Chapter Text
When Pearl woke up, it was to the sound of beeping. She shifted slightly, frowning at the firm mattress under her. She opened her eyes for a second, only to snap them shut with an even deeper frown at the bright light above her, lifting her hand to over her face.
“Pearly?” Maya asked, seeing the movement and leaning forward. Phoenix, who’d been talking on the phone quietly by the door, looked over, before quickly diming the lights.
“Mystic Maya?” Pearl asked, blinking open her eyes again, now that the light was dimmer. She then remembered everything else that happened, just before she passed out, and quickly sat up. “Luke! Professor Layton! Are they okay?” she demanded. Maya smiled warmly, leaning aside so Pearl could see the second bed in the room.
Luke lay in it, seemingly asleep. He was hooked up to a heart monitor, and had an IV, just like Pearl herself, but otherwise seemed fine.
“The doctors said that both of them, and the third man that was frozen in the Relics, are fine,” Maya explained with a warm smile. “Their vitals are perfect, and they were able to warm them up to normal body temperature. They’re just waiting for them to wake up, now,” she said. “They also said you were dehydrated and exhausted. How are you feeling now?” she asked. Phoenix, who finished his call and hung up, came over, a worried look on his face. Pearl looked between them and smiled.
“I’m okay now.” She looked at the IV. “I guess this was to rehydrate me?”
“And get some nutrients in your system. How are you… mentally?” Phoenix asked, still seeming worried. Pearl looked up at him, thinking about that.
“I think I’m okay. I knew I’d been keeping you two updated,” Pearl explained, before smiling. “So, I just held on to the thought that you’d realize something was wrong when I stopped texting and would send help. Though… I didn’t expect you two to fly halfway around the world to find us,” Pearl laughed. Maya laughed as well, hugging her.
“Of course we would, Pearly! You’re my best friend, and you’re like a sister to me!” she exclaimed. Pearl’s eyes widened slightly at that, before hugging Maya back tightly.
“Thanks,” she said softly.
Descole stood in the corner of the hospital room that Professor Layton occupied. Rosa and Katrielle had just arrived, having heard that Layton and the Tritons were found. For now, though, his three kids (Three!?) had just stepped out. Rosa and Flora, the older girl, were taking Katrielle, the younger, to get something to eat, while Alfendi, the young man, was talking to the police.
He studied his brother with a small frown.
“How’d you get mixed up in this mess, Layton?” he muttered, moving closer, pulling his cloak tighter around himself. He’d retrieved it after Luke’s wife had collapsed, before the paramedics rushed her off.
Considering the state he’d found her in, he was surprised she stayed on her own two feet long enough for them to find Layton and Luke, and for him to release them from those accursed coffins.
“It was for… Katrielle’s sake…” Layton’s soft voice snapped Descole out of his thoughts, and he turned to look his younger brother in the face. Layton’s eyes were half open, studying him. “Desmond…?” he asked. Descole sighed softly, sitting in the chair Alfendi had been occupying just a few minutes ago, and pulling the mask off of his face.
“Hello, Hershal,” he said softly. Layton frowned slightly.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. Desmond chuckled.
“I had heard you, your apprentice, and his wife had gone searching for the Relic Stones. You suspected them to be of Azran origin, didn’t you?” Desmond asked. Layton closed his eyes for a moment, his mouth twitching into a smile.
This almost felt familiar. Like their old dynamic, all those years ago, but without the hostility.
“More then suspected, if I’m to be honest, though I don’t think Luke or Pearl knew,” he said.
“I’m not surprised. When I heard you cut off contact with everyone, I got worried. I tracked you and the Relics to Southampton, then saw your… brood on the ship,” Desmond said with a bit of a smirk.
“’Brood’?” Layton asked, blinking his eyes hard in an effort to wake up more.
“Your kids. Plus two Americans, who I am assuming are family of Mrs. Triton,” Desmond explained. That woke Layton up. He sat up slightly, turning to face his brother with wide eyes.
“The kids are here? And what of Pearl and Luke?” he asked.
“Yes. The young ladies went to get food, while Alfendi stepped out to talk to some officers. As for the Tritons, they are next door,” Desmond explained, before telling Layton of their condition. Layton sighed in relief, relaxing back against the pillows for a moment, before looking over at Desmond.
“Thank you,” he said softly. Desmond quirked an eyebrow.
“For what?”
“For coming after us. And I am assuming for rescuing us from those coffins,” he said. Desmond smiled slightly.
“You’re welcome. You said you got mixed up in this for Katrielle’s sake? What is that supposed to mean?” he asked. Layton let out a soft sigh.
“Her mother died in a shipwreck, just after having her. Luke was on that ship, and he managed to help her deliver Katrielle, and saved her, bringing her to me. The mother said that her husband, Katrielle’s biological father, Kyle Azan, had been searching for the Hidden Relics. Through our search, we realized that Kyle Azan didn’t exist, and that it had been her mother who’d been searching for the Relics. I had hoped, through finding the Hidden Relics, I might be able to learn more about her biological family, but…” Layton trailed off. Desmond frowned, resting his elbows on his knees, threading his fingers together and resting his chin on them.
“You wanted to make sure it wasn’t another Bronev situation,” he surmised. Layton smiled faintly.
“Perhaps. I didn’t think about it in such terms, but… Yes, I do believe that may have been it. Especially with the relation to the Azran,” Layton said.
“Did you find anything?” Desmond asked curiously. Layton shook his head.
“No,” he sighed. “Nothing pertaining to her family, at least.”
“I think that’s fine,” Desmond said. Layton looked over in surprise, and Desmond smirked at him. “I understand your reasoning. But… I think just being prepared for that prospect is enough. Besides, Targent is gone, the Azran secrets have been mostly unlocked, except for a few random artifacts here and there. You and her are both safe,” he explained, before standing, putting the mask back on. “Just do me a favor. Don’t go off radar like that again.”
“We weren’t completely cut off. Pearl was updating her cousin the whole time,” Layton said with a faint smile.
“The American lawyer and that woman? That explains how they were able to find you so fast. I’d only been able to track you to Southampton, but no further,” Descole said thoughtfully, before nodding. “Still.”
“I promise, it won’t happen again,” Layton said, before smiling more. “As long as you promise to visit. I thought you were dead this whole time,” he said. “The kids would love to know their uncle.”
“We’ll see. I’m just surprised to see you with three,” Descole said with a smirk, before turning to the window with a flourish of his cloak.
Before Layton could say another word, the man was gone, out the window. He sighed softly, shaking his head, before looking down at his hand.
Just then, the door opened.
“Dad!”
“Professor!”
“Papa!”
The three rushed to his bedside, all talking at once. Katrielle immediately climbed onto the bed, pressing herself into his side. Alfendi took the seat Descole had been in moments before, and Flora was at his side, checking his pillows.
He looked around at the three, and at Rosa, who stood in the doorway, watching with watery eyes, and realized he’d been selfish.
If Pearl hadn’t been texting her family with updates… if Phoenix and Maya hadn’t reacted as quickly as they did… how long would he and Luke have been in those coffins? Asleep, as time passed them by, and they remained the same? Eleven years? Fifty? A hundred? And poor Pearl... she would have been in the cult's clutches the whole time. Perhaps even brainwashed and forced to join them. The thought of that hit him like a blow to the chest.
He wrapped an arm around Katrielle, before holding his other arm around to Alfendi and Flora. Both looked surprised, but hugged him. He gave all three of them a tight squeeze.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, blinking at the tears that filled his eyes. “I am so sorry for worrying you. I promise, it won’t happen again,” he said.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Alfendi said softly, his voice rough with emotion.
“Don’t worry, my boy. This is one promise I intend to keep.”
The three were released from the hospital the next day. They, along with Layton’s kids, Rosa, Maya, and Phoenix, returned to the Professor’s flat, where Rosa helped Flora cook them a hearty meal (she mostly kept Flora on prep, and handled the actual planning of the meal and cooking herself). It was over dinner that stories were exchanged. Luke called his parents after dinner to let them know that they were home safe, and got an earful from Brenda for their disappearing act.
As they were relaxing after dinner with some tea, Katrielle climbed up onto the couch next to Pearl.
“Aunty Pearly!” she said in a sing-songy voice.
“Yes, Katry?” Pearl asked with a smile, adjusting her so that she was sitting in her lap.
“You said you’d bring back lots of souvenirs!” she said brightly, looking up at her with her big blue eyes. Layton, Luke, and Pearl all looked at each other with slightly wide eyes, not sure what to say to that.
Luke and Pearl had every intention of bringing souvenirs back, but things didn’t go quite as planned.
“I’m sorry, Katry… they uh… they got lost,” Pearl said, before smiling more. “But you know what? To make up for that, I’ll take you to the Bakery on Chancer Lane. How about that?” she asked, hoping to distract the girl.
“Yay!” Katrielle cheered, causing the others to laugh.
Layton smiled warmly, looking around his crowded flat.
Tomorrow, Phoenix and Maya would leave for the airport, returning home. Luke and Pearl would go back to their house, but it wasn’t too far, so it wouldn’t be too much to visit. He knew there was also the very real chance of Flora and Alfendi moving out soon.
But for now, after almost being lost for who knew how long… it was good to be surrounded by friends and family.