The sound of a gavel knocking three times rings out followed by murmuring until a big spotlight comes down from above. It shines on Emery Layton- terrified, disorientated, sat in a massive chair with her legs dangling over the side. Gavel-gavel-gavel three more times and suddenly everyone is quiet. A booming-yet-shrill Irish-flavored voice seemingly comes from all sides, yet we cannot see it's owner.
"Order! Emery Layton, answer to you crimes! You are charged with losing the Trench War Championship after 404 days and then being unable to retrieve it- how do you plead?"
EMERY LAYTON:
Uh, well...I mean I tried getting it back, it was just Kimitsu Zombie was--
"We do not speak of her name in this court! Are you trying to blame her for your crimes?"
EMERY LAYTON:
Well...I mean I tried. I had an off night- an off couple of nights, even. Times have been hard, man. Ever since Dolan Farson came on the scene with Rogan McLean in his mask, everything's been down-hill from there! I won the King Cobra title, I beat every person in that tournament, but it wasn't enough! Now Rogan ain't even champ, even after taking it off me. It belong to Ki...someone else!"
"Exactly. You lost it for NOTHING! We're all very disappointed in you."
EMERY LAYTON:
Yeah...yeah, maybe I did. But the worst part? What if Axel was right? What if I ain't as good as I thought and I DID need someone to interfere in my matches? What if...what if I just keep getting lucky? Like, maybe I spent a year getting lucky, everybody just had off-nights...
Em stops. She looks down...but shakes her head. No. She can't be.
EMERY LAYTON:
But y'know what? Gimme time and I could win it all back. Know why? Cos I'm Emery Layton and I can't be stopped by nobody!
Emery looks fairly confident, standing up out of her chair (well, dropping down off it) and placing both hands on her hips. There is silence. But then, slowly...
One person snickers. Then another. And another. Soon, Emery Layton is being laughed at by an entire room of people she cannot see, all with identical voices.
"That-- haha-- oh Emery...always with the jokes. It's why they like you. It's the only reason anyone likes you, y'know. But enough silliness now, what do we think, esteemed members of the jury?"
The jury reveal themselves as Em watches a big spotlight descend on the group. They are all shouting, screaming, decrying her as much as they can. They are also ALL Emery Layton. One of them throws at wet fish at her, which slaps her right across the face.
"Right then, think that's a good enough verdict for me! Your funny business has only gotten us so far- to hell with you!"
From the left side a hand removes Em's beanie hat, from the right a hand puts a red nose on her and then the hand from the left returns to shove a court jester's hat on her before the ground beneath Emery Layton disappears completely, the Worst of the Pavees tumbling through a seemlingly endless abyss. Emery has no idea where she is, what's going on or where she's going. She's in limbo, a literal space of constant blue. It gets darker and darker. Lightning strikes and thunder rumbles around her. She's falling through the storm until-
THUMP!
Looking up, Emery is surrounded by nothing but water as she sits in a tiny boat. Behind her, a figure in a Trident hat and a long jacket empties out the water using a bucket. Em turns, only to see it's Pirate Emery! The Swashbuckling alter-ego of Emery Layton isn't pleased to see her at all, reaching for and pointing her sword at Em's throat.
PIRATE EMERY:
YOU! You did this! This storm's all on you, y'know! Lost my ship, lost my gold, now I ain't got nothing but me, all cos of YOU! Our days of Plundering are as good as gone!
EMERY LAYTON:
Oh God. Listen, you gotta help me get outta here- I think I know howta fix all of this, and it start with us beating Alex Kincaid!
PIRATE EMERY:
Oh don't be daft, Em, it's over! Look at us, we're stranded!
EMERY LAYTON:
Nononono, I think I got a plan. Well I say a plan, I mean it's more of a thing than a plan; see, here's the deal, here's what we're gonna do--
PIRATE EMERY:
It's too late! They're already here!
Crawling over the side of the boat, literally clawing at the sides are nightmarish, sea-creature versions of the likes of Kimitsu Zombie, Rogan McLean, Minka Carter, Saint Saito, anyone who ever had a problem with Emery. Demon-Kimitsu grabs the leg of Pirate Emery and pulls her over-board, into the angry, endless sea. She's gone. Only her hat floats on the water now. Our Emery has no one to save her as Demon-McLean pounces onto the boat and tackles her over the side. She closes her eyes tightly. As tightly as she has ever closed them. She wants it to be over. The Devil-May-Care attitude, the sass, the tough exterior and the jokes, they're all gone.
Emery Layton is afraid.
Emery Layton is alone.
"Wake up. Today's the day."
A snap and suddenly Emery's eyes open, to silence.
It's not like before- there's no spotlight on her at all and she's not caught up in a storm. Rather, she's on a bed. In the tiny room she's occupying, the door creaks open as a large, lumbering presence leaves her. There are dirty clothes all over the floor. The bed has no duvet cover. Em sits up, looking forward, her eyes grow massive like plates as she looks straight in the mirror. She shakes her head and tears begin to fall from her eyes as she puts her head in her hands. A wedding dress hangs on the door, watching fifteen year-old Emery Layton- mortified by what she sees in her reflection.
As she steps out of the room, she sees no one...until she looks to her right. Sat on a beat-up old sofa, like a lazy slug, is an older woman with dead, yellowing eyes. She's knitting. She looks up at Emery for a few seconds, a despondent glare, and then goes back to her knitting. Em shakes her head.
EMERY LAYTON:
No. Not here. Not you...
Em looks to her left- there is a door. Emery has never run so fast in her life as she practically shoulder tackles the door open and falls out of the lone caravan. It's nothing but dust and ash and a white, passionless sky. Em picks herself up, as she confronts the world above.
EMERY LAYTON:
I get it. And what I get is that you're wrong! Hear me? Cos you think I lost for nothing, but I didn't. Yeah sure, I went through a rough patch this last month or so. But lemme tell ya...it ain't over yet. Alex Kincaid just had one of the best matches in Union history with a dude who's one of the best in the world and he beat him. He'll wanna keep that hot streak going. Y'know what that makes him? An obstacle, and I have made a have made a living outta overcoming obstacles! I didn't lose all those matches for nothing...I lost cos there's something else out there for me. I lost cos I got something else I gotta go do.
She stops for a moment, catching her breath.
EMERY LAYTON:
404 Days. It's time to move on. I ain't on trial, I ain't stranded and I definitely ain't going back to who I used to be. It ain't over for me. I'm still standing, I'm still breathing. Alex Kincaid is gonna walk in there, see how I been doing and he's gonna call it easy, but it won't be. Cos I got something to fight for now. Let him be a Bullet King, I'm a fucking Landmine! I know I can do more. I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!
*****************
Poke.
Poke.
Two Pueto Rican children prod at Emery with a big stick, lying in the trash outside a bar, an open bottle of rum having poured down her shirt.
FIRST CHILD:
Is she dead?
EMERY LAYTON:
I can do this...I can do...yeah, I love pizza...
SECOND CHILD:
No. Just drunk. My Dad said she fell asleep at the bar last night. Carried her out here.
One last time poke and Em stirs, lunging forward. The two children run. Em looks around. Back in reality.
EMERY LAYTON:
Mmm...how'd I...?
Em stretches as she wakes up. Turning her pounding head, she notices something glistening in the morning sun. She must have brought it with her last night.
