A 'what if' fic I thought of. Enjoy.

What if: The unwound future

What if Luke went instead of Claire (Celeste)?

The Professor thought it would be dangerous for Luke. The young man thought he could do it though and who would Luke think he was if he didn't trust him? Luke jumped from the flying Layton mobile. He stumbled a little before straightening himself up.

"Be careful!" He yelled as he landed the flying contraption. Flora hopped out along with Celeste and the Prime Minister.

"Everyone from the underground city has been evacuated!" Chelmey ran up to Layton. Layton nodded and sped off to see if he could get Luke.

Meanwhile…

Luke shimmied around the edge of the tottering robot and hopped in through the window. There he saw the unconscious form of Clive. Luke ran up to him as the robot started to crumble. He shook the man's shoulders.

"CLIVE! C'mon! We've gotta get outta here!" He yelled. Clive stirred and looked up at Luke.

"Luke? What are you doing here? The robot is about to collapse!" He asked confused. Luke smiled and flinched as a bit of equipment fell beside him.

"One must always help another in need. That's what a gentleman does." He stated. Clive smiled and was helped up by Luke. The two ambled their way to the open window and climbed out. Clive was heavy and Luke was using all his strength to keep him upright. The machine jolted just as the Professor landed near them Luke let go of Clive who grabbed onto the Layton Mobile. Luke was less fortunate. He stumbled to the side and fell over. He slid down the robot to the edge and was dangling above London. Layton gasped.

"LUKE! HOLD ON!" He yelled as he flew around to him. Luke's grip was slipping and tears were streaming down his face. It wasn't meant to end like this! Luke was meant to go on to do great things. Become a vet, get married, have children. His life flashed before his eyes and he lost the strength to keep holding on. He took in a sharp breath as he fell.

"NOOO!" Layton yelled as he took a swan dive in the car after strapping Clive, who was no unconscious, into the seatbelt. He sped towards the falling form. He had to catch him, if he didn't, he didn't want to even think about it. He was almost level with him now. He let go of the steering wheel and grabbed both of Luke's hands. He pulled him into the car as he levelled out. He cradled Luke to his chest as the boy lay sobbing. He stroked his hair. It was a miracle that the boy had survived and kept his hat. He put him in the backseat and belted him in.

When Layton landed, Luke and Clive were still both unconscious. Bill ran up to the car and grabbed the sleeping Clive.

"Officers, apprehend this man!" He barked. Clive came around and was thoroughly confused. Luke came around about the same time as him. He saw Clive being hauled violently out of the car.

"HEY!" He yelled. He jumped out of the car and ran up to the officers who had him by each arm.

"Luke!" Layton called out. Luke ignored him and kept on running to catch up with him.

"CLIVE!" He yelled. The officers stopped and turned around.

"Stay out of this, kid! It's none of your business!" Snarled an officer.

"I just saved his life, I think it's my business!" retorted Luke. The officer raised an eyebrow.

"You shouldn't have done that! He was better off dead!" He spat. In a flash, the officer had let go of Clive and stumbled back pinching his nose and Luke was being restrained by two officers. He wriggled free and clung to Clive's waist.

"I don't want you to go to prison Clive!" He sobbed and squeezed tighter. The Officers and Prime Minister looked on with shock.

"Criminals like them make me sick!" He spat. Luke rounded on him.

"Says YOU! YOU went ahead with an experiment so you could get rich! YOU killed all those people for your greed that was illegal! YOU murdered Clive's parents and Claire! YOU'RE A MONSTER!" Luke screamed. Bill went pale.

"How do you know this?" He hissed in a bit of a panic.

"Dimitri was an assistant in the lab at the time. He told us all about it." Luke snarled back. Dimitri confirmed it. The next second Bill was in a pair of handcuffs as well as Luke and Clive.

"Bill Hawke, we are arresting you on suspicion of making illegal deals and killing 10 people during an experiment you knew would go wrong…" The officer told him his rights before putting him into a wagon.

"Luke Triton, you are being put into custody for assault on a police officer…" The same officer repeated his rights and loaded him into the wagon with Clive. Layton watched the scene in shock horror. He followed behind as they arrived at the station to see what was going on. He arrived to see Luke sobbing on a plastic chair.

"They're going to give the death penalty to Clive!" He choked through sobs. Layton put an arm around him and shushed him. Luke jumped up as Clive came around the corner.

"Clive!" He called and ran up to hug him.

"There, there Luke," he comforted. Luke had fresh tears coming down his face.

"Can't you just plead insanity? Please Clive, I don't want you to die! You've been like a brother to me!" He sniffed. Clive kissed Luke's forehead and whispered into Luke's ear.

"That just might work; brother." He pulled away smiling. Luke gave him a watery smile.

"We just need to find a good lawyer…" Layton joined in. Luke smiled and he and Clive hugged the Professor.

"It looks like you'll have to put off moving for a while Luke. You'll be needed as a witness," Layton explained. Luke nodded. He was gunna make sure that Clive didn't get into much trouble.

…PORFESSOR LAYTON…

The day of the trial soon came. Clive straightened his usual tie. He had been living with the Professor since the day of the accident in the spare bedroom. He smiled and looked down at Luke. He ruffled the young boy's hair. Luke blushed and slipped on his cap at the same time as Clive. The two went outside to see Professor Layton standing by the car.

"Are we going by air today?" Clive joked. The Professor smiled.

"Afraid not Clive." He replied. The two got into the car and drove to the court. They walked through the doors to come face to face with the now ex-Prime Minister. Clive took a deep breath and entered through the double doors, hoping he might have a chance with freedom.

…PROFESSOR LAYTON…

The trial went on for three hours. Luke had given his statement. It made the jury and the judge cry. The verdict was… Not guilty due to insanity. Luke, Clive and Layton cheered. Luke hugged Clive and the three walked out of the doors. It wasn't all guns and roses though; Clive had to do 1000 hours unpaid work and 300 hours of community service which Luke vowed to help him with. Luke's parents had decided that due to Luke's love of London that they would stay. Nothing could've been better. Oh, apart from the fact that the Professor was reminded of a puzzle by every little thing but hey, what can a person do?