Notes – So a while ago, Moonstar102 and myself went on a nostalgia kick and decided to watch this kids' game show that used to air in the UK during the late eighties and early nineties called "Knightmare". The premise of the show is that you get a group of kids and one of them is blindfolded, while being made to walk through a fantasy world, and the other kids have to direct them, solving puzzles to stop them from being killed. There is also a host who seems to slightly guide them, but at least to start with kind of trolls them more than anything else when they get stuff wrong. The show changes a lot over its run, but that's the bare-bone basics of it. While we were watching this show we were talking about how easily it would be to make an evil!Layton AU based on the idea and I promised to write a fic based on that. This is that fic; I do get things done in the end. Though actually this might only make sense to Gemma, but I'm posting it on the off-chance that there are fans of the evil!Layton AU who might like it too.
It is foolish to stop running.
You don't try any tactics, you don't dart into some side-street to try to lose him so you can stop and take a break. Because he's so much better at tactics than you, as much as you're loathe admitting to that. So you just keep running until your sides ache and you can't go on anymore.
Clive knew that and he assumed the other two did as well, but that had been something very wrong to assume. He cursed himself, since when it came down to it he was the only adult between them, but there had been no time to give out instructions, just to run himself and hope that the others ran too.
He'd had to stop in the end though, clutching at his side and breathing heavily. Thankfully, he wasn't alone. The equally exhausted panting from just behind him caused him to look up and see that Crow had made it with him. Clive didn't know a lot about Crow, he knew that Crow had been a friend of Luke's from Misthallery and that they were both working to meet the same goal, but that was all he really knew about him.
Seeing that the boy had made it here as well sent a wave of relief through Clive, that was quickly drowned out by the sharp realisation that the third member of their party was not with them.
Oh god. Not Luke.
"Such a pity isn't it?" purred a deceptively pleasant voice. Clive whirled around to see that Hershel Layton was stood already in front of them, regarding the two of them from behind his monocle. Of course he was. That man was always several steps ahead of everyone. Layton went on, "Luke had trusted you both to look after him and yet you flee, abandoning him at the first sight of danger."
"What have you done with him!" Crow snapped, before Clive could get a word in.
"How very assuming of you to accuse me, Crow. If it wasn't what I expect of you then I'd be hurt by that," Layton sighed, "But please, be a well-mannered young boy and let me discuss this matter with an adult."
"You've got some nerve! You never used to be so-"
Clive put a hand on Crow's shoulder.
"It might be best to humour him, if Luke is at risk," he said, in what he hoped was a soothing tone. To Layton, he added, "But Crow did ask exactly what I would have done - tell us what you've done with Luke."
"My apprentice is back at home, where he belongs," Layton answered indifferently.
Through gritted teeth, Clive commented, "So you've kidnapped him?"
"What a vile word. I cannot help that you took him from me in the first place and implanted lies into his head about how I'm bad for London's situation, can I?" enquired Layton.
There was no point in arguing with him over this, as Clive knew that their Prime Minister could twist even the most blatant truths around using his well-trained deceptions.
"How do we get him back?" Clive asked instead.
"Always straight to business with you, Clive. I quite admire that quality, even if it is within a terrorist. Very well, assuming that I was to allow you to take Luke away from me once more, there is one way in which I might be persuaded to let you have him back," Layton informed, looking over at the two of them.
"You don't need to pause, I know you're going to go on anyway," growled Clive.
Though the comment momentarily threw him, Clive was right and Layton did indeed go on; "Very well, if you're certain. I have indeed decided to be fairer on your rebels than most would be. Because while stood in my Pagoda, musing how to bring peace back to the good city of London from the threat you propose, I came to a realisation. Our battles are always very indirect. We tackle one another using puzzles and other methods to tease the brain and deter progress without actually making very much of that progress ourselves. Which brings me to the conclusion that you cannot handle direct confrontation."
"I'll show you direct confrontation!" snapped Crow, and Clive had to tighten the grip on his shoulder to stop him marching towards the enemy. That would have been an unwise move indeed.
"By all mean, if you'd like to do so then I'm waiting," offered Layton, outstretching his arms.
"What makes you think that you're any better at it than us?" Crow demanded, thankfully having the sense to not take him up on that offer.
"Because I just did try to deal with you directly, young man, and the result was that the two of you ended up scrambling away like frightened rabbits, while I made off with the prize and still had time spare to get ahead of you," answered Layton.
He was right, Clive had to admit that. If he did plan to go for the rebellion leaders as directly as he was dealing with the three of them, instead of toying with them using complicated puzzles, then it was unlikely they'd stand a chance.
"So what now?" said Clive, looking up at him.
"Now, I give you a chance that you do not deserve. Because I am a sporting man and feel that it's unfair to take you down so easily just because my intellect worked out the nature of the problem before yours did," answered Layton.
"You're toying with us, then," Clive summarised.
"That depends on whether you want to play my little game, Clive," Layton replied.
"Sure, I'll bite. If it means getting Luke back," said Clive, "Just tell me what to do."
"Very well. You'll be pleased to know that I have been considerate in regards to your preference for indirect assaults on my government using your trickery," Layton began, "In the same manner of which I am always just as frilled to provide a good puzzle as I am to receive one myself. So that shall be the nature of our game. Please, walk with me if you will."
The two boys hesitated and exchanged glances as Layton began to retreat into another street. This was definitely a trap that they shouldn't fall into. But it was also the only chance they had at helping Luke. Their course of action was simple.
Darting after Layton, they saw him walk into a small shop and followed. On the inside, their enemy was stood regarding a flickering green monitor with interest. He had this kind of technology on his side; they knew that, but to have a screen already waiting for them on the next street over? Was he really that well-prepared that he knew exactly where they were going to collapse?
But it was the image on the screen that was the most distracting element of it all. Luke was stood in the centre of a dark room, not bound in any way, but with a bizarre helmet covering the whole of his face. It was metallic and looked heavy, but it was also locked from the back in a way that made it impossible to remove without someone else taking it off for you. The helmet restricted his vision and even though he could have only been there for a short time, Luke was quivering with fear.
"What is that?" Clive questioned, ignoring an audible gasp of disgust from Crow.
"That is what enables Luke to play our little game," Layton said, "Because, you see, you're going to help him solve a few puzzles."
"Luke, if you can hear me then you need to move. You're not tied down and there's no one in the room to restrain you," Clive started to say instantly.
"Clive…?"
Luke looked up for a moment, clearly having heard the instructions. He didn't wait for further explanation, heading to take a step forwards.
"Stop!" Clive and Crow yelled in unison.
It was fortunate that they did, because the urgency in their voices had made Luke freeze in his step, as a large section of the floor before him fell away to the floor below.
"See what happens when you don't play by the rules," commented Layton.
"Fine, tell us your rules," spat Crow.
Turning to Clive, still determined to insult Crow by treating him like a child, Layton said, "As I was about to explain before your little outburst, Luke needs to solve a few puzzles if he wants to leave the Towering Pagoda. However, as you can see, he is at the disadvantage that he lacks the use of his eyes. On the other hand, you are both in perfect possession of yours and can see everything going on around Luke. So I would recommend that you guide him wisely if you wish to be reunited with him."
"All right, so we just need to solve a few puzzles," said Clive, as if this was no big deal. As if he didn't know exactly how difficult the sorts of puzzles Layton could come up with were and he wasn't terrified of Luke potentially dying should they make a mistake in guiding him.
"So if he stands on one of the grey tiles it'll fall away, right?" said Crow, looking across at Layton.
The former Professor looked away, smiling to himself.
"You're not going to get any help from him," Clive said, though they both knew that anyway, "I'm willing to bet that you're right though. The first puzzle probably won't be a difficult one to get us into the spirit of things." It was the puzzles closer to the exit that he was worried about. "Luke, if you can still hear me then I want you to turn to the right and take a step forward- …No, a smaller step than that!"
Layton watched them closely, not interrupting as the two of them used this first room, which was really no puzzle at all, as an excuse to educate the best ways to get Luke to move on their commands. After some false starts, they seemed to find that telling Luke the directions to go in the manner of a compass and just saying to him when to stop before touching a grey tile was far more effective and less time-consuming than saying something like, 'take two big steps to the right' would have been. He was quite impressed.
"You're almost at the end now, but I'm going to need you to jump pretty far just ahead of you, as there's only grey tiles around the door," Clive said calmly, "Think you can do that?"
"'Course I can," Luke replied, sounding more confident than he felt.
Luke jumped and cleared the tiles that surrounded the door. There was no camera beyond that, so they couldn't see what became of him beyond hearing a slightly painful sounding 'thud', but he had made it.
Clive and Crow breathed a sigh of relief.
"Congratulations on your first success," Layton said, jolting their attention back to him, "I'm sure within no time you will be back together with your friend once more. Though I'm equally certain you'll understand that my Pagoda is quite a tall building, so I have been considerate enough to grant some of my men to guide Luke down the stairs between each room. Because it would be so very bothersome for you to have to instruct him to walk down each flight."
"If you were so considerate you'd guide him right out of there without putting him in danger," Crow pointed out.
"Now, now," said Layton, addressing Crow directly for the first time, "As one businessman to another, Mr. Head of the Black Ravens, I'm sure we both understand the dangers of cutting the prices you offer a consumer too low."
"So are we your customers or your victims?" Clive asked.
"That would be for you to choose. But look, Luke has now reached the second room and is in need of instruction to stop himself from being damaged in anyway," Layton replied, glancing across at the screen.
Sure enough, Luke was stood at the far door of another room. Around the middle of the room lay the grey tile that had fallen from above. It had shattered what looked like an over-grown chess king. Upon closer inspection, the whole room was laid out like a giant chessboard.
"How unfortunate that our king has been damaged due to unforeseen circumstances," sighed Layton, though Clive very much doubted that the man hadn't planned it this way, "It would appear that Luke will have to take his place in this battle of wits."
"You want us to play chess, using Luke?" Clive clarified.
"And the floor isn't going to cave in if he steps in the wrong place?" checked Crow.
"I have been assured that the floor of this room doesn't have the same unfortunate design flaws that the one above has," Layton said.
"Just a simple game of chess then, nothing dangerous. No one ever got hurt in a game of chess," Crow muttered.
"Would you like to try losing the game and finding out?" questioned Layton, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"No, we wouldn't," replied Clive, "We're just going to get through this as quickly as possible if it's all the same with you."
"Any method in which you choose to go about this is fine by me, Clive. This is your game, after all," agreed Layton.
Only it wasn't in the slightest. It was Layton's game. And Clive would never for a moment be fool enough to think otherwise. He told Luke where to stand on the board and instructed him to move as he saw fit to play, while between turns a series of masked individuals moved the opposing pieces, as well as the pieces belonging to them that Luke could not move himself, accordingly. All the while Layton stayed quiet and watched intently, but Clive had no doubt that he was somehow instructing the movement of the game and accordingly making it all too easy for them.
Could he have beaten Layton in an actual game of chess? Clive doubted it. But the madman wanted to toy with them some more, so he would not crush them so soon into the game.
Eventually, Luke had been guided to defeat the opposing king and only then did the masked helpers see fit to guide him through the door that led to the floor below. The screen briefly flickered off and was replaced by another room, this one containing a simple table that had a series of items on it – a key, a bunch of grapes, a mirror, a wrench and bottle containing a transparent liquid. All seemingly random and meaningless.
"There is yet another rule to the game," Layton informed.
"Why am I not surprised?" muttered Crow.
"To prevent Luke from becoming greedy," Layton went on, talking over Crow, "You can only take one item from the table."
"All right, then what?" Clive said.
Raising an eyebrow, as if Clive had just asked something extremely obvious, Layton answered, "He leaves the room, of course."
"Just like that? No tricks or puzzles?"
"There is one thing," Layton added, and inwardly Clive thought 'oh, here we go…', as the former Professor went on to say, "But it is more of an aid than a hindrance. I have for you a small riddle that might help you decide which of the objects is best to take, if you'd like to hear it."
"We'll listen," agreed Clive, not saying whether he would heed the words or not.
"Very well then, this is the simple play on words that might aid you in your decision – a man toils, day in, day out on a project that he has set his very existence upon. An aim he has to bring back life to a poor young girl who now has none. But though he works until he is old and grey, without this item his project will not see the end of the day," Layton hummed, blocking out his own mental images of Dimitri toiling away on the production of the time machine that may save his beloved Claire.
"So something that a man needs for his project…" mused Clive.
"It's going to be a trick question," Crow cut in, "We're supposed to think that it's something to help him build, but actually he needs food or drink to stop him from dying."
That did seem like the sort of answer their Prime Minister would go for, but at the same time Clive couldn't shake the feeling that it was still too simple.
"The man could last longer without food than he could water," Clive commented, "But I don't trust whatever's in that bottle to be water. Knowing him," he glanced at Layton, "it could equally be something poisonous."
"What does it matter anyway? None of those things will help. Let's just take the key and get going. That's clearly the object that's going to be useful," Crow said.
"No, I think we should heed Layton's words," said Clive. Even if he was leading them into a trap, Clive trusted that he wouldn't really attempt to hurt them until the last room, "So let's assume that the grapes will keep the man going until the end of the grapes. Luke, I want you to reach around on the table just slightly to your left side until you feel a bunch of grapes. When you've got them put them into your satchel, since I see that our game's master has been kind enough to let you keep it."
"Are you sure, Clive? You sure I shouldn't get the key?" Luke pressed.
"I'm sure. A key is no good to us if the door is on the other side of town, now just take the grapes and move onto the next room," replied Clive firmly.
Though he was hesitant and clearly didn't agree with the logic, Luke felt around the table until he'd grasped the grapes and shoved them into the bag at his side. From the way that they fell in, it was safe to assume that anything else that might have been in the bag had been emptied out of it before the game began. Which was a pity in the event that Luke could have been carrying something that might have helped him.
"What very wise riddle solving skills you have there, to not go for the obvious answer and instead choose something that will aid your man," commented Layton.
"Just give us the next puzzle," Clive replied, grimly.
And so he did. And another puzzle too. And another one after that. Until the boys were questioning not only how many rooms were in the Towering Pagoda, but also how many creative riddles Layton could come up with using a room and a person with a blindfold. That thought was far more than a little unsettling.
Eventually, however, they reached the bottom of the Pagoda and what was seemingly the last room.
"You have succeeded in your tasks, I commend you," said Layton, clapping quietly.
"Is that it? No more rooms?" checked Clive.
"This is indeed the entrance. I should almost feel a little cautious that I've revealed so much of the inner structure of my home to you, but then I genuinely didn't expect you to get this far," answered Layton.
"So we win!" gasped Crow, "Luke's going to get out of there and run back to where it's safe and when he gets there he's going to eat those stupid grapes just to spite you!"
"Assuming that he can get the helmet off," Layton hummed.
"Luke, the door is directly in front of you, I want you to walk ahead and pull the handle," Clive cut in, still not feeling as if they were out of the woods just yet.
The two boys watched as Luke walked over to the door then tried to pull the handle down. It didn't budge. The pits of their stomachs dropped.
"The door's stuck!" Luke called.
"I knew we should have taken the key!" shot Crow, glaring at Clive.
"Oh no, the key would have nothing to do with our man toiling away on his project, it's something quite separate, I can assure you," corrected Layton, making them both look over at him, "But now a wrench, a wrench would be something he could make as much use of building a time machine as Luke could fixing the jammed bolts on that door. One could say that, in both cases, you wouldn't get very far on those projects without one."
"But the wrench was the trick answer! It was the obvious option that you're supposed to think of instead of the other choice!" Clive yelled at him.
"Nevertheless, it was the right answer…" said Layton, examining his nails.
"Then 'ow do I get out?" whimpered Luke.
"You can't. You made the wrong choice in the middle of the game and it has affected your ending," replied Layton.
Crow insisted, "We'll just have Luke go back to the other room and get the- …Hey! What are you doing!"
The two of them looked on in horror as a couple of guards came out from the door from the upper part of the building, the same guards that had been guiding Luke down the stairs. They took hold of him, walking away with Luke's struggling, screaming form.
"You're a sick bas-"
Crow had launched himself towards their opponent, but having anticipated, and through some sick satisfaction almost looked forward to, this reaction, Layton had enough time to catch hold of his arm, twisting him around to hold him in place against the wall.
"Children always react so pathetically when they don't win at games. Wouldn't you say, Clive?" sighed Layton.
"There are still two of us," Clive reminded, taking a more cautious step towards the fray than Crow had done.
"Do you really think that after all of that I'd not be prepared to handle you?" sneered Layton, as several more of his followers stepped through from the back room of the shop.
Clive didn't responded, glaring off to the side in disgust at himself for having fallen into this trap.
As he handed Crow off to one of the men, Layton commented, "There was one thing you did get right in all of that riddling however, Clive. That key would be of no use if the door was on the other side of town. Keeping that in mind, it's such a pity that you don't have it here, where it's needed. You might have had a chance to run away if you did."
"You're twisted, you know that?" spat Clive, not resisting as the guards took hold of him.
"Perhaps I am, but this just goes to show that even in your indirect approach to combat that I still win. And with you, falls three more pawns of the terrorists. Bind them and take them away."
Layton watched as the struggling Crow and the defeated Clive were escorted from the building to be held along with Luke. He had no doubt that the rebellion would try and fail to get them back, leaving the three of them as yet another example of what happened to those who opposed his rule.
If he'd wanted to, Layton could have taken the lot of them down long ago, and certainly defeated these mere children a lot earlier in the day without all the theatrics.
But then what would he have spent his Saturday afternoon on?
He did so live for the little things that could keep him entertained.