Professor Layton and his apprentice had arrived at a local junkyard which is known as 'Crazy Pete's Crazy Junk'. Well, at least that's what the enormous metal sign read... It looked as if was made of random pieces of metal slapped together sloppily. It was almost noon, and the duo needed to get some materials to create a device that can record sounds echoing through the air. There were all sorts of junk just lying around: automobile parts, pieces of stove, busted clocks, gears, springs, broken glass, busted chairs, bells, vacuum hoses, screws, hammers, beds with springs sticking out of them, televisions with broken screens, computer monitors, clothes, doorknobs, cardboard boxes, picture frames, wires, clothespins, lamps, shoes, hats, (huff huff) washing machine parts, broken tables, stockings, broken headsets, torn curtains, (well... I think I've said enough, you get the idea...).
The professor browsed around many of the odds and ends here, "I was under the assumption that a junkyard only had automobile parts for sale."
Luke tugged on his hat slightly, "This place has everything!"
The duo heard a very distinct voice coming from one of the many piles of junk, "YEEEEEHAAAAA!" The voice had like an old Western delight to it.
At that point, a figure literally jumped out of where the voice came from, and knocked the junk that he was hiding in all over the place. One of these pieces of junk, which was a sink faucet, was knocked directly toward the direction of the professor's top hat, at which point he promptly ducked under. The figure was wearing what looked like a trash can with straps as clothing, and what looks like a cowboy's hat made of pieces of scrap metal. The only thing that was shown in the flesh was his face, which was very old and wrinkled, and was missing some dominant teeth. This figure had a long, but surprisingly well-groomed gray beard, and was otherwise bald.
"Well, howdy strangers! Welcome to the greatest assortment of junk and crap known to mankind, Crazy Pete's Crazy Junk! And, I'm the proud owner, CRAAAAAZY PEEEETE!"
The professor and Luke just silently turned their heads toward one another and stared at each other silently...
"Well, come on in, y'all! Don't be shy! You two have got to be the first visitors I've had in weeeeeks!"
Although the professor was silent about it, he could imagine why they were his first visitors right away..., "Y-yes... My name is Hershel Layton, and this is my companion, Luke. We are currently in need of materials to create a recording device. I understand that this should be much cheaper than a store-bought recording device." He glanced at Luke for a moment, "We are, as one would say, 'strapped for cash'."
Pete gave a crooked and almost shocking smile to the duo, "Well, I suppose we can come to an agreement and... Oh dang! I excited myself so much, I reckon I got myself stiff! Gimme a sec..."
At that moment came something truly horrifying to the duo, something neither of them will ever forget... Pete grabbed his right arm with his left hand and twisted it sharply, letting out a sickening crack from his elbow. He then did the same thing to his other arm. But, that was just the beginning... Pete put both of his hands behind his back, from within the 'trash can suit' and pushed his back forward, letting out more cracks... And just when the professor and Luke was uncomfortable enough, Pete put his right hand on his neck and his left hand on the top of his head and twisted his neck sharply, letting out even more gruesome cracks.
The professor's face turned pale while watching this, and Luke actually squealed at the sight of Pete cracking his own neck, and held his mouth shut so as to avoid vomiting. Pete still wasn't done, as now he clasped his fingers together with the palms of his hands facing away from him, and bent his fingers backward, and letting out many more cracks at once.
At last, Pete felt less tense, "Oh boy... That's so... goody..." Pete noticed the duo feeling ill and misinterpreted the meaning, "Hey, partners! Either of you fellas need to get a crazy twist? It relaxes the muscles!"
The professor assumed that this meant that Pete would 'offer' to crack his or Luke's bones and responded with a mild, but resounding, "No."
"Well, your loss then, fellas. Now, anyways, about the recording device."
The professor had an idea with how to construct this invention. He had always been good at creating useful pieces of equipment, such as a helicopter bicycle and a slot machine gun that used coins as ammunition.
He created these things using mere junk in the past, and had a very good sense of inspiration, "Some pieces of scrap metal should be melted down and welded together to form the shape of the contraption. Magnetic tape as well as its casing from a tape recorder, and the bells of at least five tubas is necessary for the sound reproduction. Some small pipes should be placed carefully within the contraption and have gears attached outside of them to spin the tape. One of the ends of pipe are to be connected to the tape while the other is to be connected to a handle, which is to be spun constantly by hand. A door knob or handle of some sort should suffice."
Crazy Pete held his hands outward with his hands forming a square, as if to visualize what the final product of this contraption will look like, "So, you fellas need a man-size phonograph?"
The professor couldn't think of a better way to explain it, "Uhh... Yes, that would explain what we need very well. We will also need a way to drive this contraption, since it will be rather heavy when it is complete. I believe some treads, much like the tracks of an army tank, and some wheels should suffice. The finished product should be able to carry at least 400 pounds, if I had calculated that correctly. Some pedals and levers to drive and brake the contraption is for safety."
Beneath Crazy Pete's... uhh, craziness, is a mind that can actually match Professor Layton's ingenuity, as he appeared to actually understand just how this recording device will work! The professor and Pete were bartering just how much each item would be in value before the big purchase, and the cost came to $14.82. Since the professor did not have U.S. dollars (he had British money), Luke had to once again pay for this investigation. Even though this isn't nearly as much money spent as a new iPod, Luke couldn't help but feel a bit sore about having spent over fifty dollars in only a couple of days!
There was another matter that the professor had to deal with... All of those materials could not possibly fit within the Triton car, and he needed to have Luke's father come and pick it up, "Luke, I am going to seek out and try to borrow a phone to contact your father. He will need to come and pick up the ca..."
Before the professor finished, Luke pulled out what appeared to be a handheld device that looked like a phone. Luke dialed a number on it, and started talking to the person on the other end, "Luke here, Father! Hehehehe... 'Luke... here...' Get it? Father, we need someone to pick up the car. The professah is going to create another one of his contraptions for the investigation. Uh-huh... Uh-huh... Crazy Pete's Crazy Junk... Thank you, Father! Yes, you too! Bye!"
Luke hung up the phone, and the professor was just staring quite puzzled at Luke, "Is that device a phone, Luke?"
Luke was very surprised, "It's a cell phone, Professah... You don't know what a cell phone is!?"
The professor was unsure, "Cell... phone..."
Luke chuckled at the professor's lack of understanding the technology of today's youth, "Father is coming to pick up the car via cab. He'll be here in about a half hour."
The professor was unsure of another word, "Cab? Is that slang, my boy?"
Luke's expression began to droop, "Trolley..." He almost forgot that they weren't in London anymore.
Now that the car was taken care of, the duo began construction of their newest contraption.
()
Meanwhile, back in the 'Tower of a Frozen Era' dungeon within the spiritual portal, Travis was now ready to enter the last floor: Floor 50. (Yes, this is actually going to be relevant to the professor's story.)
Travis had been exploring and fighting nonstop for over fourteen hours, and he was just about ready to start snoring! The exit to the 49th floor had frozen columns made of ice before it. Stranger still, the columns had ice sculptures on it, which looked like, "More top hats? Whatever's at the end of this has got a real fetish with proper attire..."
The exit itself looked like a giant clock that was missing its larger hand. The gate key that Travis was holding was the clock's smaller hand. Travis could actually see the ethereal sky of the spiritual realm from here (there was no ceiling), and it was snowing very heavily from above.
The same voice that was begging Travis to stop from earlier had continued to do so while I was typing the professor's story. Travis was ready to inevitably confront this... whatever it is... because most adversaries are dealt with towards the end. In this case, the end would be the boss floor!
Yay! I finally finished the 26th chapter! The next one will explain just what is on the 50th floor, and more importantly: Professor Layton's investigation within the snow tower, using one of his contraptions that he makes. I spent this chapter trying to explain in detail where the professor would get the materials, what he would make, and how he would make it, so this didn't feel like a 'Deus Ex Machina'. Did I do a good job? Feel free to review!
Really, I get the feeling that nobody is actually reading this anymore... If there is anyone that actually want me to continue typing this fanfic, please leave a message at the review box so I know that someone actually cares about this fic.