' could be the city's main gate."

"It's certainly worth a try," Emmy said, "Let's go," she said as they quickly made their way out of the courtyard.

Edgar, however, as he followed them, accidently knocked into one of the tablets. The tablet snapped in half and collapsed to the ground, smashing to pieces across the tiled floor. He winced slightly at the destruction before he looked around him and noticed nobody was there to witness it other then the sleeping Keeper across the courtyard.

"Oh no," he said, pretending to be shocked, "Must have fallen off during the tremour. How terrible. I'm sure somebody will clean it up," he said as he lazily walked out of the courtyard, leaving the old woman to her slumber.


Main Gate

They rushed across the city; down the alleyways, passed the Phoenix statue and didn't stop until they reached the main gate where they had entered.

They had been no chancge since the last time they had been here; it was still deserted and dirty as before. The gate stood at around fifteen feet tall and, therefore, dominated the area with it sheer magnitude. At its centre, there was a large clock face whose hands moved steadily without a mere suggestion of delay. A quick look at the time it shown made Edgar realise that they had been here for just less than an hour. Beneath the clock face, was a long shelf that was cut into the brick work which displayed six stone slabs positioned in a row that were cut into a rough diamond shape. A strange design choice from the architect, but Edgar could forgive him; they must have been more focused on its strength rather than what it looked liked. No chip or crack could be seen on its surface; not one single dent. If these city fortifications were as old as scholars suggested, then it didn't show at all. It was strangely impressive.

"Well, this is the main gate," Edgar said, "Doesn't look too different to me."

Umid shook his head as he looked around the area, "No, nor does it to..." suddenly his eyes landed on something on the uilding across from the gate, "Wait, what's that up there?"

They turned around to where he was pointing and saw a steely blue triangle on the wall of the building about a meter above their head. Getting closer to it, they saw that it was more Azran script.

"Ah, an Azran Plaque," Sycamore uttered in fascination.

"Looks like one of those blue plaques that they hang around London," Edgar observed.

Umid rubbed his eyes in dsbelief as he stared up at it, "I've never seen that before. Did it open up because we solved the mural back at the temple?"

"It looks like it," Edgar replied as he rubbed the back of his head, "I mean, the mechanics to how that lead to this and why the Azran decided to do this in the first place is lost to me, but...well, let's just go with it."

Layton nodded thoughtfully before he turned to Aurora, "Could you provide us with another translation?"

"Of course," the young girl as she looked up at the plaque, "From its ashes of birth, the reborn bird takes flight from the pinnicle of time and seeks respite southwards. Beyond lie six immovable mountains. The Phoenix settles on the second peak, before crossing another on her way to paradise. The mountains she touches are resplendent with eternal light. When all is true, the bird shall open her heart."

"Well," Layton said as he stroked in chin, "'the pinnicle of time' could only mean the gate's clock," he said as he pointed to the clock face above their heads, "Therefore, if we head southwards we will see our 'six immovable mountains'."

He moved his pointed finger down and stopped where he got two the six stone slabs on the shelf. Edgar raised his eyebrows at the revelation.

"Oh, so it wasn't decoartion at all then...although they don't really look like mountains."

"So, it 'lands on the second peak' and then 'crosses another'. Does that mean we have to light up the right stones up?" Emmy questioned.

"Indeed. The question is, how do we get up to them?"

"Maybe we can find a ladder," Emmy suggested.

"We don't have time to look for one," Sycamore said, rather impatiently, "One of us has to climb onto the other's shoulders. Who would like to volunteer?"

"It will depend on who is the strongest out of us and the lightest," Layton said.

"Hmm, even then, we would at least need three to reach up there," Emmy said, "Perhaps, we should practise first."

"Err, guys," Edgar said, catching everyone's attention, "As hilarious as that sounds, I know a better way."

He reached down, picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the second slab from the left. The stone hit the slab dead centre and made a rather satsifying 'Ping!" sound. Suddenly, the stone slab began to illuminate brightly with an soft blue light, showing that it had been lit.

Sycamore looked pleasnantly surpised, "My word, what a good shot."

Edgar grinned, "Clearly none of you spent your early childhoods throwing rocks at passing trains up in Lambeth."

"I don't think anybody's childhood should be spent like that. It sounds rather dangerous."

"Eh, I'm still alive, aren't I?"

He picked up another stone from the ground, aimed it and threw it at the forth slab. Like the one before, it began to illuminate brightly.

"'Settles on the second peak, before crossing another on her way to paradise', isn't that right?" he said.

Suddenly, that was another rumbling sound and the ground beneath them began to tremour once more. It lasted for a few seconds before it stopped once more.

"There was that tremour again," Umid said, "What could have changed this time, I wonder."

"Well, if you think back on what the plaque had said," Layton said, "It said, 'when all is true, the bird shall open her heart'."

"The heart, hm?" Sycamore hummed, "I could only assume that it doesn't mean a real heart, but rather, the heart of the city."

"Oh, like Phoenix Square," Umid realised, "That's right in the centre of Mosinnia."

To his suprise, he felt Edgar place his hand on his shoulder. He looked back to him and saw how deathly pale Edgar was; his eyes were wide and his body was shivering as if he had just witnessed a horrific event.

"Phoenix...Square..." he uttered fearfully, "...you mean..."

Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Edgar shot off down the alleyway as fast as he could. They watched him leave in shock before they ran after him.

"Edgar!" Layton called out to him, as they sprinted after him, "What's wrong!?"

"Did you just realise something was wrong!" Emmy shouted at him.

"Yes, something is wrong! Something terrible!" he yelled back, making them all fill up with impending dread.

"This sounds serious," Sycamore muttered, "We must get there now!"

After turning one last corner, Edgar burst out of the alleyway and ran into Phoenix Square. He looked forwards, gasped and fell to his knees in defeat.

"No! It cannot be!" he cried as everybody else ran out of the alley that he came out of.

"What's the matter!?" Emmy questioned before they looked forwards as well...

...only to see the square completly empty, except for a large hole in the ground where the phoenix statue once stood.

"It's gone!" Edgar wailed as he slammed his fist onto the ground, "My golden statue is gone before I could do anything! Damn it! Why did I solve that puzzle!? Why!?

They sweatdropped and glared at him in a mixture of annoyance and disappoinment. Even Aurora, who was always on the more timid side, couldn't help but feel a twinge on irritation at him making her worry. She didn't acted one her feelings... but Emmy sure did.

"Idiot!" Emmy yelled as she kicked him on the back of the head, "Don't do that! We thought it was an emegency!"

"It was an emergency!" he retorted, earning another swift kick from Emmy.

As they fought with each other, the professors bypassed them and headed straight to the edge of the hole where the statue had been. The hole was wide and deep; as wide as the square itself and so deep that they couldn't see the bottom of it. Lining the interior of the hole was even more Azran stone that shimmered eerily under the light of the sun. Yet again, inscribed on the stone, just below the cusp of the hole, was even more Azran writing.

"I must say, I did not expect our actions to have such a noticable effect on the town," Layton observed.

"Ahh, Azran technology. They never do anything by halves, do they?" Sycamore said as Umid and Aurora walked up to the hole as well, "If you permit me, I'd like to try my hand at deciphering the words inscirbed," he said, earning a nod of understanding from Aurora. Sycamore cleared his throat and began to read aloud, "Its heart exposed, the Phoenix stirs. When life's essence flows from the great gate, the ancient bird will rise from slumber."

"Great gate?" Umid wondered, "Is that another metaphor?"

"It would seem we are almost there," Layton said before he looked over his shoulder, "You two, stop fighting now. We've got serious work to do."

"So, are we looking for another gate?" Umid asked, "Mosinnia have got a few more to the east and the north."

"I don't think it's that type of gate," Sycamore said, "Remember, 'when life's essence flows from the great gate'. That would imply something else other than people, wouldn't you think?"

"Other than people?"

"Not all gates are used by people and there is one thing that all living creatures depend on in this world."

Umid frowned in thought for a few seconds before he suddenly gasped in realistion, "There cistern!" he proclaimed, "It holds the city's water supply. The great gate is a sluice gate."

'Yes, I would think that would be the case," Sycamore agreed with a soft smile, "The inscription is telling us top open the cistern."

"Amazing!" Umid said, "I would have never have got that so quickly."

Sycamore chuckled, "Well, a decade's worth of the Saturday cryptic does make one rather good at spotting wordplay."

"So...you're smart because you solev crosswords?" Umid asked puzzingly.

The young boy then frowned sadly as if he had just remebered something from his past. He cast his eyes to the ground and held his arm with other hand.

"You know, my dad died when I was young, so I never got to known him, but I heard he was a quick thinker, like you."

"Sounds like he would have been a good father," Sycamore said, which made him smile a little.

Sycamore then straigtened his tie and stared up at the orange sky above. He then said something, that none of them were expecting.

"If my daughter were still alive, she'd be about your age too"

That simple sentence made Edgar and Emmy forget their argument instantly and snap all their focus on him. It came out of nowhere, neither of them expected him to have had a family. He was so studious and so focused on his work that the thought never really have crossed their minds at all.

"Wait, what?" Edgar uttered

"You...had a daughter, Professor?" Emmy asked.

However, Sycamore looked away from the sky and gave them a serious expression, completly pretending that he didn't hear their question at all.

"Ah, forgive me. This isn't the time," he said.

"Ah...but," Umid tried to say, but Sycamore had already turned and walked away before he could finish.

"Let's delay no longer," Sycamore said, "Let us head to the forest immediatly."


Bostonius

Meanwhile, Raymond, with a small basket in his hand, climbed out of the door to the Bostonius and sat down on its steps. He was about to open the basket up when he stopped himself.

He looked critically around the area with his small tired eyes, making sure nobody was lurking in between the white barked trees. He then licked his finger and placed it in the air to test how strong the wind was. Once he concluded that there were no lurking people or strong winds, he was satisfied to open his basket and pull out a newly made BLT sandwich, licking his lips excitedly at finally eating his lunch after three goes.

He raised the sandwich to his mouth and opened his jaws…

…when suddenly…

SQUAWK!

FWOOSHH!

A crow swooped down from seemingly nowhere and snatched his sandwich right from his hands.

He gazed down at his empty hands in disbelief before turning his head to where the crow was flying off over the tops of the trees. The last thing he saw before the crow disappeared was a glimpse of the freshly washed lettuce and tomato and the still warm bacon in between two slices of brown bread before it vanished forever in the crow's cruel talons.

Raymond sighed and hung his head miserably.

"Next time, I'm eating inside."


Forest Outside Mosinnia

Through densly packed woodland, Umid lead them up the mounatain towards where the city's cistern was located.

The forest was dark to the point that could hardly see through the trees ahead of them. There were shadows in every corner, the air was thick with moisture and the dusty smell lingered greatly as they ventured further up. Countless animals scurried around their feet or flew over their heads; they even spotted a large owl perched on a dead tree which hooted and gazed lazily at their direction. Aurora seemed rather fscinated with all the wildlife and so did his best to answer all her questions about them.

"It's just a little bit further," Umid called back as he lead their group, "Not long now."

"Thank you, my boy," Sycamore said back, "Soon we will rid this town of its curse."

Whenever Aurora didn't have any questions, Edgar found himself in deep thought about what happened earlier in Phoenix Square and it was still bothering him.

'Sycamore had a daughter?' he thought as gazed up at the trees, 'What happened to her? He made it seem as if she died. Maybe she died really young or when she was still a baby. Does that mean he also had a wife as well? He's never mentioned them at all. Maybe I should bring it up?' he thought before deciding to change his mind, 'Never mind, he doesn't seem like the type of person who would want his private life interviewed. Especially not to me,' he thought drearily, 'He said she would have been around Umid's age by now, so she would probably be about thirteen? Fourteen? Only a few years younger than me,' he realised before he shook his head, 'Ah, why am I so bothered by this!? Leave Sycamore alone! …But still…' he hummed as he glared at the professor, '…it does make me wonder who he is really?'

However, he stopped once he realised that Aurora was no longer at his side. He turned back and saw her crouching down a few meters away beside a fallen log. Curious, he made his way to her and looked at what she was keenly observing. He smiled when he saw staring in awe at a hedgehog snuffling and trotting through the leaves as it searched for something to eat. Her eyes were fixated on the small creature as if she was completly fascinated by it.

"Edgar," Aurora softly said, her eyes never leaving the hedgehog for a second, "Who is he?"

"It's called a hedgehog," he whispered back so he wouldn't scare the animal away, "It's cute, isn't he?"

"He's adorable. Why does he have those spikes?"

"It's so he could protect himself from predators," he told her, "If you hold out your finger to him, he might greet you."

She shook her head, "Oh no, I wouldn't want to interupt him from what he's doing."

"I'm sure it's fine. Go on."

Hesitantly, she reached out her hand and pointed her finger at the hedgehog as if she was accusing him for some sort of crime. The hedgehog noticed her finger and scurried over, thinking that she was offering food. It sniffed its tiny nose at her, looked around, before he prodded her finger with his nose. Aurora gasped and retracted the hand, allowing the hedgehog to wander away to intend to his other hedgehog-y businesses. She looked down at her hand and smiled softly, her cheeks growing a little red.

"Fascinating," she whsipered.

Edgar did his best to hold his hand over his nose before he got a nose bleed.

'So cute,' he squealed in his head.

"Umm...Edgar..."

He looked around and saw Emmy not too far up ahead. She was standing very still; her feet were firmly planted to the ground, her arms had grown rigid and her face had contorted into look of uncomfortableness.

"There's a Code M on my shoulder," she whispered, "Please...hurry..."

"Ah," Edgar uttered in realisation as he made his way over to her, "It's been a while since the last Code M, hasn't it?"

"Please...hurry..."

"Alright, alright," he sighed.

He spotted the culprit climbing up her shoulder towards her panicked-stricken face and gently grabbed it between his index and thumb and lifted it off her. In her defence, the moth was much larger than any he has seen before; with fluttering white wings and a fuzzy body. If he looked carefully, he could even see its eyes and mouth.

"Alright, go away now," he said as gently lobbed the moth away which fluttered away to go bother somebody else, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

Emmy sighed in relief, "That one was hidious. I need to remember to pick up more bug repellant the next time we see a shop."

Edgar smiled gently. This wasn't the first 'Code M' emergency that Emmy made him deal with and it was probably not going to be the last. The last time it happened, Emmy had called him from her apartment in sheer panic and demanded he come over to deal with the moth that flew through her bedroom window. He wouldn't have minded...but considering it was two o'clock in the morning at the time, you could forgive him for being grumpy at the time.

"Thank you, Edgar," Emmy gratefully said with a dazzingly smile, "What would I do without you."

Edgar blushed and scracthed his cheek, "Just...get better at dealing with the small ones at least."

"Why would I, if I got you?" she teased.

"Then I guess I'll have to start charging."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Just try me!"

"What a peculiar relationship," Aurora murmured as she studied them from afar.

"It's here! We made it!"

Umid's shouts from further up the mountain alerted them that to what they should be doing. They raced up the craggy terrain and through the trees before bursting out of a clearing. Cut into the mountain side; tall and imposing just like the walls that kept Mosinnia safe; was a large building that contained the city's reservoir. It consisted of one long building with two guard towers flanking it on either side. Edgar was reminded of an Ancient Roman and Greek temple as he looked at the main building with its statues of various old deities posing on the edges of the roofs and the relief patterns adorned on its walls. But, unlike those temples, this building looked as if it was made of pure gold, shining prettily to the greedy delight of Edgar before Emmy whacked him over the head before he could start smuggling. The two guard towers dominated the forest and seemed to be made of Azran stone like the main gate back in Mosinnia. They had not been as well maintained as the gates with its moss and thick vines that were the home of many crows and nests of other various birds.

'Does that crow have a sandwich?' Edgar thought in confusion, staring at one particular crow roosting on a vine with Raymond's BLT sandwich in his beak, 'Where did it get that?'

In front of the its gates laid a long ditch that was cut into the ground and led down the mountain towards the city. Once upon a time, it would have been used to supply the city with water from the reservoir, but it was now left dry and overgrown with weeds and other annoying plants. Edgar hoped that there weren't too much wildlife living there, because, what they were about to do, their nice homes will become the biggest swimming pool they will in their entire lives. He only prayed that the RSPCA won't come after them after this. In the distance, the city of Mosinnia could be seen in its entirety; stretching out down on the lower flat lands. From up here, they could see the houses and the streets winding their way in between them.

"This is it," Umid told them, "Are you sure this is what it meant? This hasn't been opened in decades. I don't even know if it could be opened."

"Aha!" Edgar declared, "Sounds like my time to take centre stage."

Without any prompt, he walked towards the sluice gate by sliding down the bank. On the gate, he noticed another plaque which had another phoenix, whose shining wings outstretched a meter on each side, perched on a crescent moon. After another look, the moon was inscribed on a movable panal; just like the one they had found in the temple except much bigger.

"Solving the rest of the puzzles must have revealed the locking mechanism," he said to himself as he reached out to slide the panel all the way around to reveal the sun inscription, "There we go," he said as now depicted the Phoenix perching on the sun, "And the Phoenix shall rise from the-"

RUMBLE!

"Oh, bloody hell," he grunted as the familiar tremor started once more and the inscription began to glow brightly.

He sprinted back up the bank, with help from Emmy and Layton, just at the great sluice gate began to open. From the moment the gate opened, water erupted from out of the cistern and flooded the ditch almost instantly. It streamed down the mountainside until it became a raging river that cut through the forest and splashed into the lowlands; heading straight for Mosinnia.

The river entered the city through one of the gates and filled the dry canals.

And it was those same canals did they something spectacular.

The water-filled canals began to form an image. It started at the centre where it spouted into five directions. The first two canals went south east and south west and formed two avian legs and talons. The next two went east and west and formed outstretched wings. And the final one went north and formed a head with a sharp beak. All together, it formed an image of the Phoenix of Misinnia within its very walls.

And it was under their noses the whole time.

"Is that?" Umid uttered in shock as he took in the sight of glittering Phoenix.

"Indeed," Layton said with a nod of his head, "The Phoenix has risen one more. And it is there…" he said pointing towards its head, "…that we will find its tears."

"How marvellous," Sycamore said.

"It's pretty," Aurora softly said.

"Wonderful," Emmy said as snapped a photos of it.

"Yeah, it's great," Edgar said before looking back at the golden cistern, "But you're greater."


Preesha's Hill

They instantly noticed hiw differnt Mosinnia was as soon as they stepped foot through its gates. The canals have brought a new life to the entire place; gloomy alleyways becme bright, rubbish and trash on the streets were swept away. The children came our of their houses for the first time and stared in awe; they had not seen their own city like this before. The hole that was left behind when the statue had disappeared had now transformed itself into a large round pool and transformed the entire square and made it more lively.

However, that was not they were focusing on.

Preesha's Hill, which had been nothing but a mound surrounded by a dey moat, had transformed as well. There was water within the moat that almsot reached the level to the street, the plants and shrubs growing out of the hill looked more alive, but, most signifcantly of all, the hill itself had moved. An entire section of the front of the hill had opened up to reveal a secret passage going into the hill itself. The entrance was decorated with round stones of green, blues and red all surrounding an oval shaped door, giving it the apperance of a giant eye. Square stepping stones allowed them access to the passage, inviting them to go inside.

"The hill," Umid uttered in shock as the other children of the city gathered around in awe, "What happened to it?"

"Oh, I see now," Sycamore said as he rubbed his chin, "So, these are tears of the Phoenix. The river that flows through Mosinnia represents the Phoenix and this hill, one of its eyes. In which case, it is likely that Umid's ancestors likened the water around the hill to a phoenix's tears."

"But that doesn't mean the actual water is the cure," Edgar pointed out, "It's only just lead to where we can find."

"Precisely," Layton said, "Shall we venture inside?"

Crossing the stepping stones and into the pupil of the Phoenix's eye, they entered the passageway and climbed down the spiral steps. Further and further they descended until finally walked into a chamber that had not been entered for decades.

The chamber looked to be composed of hundreds upon hundreds of stone steely blue blocks; the walls, the ceilings, the floors; everywhere. What was interesting was that some of the blocks moved all by themselves; Edgar wasn't sure if it was the Azran used megnetism or some other technology, but they blocks moved and drifted through the air as if they weighed nothing. On these blocks was even more inscriptions of Azran script that Edgar could not read. Some section of the floor seemed to be covered in fine sand and there was used candals placed here and there. The entire place was silent; nothing but their sounds of their breathing could be heard.

"What do we have here?" Layton asked as they all looked around in suprise.

"I believe we have stumbled upon an Azran library," Sycamore said as he pushed his glasses further up his nose, "Forgotton history bestowed to the future."

Emmy looked towards him with a small frown, "An Azran library? But what about the tears we're looking for?"

"If I hazard a guess, I'd say the cure will be written on these slabs," Edgar said, "Like one big archaic cookbook. All we have to do is follow the instructions and make the remedy."

"I believe so too," Sycamore said as he gazed around the entire chamber, "The Mosinnians, back in the day, must have known about this and built up the phoenix story around it. I've got to say, I am rather envious that they have acess to something so extraordinary."

"Nevertheless, our top priority is recreating the remedy for the adults of Mosinnia," Layton reminded, earning a nod from the other professor.

"Quite right," he replied before pointing to the far wall with a competitve smirk, "Shall I take this side and you take the other? Be warned, I am quite adept at translation so you will have to match my speed."

"Very well," Layton said with a good natured, "Let the best man win," he said as both professors went to the starting points.

As they began to translate the text, Edgar leaned over to Emmy and whispered to her.

"Aww, isn't sweet when two archaeologists compete like that?"

"Yeah, bless their little cotton socks," Emmy whispered back with a giggle.

"Emmy, Edgar," Layton called from his side, "Do you remember the plants with tha jagged leaves back in the forest. Would you go and retrieve some of them."

"And the bark of a olive tree as well," Sycamore added.

"And some lemongrass."

"Holly berries."

"Oh, and an artichoke."

"Wait, hold on! How far away are these ingredients!" Edgar cried.

"At least write them down in a list first!" Emmy added.


Temple

A couple of hours later and all was well.

They quickly made the cure, with help from the Azran, and delivered each a dose to every sleeping adult in Mosinnia as fast as they possibly could. Sure enough, the adults woke up from their week long slumber. Temir's father, Burak's mother, Mehri's parents and grandmother, Umid's mother; everybody in the entire city woke up and jumped out of the beds in sheer joy...

...well, except for one person who, as he was starting to wake up, muttered something on the lines of 'five more minutes' before promptly falling back asleep. But the rest of them were happy.

So happy, in fact, that decided to hold yet another festival to celebrate their awakening and the apperance of the Phoenix. However, this time, they stayed away from the mushrooms.

Yes, mushrooms. Umid's mother explained it all.

Apparently, the adults of the city, after their last festival, gathered together to hold a after-party without their children and were served wild mushroom stew. Some person apparently mixed up the wrong type of mushrooms and so, instead of eating the delcious Ommis nommis mushroom, they were served the toxic Dormis soporis mushrooms.

"Wait. What sort of Latin is that?" Edgar did ask, but his question was never really answered.

Still, it didn't matter. After all, they had, yet again, solved another mystery.


Mystery Solved: The Phoenix's Tears - After solving some puzzles around the city, we relased the water back into the canals, which took the form of a phoenix. The Phoenix's eye contained a vast library of Azran text which helped us cure the city. Finding the cure, along with the archaeological discoveries, has made it a pretty good day for everybody.


However, before they could join on the festivities, Mehri had informed them that her grandmother, who they learned was called Dana, wanted to meet them at the temple.

"It was amazing what you did," the young girl said as she led them into the courtyard of the temple, "As soon as gran heard, she immediatly burst into tears...in a good way. So happy that she wants to give you all a parting gift."

"We're happy to hear that," Layton told her, "but whatever do you mean by parting gift?"

"You'll see," she sang before she pointed towards the entrance to the temple, "there she is."

Dana was now fully awake and still standing. She peered at them theough her large round glasses and gave a cheerful smile as she hobbled over towards them.

"You must be the heroes that saved the city," she greeted happily, "An absolute golden performance. Though I must confess, it was a bit of a rude awakening. And I was gaving such a pleseant dream about our city's Phoenix and how it perched right on top of my head. It was so realistic, it was as if I could feel it actually on me."

Edgar coughed awkawardly, "Oh, really? Dreams are funny like that," he said, "Anyway, you said you wanted to see us?"

"Really? Now, what was that..." she hummed before she remebered, "...ah, yes! Yes, of course," she said before she cleared her throat, "Now, we as a people, have endeavoured to protect the secrets of the Phoenix for generations. We've been waiting all this time to share these secrets with the right people. You see, a part of the legend goes like this. And lo! When the celestial messenger descends, return the phoenix egg to her that she may bring light to the skies anew," she recited before she turned to Aurora, "I believe that messenger to be you, my dear. Please, take the egg. We have all that history behind us, but there really is no time like the present."

She reached into her pocket and pulled, to their joy, another Azran egg and gave it to Aurora. The young girl admired it in her hands before she smiled softly.

"Thank you," she simply said.

'Three down. Two to go,' Edgar thought before he frowned slightly, 'So, the Mosinnians have been waiting all this time for her. Why would the Azran do this to Aurora? And why her in particular?'

He was brought out of his thoughts by Layton speaking to them.

"Well, then. Another egg has been found," he said, "Shall we join the other townspeople in theor festival."

"Yes, definitely," Sycamore agreed.

"Sounds good," Emmy said.

"Yay!" Mehri.

"Before you go," Dana interupted them, "I just want to ask one question," she then pointed a withered finger towards the destoyed stone slab across the courtyard that Edgar had broken earlier, "Who did that, hmm?" she crossly asked.

"Emmy," Edgar accused, without a single hesitation, "Why would you destroy the temple?"

"What!? Me!?


Forest Outside Mosinnia's Walls

Later on, with thier arms filled with gifts and treats that they received from the townspeople, our heroes were slowly walking back through the forest towards the Bostonius; hoping to get back and to be in the air before sundown.

Edgar, whislt chewing on a piece of baklava, gazed up at the tops of trees and siged softly, "You know, Mosinnia is not too bad when...you know, it's not being a ghost town."

"It's rather a shame you couldn't get any gold," Aurora kindly told him, "You looked like you really wanted some."

Emmy gave the two an annoyed glare, "It's not a shame at all, Aurora. If anything, if there is any sense of shame involved in this, then it should be Edgar being ashamed of himself forthinking of it."

He chuckled and waved his dismissively, "Don't worry, I would't be able to fit it on the Bostonius anyway...maybe next time."

"There won't be a next time!"

"I don't know about that," Sycamore hummed, "I think Edgar might have a point."

"He does?" Emmy questioned.

"I do?" Edgar questioned, equally as confused.

"I didn't mean about the gold stealing," Sycmore quickly said, "I meant returning to Misinnia. It is clear that it has ties to the Azran and I would love to investigate more. Wouldn't you agree, professor?"

"Why, indeed," Layton agreed, "I wonder if I could convince Dean Delmora to send a research team out to conduct an archaeological dig."

Edgar sweat dropped, "Okay, this is a place where people live. Not an random bit of land that you can go ripping to shreads," he sighed in irritation.

"Weren't you talking about taking the city's statue a mere few seconds ago"

"That's different. Losing a statue won't hurt them," he retorted before he looked over towards Auora.

She was gazing down at the Azran Egg, seemingly becoming more enthralled by its ancient power.

"You okay there, Aurora?"

The young girl looked up as her attention turned away from the Egg, "I...I think I remeber something about this place," she softly said as they all focused on her, "I...I saw a giant mural. It showsed a great firebird riding the wind's currents. Kirun of the everlasting flame. The sky is her playground, and death, merely slumber..."

"Oh, so the Phoenix was based on Azran technology," Emmy said, "It sounds like some sort of airship that was powered by an everlasting power source."

"The legend was passed down through the ages by the people of Mosinnia," Layton added with a firm nod, "And it will surely be carried on for generations to come. Through storytelling, her flame burns on, everlasting."

"It's a shame that not all people are as wise," Edgar said as he nodded towards the side, "Otherwise, those idiots wouldn't be there by now."

They looked over and saw the two Targent agents, Rook and Bishop, were slumped against the trunk of a tree fast alseep. They snored softly as they leaned their heads against each other; their hands fell to their sides to show a partially eaten mushroom which look very familair to the one they had seen in Mosinnia.

"Oh dear, what a shame," Sycamore hummed softly as they walked past them, "I'll have Raymond message Mosinnia about them and they can send out the cure."

"Yeah, but no rush. We have to take off soon," Edgar suggested.

"Good point. I'll tell Raymond to delay the message by a day…or two," he said as they continued their journey back to the Bostonius.


Bostonius, Somewhere Over The Indian Ocean

Emmy sleeply opened her cabin door and stumbled out into the hallway. She rubbed her tired eyes as she headed to the ship's canteen when she discovered she went the wrong way and walked into the main control room of the airship. She muttered a curse in frustration and was about to turn back when she noticed somebody sitting on one of the sofas.

She blinked a few times to get rid of her tiredness and realised that it was Edgar who was gazing out of the port window as the world passed by below them. There was a distant look in his eyes; his face was thoughtful and his fingers were interlinked with each other. Emmy hadn't seen him like this since they were in Monte D'Or.

She frowned slightly in worry before she made her way over and sat next to him on the sofa. Edgar looked around as soon as he sensed her coming over and offered her a small smile.

"Can't sleep?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Emmy told him, "And no. I just got up to get a glass of water. And you?"

Edgar shrugged, "Too many thoughts in my head."

"Well, that is strange for you," she joked before she immediatly regretted it, "Sorry, didn't mean that. It kind of slipped out."

"It's fine. It was a good one," Edgar admitted.

"So, what are you thinking about?" she asked calmly.

Edgar sighed deeply before he rubbed his face tiredly, "It's just what Sycamore had said earlier. About him having a daughter and a wife. It...caught me by suprise that's all."

"I admit. I was suprised as well. Sycamore rarely talks about his past and, from my research, all the papers about him were focused on his work rather than his personal life," Emmy said as she gave him a concerned look, "But why has it been bothering you?"

"I don't know really," he simply said, "I guess it got me thinking about my family and how I lost them."

Emmy nodded in understanding, "Forgive me if I'm getting to personal...but you don't seem to know a lot about your parents. You've only talked about Agatha."

He hesitated slightly before he closed his eyes and leaned back onto the sofa, "I guess you're right. I've lived on the streets as far back as I can remember. As far as I know, me and Agatha have always been orphans being looked after Miss Cowell. I don't even know what my parents looked like or what they're names are. It's like Agatha and I just winked into existance one day."

"Have you tried searching for them? The professor can help and so can I."

"Ha!" he laughed with a wave of his hand, much to Emmy's surprise, "Why would I do that? I own them nothing. They're the ones who abadnoned us," he boldly declared before offering Emmy a sweet smile, "Besides, I've got all the family I need with me now. I wouldn't give that up for the world."

Emmy stared at him in awe before a smile spread across her face and her cheeks grew a little red. She gave a small chuckle and brushed her hair over her shoulder.

"Good...I'm glad to hear it," Emmy said before she cutely yawned, "You going back to bed now?"

"I will in a bit. You can go on ahead," he told her as turned around and looked out of the port window again.

She gazed at him for a few seconds before she got up and left the control room. Edgar assmued that she gone back to bed, but he was suprised when she returned with a large blanket in her arms. She sat down and spread the blanket over the both of them before she leaned into his shoulder and cuddled up to him.

"It's cold tonight. Can't have you messing up the investigation becuase you're ill," she said wifh a smirk.

Edgar blushed slightly before he too cuddled up next to her, "Good point. Sure, you're not tired?"

"Nah, not anymore," she said, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Hmm...how about how nice that baklava was?"

"Oh yes! That was delcious. And that Turkish Delight."

"You're literally the only person I know who likes Turkish Delight."

"It's good. And it's good for your kidneys."

"Oh, right. Becuase the first thing I think of when I eat sweets is whether it is benefiecial to my kidneys."

"Alright fine then. I also really like the manti."

"Yeah, that was good. I'm starting to get peckish now."

"I think there's still more baklava left over in the fridge."

"...eh, too much effort."

Emmy giggled at that before she continued on their conversation.

A conversation that lasted until they both fell asleep under the blanket.


That's all folks!

It's been a while, huh. Sorry about that.

Anyway, it looks like the team are on the prenultimate stop to a certain fungi inspired place. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.

Bye :)


Omake - The Daily Lives of Victor Soul's OCs

Recap: The OCs are deciding who is going to be in their future harems. See the omake on chapter 11 of 'Voyage Of The Cavalier' for more details.


"So, Edgar," Victor sighed as he reclined in his chair, "Have you got your picks?"

"I sure do," Edgar said as he gave him the list he gave him earlier back to him, "I'm sure you'll be...surpised when you see it."

"That sentence feels me with so much dread."

"Oh ye of little faith."

Victor gazed down at the list as he read the names. As soon as he was done, his eyebrows raised in intrigue.

"Well, that is suprising," he murmured, "There's not nearly as many waifus on this list then I thought there was going to be."

"Of course. What did you expect from me," he replied with a cheery grin, "Unlike Cavalier, I went with quality over quantity. Pretty smart, huh?"

"Yeah, you'e real genius...and a pervert."

"Check this list," he said pointing to the paper in his hand, "You'll agree with me. I like the sweet women, I like the wild women, I like the prim and proper women, I like the gentle and kind women..."

"Are you singing that old Calvin Harris song?"

"...I like the milfs-"

"OKAY, STOP RIGHT THERE!" Victor shouted at him, making Edgar laugh in amusment.