[[This is no way intended to be a Bill Hawks- bashing- fic... as much as dear Bill deserves it. I just really like this idea. Also, I included a random quote to make my fic seem more sophisticated.

Disclaimer: BEHOLD ALL THE CHARACTERS I DO NOT OWN.

Spoilers: For Unwound Future, and possibly Mystery Room.

Set: Approximately 30 years after UF, and probably after MR-Case 9. I'm going with the assumption that Alfendi was adopted by Layton as a baby. (You should read LastFebruary's 'The Destiny of Alfendi Layton' for more on that.)]]

Justice

"Can the future ever erase the past?"

–Checkmate, Malorie Blackman

When eight year old Alfendi found the photograph in his father's study, his first question had been: "Is this my mother?"

Professor Layton had immediately denied this. But being a tenacious child, Alfendi wouldn't drop the subject until he'd received the full story. The lady in the photo was in fact "Claire Foley", his father's university sweetheart. At this point in their conversation, the professor had become withdrawn and insisted he had work to attend to.

So, Alfendi turned to his sister Flora instead. She revealed that Claire had been a scientist who was killed in a tragic laboratory explosion. Uncle Luke later added that it had been a failed time machine experiment, and this led to him recounting their adventure in the "Unwound Future"...

Now twenty nine years old, Alfendi had heard the tale too often for him to bother explaining it to Lucy for the umpteenth time.

"Who's this Dimitri fellow again?" His assistant wondered as she followed him into the Mystery Room office. Of course, Lucy hadn't been alive when the 'terrorist' Clive Dove unleashed his Mobile Fortress upon London. But her parents would remember. (Everyone remembered that hellish day.)

"I really wish you would do your research..." Alfendi tsked, pulling a week-old newspaper out of his lab coat pocket. The front page of the London Times screamed: 'CLIVE DOVE'S ACCOMPLICE RELEASED FROM PRISON'. Dimitri Allen had been arrested thirty years ago for abducting scientists and a former prime minister, keeping them in the underground fake Future London. However, Professor Layton stressed that Allen had been as much a pawn as anyone else in Dove's plans.

"Oh, right," Lucy nodded when she'd finished reading the article. "But why are we interested in someone who just checked out of t' slammer?"

It was a valid query. Usually Alfendi's "Potty" side was obsessed with criminals committing bloody murders. Lucy expected him to be more captivated by Clive Dove, the maniac who'd crushed millions of homes and people. Painting the city red and engulfing it in fire...

Alfendi shook his head, dispelling the dark thoughts. This wasn't the time to be obsessing over a terrorist! He told Lucy firmly, "Because we're doing this for my father's sake."

Lucy's russet eyes went wide with excitement. "For Professor Layton?" She paused for him to elaborate. Unfortunately for her, Alfendi had inherited his parent's trait of exposing information as the case progressed. She would just have to wait until their special guest arrived.

One hour later, a haggard elderly man shuffled into the office. His heavy eyes and pale face were lined with life's hardships. (He certainly wasn't how Lucy had anticipated a "terrorist's accomplice" to appear.)

"Welcome, Dimitri Allen," Alfendi greeted him placidly. "I assume you received my letter?"

"I did indeed," Dimitri frowned. "First I imagined it was from your father... But Hershel would never attempt to do something as dangerous as your letter proposed. That's why I'm here, not to accept your offer, but to stop you. Believe me; I was driven by desperation and pride when I undertook the same project. It was only when I regained my senses did I realize just how much damage I had and would have caused..."

Lucy glanced at Alfendi suspiciously. "What was you planning to do, Prof?" (She wouldn't put it past Potty Prof to build his own Mobile Fortress...)

"He wants me to aid him in travelling through time, altering a fixed event of the past," Dimitri said scornfully, much to Lucy's disbelief.

Alfendi raised a calming hand to Dimitri. "You misinterpreted my intentions... When I wrote that I would 'take you back to the fateful day', I wasn't suggesting time travel. I don't even have access to a time machine."

The older man sagged with relief. "Well, you could have been less cryptic in your letter."

"But then you may not have felt the dire need to see me so soon after your release," Alfendi shrugged.

As Alfendi turned to inspect a device on his desk, Dimitri muttered, "He's as cunning as his father..."

Lucy didn't enjoy feeling left out of the loop, so she went to tug on Alfendi's sleeve, hissing, "Prof, I still have nowt idea what's going on!"

"Be patient, Lucy. We're simply going to shed some light on a forgotten case from about forty years ago, one that affected Dimitri and my father in particular..." Alfendi called Dimitri over, showing him the machine the Mystery Room duo frequently used for their work. "This is the reconstruction device. It can reproduce any crime scene right down to the last detail—"

"T' Prof always uses it so he never has to leave his office!"

"Thank you for that, Lucy..." Alfendi sighed exasperatedly, returning his attention to Dimitri. "I've never set the date so far back, but if we input the exact time of the incident and the coordinates for the Institute of Polydimensional Physics, I'm 99.7% certain we will encounter success."

"Interesting..." Dimitri didn't sound wholly convinced of the contraption's efficiency, but he nodded and stepped forward. "Allow me to input the correct coordinates."

After some fiddling with the reconstruction device, the crime scene eventually shifted into focus around them. However, the picture was hazy; possibly because they were looking at a setting from decades ago. Or was the room they were studying... a ruined laboratory, actually filled with dust and smoke? The walls were reduced to rubble; the windows were completely shattered. There were flames, severed pipes, smashed dials...

And at the heart of the wreckage was the broken body of a young woman.

Lucy had witnessed many gory sights in her time as a constable, but never to this magnitude of destruction. She surveyed the lab with horror, whispering "Eee, w-what happened here?"

"It was a time machine explosion," Alfendi clarified quietly. He feared his Potty half would seize control to comment on the chaotic scene... But Potty Prof was strangely dormant right now. (Solemn, even.)

Lucy's pitiful gaze kept darting to the female's corpse. "And who were that poor lass?"

"Her name was Claire Foley. She was a lab assistant here; the first human test subject selected for the time travel experiment. She also happened to be my father's girlfriend... Claire wasn't the only victim, though. The blast killed nine people in the apartment next door, including Clive Dove's parents."

At first Dimitri was astounded by the reconstruction device's abilities. However, as the old scientist recalled this was the moment he'd lost his life's work and the woman he'd loved, he fell to his knees. He stretched out a shaking hand to touch Claire, but his fingers went straight through her.

"Remember, this is a reconstruction," Alfendi reminded him gently "Little more than a hologram."

"Of... of course, forgive me..." Dimitri muttered. "Now that you have the reconstruction, how do you plan to use it?"

Alfendi deactivated the reconstruction device and the office surrounded them once more. "I want to condemn the one responsible for the explosion, thus revealing the root of Clive Dove's madness."

"You mean someone caused this explosion on purpose?" Lucy gasped.

"No, the man responsible did not wish to create damage on such a large scale," Dimitri's eyes hardened. "But he was blinded by his hunger for wealth and power. He was willing to go ahead with the experiment despite the machine's incomplete nature. Even if it meant betraying his colleagues and putting others' lives at risk..."

"I'll bring that scoundrel to justice," Alfendi promised; both of his personalities were in agreement.

Dimitri nodded on his way out of the office. "As the son of Hershel Layton, I have no doubts you will. Only then will we be truly able to put this tragic occurrence behind us."

Once the senior scientist had gone, Alfendi noticed Lucy was staring at him. Potty Prof popped up to growl, "Yet another question, Baker?"

The constable clenched her fists, grinding her teeth together. "Just one, Prof: who did it? It doesn't matter how old t' case is— I'm going to help you catch him! For your father, for that Claire-lass, for all the people he hurt!"

"I can always count on you, Lucy," Alfendi shot her a determined grin. "Now, do you recall one former Prime Minister Bill Hawks?"

-0-

Bill Hawks' suburban estate was a grand sight to behold, but for all it's worth the mansion was dampened by an air of solitude. The extensive front lawn was devoid of flowers and fancy hedges, as if the gardeners had simply mowed the grass before calling it quits. Ivy enclosed the mansion's walls; dark curtains were drawn across every window. Had it not been for the black limousine in the long driveway, the property would have appeared uninhabited.

Lucy stood next to Alfendi at the end of the driveway, gawking. "Wow..." Lucy whistled, "Swanky place."

"One that the likes of Bill Hawks doesn't deserve," Potty Alfendi grumbled. He cast a cautious glance around the estate. "There doesn't seem to be any household staff here, but we can't risk being turned away by whatever security forces Hawks may have. Lucy, go to the front door, pretend to be making enquiries. I'll search for another way inside and confront our criminal."

"Right, Prof!" Lucy saluted and ran up the drive to ring the doorbell. When someone came to answer it– probably a butler— Alfendi sneaked behind the mansion. He heaved himself over an iron fence and landed ungracefully in Bill Hawk's back garden. Note to self, the inspector thought with a wince, never leave the office again... How did Father cope with this sort of thing during his adventures?

Get up, weakling, his Potty half urged. We have a criminal to find!

Alfendi staggered up some steps with loose concrete slabs and tried the back door. Locked, he realized.

Puzzle lock? Potty checked.

It appears so.

Dammit— there's no time! I'll break a window instead!

There was a smash as a concrete slab went flying through one of the windows. Alfendi clambered into the downstairs parlour as he heard Lucy talking frantically to whoever had answered the front door.

"S-see, I told you there were something fishy going on around here! That sounded like it came from... from T' BACK GARDEN," his assistant stressed loudly. "Let's make sure there AREN'T ANY INTRUDERS OUT THERE."

When Lucy had (hopefully) led Hawk's attendant away, Alfendi rushed out into a bare hall (there wasn't a single family photo) and up a winding staircase. He was met with mostly locked doors on the first floor— except one. He opened this door by a crack, poking his nose into a dim room containing bookshelves, a writing desk...

...And a brown armchair where a withered old man sat. He was bespectacled, bald as a potato and his face was extremely wrinkled from years of frowning. He must have been dozing in his seat, because when the door creaked open he snorted and released a jaw cracking yawn.

"Felix, is that you?" he called. "This had better be important..." He trailed off when he saw not his servant, but a stranger in a white coat standing there. He raised his voice again, "Felix, you fool, I specifically told you that I don't need to see a doctor—!"

Silently, Alfendi entered the study and locked the door. (He hoped 'Felix' wouldn't hear them.) Then he faced his host with a crooked smile and crimson hair. "I must say, the pleasure is all mine, Mr Hawks. I've heard many, many things about you."

Bill stared at him in shock for a moment until he narrowed his eyes. "Who the bloody hell are you?"

"My name is Inspector Alfendi Layton. I believe you're familiar with my father, Professor Hershel Layton?"

A flash of concern hit Bill's face, but he feigned indifference with a shrug. "Of course, everyone in England knows that name..."

"You know it quite well to be exact," Alfendi amended, "After he saved your miserable life from Clive Dove's Mobile Fortress years ago. Saved you despite the fact that you had him assaulted when he came too close to uncovering your guilty secrets..."

"I- I have no idea what you're talking about," Bill stammered. "And unless you leave this instant I'll call the police—"

"I am the police," Alfendi suddenly snarled, cutting him off. "And I know all about what you did at the Institute of Polydimensional Physics forty years ago! You were aware that the time machine wasn't ready for human use, yet you ignored Dimitri Allen's warnings. You killed Claire Foley along with nine innocents; among them being Clive Dove's parents. And for what— riches! Oh, but it gets better. Rather than answer to your crimes, you stifled any efforts to publicize the truth, such as my father's case."

"Your meddling father deserved it," Bill spat. Sweat was starting to trickle down his brow.

Alfendi shook his head, almost disappointed. "I can't even say I respect you for, despite being a conniving selfish bastard, you are not a true murderer."

"Alright, Layton, how much do you want?" The former prime minister demanded desperately. Even after all this time, he couldn't allow the world to discover his mistakes. (What they didn't know couldn't hurt him.) "Name your price!"

The inspector laughed harshly. "I don't want your money. I simply want you to admit to your crimes and hand yourself in."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because," Alfendi said soberly, his hair turning lighter, "I'm certain that deep down you actually regret what you've done. You're just afraid to acknowledge it. That's why I'm going to help you."

Bill flinched when Alfendi removed something from his pocket. "W-what's that?"

"It's a reconstruction device," Alfendi switched the device on, typing in the coordinates.

Bill released a shuddering breath when his study was replaced with a scene all too familiar. But this time he wasn't unconscious, so he was fully consumed by the horror of what he'd done. He remembered the smell of smoke; heard the sirens and the screams; saw her corpse before him...

"N-no, m-make it stop!" Bill squeezed his eyes shut, but he could still see the damage that he'd caused.

"Was it really worth it?" Alfendi's voice wondered beside him. "All of this... for fame and fortune?"

"I n-never dreamed it would come to this," the man clawed his temples, begging, "Please, please, take me back!"

Banging. "Master Hawks, are you alright? Master Hawks, answer me!"

"I SWEAR I WILL ANSWER FOR MY CRIMES! I SWEAR-!"

The reconstruction ended. Bill was back in the study. He'd fallen out of his armchair, and lay sprawled across the floor, sobbing.

Alfendi calmly opened the door. A slim man who was presumably Felix barged inside, quickly followed by Lucy.

"Prof, what've you done?" Lucy asked fearfully as Felix crouched to check on the quivering wreck that was his employer.

"I haven't harmed Mr Hawks in any way," Placid Alfendi assured her and Bill's attendant. "I was just showing him the error of his actions. Let's go, Lucy."

Lucy aimed an apologetic glance at the startled Felix before scampering out after Alfendi.

Less than a week later, Bill Hawks turned himself in to the police, unable to live with his guilt any longer.

-0-

Clive Dove heard the news when Hershel Layton next came to visit him. The former professor didn't condone Alfendi's desire for vengeance (even if it was in the Layton name), but he had never been more proud of his son. Hershel felt that Bill would find inner peace eventually, and Claire's memory could be laid to rest properly now.

And so, after all these years, they awaited Clive's release date. Not to become a free man, for Clive would always be burdened by the demons of his past.

But for now, he was a content man.

[[I'm not entirely sure what the Mystery Room's 'reconstruction device' is supposed to look like, but I imagine it being a touch screen device that creates a holographic image of the crime scene around the user, enabling them to inspect the environment.

I know the ending was a bit rushed and Alfendi may have gone overboard torturing Bill... But I hope it ok.]]