The five pressed on through the basement until they found a door which led to what looked to be a huge room. There was some talking inside.
"Katia, you know the basement right? How many rooms are there?"
"This is...the main room. They should be in here. If not...then they should be in the....next room."
Luke perched against one side of the door whilst Dimitri perched against the other. He ordered Clive to give him a flash bomb to throw inside. Clive held Katia at the back and Flora was in front of him.
"We only have two left." Clive mentioned.
"Don't worry, I've still got plenty." Dimitri said casually.
Clive handed Luke the flash bomb and he pulled the pin. He then threw it into the next room and it went off, blinding some people inside.
"NOW!" Luke yelled ordering Dimitri.
Luke and Dimitri kicked the door and burst inside. They tackled as many thugs as they could before the effects of the flash bomb wore off. The recovered thugs grabbed their weapons and were about to attack them when Dimitri set off one of his devices which used compressed high air pressure and launched them into some shelves which fell on them and knocked them unconscious. They found an old man and three scientists in the corner of the room all tied up.
"HORRACE!" Dimitri called before rushing to aid his team.
Luke noticed the old man and recognised who he was.
"ANTON!" Luke rushed over to free Anton.
"Anton. Are you okay?"
"Luke? What....what happened?"
"Those men kidnapped you. Did you not realise?"
"No. I was...unconscious when they took me. They burst into the castle and knocked me out and took my...granddaughter to one of the rooms in the castle and kept her there."
Anton started panicking.
"Luke. Do you know where Katia is?"
"Yeah, it's okay. She's with us." Luke pointed towards Clive who was still holding Katia around her shoulder.
"Oh thank goodness. I was afraid I'd never see her again."
Katia came back to her senses slightly and noticed her grandfather.
"Grandfather?"
Anton looked towards her. Clive let her go as she limped her way towards Anton and eventually ran. They hugged each other hard.
"Grandfather!" Katia cried.
"I'm glad you're safe, my dear granddaughter."
Luke allowed them a moment to hug and walked over to Dimitri and his team.
"They asked....what do you know about machines before I said we were experts at them. Then they grabbed us and took us prisoner. Said something like....this'll please the boss."
"No don't blame yourself Horrace. It's not your fault. You never knew." Dimitri looked up. "It's my fault for making you go on this expedition here. I'm the one to blame."
"No. We are to blame for being so careless. I'm sorry Dimitri, but they also know you know how to use machines."
"Great. Now they'll be coming for me."
And coming for him is exactly what they did. Someone apprehended Dimitri from behind without anyone spotting them entering and held him at gun point. The person was...someone familiar.
"Surrender now. And, you'll all be allowed to live."
Luke started them down and clenched his fists. Flora hid behind Luke and Clive had a look of concern on his face whilst he also stared the person down. Katia and Anton kept each other close. The scientists hid behind an up-turned table.
"I should've known you were a Master Scientist and Machine Expert, Dimitri. You even tried to make a time machine. No ordinary person can do that."
Someone else snuck up behind the cloaked figure. They took the gun off them.
"I wouldn't get all cocky if I were you. Let him go and show your hands."
The cloaked person let Dimitri go and put his hands up.
"Emmeline Altava. Surely you wouldn't shoot your uncle Leon would you?"
"What!?" shrieked Luke, Emmy, Dimitri and Clive.
The cloaked person revealed himself to be none other than Leon Bronev. The same person who Emmy worked for in the past.
"Uncle Leon? Why are you still with Targent? Didn't you leave?" Emmy lowered the gun.
"I was forced to rejoin. Otherwise they would've tracked you down and killed you." Bronev turned towards Emmy. "You see? I did this for you. So that you could live. I was also forced to do their dirty work too. Which meant...killing people. But I didn't do that. I let the lower ranked thugs do that. Because I'm not that type of person." He looked towards Luke. "Not anymore."
"Wait, so you're not the leader of Targent then?" Luke asked.
"No. I used to be but not anymore. The new, and current, leader of Targent is a man named Cyrus. Even though I'm a higher ranked General than most thugs, I've never seen his face. But I know he wears a red jacket with a greenish shirt inside as well as brown-orange pants." Bronev walked over to Emmy and begged. "Please Emmeline! Stop him. For me. I don't want to work as a Targent General anymore. But he won't let me leave. You need to stop him and quickly. He plans to unleash his plan to the public in London in a couple of days time. You need to be quick. He should already be in London."
"And how can we trust you Bronev? You tricked us last time." Luke jeered.
"I know how you feel boy. Your Professor is missing I know. I was his...biological father. Until he and his brother both got adopted by separate families. Targent took me in for all my research I did and my wife. Left them as orphans."
"What?" Luke, Flora and Clive could not believe what they were hearing. "If he's your son, then why is his name different to yours?"
"Are you really that daft boy? It's the name his adopted parents wanted him to have. And also...his brother gave him that name. His brother was called Hershel but decided to give it to him. Layton's real name is Theodore Bronev and his brother is Hershel Bronev."
"Who....who is the Professor's brother? Are they still around today? Flora asked slightly excited.
"His brother goes by the name Desmond Sycamore. Better yet, Jean Descole. As for whether he's still around, I'm not entirely sure. I haven't seen him for years. Alright enough questions. Now go to London! Quickly."
"Descole? That man? Really?" Luke was lost in his thoughts but quickly came back to his senses when Clive tapped him on his shoulder. "Right! What about you?"
"I intend to stay in Folsense a bit longer. I need to order Targent to get out of here and hopefully away from London and also find out what else they'reup to. Now go. And save London from certain destruction."
Luke, Flora, Emmy, Clive, Dimitri, Katia, Anton and Dimitri's Expedition team ran out of the castle towards the Folsense train station.
"Are we really taking everyone with us?" Clive questioned Luke.
"Yes. It's for their own safety. We can't leave them here. Not with Targent still lurking around. We can head back to Dropstone and leave Anton and Katia there."
"Yes. Leave us there. My granddaughter was meant to go back recently and I wanted to pay a visit to her other grandfather."
"Well then, there you have it." Dimitri chuckled. "Now, let's head for that train station."
The group ran as fast as they could to the train station to meet with Sammy who had fallen asleep on a chair outside the train. He woke up when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
"What? Wha-wha-what? Who goes there?" Sammy asked looking around as if he heard something but nothing was there.
"Sammy! It's us!" Luke called. "Get the train started! We need to head back to London. But first, Dropstone again."
Flora all of a sudden no longer shuddered at the sound of Dropstone.
"Oh it's you. I thought it would've been someone else. Like those scientists that came through before."
"Where are they?" Dimitri asked with concern.
"They're in the train and said 'wait for the boss first before we go.' I'm guessing he meant you big man?"
"Yes, they did. Now let's get going."
They all got on the train and back into the VIP Carriage towards Dropstone.
"Woah. These lot don't have a ticket I'm afraid." Sammy pointed out whilst looking at Horrace and his crew. "Neither do these lot but they're practically family." Sammy looked at Anton and Katia. "How you doing Unko? And my niece, Katia."
"We're okay. Just...trying to recover from what happened back there."
"Woah woah woah, they can get a free ride but not my crew?" Dimitri asked slightly angry.
"I'm kidding! They can all jump on! We can't leave them here in this destroyed town anyway." Sammy looked back towards Katia and Anton. "It sounds like you've been through a lot back there. I won't keep bothering you but please enjoy your stay."
"Thank you, my nephew."
"Awww shucks. No worries Unko." Sammy blushed. "Alright now strap in we're headed back to...DRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPSTOOOOOOONNNNNNNNEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!"
Sammy walked out of the cart and towards the front of the train whilst everyone else packed themselves into the one room in the Carriage. The train started to move but this time, even quicker than last time.
"Wait, we can use the next room too I'm sure. Wasn't that Bronev's room?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, you are right Luke." Emmy started. "We can use that room too to sit in if you want."
Katia, Anton and Dimitri's Expedition Team went into Bronev's room and stayed there for the rest of the ride back to Dropstone. Luke back in the other room started formulating a plan.
"Alright, so we know the name of the Targent leader is Cyrus. We know what he wears, but we don't know what he looks like." Luke stood there, thinking to himself. "If we can find someone who matches the clothing description, we should be able to track him down easily."
"Agreed. But Cyrus is a ruthless man. He will not stop at anything until he gets his way. He's headed to London now to unleash his plan and we need to stop him." Emmy continued.
"What was his plan again?" Clive asked.
"His plan is to cleanse the whole of London, and eventually the world, and turn it into a 'paradise'. When I say cleanse, I mean he wants to get rid of all the evil that exists, such as criminals and corrupt police officers and..."
"Bill Hawks too." Spoke Dimitri, cutting Emmy off. "He's what you could call a corrupt Politician. But I'm not sure if he knows that just yet."
"How horrible!" Flora shrieked.
"Indeed. But getting rid of criminals and corrupt police isn't his only aim. He plans to try and take us out too. I'm sure he's received many reports about us by now. He's not going to stop until he makes sure we do not interfere with his plan." Dimitri continued.
"We have to make sure we stay close to each other, and protect one another. We cannot afford to lose anyone here." Emmy looked towards the window. "Not today. Not ever."
"So what's the plan then?" Luke asked.
"The plan is simple. We have a couple of days like that man said until he actually unleashes his plan. So, we do a bit of undercover spying on Targent. Find out as much as we can about their plan." Dimitri looked at Flora and Clive. "Flora, you and Clive will be the two going undercover. You'll be trying to find their main base of operations and gather as much intel as you can on them.
"M-Me? But I-I-I can't go undercover! I'll be given away very easily. And going undercover is not a nice thing to do."
"I'm sorry Flora. But you see, Targent doesn't expect you or Clive. They are expecting us three to show up." Dimitri pointed at Luke and Emmy with his thumb. "And you two are the only ones who can help us gather this intel."
"I can't. I'll be given away easily."
Luke approached Flora in an attempt to calm her down and comfort her.
"It's okay. No one's going to catch you. Not while you also have Clive around. All you have to do is listen and blend in. Clive will be the one doing all the distracting. Besides, your ears are probably better than Clive's anyway."
"HEY!"
Dimitri guffawed whilst Flora giggled slightly.
"I can do a lot of listening! How do you think I found out about the Family's plans 7 years ago in Future London?"
"That wasn't real and you know it." Luke responded with a mocking face.
Clive looked annoyed.
"I guess." He looked down on the floor for a moment before looking back up. "I have a feeling I might know where their base of operations is at."
"And where's that?" Dimitri asked.
"The Gilded 7 Casino. Near Chinatown. Only a few roads away." Clive responded. "That's where they like to gather."
"The Gilded 7 Casino?" Luke was lost in thought for a moment before he remembered something. "Oh right! That's the Casino the Family liked to hang out in Future London!"
"Yes. It was built by me. Both of them. However, Targent don't know that yet and it's probably for the best. Even if they did know me, I could probably still try and blend in."
Luke was surprised. The amount of money Clive had and he could spend it like it was nothing.
"Then it's settled. We know where their main base of operations is at. And Clive, how did you know they'd be there?"
"Oh well, you see, when I made it, there was something I added inside that a lot of criminal organisations such as Targent really wanted. And yes, because they were also a military group, this thing was even better to them as it was easier to take control of."
"And what was this thing?" Dimitri asked staring at Clive with concern.
"It was something that could help them with their plan. A weapon of some sorts. Though I didn't know at this time and now I can't exactly take it off them which is why we have to stop them."
"You fool! Don't you realise what you've done? If what you say is true, then you've doomed us all! We have to stop them NOW!"
Luke and Emmy both agreed to Dimitri. Flora got up from the couch and approached Luke.
"Luke....can we speak...somewhere?"
Luke looked at Flora who looked as if she was going to cry and accepted her request.
"Sure. Let's go to the deck out back."
Flora smiled slightly. The two walked through the train and to the back deck where they waited for their food from the Molentary Cuisine last time. Luke opened the door to the deck and let Flora go first before he followed behind and closed the door behind them.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
Flora didn't say anything for a brief moment before she sighed.
"I....I....I don't want to do this."
"Do what?"
"Going undercover. It's not right and I might get caught. And I don't want to be a damsel in distress. Not again anyway." She walked towards Luke and held his hands. "I want to be able to help everyone and not be...be..."
"A burden?"
Flora looked towards the floor and started crying.
"Yes. You were right. I am a burden. I'm useless. I can't do anything to help save my friends or those close to me. Which is why...I don't want to risk getting caught with Clive!" She put herself in Luke's arms and started crying on his shoulder. Emmy walked through the door onto the deck behind Luke.
"So this is the deck? What a magnificent view!" Emmy took in the view and inhaled the air.
"Emmy. What are you doing here?" Luke looked back to notice her.
Emmy realised she had walked in on something that was not meant to. She noticed Flora crying on Luke's shoulder still.
"Oh I figured I'd come check on you both. Flora looked concerned with something so I thought it would be good to. What happened?"
"She doesn't want to go undercover and infiltrate the Casino." Luke sighed. "But there's no one else that can I'm afraid. We've all revealed our skills to Targent themselves but not you and Clive."
"But...I feel like I will get caught!"
Emmy approached Flora in order to comfort her. Luke took her off his shoulder so they could look at each other in the eyes.
"Look, Flora. You want be useful yes?"
"Yes. But not like this!"
"This is the only way I'm afraid. If you can infiltrate the Casino with Clive and gather the intel we need, you would've done more than enough to prove you are useful and a reliable person. If you're afraid you'll get caught, Clive agreed to take all the blame and do whatever he can to make sure you don't get caught. He will literally cause a ruckus inside his own Casino if it means protecting you."
Flora smiled slightly before hugging Emmy. Emmy hugged her back.
"But if that doesn't work...then I will get caught."
"No Flora. Don't worry. You will not be going in looking like your usual self. You'll be wearing a disguise that no one can see through but doesn't make you suspicious. Clive will be the one to look suspicious so if he gets caught, all the blame goes to him."
Flora thought for a moment.
"If that's true, then I don't want Clive to get caught or hurt. I want everyone to be safe and there be no fighting."
Luke approached Flora.
"I'm sorry Flora, but that won't always happen I'm afraid. I understand you very well and know you want world peace but with Targent lurking around, that's not going to happen anytime soon. If we can stop their plan with your help, then maybe there will be peace here in London again."
Flora hugged both Luke and Emmy.
"Alright then, I'll do it! For you Luke." Flora stopped hugging them and wiped the tears away from her face.
"Thank you Flora! You'll be perfectly fine in there."
"It seems we're near Dropstone now."
Flora held Luke's hand and they walked back into the train together. Emmy remained outside and observed her surroundings and noticed a giant smoke pillar coming from Dropstone itself. Then, as the train got closer she noticed some buildings were destroyed. The train came to a sudden stop just like that and it sent many people falling on the the ground, Emmy included. She got back to her feet and gasped as she saw the smoke emanating from the centre of the village.
"Oh no!"
Emmy ran back inside the train to find Luke and everyone else. She found Luke and Flora who had just helped each other back up to the ground all confused.
"LUKE!!!" Emmy screamed for him. "Targent are in Dropstone!"
Luke turned back to notice Emmy rushing at him and heard her words. He then looked out the window to hear that what Emmy said was true.
"No! That cannot be!"
Dimitri and everyone else ran out of their rooms.
"What on Earth is going on out there?!" Dimitri yelled.
"It's Targent. They're trying to take over Dropstone now!" Emmy shouted.
"But how did they get here so quickly?" Clive asked.
"This isn't the squad from Folsense. This is the squad from London." Luke looked back towards Dimitri and everyone else. "We have to stop them and find the Mayor! Katia's father."
"Father! Please be safe." Katia said.
Everyone ran out of the train and towards the centre of Dropstone.
"This place is a mess!" Dimitri mentioned whilst holding on to his hat in the winds.
Flora saw a man dressed up like the Professor running around the edge of the village
"Professor?" She ran towards them to see it it was him or not.
"No Flora!" Clive chased after her and pulled her back. "It's too dangerous!"
"But...but the Professor is here! He was right there running around!" Flora pointed towards a partially destroyed house where she saw the Professor.
"That can't be him. You said he was in America didn't you? He can't have come back already."
"But if there's a chance it's him, I must know!" Flora broke herself free from Clive's grip and ran towards where she saw the Professor.
"No, FLORA!!!"
Clive tried to chase after her before Luke and everyone else were staring at the very man who Flora had seen. The man stayed quiet.
"Who are you? You're not the Professor!" Luke stated.
The man smirked before he disappeared in smoke towards the Mayor's house. Luke and everyone else tried to catch up to him but were met with Targent thugs who surrounded them. Knowing very well they couldn't do anything, they surrendered. Clive saw this and tried to drag Flora to help.
"Flora, please listen to me. The man you saw is not the Professor! It is someone who is pretending to be him. Impersonating, if you must. Right now we need to head back. Luke and the others are in danger."
"But I want to find him! Let me goooooooooooo!!!"
Clive held her back some more. "Listen Flora! That's not the Professor! Snap out of it! Luke and the others are in trouble. We need to help them!"
Flora stopped trying to run off and indefinitely gave in to Clive's words.
"Where...where are they?"
"The center of the village. I know you don't want to fight them, but if you can at least throw this by them, they'll do the rest." Clive handed Flora one of his last two flash bombs.
"I can't...I can't throw these."
"Yes you can. Just believe in yourself Flora. You wanted to help your friends didn't you? Well now's the chance. Throw it, now!"
Flora threw the flash bomb and it hit Luke off his head and landed in the middle of Luke and the others and the Targent thugs. Luke and Dimitri instantly recognised what it was and looked away, covering the eyes of Katia, Anton, the scientists and Emmy. The flash bomb went off, blinding many of the thugs and also some of the scientists as they didn't cover their eyes properly. Luke, Dimitri and Emmy saw the opportunity and fought the thugs. Emmy went for the ones who weren't blinded first whilst Luke and Dimitri went for the blinded ones.
"Nice shot Flora! See, I knew you could do it!"
"But I hit Luke on the head. I hope he's okay."
"Relax. He'll be fine. He's been through much worse I'm sure. Now let's go help them." Clive and Flora rushed in to help Luke, Dimitri and Emmy. Flora stood back and watched whilst Clive helped beat up the thugs. For a bit of time, nothing happened. No thugs came after them, no screams were heard and no destruction and violence was seen from Targent anywhere. A crowd had gathered around Luke and the Mayor came and saw his daughter.
"Katia?" They ran towards each other and hugged. "I'm so glad you're safe my daughter. Thank goodness! If anything ever happens to you, I would never forgive myself."
"I'm glad you're okay too. I brought my grandfather as well."
Anton said hello to Mister Anderson.
"Hello, Anton. How have you been?"
The two of them continued to make conversation whilst Luke managed to crack the mystery of what Targent really wanted in all the towns they've been to.
"It sure is strange. Why would Targent only want those who know how to use machines? Are they planning something for them?"
"It's simple really, Luke. We know the leader is a man named Cyrus. And he intends to 'cleanse' London from all the evil that resides within it. For that, he needs someone who has spent most of their life with machines for coordinates and to be able to operate them too. But, if he really is a mastermind, wouldn't he know how to use machines himself?" Dimitri continued.
"Yes. I had a similar thought too. Like, how smart does he have to be to operate one? But anyway, we know why he's here. He's looking for one man, possibly two or three. And I believe that man he's looking for is Bill Hawks."
"But why here?" Clive asked. "Shouldn't he go to London for that?"
"Yes, he should've but Bill Hawks hasn't been in his office for quite some time. He though if he could go to every town or village in the UK, he'd be able to find Bill Hawks. It seems he hasn't had any luck in doing so."
"So, who is the mastermind behind all this then Luke?" Dimitri asked with concern.
"Even though we know who the leader is for a fact, I believe the mastermind behind all the events we've witnessed so far, the attacks in London, the attempted murders and take overs in Folsense as well as its destruction, and even the destruction and commotion here. One man, who is currently in this village, is behind it all. And that person is you!" Luke pointed at the man who looked like the Professor and everyone gasped.
"What? No it can't be the Professor, Luke!" Flora cried.
"I believe there's some mistake here, boy. Surely I couldn't have been the one behind all this could I?" The man asked.
"And that's where your wrong mysterious man. Or, should I call you Cyrus!?" Everyone was shocked to hear what was just said to them. "You are the one behind everything. The kidnapping, the violence, attempted murders and even destruction of villages and towns! Your game is up Cyrus. It's over! You have no where to go."
"Do you honestly believe that?" Cyrus smirked. "Very well then. Let us put an end to this whole charade right here." Cyrus grabbed his top hat and coat and threw them off, revealing his matching description clothes and messy, blonde hair.
"I knew it!"
"Knew what boy? That I was the one ordering Targent to do everything for me? Someone must've tipped you off. I bet it was that Bronev. When I find him, he's as good as dead! And as for you, you'll all witness the destruction of your precious London soon. Don't you worry." Cyrus laughed evilly. "I'm almost days away from perfecting my plan. And when I do, you'll all be the first to die!" Suddenly, Flora caught Cyrus' eye. "Hmmm, say girl, with the pigtail and ribbon, you look...awfully familiar some way." Flora looked surprised and looked at Cyrus all scared. Luke, Dimitri and Emmy jumped in front of Flora and stared at Cyrus, growling slightly. Clive stood next to Flora to protect her. "Do you know of a place called St. Mystere? I heard it is a very fascinating place under control by robots. And, that there's a secret stash of gold buried somewhere in the village." Cyrus laughed menacingly.
"You wouldn't dare!" Luke threatened.
"Oh really? Well then, how about I head there now, huh boy? Will you be quick enough to stop me? Or will you fail to protect everyone just like here and in Folsense?"
Luke clenched his fists and growled louder.
"Until next time then. I've got another village to raid!" Cyrus laughed menacingly as he threw a smoke bomb and disappeared within it along side other Targent thugs. Many of which stayed back and tried to fight Luke and the others. Emmy delt with them by herself. Luke tried to chase Cyrus down but lost him. Everyone in the village started to run around and panic due to the destruction of London and that meant places near to it too.
"Luke!?" Dimitri called for him.
"Dimitri! Everyone! We need to head back to London! We need to go to Gressenheller, the Professor's University! I need to get something from his office."
"And what is that exactly?" Clive asked looking around watching people panic.
"The directions to St. Mystere. The Village is not marked on any map and the Professor is the only one who knew where it was!"
"Luke! He's going to my hometown! We need to stop him! He'll destroy all the villagers and kill Bruno!" Flora started to wail.
"I'm working on it Flora!" Luke looked at Dimitri. "Dimitri, are there any quicker ways to London from here faster than the train?"
"I suppose now would be a good time to use another device I managed to make. It's a car that can shrink and grow so you can grab it and move it easily."
"You had that the entire time?"
"Yes, but it won't last long. It can get us to London but not to this St. Mystere place. We'll need another vehicle for that."
"That's good enough for me! We still have your car I'm sure."
"Yes we do. I can grab it then with Clive whilst you're at Gressenheller if you want. Or Clive can grab it, we'll drive by the house and he gets the car and follows us."
"Either way but we have to be quick! Cyrus will not stop." We have to move now!"
"Got it." Dimitri threw his small car and it grew to the size of a normal one. "Alright, get in."
"Katia, Anton, you'll be safe here!" Luke said.
"Thank you boy. We'll see you again soon I'm sure."
"Dimitri what about the scientists? We can't exactly take them with us and you know it."
Dimitri groaned before he said something.
"We'll leave them here too. Don't worry Horrace, I'll come back for you lot! Just stay hidden!"
"Right!"
The rest of them all got in the car with Flora still crying on Luke's shoulder about her hometown being destroyed by Cyrus. Emmy managed to stop the thugs and also hop in the car
"Luke...we need to hurry! They'll kill Bruno!!!"
"I'm well aware of that Flora. We're trying to go as fast as we can."
"Luke, I think we need an explanation. Now. What is this St. Mystere place? And what's up with it that has Flora crying?"
Luke sighed, knowing he'd have to reveal the secret of St. Mystere sooner or later.
"I'm sorry Flora, but I have to break that promise of not talking about your hometown. I hope you can forgive me as this is an ungentlemanly thing of me to do." Luke patted Flora on the head and started to speak. "Alright. I'll tell you everything. Regarding St. Mystere. And Flora. Have you heard about the Reinhold family?"
"Yes. They're like the second or third richest family in the UK."
"Yes. Well, it just so turns out that Flora is a Reinhold."
"WHAT? You never told us that!"
"Because me and the Professor promised her we'd keep it a secret. No one else knew of the village's existence other than us and Don Paolo. So the real question is, how did Cyrus find out? And why now?"
Clive was frozen in place due to what he heard. The girl he kidnapped 7 years ago and nearly killed was a Reinhold?