AUTHOR'S NOTE I'm taking a stab at a Professor Layton fanfic! Why, you ask? Two reasons: Number one, I absolutely ADORE The Last Specter, which is the only game I own, and the Eternal Diva. Secondly, my internet crashed and I'm soooooo bored...

Just for clarification, this story is NOT based on a true story. ;)

I'm trying to stay as true to the one game that I've played as I can. So, the puzzles will start out stupidly easy, and advance in difficulty.

Professor Layton and all other name-brand items are the property of their respective owners.

Please read and review! Critique is highly appreciated.

Enjoy!

PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE WHISPER OF DEATH

Hello. My name's Clarissah, and I'm here to spin a tale of lost love, malicious murder, and puzzling... uh... puzzles.

I'm actually not sure where to start this tale of deception. You see, this is the story of my life, more or less. I guess I should begin with my first encounter with Professor Hershel Layton. I remember it very well...

It was my sixth birthday. My older sister, Claire, had brought her boyfriend Hershel Layton to meet me, my mum, and my father. We all fell in love with the easy-going, slightly shy student of archeology. Of course, he's changed over the years. He was 27 years old at the time.

I, being a vain six-year-old, demanded a present from the tall gentleman. He looked at Claire, afraid to tell me no, thus making an enemy of his girlfriend's sister, but having nothing to give. He straightened his crisp, new top hat nervously. Mum and Father exchanged a glance, waiting to see how Hershel would handle the situation.

He sighed in relief as he pulled a small, electronic contraption from his pocket.

"It's a BrainteaserSolver Lite," he explained when he saw my puzzled glance. "If you insert a cartridge like... this... then you can play all the puzzles made in that time period! For example, if you have the card from, say, 1990-2000, then you can solve all the brainteasers that were created in that decade." I stared wide-eyed at the contraption as he showed me all the features.

Claire pulled Hershel aside and whispered, "You know, you didn't have to give her anything."

He chuckled. "It's quite alright, Claire. I just got a BSi a few weeks ago. I was planning on giving the BS Lite to my younger brother, Hershey, who also just turned six." They both looked at me as I plugged away at the brainteasers. I stood up suddenly, and silently handed the system to Hershel. He stared at it in amazement. I had already solved fifty puzzles in record time. "I think this was the right decision," he added solemnly.

Claire disappeared a few hours after she left to walk Hershel home. He distanced himself from us, even though we tried to embrace him. He told us it was because he didn't want to pain us with memories of the missing Claire. But I overheard conversations between Mum and Father... they said that it hurt him to see me, the spitting image of my older sister. They talked about how he was in love. He had even asked them if he could marry her. They had agreed, and he was going to propose the night that she vanished.

My parents enrolled me in many different schools for gifted children after they saw my amazing puzzle-solving skills. I had multiple terrible deformities, though, and whenever someone would get close to finding them, I'd have to transfer. We moved around the country, and we even lived in America for a time. We moved back to London about a year ago. I dated, started going steady with a wonderful guy. Life was good. That is, until my sixteenth birthday...

My parents disappeared. Exactly ten years from my sister's disappearance, my parents also vanished. I panicked, and rushed down to Scotland Yard, where my boyfriend met me. What's this? You're wondering who my boyfriend is? Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you... his name is Hershey Layton. Professor Layton's younger brother. We had decided not to tell Hershel yet, because of my resemblance to Claire.

Anyways, I was in the waiting room of Scotland Yard, hyperventilating and crying at the same time, when who else but Professor Layton should walk by.

He stopped and took in the spectacle before him: Inspector Grosky of the Yard running to and fro, getting tissues and refilling glasses of water; Hershey rubbing my back and whispering soothing words into my ear; and me sobbing lightly into a spare Kleenex.

"Can... can I be of assistance?" he asked. I couldn't tell if the slight tremor in his voice was sadness, sympathy, or laughter. I nodded, and tried to compose myself. Inspector Grosky of the Yard pulled Layton aside and told him the story that I had choked out while crying.

Hershey kissed my cheek and stood up to leave. I grabbed him around the waist, pulling him down to his seat. There was no way that I was going to go through this alone.

"Let me see if I understand, Clarissah. Your parents have disappeared on your sixteenth birthday. Exactly ten years since... Claire... disappeared." I nodded again, and gripped Hershey's hand. Layton's voice dropped an octave, and he had a serious look on his face. "Now, Hershey, you and Clarissah have been dating for how long?"

"A-about a year," he squeaked. Hershel's expression softened.

"Why didn't you tell me? I think that Clarissah is a very nice young girl." I felt Hershey relax beside me.

"Professor..." I started to say.

"Yes, Clarissah?"

"I have something to show you. It might have something to do with my parent's disappearance. But first, you'll have to solve a puzzle." Layton grinned, and readily agreed. "Puzzle number 001. A very, very easy puzzle, if you ask me. Two trains are going extremely fast in opposite directions. One is facing right, and the other is facing left. The tracks that they're on merge into one as it passes through a tunnel. There's no way that they can stop in time, yet they don't hit each other. How is this possible?"

"Sometimes, you have to approach a puzzle at a different angle," muttered Layton as he worked the brainteaser out. He snapped his fingers and yelled, "I've got it! The trains are on the tracks at different times. If they aren't on the track at the same time, they can't hit each other!"

"Correct!" I say. "I think that was worth ten Picarats." I handed the coins to Layton.

"Now that the obligatory puzzle is over, what's your secret?" asked Inspector Grosky of the Yard. I hesitated, worried that they would judge me because of my deformities. I pulled my ever-present hat off slowly. Grosky, Layton, and Hershey all gasped in unison.

Cliffhanger! So, tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!