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The Azran had been a very advanced culture - as Professor Hershel Layton and his apprentice Luke had long since discovered on this adventure. And, to be honest, one could have guessed that it wasn't a good idea to try and usurp their treasures.
As they had now activated a kind of flying robot that was shooting lasers at the earth with all its might in order to wipe out humanity.
Layton, Luke, Emmy, Descole and Leon Bronev stood on the terrace of the floating sanctuary, unable to do anything but stare as their world was doomed.
Luke then decided to do something after all.
"Aurora!" shouted Luke, completely out of breath after the sprint back to the Chamber of Light where they had just heard the order to destroy the world. "What do we do now?"
Aurora, an emissary of the ancient civilization, looked depressed, as if she didn't want to reveal the truth - perhaps because she had an idea of what would happen if she did. But the little one deserved an answer.
"The golems are supplied with energy by the prism," the emissary explained, folding her hands in front of her. "Someone has to stand between the light source and the stone in the alcove that the light from the prism hits in order to adjust the supply."
Luke sprinted off - no task was too difficult for the professor's apprentice! It was just as well that there was only one of these stones, otherwise he would have had to ask for help.
"Stop!" Aurora suddenly shouted.
Luke slammed on the brakes. "What's wrong? I have to-"
"If you do this," the woman spoke, almost pleadingly, "If you step into the beams of light, you will die!"
Luke blinked. "Oh."
Aurora nodded, almost ashamed.
But Luke only looked more determined than before - which admittedly worried Aurora a little. "L-Luke?"
The boy turned to her after some thought, a confident grin on his face. "Aurora," he announced, "If I do this, I'll save the world. I have to do it."
She wanted to scream, grab him by the sleeve, beg him not to do it. But the emissary of the Azran felt paralyzed when Luke took the first step into the beam. His face immediately contorted into a grimace of pain, and Aurora squeezed her eyes shut to avoid seeing it.
She only opened them again when the pink light went out and Luke fell to the floor with a thud. Her heart sank in her chest.
Exactly as she had figured.
***
You could imagine the confusion of the group on the terrace when the robots, which had just exploded hut after hut, suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground like dead flies, one after the other.
"What on earth-," Descole groaned.
"No way," muttered Bronev, and Layton brooded as well.
This story was getting stranger and stranger, and he had earned a nap once they were back at Gressenheller University.
"Where the hell is Luke?" Emmy asked suddenly, agitated. Layton looked around - the woman was right. The boy was no longer with the group.
"He's probably gone inside," Descole suspected, "Maybe we should do the same - I'm sure Aurora can explain what's going on here."
"I agree," Hershel said with a nod, and the adults moved with swift steps towards the hall. "Aurora?"
The young lady stood there, shocked. If Layton wasn't mistaken, there were tears in her eyes and his eyebrows drew together in concern. He wanted to ask what was wrong, until-
"Luke!" Emmy let out a sharp cry and clapped her hand over her mouth. And now Hershel saw it too.
Luke lay on the cold ground in front of the alcove, completely motionless. It was as if Layton's heart stopped. What on earth...?
"Okay," he spoke, trying his best to appear calm. His gut was telling him that something was very wrong, but he forced himself not to listen to it for the time being. What was the point of panicking when surely everything wasn't as bad as it looked.
Right?
"Aurora, what happened?"
"Your world is safe now," was all the emissary said.
"That doesn't explain it," Layton said, with more sharpness in his tone than he would have liked.
"The robots...they..." Aurora stopped in mid-sentence; she didn't want to say it. But the look on Layton's face, which demanded answers, finally prompted her to continue. "The robots were powered by the crystam." She pointed to the pink prism, which the adults noticed had gone out.
"Were"?" Emmy inquired, crossing her arms.
Aurora nodded, turning her gaze to the floor. "A beam of light shone straight onto the egg-shaped stone at the end of the room. This gave the creatures their life force. To stop this process, someone must- must stand between the beam and the stone to break the connection."
It was not difficult to come to the conclusion that Luke had done just that. But that wasn't enough for the professor, and Aurora knew it.
"It-it's a barter," the envoy continued, "Saving your human civilization requires a price. Only someone with a pure heart can save humanity from destruction. By..." Aurora swallowed and her voice began to tremble. "By the one with the pure heart standing between the stone and the ray of light and giving their life."
All the color drained from Layton's face.
"What?!"
Hershel had never wanted so much for someone to add something to what he had just said. But Aurora's silence was worth a thousand words.
While the robots sank to the ground outside, Professor Layton sank to his knees in the Chamber of Light.
***
No one dared to utter a single word. You couldn't tell whether it was because they hadn't fully grasped the situation or because they wanted to stand by the professor, who had thick tears of sincere grief rolling down his cheeks as if the world had really just ended.
That wasn't so wrong.
The group only raised their heads again when they heard the sound of footsteps. Hershel had risen to his feet and hurried to Luke, kneeling down again as soon as he reached the boy. A trembling hand reached out to cup Luke's cheek and turn his face towards Layton.
The professor regretted the action the second he carried it out.
Luke looked as if he was sleeping peacefully. Sleeping peacefully like a small child, which, by God, he still was. Luke was a child.
Had been a child.
No, Hershel. Don't think that way. Surely there's a way - this is all intricate, complex magic, a system, and surely-
But he had to accept it. There was no way.
Before anyone could blink an eye, Layton grabbed the boy's- the boy's cool body and pressed it against him as if it would trigger a miracle.
"Luke," he whispered, and the whisper might as well have been a desperate cry through the echo of the hall. "Luke, I'm so incredibly sorry."
Luke didn't move. Of course he didn't; he was dead. But Hershel squeezed his eyelids shut and imagined Luke was still with them.
He remembered the moment when Luke had fallen asleep in his arms for the first time. That had been perhaps a year or so ago, just after their adventure with the Spectre of Misthallery. Cursed with predicting the spectre's attacks, the poor kid had struggled with nightmares for weeks after the mess. One night he hadn't been able to sleep a wink in Layton's office, and the normally reclusive archaeologist had allowed Luke to use his chest as a pillow. Luke had fallen asleep straight away and the night had been one of his quietest in a long time.
They were in exactly the same situation now. Luke had fallen asleep after a nightmare and a cup of tea, leaning against Layton. The next morning he would wake up and enthusiastically solve another puzzle, which Hershel was happy to give him for breakfast.
Layton opened his eyelids, and the colors he saw around him brought him back to the cruel reality of the situation.
Luke was a sleeping boy, indeed - but one who would never wake up again.
Without realizing it, Layton was weeping again. The pain suddenly became unbearable, and the distraught professor could do nothing but press his face against Luke's mop of hair and mumble apologies that Luke would never accept if he were still alive.
After a long pause, it was Emmy who spoke up first. "Professor, I'm so sorry about all this."
Layton let go of Luke and stared at the wall. An inexplicable rage spread through him and he jumped up. "You have no say in this at all, Miss Altava," Layton hissed, pushing his top hat deeper into his face; no doubt to hide the lingering tears in his eyes. "Wasn't it you who put a knife to Luke's throat? You'd think that moment would give you some satisfaction, wouldn't you?"
Outraged, Emmy opened her eyes. "Professor, please! I may work for Targent, but I'm far from heartless!
She took a few steps forward, but Layton stopped her. "Nobody's harming a hair on that boy's head," he growled, and Emmy backed away, startled. "Not a single hair! Understood?!"
"Of course," Emmy whispered and swallowed. She had never seen the professor like this before, and she had been his assistant for a year. Well, not anymore, but she knew him well enough.
"My goodness," came from Layton, and his voice sounded even more desperate than before. "How, tell me, how do I explain this to Brenda and Clark?"
He stroked his hand over his face. "It would be easier to starve to death here. Then they'd be angry, but I wouldn't have to witness it."
Hershel took a deep breath and turned to his three companions, apart from Aurora. "Look at this mess. Is this how the story is supposed to end? That a kid has to save the world and die? That Luke has to do it?"
"He proved once again what a clever boy he is," Layton continued, "While we adults stood on the balcony and watched open-mouthed as our neighborhood was reduced to rubble, he ran in here and saved us all before we even knew what was going on. How could we let that happen? How could we, those with life experience and wisdom, allow an eleven-year-old boy to give his life to protect us fools?"
A moment later, Hershel was back on his knees. "I failed my most important task in this whole mission. I have forever failed the boy I swore to protect from danger. Nothing but loyalty and inquisitiveness got him involved in the story, and yet now he's on the ground."
Layton's eyes flashed with anger as he regained his footing on his wobbly legs. "It should have been one of us. Any of us, even me for all I care," the professor swallowed down a lump of tears before pointing his famous index finger at little Luke. "But not, not ever, him."
***
"There...there is a way."
All heads immediately turned to Aurora.
"I can't guarantee anything!" she spoke quickly, "But if I implore Azran, then I can- then I can sacrifice myself in his place."
Hershel's heart leapt. The first thing he wanted to say was "Yes! Do it!". But could he really ask that of a young lady?
The professor bit his lower lip. "Miss Aurora, I- I don't know... As a gentleman, I can't-"
"Professor, wake up!" Emmy shouted, instantly aware of the professor's train of thought, "Don't do anything you'll regret later!"
"Emmy, you do realize that I-"
"I was preserved in ice to show you this, and then go down with my civilization - as I should have done eons ago," Aurora interjected, her turquoise eyes gleaming with sincerity, "I don't mind this deal."
Hershel looked at her before his gaze drifted back to Luke. His eyes immediately filled with moisture and he forced himself to look elsewhere.
"Mr. Layton," Aurora continued, "don't lie to yourself. You want this, and we both know it. You want me to revive the boy - whether I'm still around afterward or not. And you don't want that because you can't stand me. You want this because you love him."
Layton didn't want to say it; didn't want to admit it. But he wondered why. Because the girl was right - Luke was more than just his apprentice. He had obviously grown so fond of the boy that he had just spent half an hour crying and screaming.
A true gentleman, who approached everything with calm and composure, would not do such a thing. But Layton was the model of a true gentleman, so there was only one explanation for his reaction - feelings.
"I need to concentrate," Aurora announced, and Hershel nodded wordlessly. But the glimmer of hope on the horizon was the reason he looked up at the Azran sky for the first time since he'd seen the lifeless Luke.
The whole group stared in admiration when it was Aurora's turn to drop to her knees.
"Oh, Light of the Azran, I beg you! Look upon this scene! The people of today are not foolish or selfish beings. They think of others. He thinks of others! They strive for a brighter future. He is a great boy! I cannot even imagine what he might achieve if he only lived!"
***
"I- I'm alive?"
The childish voice tore at Layton's heart for the thousandth time that hour.
He could feel the blood pumping through Luke's wrists and saw the pink returning to his cheeks. Luke sat up and rubbed his eyes as if he had actually woken up from a sleep.
Hershel couldn't believe it - Luke was alive?
"Aurora saved you," the professor spoke softly as he prayed his eyes weren't too red. Everything was fine now, right? "Come on, boy." Layton helped Luke up. "We have to go."
Aurora would disintegrate, but that was the last thought on Layton's mind. For the sanctuary had begun to fall apart, and now it was time to find a way out.
Luke didn't want to say goodbye to his good friend, but Hershel insisted that he hurry. Stone after stone broke from the fortress, and their time was running out. Layton grabbed Luke's hand and ran with him towards the terrace.
"Come on!" said Emmy. Layton squeezed Luke's hand a little tighter. "We have to get out!"
Hershel nodded and dragged the boy completely out of the falling fortress. He wouldn't survive instance of Luke being harmed, and when Luke ran slowly after him, he quickly picked him up in his arms so as not to lose him.
He's really breathing.
Luke could do nothing but bury his little fingers in Layton's orange sweater. The collapsing bricks above them always just missed them, and Layton couldn't catch his breath until he and Luke were standing safely on a floating rock that would slowly but surely lower them to the ground.
The Aszran civilization had perished for good. There were no secrets to be discovered, and Layton was content to let the civilization rest in peace. Leon Bronev, on the other hand, did not seem particularly happy about the course of events, and Hershel felt that this would be good for the man.
Who cared that he was actually his biological father? Or that Descole had turned out to be his brother?
The professor was familiar with this kind of disinterest. He had once lost Claire - the best woman he had ever known. He had loved her, and he had considered himself incredibly lucky that she had reciprocated his feelings. When he had received the news of the failed experiment, he had shouted in Dimitri and Don Paolo's faces before retreating to his apartment for ages. Not even archaeological discoveries had piqued his interest, or any mysteries to be solved. Not when he had just lost the person who had meant the most to him.
The parallels were obvious, and yet Hershel couldn't help but find it ridiculous. Luke was alive! He had to pretend nothing had happened - otherwise he would snap again, and the poor boy didn't deserve to get his comeuppance.
But he deserved thanks.
"Luke," Layton began as the sun began to set. The professor had put his coat on the child after noticing how much Luke was shivering. Of course he was. He must have been terrified.
"Huh?"
"Thank you," Hershel managed to get out. It was an absolutely sick situation - "Thank you for volunteering to die". How stupid did that sound?
Luke wasn't particularly talkative either. He looked at the sunset and didn't dare give the professor a glance. Should he ask how he had felt? Admittedly, Luke had assumed that he wouldn't have to witness how Hershel reacted after his death.
Luke would certainly have been disappointed by Layton's indifference.
He was only his apprentice.
"You're welcome."
***
The rain pattered against the window. In keeping with the mood in Layton's office, the sun had also disappeared after Emmy Altava had bid farewell. Professor Layton sat at his desk as usual, leafing through his diary to note down the last details of their adventure. Even if it pained him, a true archaeologist always kept records of such things.
They hadn't talked about what had happened. Luke had been busy watering flowers all day, and when it had started to rain, he had sat down on the sofa with a book.
Hershel himself also refused to talk about the events. He couldn't believe himself that he had lost it so badly back then. He had certainly ruined his reputation in front of Emmy, his brother and Leon Bronev forever. Luke wasn't to know how impossible the polite, respectful Professor Layton had behaved in the ruins. Layton had promised himself that he would have better control over himself. After all, what good would it do if he was too emotional to act logically and rationally? No, that wasn't true to his personality at all.
Not that he could keep that promise for more than ten minutes.
"It hurt," Luke said after a long silence.
Professor Layton turned to the boy with concern. Luke's book was next to him and the child had his eyes on the ground. "What exactly?"
"Dying," Luke replied. "Like the beam of light is some kind of pointy pillar that rams itself straight into your chest."
Layton got up and sat next to Luke on the sofa. Then he swallowed and sighed. "Why are you even doing this kind of things, Luke?"
Luke shrugged his shoulders. "No one else would have done it in such a short time. There would have been nothing left of London if I hadn't done it. A true gentleman does the best for everbody, even if it hurts himself. Don't you?"
Hershel could curse himself for ever telling Luke about the ideal of a gentleman. "Luke-no, not always." He sighed and took Luke's hands in his. The gesture felt a little silly, but he had to make sure Luke was really sitting next to him. "You're far too young to sacrifice yourself for adults. Especially adults who work for the enemy and rob the world." Hershel let go of Luke's hands and sighed again; a deep, melancholy sigh. "Or adults who can't manage to keep you safe."
It took a moment for Luke to understand the allusion. "But Professor! You-you can't blame yourself for this! I wanted to do it. Really!"
"Willing or not - you were dead, Luke. Do you understand? For the cruelest half hour of my life, I thought about what the hell I was going to tell your parents. They would have despised me, and I wouldn't have held it against them one bit. After all, I would have despised myself too." Hershel shook his head. No, he was only scaring the child more. That wasn't what he wanted to say at all.
"I spent half an hour doing something else," he began, getting up from the sofa. He looked out of the window; watched the London double-decker buses go by. Listened to the conversations of passers-by.
"What is it, Professor?" came Luke's voice.
On the one hand, he was embarrassed to no end. But on the other hand...
Professor Layton smiled to himself. If he could make it clear now how much Luke actually meant to him, then so be it. Even if it was in this way.
Hershel turned to Luke, and the boy was surprised to find a grin on his mentor's face. "Cried like a toddler."
Luke's eyes widened. "What, for... for me?"
Layton nodded.
It made Luke a little uncomfortable, but not in a bad way. Could it really be that the professor saw him the same way he saw him? As family? "But... come on, Professor. I'm your apprentice, that's all I am. Why..."
"No, no, Luke," Layton corrected, "Yes, you're my apprentice. But first and foremost, you're my friend." Hershel knelt down to squeeze Luke's shoulders. "A very important friend. Without you, we would never have made the expedition. And as much as I hate to say it, the world would be in ruins without you. You're irreplaceable, brave, clever and have a heart of pure gold, Luke. Without you, I would have lost sight of life the way I always sit in the office. You...you gave me a purpose. I want to teach you, make you proud - and take care of you. As long as you let me."
Luke's big eyes were suddenly a pool of tears as well. He knew that if it had happened to the professor, he would have been just as upset.
It was nice to receive confirmation that he also meant a lot to the man and wasn't just clingy or something.
Luke threw his arms around the professor, and Hershel returned the embrace faster than ever before. It didn't take long for the professor to feel his sweater getting damp, but at that moment he didn't care about anything but Luke. He lifted the boy up so that he could hold him properly and Luke buried his face in Hershel's shoulder.
Layton closed his eyes and lived in the moment.
Tomorrow they would solve mysteries again. Drink tea. Hershel would have to correct some essays while Luke put together a puzzle on the floor or wiped off dust.
But now they allowed themselves to lean against each other.
And Hershel swore to himself - he would never lose sight of this boy again.
Never.