None of these new chapters have been beta-read, so please forgive any errors. Or better yet, point out anything that could use adjustment. I feel like I fell a bit out of touch with that English feel to the words, but I don't know.
BTW, there's a nod to a scene in Unwound Future, just because.
He wasn't sure when he got the idea to get the phone, but once the idea came Luke darted off to grab it, retreating to the safety of the couch as he hugged his prize. Flora watched him fearfully as the boy started dialing, receiver pressed to his ear already. The two Don Paolos outside were still trying to get past the puzzle lock, and couldn't risk drawing attention by breaking a window. Hershel kept watch with his slingshot ready, but he was trembling, fear sinking into him deeper.
"Who are you calling?" Flora asked of Luke, unable to stand the suspense and stress of having their safe and comfortable home being under attack.
"The police! Maybe they can send... oh!" Luke exclaimed as the call made it through, "Hello? This is Luke Penford, Professor Layton's apprentice! You have to send somebody to our house, quick! There are these two low-life muggers trying to break in!" He started giving the address, but paused at something he was hearing, expression flitting from fear to confusion to disbelief to hysterics in rapid sequence. "Wh-what do you mean, 'there's been an accident'?!" he screamed at the phone and Flora lifted her hands to her face, crying out in a panic, "The Professor left the house only half an hour ago!" He looked up at Hershel, face pale at the idea that his teacher, the man he thought of as a father, had been in a horrible automobile accident.
Hershel had turned back at hearing the news, eyes wide with alarm and tears clinging to the corners. "Wh-what about Sir Luke?" he whispered, "He went after the Professor!" Luke nodded in agreement and went back to the phone.
"Um, there should have been a second person. A tall bloke, dressed a bit like me." the boy told the operator and listened intently before letting the phone slide from his hands, too numb with shock to realize it. Flora caught it in her own hands and pleaded for help into the receiver. Hershel watched the other boy, the fear still coiling around him, and dropped to his kneels, slingshot going slack in his hands. Luke lifted his head to look back at him, mouth trembling. "The ambulance has him. He's going to a hospital, and they don't know where Professor Layton went. He got on Penford's scooter and just took off." he mumbled.
There was a loud thud against the front door and three sets of eyes shot up in its direction, full of terror and hopelessness. The puzzle lock had given way; only the new lock and the thick wood stood between them and the two Don Paolos. The children huddled together, Flora setting the phone aside to hug the two boys tightly, protectively. Even Hershel, for that moment, drew closer to Luke, folding part of his little cloak over him to try hiding him from view. If his mentor couldn't protect them now, then it was up to him to keep his younger self safe.
New sounds began outside of the house, shouting, yelling, the squeal of tires; the pounding on the door halted abruptly and then there was silence. Hershel managed to disentangle himself from the web of limbs and hugs, snatching his slingshot back up and taking his place before Flora and Luke, peppermint candy reloaded and aimed high. A fiercely determined glare settled on his little face, marred only slightly by the tearstains on his ruddy cheeks.
A click sounded, and everyone tensed. That was the sound of a key sliding into the lock. It turned and the children could hear the door open, footsteps entering the house. They waited, fearing the worst, praying for the best. Finally, a sign of who was inside the house; a tall figure, dressed in brown with a fine silk top hat, looking battered himself. Hershel let his arm slip in shock, firing the candy. Layton jerked back to alertness when the peppermint hit him in the shoulder, and he blinked down at the children in surprise.
"Professor!" Luke and Flora exclaimed in unison, relieved to see him there. They got to their feet, hurrying to him and explaining in a rush the events that took place, tripping over each other's words. Hershel tried to look past him, hoping that the report over the phone had been wrong, that Sir Luke was going to come in too. Layton patted his two charges on the shoulders, a heavy sigh coming forth from deep inside.
"It's all right, children. Please, calm down. The Don Paolos ran away once I arrived. I'm fine, perfectly fine. Just a bit sore and bruised, but nothing a warm bath and a strong cup of tea can't cure." he told them quietly, "But that will have to wait. We must get to the hospital and see if Penford's been admitted yet." Hershel looked up at him tearfully and Layton gave him a grim look. "Your teacher saved my life, Hershel. Let's hope the price for that is not as high as we fear."
They gathered together, heading outside cautiously. Layton and Hershel scanned the street, their sharper visions and instincts searching out possible hidden threats, while Luke locked the door to the house and replaced the puzzle lock; it had been torn away, unsolved, with no small amount of damage to the box and the door. Once certain that all was safe, Layton led his group to the nearest bus stop. The scooter was parked in the carport, tucked away in the shadows, and without the Laytonmobile, the bus was the group's only mode of transportation.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Here. I got you a present!" Nazolene remarked brightly, setting a large, flat blue box tied with a red ribbon down on the table in front of Luke. The young man blinked at it in surprise, one eyebrow lifted. He reached out, drawing it closer to him.
"What is it?" he asked of the girl. They'd dated several times, even considered themselves something akin to sweethearts, but Nazolene would find Luke's attention wandered inwards and knew who it was he was thinking of. She hoped a gift would bring his attention back to her.
"Wouldn't be much of a present if I told you." she teased him with a wink, "Open it and find out!" Luke managed a smile for her sake and tugged apart the ribbon, then lifted the lid of the box and set it aside to look at the contents. A folded blue coat rested within the gift box and he stared at it, uncertain of what to say.
"It's... a jacket?" Luke finally murmured curiously, head tilting at the sight. Nazolene giggled and reached in to bring the coat out to show him. It was lengthy, fine-cut and a shade of blue that reminded him of his childhood sweater and clear skies, days with the Professor and Flora that felt like they'd last forever.
"Ta-da!" Nazolene declared with a smile that faded into a concerned expression, "You keep wearing that grey sweater, and I get the feeling that you're in mourning when you have it on." The smile returned, slightly strained, and she pressed the coat into Luke's grasp. "Go try it on. I'll wait here." Luke nodded and headed into a nearby room. Inside, he pulled off the grey sweater he'd worn when Nazolene came for her visit. It was wool and drab in color, and she'd been right about why he wore it. Despite keeping the style of his newsboy's cap, darker than his childhood cap, his clothing had faded in color to suit the faded memories of once happy days. He looked the sweater over, sighed, and tossed it aside carelessly, leaving it to hang on a chair.
Layton's voice in his mind made him retrieve it, fold it properly and set aside with more care.
Luke rubbed his thumb over the fabric of his new coat. It was sturdier than the wool sweater, more tightly woven, and thinner. He slipped it on, straightening it over his vest and shirt, and closed the three buttons on its front. There was a mirror nearby, and he posed in front of it, still unsure of himself. The coat's bottom hem brushed against his knees and it startled him. He made a mental note to have it brought up a bit.
Dressed in the new coat, Luke headed back out to meet Nazolene, who clapped her hands and tittered happily over it. "It looks wonderful on you! You look more like yourself now!" she exclaimed and reached out, "Oh, but look at this. Leave it open," she undid the three buttons so the coat remained open, bringing the green of his vest into view, "so you have a nice layered look. Ah, that's better." She stepped back, smiling at him gently, "It suits you, Luke." He gazed down at himself again, trying to get comfortable with the coat instead of the sweater.
Blue, light blue, like clear sunny skies and childhood innocence, like days of laughter and adventure and puzzles, nights of warmth and love and tea with the Professor over talks of ancient cultures and history. Luke hugged himself, drinking in the memories, the reminders drawn up by the blue coat, as though he were a parched man pulled from the desert. He smiled at last, tears collecting at the corners of his eyes. Blue, light blue, like the sweater and cap he wore the last time he saw Professor Layton alive. He would wear it when he made it to the past, to see him again, to save him once and for all.
"It's wonderful, Nazolene. I love it. Thank you." Luke murmured, reaching out to grasp her hands gently with his own, "I'll wear this from now on." And she smiled back, stepping close on her toes to press a little kiss to his cheek.
"I'm glad for you. Now, let's go have some lunch before you bustle off to your project." she whispered and laughed brightly, leading him on by the hand. Luke let himself feel lighter, buoyed by her cheer and the new coat, and he laughed along as he hurried to keep up, free hand holding his hat in place.
~*~*~*
Luke groaned softly, hand lifting to shield his eyes as he opened them bit by bit. Blurred figures stood around him, and they moved, sighs of relief and joy sounding around him. As his vision cleared, he was able to make out details. Professor Layton stood by his side, Young Luke, Hershel and Flora hung close to him, smiling tearfully down at him.
"Thank goodness. You're awake now, you're all right." Layton murmured. Luke gave him a puzzled look as he sat up, wincing at a sudden sharp pain in his side. His hand traveled to it, pressing lightly against the bandages wrapped around his torso underneath his shirt. "The doctor said you had a shallow cut, which they've bandaged and should heal within a week or so, and a mild concussion." the Professor went on, reaching out to brush the back of one finger against the bandages circling Luke's head, "You were unconscious by the time the ambulance arrived. You were also very lucky; your injuries could have been much worse."
"What happened?! Why did you have to get hurt?!" Hershel cried, climbing onto the bed to hug his mentor. Luke returned the embrace loosely and turned his gaze towards the older man.
"I was careless, that's all, Hershel. A gentleman must take pains to not be careless, lest he bring injury to himself or others around him." he told the boy, eyes still on his own mentor. He sighed and let Hershel pull away to climb down, pulling the covers aside to get out himself. Layton seemed about to protest, but he held up a hand, shaking his head lightly. "I'm fine now. Honestly. I cut myself by accident when I drew my knife and jostling about in the Laytonmobile must have clocked me on the head." Luke ended any argument then and there, "Just let me get dressed and we'll head home."
The Professor's mouth thinned again, disapproval clear in his expression, and Luke glanced away to avoid feeling too burned by it. But the older man touched fingers to the brim of his hat and led the children out of the room to give Luke the privacy to change. They only had to wait a short while for him. The time-traveler emerged a few minutes later, straightening his coat with care, a faintly wistful expression on his face as he fingered the lapel.
"Penford?" Layton called, snapping the older Luke back to attention. Hershel jumped down from his seat and hurried over to his side, staying close enough to give and receive comfort but not so close that it looked like he might be less of a gentleman for it.
"I'm all right now, Professor." Luke reassured the older man as the group began leaving the hospital, "What happened at the house? I got snippets of memory but they don't seem to be very clear." Between the Professor, the two boys and Flora, the story spilled forth in a rush. The Don Paolos had tried to break into the house just moments after Penford raced off, and the children had locked down everything. Hershel took it upon himself to guard Young Luke and Flora while they called for the police, where they learned of the car crash that wrecked the Laytonmobile and put the elder Luke in the hospital. Layton himself drove the scooter back home, where he chased off the two villains by his very appearance and went into the house to comfort the children.
There was a brief stop to chat with the doctors about any further care Luke may need and then they stood together at a bus stop, Young Luke and Flora staying as close to the Professor as they dared while Hershel stuck by Luke's side. Silence hung around them as they all drew themselves into their own thoughts, different perspectives on the events that took place. Layton turned over the various clues and tidbits of information he'd gathered, sifting through them and piecing together the clues that fit. The puzzle was still largely incomplete, but he was getting glimpses of the big picture. He had the feeling he wouldn't be pleased with his deductions when he finally figured it all out. He glanced surreptiously over at Luke, but the young man's face was a carefully schooled mask of casual expression. The lessons on being a true gentleman were working far too well when it came to reining in emotion.
The silence continued as they boarded the bus and headed for home. Hershel sat close to his mentor, still feeling shaken and trembling. He had never imagined that their little mission in the past-future would have such dire consequences. Those words he said to Rattik and Duke when he first asked them to watch over the house, when he glibly remarked that it wasn't really life or death, seemed to come back and slap him. Those creepy old men, they were trying to do something bad, and they didn't care if someone got hurt or even killed.
"I'll have to call a repairman to collect my car." Layton suddenly murmured, turning his head to gaze across the aisle at Luke, "Hopefully, they'll be able to restore her and we'll discover what exactly was sabotaged." Luke returned his gaze with a half-lidded expression, nodding slightly. Flora and Young Luke simply gasped and looked up at the Professor in shock.
"Sabotage?!" the child apprentice blurted out in horror, hunching his shoulders when Layton shushed him quickly, his eyes darting around to be sure no one else heard. Flora lifted her hands to her mouth, shivering and pale. "It must have been the two Don Paolos!" Young Luke murmured softly and turned to look at Hershel for support, "Right, Hershel? Those boys told us that they went into the carport this morning, so they must have done something to the Laytonmobile to make it crash!" Hershel nodded quickly, eyes wide.
"Now isn't the time or place to speak of such things, Luke." Layton reminded firmly, one arm reaching around to rest on the boy's shoulder, patting him a few times comfortingly. His other arm did the same with Flora, and the elder Penford watched with a small smile as the three of them took comfort in the group hug, as chaste as it was with Layton's sense of propriety still in effect. Hershel watched as well, a vague jealousy settling uncomfortably in his core. He blinked when his own teacher rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. That will be you one day, Hershel. And you'll have what you've always wanted." Luke assured him quietly, "Let's just be sure that our mission succeeds." Hershel nodded, feeling a bit better about things but still faintly worried about why his mentor had gone after the Professor in the first place. Hadn't the 'mission' been about helping the little Luke?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Once home, Luke set to work on making some repairs to the front door despite Layton's protest that he should head straight to bed and rest. Flora chose to stay nearby, just to be sure that if anything happened there would be someone to help. The matching spots of pink on both of their faces didn't give Layton much confidence in the whole venture, so Hershel decided he would stand watch with them as well. If the two Don Paolos decided to return for another assault on the house, Hershel would spot them well in advance.
"Does it hurt badly?" Flora asked in concern, watching the elder Penford tighten the screws that held two slits of metal in place on the door. The puzzle box used them as rails, sliding along them when the need arose to have extra protection over the keyhole.
"It's only a sting now. Nothing I can't ignore for the moment." Luke returned with a faint smile in her direction. The physical pain really was nothing, when compared to the agonizing emotional pain he'd gone through at the Professor's murder, at her abandonment. "I'll be all right, Flora, really. Why don't you check up on the Professor? He's had a few bumps and bruises that he never got around to tending to."
"Ah, that's true!" the girl exclaimed, eyes wide with realization. Luke chuckled, blushing as he stepped aside and opened the door for her. She curtsied briefly and rushed inside, leaving him alone with Hershel. The young Layton looked relieved by her absence, and Luke gave him a mild glare for that.
"Sir Luke?" Hershel questioned hesitantly, as if looking to change the subject. Luke glanced at him briefly, paused once he registered the confused expression on his little face, then pocketed the screwdriver to give him his full attention. "You said you were here to help the little you... the other Luke." Hershel began uncertainly, "But you keep following that Professor around. I don't... I don't quite follow what you're doing."
Luke blinked, then gave him a faintly exasperated smirk, arms akimbo as he gazed down at his apprentice. He supposed he should have realized that if Professor Layton had a keen interest in solving the secret of his true mission, then little Hershel Layton was also going to try unraveling it. He reached out, patting the boy on the shoulder as his smile softened.
"Sometimes, to help a person, you might have to work on fixing things around the person first." he told Hershel carefully, "Namely the most important things around that person. In this time, the young me has only a few very important things around him, so it's easy to... 'fix' them. Once they are the way they're supposed to be, we can go back to where we're meant to be." Hershel squinted at him, and Luke could see the struggle in his eyes as he tried to make sense of his words. They were purposely cryptic; he couldn't reveal too much, even to Hershel. The boy would remember them as an adult, and Professor Layton would have greater insights than he should have because of the younger Layton.
Finally, the boy sighed and took his hat off to scratch his head. "I suppose that makes sense. I think." he admitted and smiled up at the elder Penford, "But you're right. When we fix things and beat the creepy bad men, then we can go home." Luke managed another smile and knocked on the doorjamb.
"Inside, Hershel. I have to change my bandages and I'm sure dinner will be ready soon." he remarked and chuckled as Hershel ran inside eagerly, all smiles and excitement. He watched the boy go, then looked out at London worriedly. Why was Don Paolo accelerating the events? Was he really in that much of a hurry to try to kill the Professor? Didn't he know that the chain of events would just lead him to undergoing study overseas and thus create the Time-Binder? "I've got to figure out this new formula." he sighed and entered the house himself.
--
Even with the promise of dinner trying to lure him back, Hershel slipped out of the front door only a few minutes after the elder Luke had gone in to tend to his own issues. In his arms were a couple of loaves of bread wrapped in a blue jumper he swiped from Young Luke's room. This was the reward he'd promised Rattik and Duke for keeping an eye on the house, and Hershel intended to ask them to continue keeping their eyes on it. Who knew what else those awful men were planning to do to them all just to get Sir Luke?
He slowed to a halt in the nearby alley where he and Young Luke had met with the Boys earlier that day. Sure enough, Rattik and Duke were there, sitting on rubbish bins as they watched the Layton house. Duke seemed to be growing sleepy, though, his cheek resting against his brother's arm as he drew his legs up into the over-sized jumper to keep warm. The older boy blinked down at Hershel when the young Layton crept up to them.
"Pa-parah." he whispered to show he was coming on friendly terms and held up the bundle of bread and clothing to Rattik, "Here. Not much, but it's what I could filch without anyone noticing."
"Blimey, Hawk-Eye, 'smore den I thought would be comin'." the older boy remarked with surprise, taking the bundle in his hands and breaking off a piece of bread to give to Duke, nudging him awake, "'Ey, Duke, here's vittles and a nice jumper what fits you right." The smaller boy fluttered his eyes and opened his mouth to accept the bit of food. "Thanks much, Hawk-Eye." Rattik added, smiling at the young Layton as he fed the piece of bread to his brother, "I'll be breakin' dis wit' the rest of the Boys. You get on wit' your chum in Layt'n's house."
"He's not my chum!" Hershel protested, honey-brown eyes wide as his face flushed, "Not... not exactly!" And that was somewhat true; Hershel still had some disdain for Young Luke, but had a great deal of respect and friendship for his future self. Rattik just laughed, shaking his head.
"Bit of advice for ya, Hawk-Eye. Ya find the best chums when things get bolloxed in a bad way. Dey's the ones be staying right by ya, even when dey be scared outta dey's mind." he told the smaller boy and nodded towards the house, "Get on wit' ya. Afore some truancy officer pick ya up."
Hershel darted back to the house, one hand holding his hat on as Rattik's words stayed with him despite his scoffing at the idea that he could possibly be friends with Young Luke.