*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters nor stories in the Professor Layton franchise! All that belongs to the genius' who created the beloved series

Author's Note: This is a Professor Layton AU, and will involve a sort of Targent AU. I will not state what exactly, but it will be slowly unraveled throughout the series of writings I will be doing. I also plan to do a sort of sequel series for what happened after Unwound Future. I will be keeping most of the story intact, as I loved the series and believed they were all fantastic pieces of work. The writings here will also be like a novelization of the games and the movie (sort of), with changes for the sake of my storyline.

I hope that this story is enjoyable, as this will be my first fanfiction writing. Any information that my fellow writers have, whether compliments or advice, so long as it is said kindly, will be accepted. I may answer questions in an epilogue chapter for those who have them, but will not spoil the plotline I have in mind

Anyways: I hope you find this writing enjoyable! I hope it gives you a smile during this crisis!

Prologue

Now that night had come over the town, Misthallery's mist seemed to shiver in foreboding to the two figures who just entered into the quiet little town. The fog was thicker than usual, giving the two figures little to no features unless someone was staring them right in the face. But given the unusually late hour, no other people were seen on the streets. The two figures then stopped when they came upon a certain house.

"So…you think this man will help us?" The older figure spoke, his voice commanding.

"Hah! As if he will have a choice once we remind how important his family is to him…! And once we hold the forged will over him as blackmail, he will be really worried!" The other responded, a chuckle coming from his mouth.

"Hmmm…very well. But make sure you do not end up giving him a reason to resist nor suspicion that there is more than one of us involved in this plot."

"Fine, fine." The younger one said, waving his hand nonchalantly. He then looked toward the newspaper in the older man's pocket.

"To think that it could possibly be here…what a nuisance. This just makes our goal more difficult to achieve without drawing suspicion."

"Indeed." The older man sighed. "The excavations have been going on for almost two months now, yet it would seem that while the Golden Garden may be here, those fools are looking in the wrong places."

"Which means we may have to dig the town up in order to find it?"

"Exactly."

"Well then. Shall I deliver the message to this man tomorrow? People cannot think straight when woken at this late hour." The young man sneered.

"Hmph. Indeed not. Yes, and from here on out, proceed with caution. We already have that Chief of Police under our thumb with promises of wealth and fortune, but this man will not cooperate unless…encouraged to. Once that is done, begin digging the Garden from its wretched hiding place!" The older man commanded, then walked off into the thick fog till he simply seemed to vanish.

The younger gentleman stood staring at the house for a long time, then he began to move until he found himself underneath a lamplight. The lamplight revealed the man's features. He was tall and wore a red fedora that seemed to cover both his eyes, making it impossible to see his face. If his face were to be looking up at someone, they would see only dark glasses which hid his dark eyes. He wore all black, with the exception of the red fedora and the long, unbuttoned red coat that went all the down to his knees. He leaned against the pole, getting lost in thought as the night moved on. He then gave himself a malicious chuckle.

Things are going to get very interesting soon…

In the dark room, a man sat at a chair, a warm fire illuminating him, and reflecting off the many old books that crowded the large shelves the room possessed.

He sat down and began to intensely read a book aloud, while an older gentleman in the corner of the room listened to the man recounting the tale with interest.

"Long ago, in a lawless age, a pack of bandits invaded a small village. Amidst the chaos, a terrified young farm girl played her flute to drown out the madness. As the music spiraled high into the sky, a giant specter appeared above her. She begged the specter to destroy the bandits, and it swiftly obeyed. The town was saved, and the specter vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. But the farm girl knew that in times of danger, she needed only to play the flute and the specter would appear." The man in the chair ended by closing the book.

"A quaint tale, wouldn't you say?" The man in the chair looked up.

"Aye, Master." The elder man responded.

"I believe that the next chapter of the specter's tale has become twisted. If we are to ease the farm girl's fears, we must pen the next chapter to right this atrocity." The man determined.

The elder man bowed his head, looking towards the man. He said only three words in response.

"Of course, Master."

Misthallery, At the Hotel Late at night

"Wow! What an amazing story, big brother!"

"Oh? Did you like the story, little brother?"

"Haha! I loved it! The specter came and saved the day! Take that, Bandits!" The little boy shouted, jumping up and down on the bed making sword swinging movements.

"Easy, easy!" The older boy laughed. "You don't want to wake everyone else up, do you?"

The little boy calmed down, glancing nervously at their bedroom door. His smile faded quickly, replaced with a face filled with despair.

"Hey, big..brother?"

"Hmm? What is it? What's wrong?" The older boy asked.

At this, the little boy walked over to their bedroom window. He hopped on the chair next to the bedside table and looked gloomily outside. All the boy could see was a darkened place, with buildings that possessed no light, as everyone was asleep. But in the skies, a storm brewed overhead, crackling and thundering with seemingly no end in sight.

"Do you think…the specter…would come and save us?"

At this the older boy looked at his little brother, trying hard for someone so young to hide the tears that were slowly forming in his eyes. He then went over and hugged his brother.

"I do not think so, brother. The specter cannot save us."

The little boy looked up. "Big…brother?"

"It will destroy us…it has become corrupted…it will destroy us…destroy…you…and I-" The older boy stated, his image beginning to fade.

"Big brother! Big Brother!" The little boy cried, tugging at his brother's pajamas, which were starting to fade and disappear into nothing. Then the boy turned around to the window. It had now disappeared, showing only a fiery blaze destroying everything in sight. Then the boy looked up at the sky. He saw a dark looming figure appear above him, red eyes glistening, claws outstretched….

"P…..Profe….Professor?"

Professor Layton quickly awakened to the sound of a woman calling out his name. She had a worried expression on her face. He quickly figured out that he must have been having a nightmare, which was confirmed by him needing to wipe the sweat off his face. He then found himself sitting up from his bed. As he began to become more alert to his surroundings, he noticed the young boy, Luke, looking at him worriedly. He gave them both a look to let them know he was okay. They then both smiled, with the young lady, Emmy, directing her gaze to some fresh, hot tea on the nearby table. The professor walked over to the table and began drinking from the fresh cup of tea. After a little while, he sat up and walked over to the window, where Luke was looking out.

"Well Luke, do you see anything yet?"

"Nope…Nothing." Luke yawned, gazing sadly out the window.

"I'm still having a tough time buying all this. It's sounds like some scary bedtime story. Is this even possible?" Emmy asked, looking away from the window she had been peering out of moments before.

"Well…we'll soon find out." Professor Layton answered.

"…And a poor little boy who predicts where the giant specter will appear." Emmy continued, slightly chuckling at what she was saying. Luke, the little boy she was talking about, only looked down in response, and continued to peer out the window.

"So, what now?" Emmy continued to speak. "I mean, what if this thing never even shows up?" She finished her sentence by seating herself on the bed with a loud thump.

The professor contemplated what she said for a moment. He was not sure about that himself. He began sipping his tea when a beautiful melody began playing. Was that a flute? It was very beauti-

Wait a moment…

"Hm? What is…What on earth could that be?" He wondered.

"It sounds like…it sounds like music!" Emmy answered, looking around for the source of the sound.

While the two adults got up from where they were seated, Luke stood right where he was, looking down, his voice filling with fear.

"The flute…it must be…" Was all he could manage before a loud, stomping noise could be heard from outside. Another crash soon followed after.

"Quickly! To the window!" The professor shouted. All three then looked out the windows of their hotel room. Their mouths all dropped at the sight that beheld them.

Through the fog, a tall figure could be seen grabbing a lamppost then tossing it to the ground. Two arms then seemed to come together, smashing into a nearby wall, with the creature's head slamming into the same building.

"What is that thing?" Emmy shouted. Her words were almost completely ignored as all three of them looked upon the eyes of the specter. They were glowing red, and seemed to make a strange noise as they gazed upon their bewildered witnesses. Luke, who was next to the professor, gazed up in terror, and could be heard whimpering by the professor as the creature gazed down upon them.

"Can this be…?"

"The specter!?" Emmy stated, finishing the professor's sentence. She then got her camera out (almost dropping it) and started to quickly take pictures.

What looked like sparks came from its two claws that had collided moments before, before both were brought down upon the hotel the three were residing in. The impact left three scratch marks on the hotel.

In the aftermath of this case, Emmy would later reflect on that moment, and remembered what she had determined she would do:

Finally seeing this dark giant made me even more determined to help the professor keep his word. Together, we would shine a light of truth upon this ghastly shadow…

Prologue AU End