Hey!
So, any Katia fans still present? I received several requests for a oneshot from her POV (thanks guys!), but the problem was I hadn't played Diabolical Box in years, and didn't remember a lot of the details. I replayed it during my 2000 year absence (which I profoundly apologize for. *nervous laugh*) and ended up getting so into the role that I basically wrote a novel about the game from her point of view. XD It was obviously way too long to be included as a chapter of this story, so what you're about to read is a very chopped version of the original. It's still pretty long, so don't read it unless you also loved Diabolical/Pandora's Box, hehe.
Maybe if anyone's interested, I'll post the whole thing separate from this story another time. :D
Memories.
Stories told in childhood... Country town... Tiny family; broken, but still happy...
Stories told in teenage years, blossoming into adulthood... Letters... Necklaces... A golden box, most importantly.
A quest to grant my grandmother's last wish. A journey on a famous train. My first time out of town. My father's overprotective hold. The adventure I had always dreamed of, but never told anyone I dreamed, except Grandmother.
A town of secrets — A phantom town; one inhabited by illusions. A vampire — A man with a veil of deceit over green eyes that once shone with laughter, love, kindness. A castle filled with puzzles. A gentleman in a top hat, and a little boy in blue.
Hearing the name Professor Layton again brings back all these distant thoughts. It was forty years ago that I met the man, and I haven't seen him since. However, he and his wide-eyed apprentice have remained in my memory for the past four decades, along with a luxurious train ride, the anxiety and excitement of travelling alone for the first time, an illusory town, a castle and the smell of rubble and dust as it crumbled around us. The feel of my grandfather's arms around me when I hugged him for the first time. All of these are components of a memory most special that will remain forever in my heart and mind. My meeting with my grandfather... If it weren't for Professor Layton, it may never have come to be.
I suppose it all started about a week before my grandmother's passing. She knew she only had a short time left on this earth, and before she departed she wanted to make sure a certain matter of dire importance was taken care of...
"You want me to go to Folsense?" I remember shrieking in surprise that day, upon my face a look that could only have been christened bewilderment.
"I want you to go and relay a message to Anton," was Sophia's resolute reply. "Katia, I only ask this of you because I know you can do it." The elderly woman's eyes were stern; as stern and as sincere as if she truly believed, somehow, what she said.
"Your grandfather is a stubborn man. He was fifty years ago. He's been in that castle for half a century, and the curse does terrible things to your mind. But it's imperative that he knows this. ...All I want is for him to know."
My grandmother thought that if Anton were to listen to anyone, it would be his own granddaughter. And if I were to come upon a relic called the Elysian Box, I was to ensure it made it safely into Anton's hands. The box meant everything to my grandmother. It contained something of immeasurable value. It was how she knew her love was still alive; how she knew of his dreary existence in a desolate castle on a hilltop. It had been fifty years since she had seen him last, but a day never went by that she did not think of him. All she wanted was to see him again, and to tell him the reason why she left... But she no longer had the strength to make the journey herself. She humbly asked if I would be willing to go in her place. She said that if only Anton and I could meet she would be happy, and could go to sleep peacefully knowing we were safe with another.
I loved my grandmother — Perhaps there was never another person I was as close to. I did want to fulfill her final wish, but I was scared. In all my twenty years I had never been outside of Dropstone. Grandmother thought it would be best if I went alone, but I had never even traveled, never mind travelling by myself! And of course my father was not happy. He had taken over as mayor when my grandmother died, and was under a lot of stress. The last thing he wanted was to have his daughter leaving off on some adventure into a mysterious, cursed town to meet a man rumoured to be a vampire! I swore to my father I would be alright, and that Anton posed no danger to me, but no matter what I said he still refused to grant me permission to go. But I was an adult, albeit it was sometimes hard for me to believe, and my life's choices were ultimately up to me. Our estate's servants, who had all been very fond of my grandmother, helped me to formulate a plan of action, away from the eyes of my father. When my day for departure came, they saw me off at the train station. And that was when I first saw him: an intelligent-looking man in a tall, brown top hat.
A young boy in a blue sweater and cap was with him. The first glance was nothing more than a first glance at a stranger. For a half a second I wondered if they were relatives of someone in town, visiting for Dropstone's fiftieth anniversary. My focus, however, was on the adventure ahead of me, the opulent train ride I was about to embark on, my friends waving goodbye, the uncanny castle that would be my destination. But then the man in the top hat locked eyes with me, and I felt a strange feeling wash over me, as if I was being watched, or as if this person was going to play a larger role in my story than I could've ever imagined... I quickly broke my gaze and turned to board the train, and I wondered why my automatic thought was that he was a spy sent by my father. I guess I had a guiltier conscience than I thought...
I forgot about the man quickly. The train ride to Folsense provided that. It was just so amazing to be out on my own for once in my life — Oh was it amazing! When I finally let go of my fear of travelling alone, and somehow convinced myself that when I returned home my father would see that my disobeying him was totally worth it... I could finally relax and enjoy the view. Mostly all I saw was open country through the full view window of my deluxe car. The undeveloped land made me realize just how big the world was, and I felt a pang of remorse for what I had been missing all this time. To me, the Molentary Express was synonymous with freedom that day. Though I was still feeling ill at ease about my destination, and lied to all my fellow passengers who smiled at me and asked where I was headed, my grandmother's memory reminded me that I was on this train for a very important purpose. I hoped she was watching over what I was about to do.
Upon arriving at Folsense station it grew unnaturally and eerily dark. The last time I'd checked it was barely dinner time. Sunset didn't happen, and yet darkness enshrouded the Molentary Express, as if it were thrust upon us; as if it wasn't meant to be there. Or perhaps we weren't meant to be there... My grandmother had revealed to me all the secrets of the town, though at the time it didn't occur to me why it grew so dark so suddenly. All I knew was that I was scared, and my mind, so arrested with fright, could not function well enough to think about anything else. It seemed Folsense was just what I'd imagined: a spooky town where it was always night, just like something from a scary movie. Inside the station was just as creepy with its dimly lit, narrow hallways, and walls hung with faded pictures of scenes from a time long past. My hand moved unconsciously to the necklace my grandmother had given me before she died, the one that Anton had once given to her, as I stepped out of the train station and onto a sidewalk I expected to be cracked and fallen-in with age. Neon lights glared at me from all directions then; they burned my eyes, and made me so dizzy that for a moment I thought I was going to faint. When I regained my balance, and my eyes at last adjusted to the blazing light, I could see that the place I had entered was not a dark and foreboding ghost town, but a lively city teeming with people and activity. The buildings were new, and the sidewalks were not cracked or fallen-in. Everything, everything I saw around me looked exactly like it did in the pictures in the station, right down to the people I met. It was all very beautiful. And it was disturbing, because at that moment the severity of my grandmother's words began to set in.
"In Folsense, let's just say people have very selective viewing, hearing, and feeling. They see what they want to see, and experience only what they expect."
Mentality can shape your reality, and this couldn't have been any more true in Folsense. It seemed when I looked at the pictures of a bustling town in the station, I imagined Folsense to look exactly as it did fifty years ago. The supposed curse really did do terrible things to people's minds. Just the fact that my grandmother had been willing to send me to such a place demonstrated the immense amount of faith she must have had in me. Perhaps it was this faith that gave me the power to overcome the madness of the curse. After a short while, the neon lights began to go out. The men and women milling the streets disappeared, and the town fell painfully silent. I suddenly wished I hadn't known the truth about the phantom town, because the real Folsense was spooky, and I was now very much alone.
...Or so I had thought. Though the ghosts of the inhabitants of Folsense were gone, it turned out I was not the only one who had traveled to this ominous town via the Molentary Express. There was an inspector walking around with his bobby. They spoke of the Elysian Box, the very relic I was searching for. Apparently the box was connected somehow to a murderer at large, and because I too was searching for the box, they considered me a suspect! My heart had never pounded so fast in my life! I was just an innocent little girl, looking for the box for my grandfather! I had no criminal record — I hadn't hurt anyone since the time I'd gotten into a fight in first grade! The clever bobby kindly pointed out to the inspector that since I didn't have the box in my possession, I couldn't be the murderer. I heaved an enormously grateful sigh of relief when our little confrontation had passed. I still hadn't fully recovered from the shock when I was startled again by a pair of familiar faces. It was the man in the top hat, and the young boy in blue.
They recognized me from the train station in Dropstone. So you were watching me, I almost said out loud. They knew I was the daughter of Mr. Anderson somehow, but they didn't seem to be spies like I had previously feared, and they weren't following me. They asked me what I was doing in Folsense, but I didn't give them an answer. I didn't mean to be rude, but I feared I might slip up and accidentally disclose information that wasn't for me to say. I was happy to see them, though. I didn't know why, as I had never spoken to either of them before. For some reason, though, knowing they were in town comforted me, as if I had friends to turn to in case something went horribly wrong. It was probably a stupid thing to think, as they were technically my rivals, and not my friends. We were all in a race to find the Elysian Box: the top-hatted man and the boy, the inspector and the constable, and me. Whoever found it first would take all, whoever didn't take all would be left with nothing. I had to find the box first, for my grandparents' sake... I searched Folsense high and low, asking questions to the thin shadows of residents long gone. I didn't get any sufficient answers, though I suppose even if I had, they wouldn't have been true anyway. They would have just been what I wanted to hear.
I was beginning to doubt myself. How did I know I hadn't fallen trap to the insanity that plagued the town? How did I know that anything I saw before me was even real? My grandmother had told me that Folsense would have crumbling buildings, and crumbling buildings I saw, just as I'd expected. I felt so guilty for acting against my father's wishes that I might as well have committed murder, and I half expected to be chased down by Scotland Yard. The man in the top hat and the young boy in blue had been somewhere in my unconscious mind ever since I'd left the train station. What if everything I saw, and heard and felt wasn't reality, but what I wanted to see, or what I thought I might see? As I was pondering my own sanity, the inspector and the constable from earlier approached me, and told me that the murderer from the Elysian Box case had been found.
We met in an old hotel I had to imagine was still in operation in order to prevent it from being too spooky. Everyone who was, or had been considered a suspect was invited, including the top-hatted man and the young boy. I didn't know much about this supposed murder case, but the events I saw unfold before my eyes were enough to convince me I didn't want to know, as a teenaged girl transformed into a man with a prominent moustache and crazy hair. As he broke away from the inspector's attempted arrest, and escaped out the hotel lobby door, a golden box slipped out of his coat, and went clattering to the floor. The man in the top hat, whom I learned at that time was called Professor Layton, picked it up first. Professor Layton wanted to open it.
"Please just wait for a moment!" I interjected. I had come way too far to allow the box to fall into the wrong hands now. "Is there any way I can convince you to let me have that box?" I didn't want to sound desperate, but I wanted him to know that it was dire. "It's of vital importance." I added. But he refused to give it to me unless I told him why.
Just then, a man burst into the room. I didn't know if he was real or an illusion, but he claimed a resident had been taken by a vampire to Herzen Castle. It was the last thing I had expected, and the others seemed to see him too, so I chased after him to ask about this so-called vampire. My grandmother had mentioned something about the outrageous rumours surrounding my grandfather's identity. On the road to Herzen Castle, I hoped that these rumours would not get the better of my imagination as I prepared for my encounter with the real duke of Folsense.
The castle looked run-down, like the rest of the town did. I was glad for that, as it made perfect sense. If it had been otherwise, I would have been sure I was dreaming. As I stood at the grand entrance, I made it a point not to think too much. It ached to have to do it that way, to not even give myself a moment to reflect on what I was doing. To realize I was going to meet my grandfather. The man my grandmother had loved vehemently for fifty years, but never had the opportunity to be reunited with — The very opportunity that I now had. If I stopped to think for even a second, I may have started to form a picture in my mind... And then who knows what I might have seen? When I knocked on the door, a sharply dressed servant came to answer. I had thought my grandfather was the only person who lived in Herzen Castle. That's how I knew that the experience I was about to have was real.
The butler said the master was busy at the moment, and he invited me to sit at a stately dining room table and wait for him. But after three quarters of an hour according to the ornate clock on the wall, my grandfather still hadn't appeared. Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to go look for him. The interior of the castle was quite a sight to behold. The curtains on the windows were tattered and old, and the walls were chipping with stale paint, faded over time. Surprisingly nothing was dusty, and there wasn't a cobweb in sight. I was just thinking how strange this was when I saw two people at the end of the empty hallway, and nearly jumped out of my skin. It was Professor Layton and Luke. It seemed everywhere I went, they were right behind me.
"What are you two doing here?" I asked in sheer disbelief.
"I could ask you the same thing!" retorted Luke. "It's dangerous here! There's a vampire living in this castle, you know!"
"Anton? He's no vampire. He's just-" I almost spilled my heart to them, but caught myself. I couldn't go publishing the truth about Anton before he even knew it himself! I did give them one hint, however, about the curse of the town. My grandmother had said the closer to the castle you were, the more the curse would affect you. I didn't want this to happen to my new-found "friends". They had to get out of the castle as soon as possible. I told them I would help them escape.
As we dashed frantically down the stairs toward their freedom from insanity's grasp, we were met by an elderly man with long white hair and a frail looking body. His thin legs looked like they might give out under his very little weight, and his face bore wan, sharp features, as if every part was defined and exaggerated, and sunken in with age. He had deep frown lines that could only have been formed from fifty years of heartache caused by separation from his love. I knew in an instant that this was Anton. He looked so sad and pathetic, my grandmother's heart would have broken when she saw him, as my heart was breaking...
As I was realizing that I was face-to-face with my grandfather, Anton seemed to recognize me as well. But that was impossible, as I had never met him in my life. He called me 'Sophia', my grandmother's name, and moved ever closer, arms out and bleary green eyes full of tears. I was so startled and shaken by all that was happening I... I didn't know what to do. I hid behind Professor Layton, clutching his arm as if I hoped that he would say something; that he would tell my grandfather that he was making a big mistake. He did nothing of the sort — How could he? — and the old man only became more hysterical, his overwhelming joy of being reunited with his love turned to blind rage at the misunderstanding that this man in the top hat had stolen her from him.
Anton pulled out a sword and slashed between the professor and I. He challenged the professor to a dual. He really thought that I was Sophia, and he was prepared to fight for me. To my surprise, the professor took up his challenge. Both men showed incredible skill and agility as they battled on the grand stairway. I was flabbergasted and mesmerized by their talents. Professor Layton was amazing! But my seventy-something-year-old grandfather was a worthy opponent! As Luke and I reached the top of the stairs, however, the last ounce of the old man's strength went out from him and we witnessed as he collapsed and staggered forward into Professor Layton. But he himself didn't understand why.
"Please just stop Grandfather!" I screamed, unable to bear it any longer. "Your body can't take it."
I burst into tears, and Anton stood there, bemused. He really didn't know. I had been over the words I was going to say over and over in my head, but no amount of practice could have possibly made it easier. Thankfully, I had Professor Layton with me. His remarkable intelligence and compassion during these crucial moments is what I remember him for most. He had caught onto the truth behind Folsense — The full and complete truth that nobody else in history had ever known. He explained everything to my grandfather, better than I ever could have. He was frank, but he was kind, and if it weren't for him, I don't know if I would ever have gotten through it.
Anton couldn't believe it at first. He refused to accept it and went into a rage again, this time much worse than before. Consumed by anger, he began to destroy the ancient castle in which he dwelled, but just as a giant chandelier was about to come crashing down on me, the professor saved my life, and my grandfather's. We all escaped unharmed as the castle crumbled around us, and the ruins fell into the gold mine, putting an end to the curse, or rather stopping the leakage of the hallucinogenic gas, as Professor Layton explained.
When he was no longer inhaling the gas, the illusion of Folsense and his youth lifted like a magic spell, and my grandfather saw his withered hands, and realized that what we told him was true... It was agonizing to watch. The one and only part of the whole story I wish I could forget.
Professor Layton and Luke, who had had the Elysian Box with them all along, returned it to Anton, and solved one final puzzle that would expose the box's true content... Without going into every detail; every recollection and wonderful revelation, every tear of sorrow and joy, a letter from Sophia was all Anton needed to accept his new situation, and embrace it.
I've told this story so many times to my children — The story of how Great Grandfather came to live in Dropstone. He lived happily with my father and I until he passed away at age eighty. He lived to see my wedding to my husband John, and under his guidance John and I made it our mission to restore Folsense to its former glory. To this day the historic town is a theme park, with neon lights that shine as brightly as they did in the days of Anton and Sophia, and roller coasters thousands of visitors ride and scream in delight, and not because they're being chased by a vampire.
When I walk through Folsense Park, sometimes I swear I can still see the empty buildings and crumbled streets, and feel the medley of emotions I felt as I went to meet my grandfather for the first time. Sometimes I imagine I meet Professor Layton and Luke on the street corner, and I wonder if they would remember me if I were to see them again. I've seen the professor's name in the papers so many times; I know he's done many things, and helped many others besides me. The man really got around, didn't he? His life was long, and he didn't waste a minute of it. If he passes away today, he'll have lived the exact number of years my grandfather did. I'm sure they would have been good friends if they had had the chance to get to know one another. They were both great men — True gentleman — with so much in common. It's nice to think they may have the chance to meet again on the other side.
It's a shame I never got to see the good professor again, but like the train ride, and phantom town, and my grandmother and grandfather themselves, he will always be part of my memory. I thank him, wherever he is, for making my grandmother's last wish come true.
Thank you W0lfWarrior for the theme park idea! :D