Hello readers,

Here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoy :)


Chapter 2: A Deadly Game

Layton and Edgar had got over their shock and ran towards the stage and to the masked presenter. Layton took the lead while Edgar followed him through the now deserted aisles. However, the stop short near the stage when they noticed someone else running towards the announcer.

Edgar groaned as he recognised the muscular figure run up the steps and slapped a pair of handcuffs on the shocked announcer.

"Fear not!" Grosky called out the audience, "I'm Inspector Grosky of the Yard!" he declared as he showed his I.D badge, "my finely honed investigation showed that something suspicious would happen in this theatre tonight and I'm here to put a stop it."

"Great, that's just the last thing we need right now," Edgar muttered, "and the last thing will need every other time, come to think of it."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Grosky announced, "no one will lose their lives. I, Inspector Groksy of the Yard, have arrested this diabolical criminal."

"Are you quite sure of that, Inspector?" Layton asked making his presence known to Grosky.

As Grosky turned to the voice in surprise, Edgar noticed that the presenter was shaking slightly and ever-so-often jerk sharply.

"I say, Layton is that you?" Grosky asked peering down from the stage, not noticing the presenter's odd movements.

"You sound way too surprised. Are you sure you a real Inspector?" Edgar piped up, earning a scowl from Grosky.

"I see you're here too, criminal," he growled as Edgar smirked up at him.

"Hey, Grosky, I thought I could smell the pungent smell of toxic masculinity in this theatre. I thought somebody let in a West Ham supporter," he quipped.

Suddenly the presenter's finger clicked and grew rigid causing Grosky to gasp in surprise. The presenter collapsed with only Grosky holding him up and then something unusual happened. The presenter inflated like a balloon and floated above Grosky's head. The presenter looked so real, but it was clear that it had been a puppet this whole time.

A rumble was heard overhead. Everybody looked up to see the auditorium's ceiling open up revealing the night sky.

Grosky tried to pull down the inflated presenter, but soon it became too much. Groksy was pulled of his feet and Edgar knew he was going to float up through the roof.

He needed to do something.

Edgar jumped on the stage and ran towards Groksy. He saw the inspector reach out his hand ready for Edgar to take to pull him down.

Grosky features grew soft, 'He's trying to save me,' he thought, 'maybe he isn't as bad a-'

But Edgar was an inch away from his hand when he stopped, smirked at Grosky and whispered, "Have a safe trip."

"You little-" was all Grosky said before he floated to the top of the theatre.

The inflated presenter was pieced by a light and tore open. The air inside it came shooting out and it zipped through the sky, taking a screaming Grosky. Eventually, Grosky was taken out of sight.

Edgar looked up at scene with amusement.

'He'll be fine,' he told himself.

Turning around, he saw Layton give him a stern glare.

"Oh no, I didn't make it in time. What a shame," Edgar said in uncaring tone.

The whole theatre was still shaking violently much to everybody's concern.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice rang out through the auditorium, "without further interruption, let us begin our journey to eternal life!"

The theatre boomed and shook violently. Edgar almost fell over but caught himself at the last moment. People screamed and hung on to the seats for dear life.

"Edgar," Layton called out as he ran towards the auditorium doors.

"On my way!" Edgar shouted back, following him.

They ran down the main aisle and out of the auditorium. They ran pass the entrance hall and out through exit. The looked around at the theatre as it began to move and shift. The whole building became narrower, and the driveway cracked and broke away from the mainland. The entire theatre shot up and Edgar could see that they were drifting away from the coastline.

As the others poured out of the exit, Edgar moved over the side and was surprised to see that the theatre had converted into a large iron ship.

"People just too much time on their hands," Edgar muttered to himself.

"What's happening?" a bearded man asked. He was a short, plump man who wore orange trousers and a green jacket and hat.

"Does he think he can trap us?" a tall man asked in disbelief. He had bushy red hair and a large nose. He wore a red suit and a brown tie. Edgar swore he knew him from somewhere.

The bushy haired man ran to the side and perched himself on the railing.

"What are you doing? Can you see a way out?" a fancy lady asked him. She was beautiful with short brown hair, fair skin and wore a black dress and purple lipstick.

"I know what I'm doing. I am swimming back," the bushy haired man told her, preparing to jump.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you," Edgar told him in singsong voice as he leaned on the railing.

The man grumbled, "And why's that? I'm ain't afraid of the cold," he inquired.

"It's not the cold you should be worrying about," Edgar told them using his thumb to point to the sea, "although to be fair, like the cold, it also bites."

People looked over the side and gasped to see a school of sharks swimming around the ship. Edgar noted the odd metallic thing they have at the end of the sharks' noses.

'Weird,' Edgar thought, 'there shouldn't be sharks in the Channel. Are they being controlled?'

The bushy haired man slowly climbed of the railing and decided to stay on the ship.


On a large balcony looking over the sea, was the young girl who Janice mentioned in her letter. She was singing a song as she felt the fresh sea air hit her face. The song was sweet, but short so she kept repeating it over and over again.

The girl stopped and gave a small smile.

"I can go home at last," she told herself.

Nearby, two hands grabbed the side of the ship. A soaking wet Grosky pulled himself up over the railing and landed roughly on to the deck.

Grosky rolled into a kneeling position and straightened his large Pompidou.

"Not even out of breath," he boasted as she stood up and look over the side of the ship.

The sharks snapped at him angrily causing him to chuckle.

"Nice try, sharks," he mocked.

He was about to enter the ship again when he stopped. He heard a singing voice and looked around to see where it is coming from. He looked over the side once more and saw Malina singing from the balcony. Humming in interest, Grosky entered the building to look for the balcony.

After much searching, Groksy eventually found it and looked around the area, but he could not see the girl. Thinking the worst, Grosky ran to the edge of the balcony and looked over the side.

"Where is she? Did you fall, little girl?" he cried as he desperately tried to search for her.

Little did he realise, that Melina had hidden behind a stone pillar as before entered the balcony. Melina stared at the inspector's back with a rage filled glare.


Meanwhile, alone in the auditorium, Whistler placed a framed photograph of his daughter before she died on the Detragan. It had been knocked over during the transition, but Whistler made no effort to go with the rest of the crowd.

He smiled solemnly at the photo.

"Don't worry," he comforted the photo as if it was his daughter, "just leave everything to me," he reassured as he brushed his hand over the Detragan.

"I will play for you who so loved music," he said before something caught his eye.

Above the keyboard were six lights, three of which were alight. Whistler watched in horror as the third light flicked and died abruptly. Whistler gasped before his face grew serious. He turned to the keyboard with an angry expression and started to play a deep, dramatic song.


Music rocked though the ship, surprising Grosky as he looked over the balcony. He didn't see Marina come up from behind him, nor realise what she was going to do.

"I want to go home!" she shouted as she pushed Grosky

Grosky slipped and fell over the balcony and into the depths of the North Sea once more. The sharks surrounded him instantly as the ship sailed away.


Layton, Edgar and some members of the audience ran back into the auditorium to investigate where the music is coming from.

"What are you doing?" shouted the bushy haired man, "Someone's after our lives and you play music?"

"We are sailing out to sea and there are...sharks all around us," the posh lady added angrily.

Whistler finished his music but didn't reply. He stared ahead at the Detragan unaffected by their shouts.

"Mr. Whistler, you're the one behind this opera," the bearded man stated firmly, "Tell me, did you also plan this deadly game?"

Whistler stood up from his seat. Not yet turning to face the angry crowd.

"I was asked to compose an opera," Whistler informed as he turned to face the critical audience, "that is all."

The crowd didn't seem convinced by his words, but they backed away for now.

"So," Edgar called out, "do you take requests because I would love for you to play 'In-a-gadda-da-vida' by Iron Butterfly," he said with a smirk.

The bearded man turned to him sharply.

"Do you think this funny, young man?" he spat out.

Edgar sighed, "You're right, I should have said 'Beyond the Sea' by Bobby Darin, but I thought it could do better than that," he mused.

The bearded man hummed in annoyance.

"Didn't like that one? What about 'Shooting Shark' by the Blue Oyster Cult?" he teased in amusement.

The crowd turned away with a huff leaving a chuckling Edgar behind.

"Professor," a familiar voice called out from the stage.

Edgar spun around and saw Janice approaching them. She had changed out of her princess dress and was wearing the same purple dress she wore on their date. Subconsciously, Edgar straightened his suit and made himself a presentable as possible.

Janice only recognised Layton because of his usual attire, but when she recognised the person next to him, she stopped in surprise.

"Edgar? What are you doing here?" Janice asked in shock as she took a few steps forward.

Edgar smiled, "Well, to cut a long story short, I'm the Prof's apprentice. Is that all right. I'm sorry I didn-"

"No," Janice suddenly said before she caught herself, "sorry… I mean, you didn't have to tell me anything. I was just a bit surprise to see you again," she explained with a small blush on her cheeks.

"Yeah," Edgar said briefly, "I wish I wasn't meeting you in this damn tux, though," he said pulling at his bowtie.

Janice giggled, "I think you look rather dashing in a tuxedo, Edgar," she told him.

Edgar smiled. He could feel his heart beating faster.

"Thanks. You were amazing up there. You're a great singer," Edgar complimented.

Janice blushed and bashfully played with her ponytail.

"Thank you, your very kind, but it wasn't my best performance. I doubt anybody paid any attention to me," she humbly said as she stared at the floor.

"I did," Edgar said, making Janice look up at his eyes, "and I thought you were beautiful."

The two gazed at each other, lost in each other's eyes. The world slipped away as they focused on each other.

Nothing can interrupt this moment.

"Ahem," Layton coughed.

And then their moment was interrupted.

Edgar and Janice turned to Layton who looked slightly uncomfortable.

"I hate to be the one to ruin your reunion, but we have much serious things to attend to," he told them.

Janice and Edgar noticed how close they had gotten and took a step back sheepishly.

Janice cleared her throat and addressed Layton.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I never dreamed anything like this would happen. Really, I didn't," she apologised, feeling guilty for dragging them in to this mess.

"It's fine, Janice," Edgar reassured kindly.

"Indeed," Layton agreed, "Is it not the duty of every true gentleman...to help a lady in need?" he said tilting his hat to her.

Janice giggled lightly, "Oh, you haven't changed at all," she told him.

"So, where is the girl in your letter?" Edgar asked in concern as he put his hand in his pockets.

Janice shook her head sadly, "I haven't seen her since this morning. I've asked Mr. Whistler, but well, he said I should concentrate on my performance," she explained.

Edgar raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Why would-"

"Ladies and gentlemen," the presenter's disembodied voice echoed through the theatre, "Now we are all passengers together on the Crown Petone. It's time for our little puzzle-solving game to begin," he proclaimed ominously.

"Puzzle-solving?" questioned the blond haired girl who Edgar crashed into.

"The rules are very simple. The winner, meaning the last player left, receives eternal life," the presenter continued.

"Prof?" Edgar asked, wondering what they should do.

"I don't see that any of us have a choice but to play the game, Edgar," Layton replied.

Edgar shrugged. He was up for it.

What's the worst that could happen?

He did note Janice's uneasy expression. It was as if she was worried for them.

"Let's begin," the presenter announced, "Puzzle number 001, Look around you, ladies and gentlemen. Look for the oldest thing you can see and gather by it. Sounds simple. But there is a catch."

A spotlight clicked on and illuminated the stage. Coming up through the trap door was a large wooden contraption. It had a tall, decorated board which held a long parchment of sheet music. It was held up by two large, carved poles. At it's base was a music box like contraption in which the sheet music is fed into it.

It started to move all by itself. The sheet music was fed into the music box, and it played a gentle, but tense song.

"When the music stops, your time is up," the presenter explained "If you want eternal life, there's no time to lose."

The remain audience members started to file out of the auditorium and into the main hall, searching for the oldest thing they could see.

Edgar swayed to the music, complete enraptured in it.

"Why is this music so calming and yet so aggravating?" he asked himself.

(A.N: I love the music they use when you are solving the puzzles in the game, but after five wrong answers in a row, it's like it mocks you. I'm glad they put this music in the film, though. Ahh the memories.)

"We should go and look," Layton said, snapping Edgar out of his trance.

"I'll come to," Janice insisted.

Edgar and Layton shared a glance before nodding happily at Janice.


Hall

The hall was grand and ornate as the rest of the theatre. It was filled with precious treasures like fossils, paintings, rock crystals, and statues. There was even a skeleton of a whale. People swarmed these exhibits hoping that at least one of them is the oldest.

Layton, Edgar, and Janice observed the hall thoroughly, looking at each exhibit and treasure. But none of them seemed to scream out at being the oldest.

"Prof, this is like looking for the oldest straw of hay in a haystack," Edgar said, "we're not going to get anywhere by looking at them all."

Layton rubbed his chin in thought and began to think.

Seeing that Layton was in deep thought, Edgar decided to follow his lead.


Puzzle Start


'Alright, let's think about this', Edgar thought, 'we're looking for the oldest thing we can see. There are plenty of antiques about, but I think we can discredit all the man-made objects since there are fossils and rock crystals and they have got to be older than the exitance of human-kind. Although, what's to say that they're real. They could all be fake as far as anybody knows. Not only that, but who's to say that the thing we're looking for is in this room'

Edgar sighed.

'Let's think of the basics of puzzle solving. If there's too much information provided, it usually means that it is a Red Herring, and you need to re-read the question again. So, what was that weirdo saying? Look for the oldest thing you can see and gather by it.'

'Oldest we can see.'

'Oldest we can see'

'Oldest we can see!'

'He never said it is on the ship, meaning…'

'Of course,'


Puzzle Solved


"I've got it," Layton declared as he broke out of his deep thought.

"So do I," Edgar said, earning an approving smile from Layton.

"Excellent, let's head back to the theatre," Layton suggested as he and Edgar walked back to the auditorium.

Janice stood there and gave the two males an odd look as they walked away.

'Right, so they are going to keep me in the dark," Janice muttered to herself as she followed them.


Auditorium

The music had almost finished by the time they entered the auditorium again. Thirty or so people were milling about either sitting down on one of the vacated seats or walking up and down the aisles. Edgar spotted the blonde haired girl mid-way down the main aisle looking up at the sky which was still exposed. Edgar was glad top see that she was alright but was slightly curious as to why how she acquired the tickets and why she was here.

"Professor?" Janice questioned, snapping Edgar out of his thoughts.

Layton turned to her with a kind smile.

"Think back to what he said on the first question. He told us, we were to look for the oldest thing we could see, but he did not say the oldest thing on the ship," Layton explained.

"So, the oldest thing is not on the ship, but we can still see it," Janice said.

"Yep," Edgar lazily agreed, "and that could only be…" Edgar looked up as did Layton and Janice, "the sky with its stars, billions of years old," he answered as the gazed at the expanses of night sky, admiring its beauty.

"Of course," Janice laughed in delight as the music played its final note.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your time is up," the voice of the presenter once more echoed through the theatre, "The oldest thing you can see are the stars above you. To those of you in theatre, congratulations," he explained earning relieved gasped form those in the auditorium, "You can continue."

Edgar couldn't help but feel uneasy as he looked towards the doors that entered the hall. The majority of the audience had gone outside.

"But for those of you who got it wrong..." the presenter continued maliciously.

Edgar heard the startled cries and shouts from the hall. Janice and Layton heard it too and couldn't help but give horrified looks. Janice clutched Edgar's sleeve sadly as she continued to stare at the doors. Edgar placed his hand over hers comfortingly.

"Let us proceed to puzzle number 002," the presenter declared.

The wooden music contraption flipped the board that held the sheet music so it can play the music again.

"Now, go to where you can see the largest crown," the presenter announced.

Edgar expected him to continue, but he didn't, and silence filled the air once more.

"What that's it?" Edgar said out loud, "That's barely a sentence let alone a puzzle."

Layton hummed in agreement as people around them chattered away in confusion.

"This is hardly a competition if he keeps gathering us all together," remarked an elderly man with a large beard. He was dressed in a nautical themed blazer and a white cap, clearly a sign of his career as a captain.

"There are hundreds of crowns on display all over this silly little ship," sighed the posh lady in annoyance, "There is no way we can compare all of them in the time we have."

Edgar couldn't help but agree. There were many different crowns of all shapes and sizes in glass cases in the hall.

A thought struck Edgar. He subtly motioned his head to Layton and Janice so they could talk without the others overhearing.

After a minute of talking, Edgar broke away from the group with a large smile. He approached the stage and leaned on it lazily. Noticing that others hadn't taken notice of him, he chuckled overdramatically to grab their attention.

"Honestly, you lot really don't know the answer," he teased, "it's pretty simple if you think about it."

"Oh really, care to share," the bushy haired man asked in annoyance.

Edgar pretended to think before giving him a smirk.

"Nah," he told him.

"Young man, this is very important," the man with the beard said firmly, "tell us the answer before we make you tell us."

Edgar sighed as he looked at the crowd that had gathered around him. Each person giving him a raged and desperate expression. Yet, Edgar remained calm, unthreatened by the mob.

Edgar rolled his eyes, "Fine," he said reluctantly, "it's obviously not one of the crowns on display that would be way stupid. But if you think back on the question, the presenter never said it had to be a crown you have to wear. Remember above the entrance there was a sign with a large crown on it with the theat- er ship's name," he explained, earning some gasps from the audience.

"Of course," the bereded man said, "that must be it," he declared.

The audience began to shuffle away towards the exit. When he saw that everybody was distracted, Edgar nodded to Layton. Layton nodded back and so he, Edgar, and Janice headed in a different direction to the others.


Layton, Edgar, Janice walked down an ornate hall to the back of the ship. Edgar decided to break the silence and turned to Layton.

"You know what I don't get are these questions," Edgar remarked, "why is the person dragging this whole thing out?"

"I believe that he is testing us," Layton answered, "seeing if we are worthy of eternal life."

Janice turned towards Edgar worriedly.

"Do you think it worked?" she asked.

Edgar gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure it did," Edgar said as they walked through a double door that led to the aft, "or at least…" he trailed off as soon as he saw nine people had beaten them to it, "narrow it down," Edgar finished with a sigh.

Some of them he recognised but didn't know their names like the bushy haired man, the man with beard, the sea captain, the posh lady, and the blond haired schoolgirl. However, there were people he didn't know like an overweight lady with brown curled hair, fair skin and a mustard coloured dress and an elderly man with grey hair and moustache who wore green khaki jacket and trousers and a brown hat. The last two people was Whistler and a young girl who stood by his side.

Some of them were lowering lifeboats over the side of the ship while others watched them. They took little notice of them as Janice approached Whistler.

"Mr. Whistler," Janice solemnly greeted.

"Janice," Whistler replied in surprise as he stopped lowing the lifeboat for a moment.

The trios' eyes fell on the little girl that stood beside him. Edgar gave her a friendly smile, but she just hid behind Whistler nervously.

Whistler saw the questioning gazes from Layton and Edgar and smiled anxiously.

"My adopted daughter, Melina," he informed as he glanced at the girl.

'Adopted?' Edgar thought in confusion as he took another look at the shy girl, 'Is this the girl in Janice's letter?'

Before he could think more on the subject, a haughty voiced interrupted him.

"It appears you've solved this puzzle too," the man with the beard remarked.

"Yes," Layton simply replied.

The bearded man hmphed in annoyance and turned away from them.

"Well, I hope everyone don't turn up," he bushy haired man groaned as he turned the crank to lower the boat.

"I thought you were going to the entrance," Edgar said to the bearded man with a raised eyebrow.

"Please, I already knew the answer before you decided to mislead them," he replied condescendingly.


-Flashback –

Auditorium

Edgar had just led away Janice and Layton and began to talk to them in a low whisper.

"Something just occurred to me," Edgar said, "I think we might need to undermine the others."

"Undermine?" Janice questioned.

Edgar nodded solemnly, "we need to mislead them, so they get out of the game."

Janice stepped back in surprise, "Why do we need to do that. They'll die," she complained in horror.

"I don't think they will," Layton intercepted, "I doubt our mysterious organiser would want to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. It is possible that they are kept somewhere, and we have been told that they have been killed as encouragement."

"That's horrible," Janice gasped, "why would anyone want to do that?"

"I don't know," Edgar said, "but what I do know is that the people here would be safer losing the game then allowing them to continue," he explained as Layton nodded in agreement.

Janice sighed reluctantly, "I suppose."

Edgar smiled kindly, "Thank you for trusting us, Janice," he said before turning to Layton, "you'll come up with real answer while I give the second," Edgar suggested.

Layton nodded, "That's sound acceptable."


-Flashback End-


"I saw through your charade like a- What are you doing?" the bearded man asked as he saw Edgar rifle through his pockets.

"Oh sorry," Edgar said, "just looking for the medal I give to bearded, old men who think they've outwitted me," he muttered before stopping suddenly, "oh hold on, I don't have one," he remarked with a smirk.

The bearded man was about to retort when he noticed something.

"Weren't you wearing a tuxedo earlier?" he asked in confusion.

Layton and Janice also looked confused and turned to look at Edgar. To their surprise, Edgar was now wearing his usual leather jacket and flat cap. They haven't even seen him change.

"No, I was wearing this the whole time," he said with a shrug, "now chop, chop. Those boats aren't going to lower themselves," he said as he leaned lazily on a barrel.

The bearded man grumbled and continue lowing the boat.

Janice turned to Layton questioning who responded with an awkward smile.

"It would seem that Edgar is and will always be a mystery," Layton said as he helped lower the boats into the water.

Janice giggled at his answer. She turned and walked towards Melina who had her back turned towards Janice.

"Melina, where did you disappear to?" Janice asked in worry.

"Why?" Melina questioned, making Janice frown in confusion, "Why did you bring the Professor?"

"Melina?" Janice asked in shock before the young girl spun around and looked at her with a rage filled expression.

"He mustn't win this game!" Melina demanded, "Are you Melina's friend or not? Please, let us have our wish."

"Our wish?" Janice repeated as she took a step back from the Melina.

From afar, Layton and Edgar watched this exchange with interest. They shared a worried look but decided to not do anything else.


Lifeboats, North Sea

"I've got to say, it's a beautiful night to be doing potentially lethal challengers," Edgar remarked as he stared up at the night sky, feeling the rhythm of the waves as it crashed onto their wooden boat.

"I suppose there is always an upside," Layton sighed as he pulled the oar through the water.

They only needed two lifeboats to fit all of them. Janice sat at the bow with Whistler and Melina sandwiched between them. Layton and the khaki wearing man, who introduced himself as Marco Brock, operated the oars in the middle of the boat. Finally, Edgar and the blonde schoolgirl sat in the aft. The others sat in the second boat looking slightly miserable.

"Are you always this confident when your life in in danger," the schoolgirl shrewdly questioned.

Edgar shrugged, "Someone has to be," he told her with a smirk and a wink.

"Excuse me, Miss..." Layton asked.

"Amelia," the schoolgirl answered simply.

"Amelia, how did you come to be at the theatre tonight?" he inquired curiously.

"Yes," Marco agreed, "a schoolgirl like you couldn't afford a ticket like that. It costs a small fortune."

"Says the man dressed like a 19th century explorer," Edgar muttered, earning a ghost of a smile on Amelia's lips.

"Amelia didn't buy her ticket," Whistler piped up from the bow, "She was invited. Sadly, I lost my daughter who loved music. I wanted to give a young girl the opportunity to hear my new opera in her place. Of course, she has to be as talented as my daughter. I searched far and wide to find the right person. And I invited this special young girl. She is very talented. You see, Amelia is a British chess champion," he explained.

"Okay," Edgar uttered, "inviting young girls you don't know to replace the daughter shaped hole in your heart. That's normal," Edgar muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Edgar decided to turn his attention to the other boat which was piloted by Curtis O'Donnell, the sea captain, and the man with the beard. They were slightly behind them, but Edgar could still hear them.

"Just twelve of us left now," the bearded man said before smiling viciously, "Well...seems like this competition shouldn't go on too much longer before I claim my prize."

The others in the boat grunted or hummed in annoyance when he said that.

"You're very sure of yourself," the posh lady stated, "Which is a shame seeing as I am going to win. I shall remain beautiful for all of time," she said snootily.

She turned to the busy haired man next to her who only grunted in reply, earning an irritated sneer from her.

"This is almost an exact copy of a scene in my book," the overweight lady proudly said.

"Oh my. Can it really be?" the posh lady gasped in astonishment as the overweight lady continued.

"Murder on the Thames. As the hero..."

"Wait," the posh lady interrupted, "are you Annie Dretche? The mystery writer?" she asked, causing the other people in the boat to look at her in surprise.

Annie took it in her stride and smiled pleasantly, "Well, how flattering. It seems my work is known even amongst London's super rich celebrities. I am honoured, Mrs Raidley...I have seen you in the gossip magazines," she informed, passing the attention on to her.

"Well well. Aren't I a lucky fellow to be in a boat with all these famous people," remarked Curtis, tipping his hat to the lady.

"Wait a minute," Edgar called out from his boat, "are you Celia Raidley? The socialite who lives in St. John's Wood with the rococo style clock?" he asked.

Celia smiled pleasantly, "Indeed," she called back, "although that clock was stol-" she stopped in realisation, "hold on. How do you know about my c-"

"So, Ms Dretche," Edgar calmly interrupted, "anymore 'Who's who' lifeboat edition you would like to point out?"

Annie smiled and continued, ignoring Celia's bemused expression.

"Indeed, and it gets better," she nodded her heard to the bearded man, "that eccentric gentleman is Mr. Frederick Burgland, president of the "World Fleet" corporation."

Frederick just tugged at his beard nervously.

"And over there," Annie nodded to the bushy haired man, "a football legend, the man with the golden left leg."

Curtis and Edgar turned to him in surprise.

"No way, Pierre Starbuck?" Edgar said, "I haven't seen you since you've played against Everton."

Edgar knew he's seen him somewhere.

"I thought your left leg looked familiar," Curtis added.

Pierre laughed bitterly, "Golden left leg..." he lifted his trouser leg up to show a large scar going up his leg, "here is what's left."

"Looks nasty," Edgar observed, wincing slightly.

"I need eternal life if I am ever to get my strength back," Pierre told them darkly as he lowered his trouser leg.

Edgar heard a shuffling sound and turned to Melina. When she noticed him looking at her, Edgar gave her a kind smile. However, Melina only gripped Whistler's arm in fright which hurt Edgar. It was like when Arianna would shy away from him back in Misthallery.

Whistler noticed this exchange and smiled apologetically at Edgar.

"She's a bit shy," he told him.

Edgar nodded, but it still hurt his feelings a little.

"Mr. Whistler, is it true that this girl came back to life?" Layton asked turning around in his seat, "Reborn as Melina."

Marco and Amelia turned around in surprise while Edgar rolled his eyes.

"Straight to the point as always," Edgar muttered.

"Where did you hear that?" Whistler asked with a surprised frown.

He answered his own question by giving Janice a look before addressing Layton again.

"Nonsense. I adopted this girl. I only call her Melina as a sign of affection," he explained.

"Again, really weird," Edgar uttered.

"But..." Janice tried to argue, but Whistler interrupted her.

"Janice, it makes me happy that you wish Melina were still with us. But... she is gone."

Janice looked down in disappointment as Edgar looked on curiously. He had a sneaking suspicion that something is going on between the two.

Whistler continued, "I decided to carry on composing for her sake. When that man asked me to write an opera, I agree to do this for Melina, to play for my daughter's memories. But I never expected this."

Silence fell as the boat gently rocked up and down.

Edgar turned in his seat and smiled as he saw the ship in the distance.

"Finally," he said, catching everybody's attention, "we can now see the biggest crown."

He had worked out the puzzle a while ago. The obvious clue was the name of the ship: The Crown Petone. The fact is that the crown wasn't on the ship; it was the ship. Edgar looked at the side of the ship. In its transition, the design of the ship, with its towers and arches, made it look like a crown. Since the only way you can see it properly was at sea, the lifeboats were essential for the puzzle.

And as if by magic, the voice of the presenter sounded from the ship as clear as it was when they were on it.

"Ladies and gentlemen in the boats, my congratulations. You've come one step closer to eternal life," it congratulated, "Now sit back. Enjoy the next part of your journey."

Something shot out the aft of the boat and attached itself to it. Edgar recognised it as a small engine, ignited by a small furnace. A screen lifted up from at the bow, making Layton and Marco drop their oars into the sea. It was when the engine started to rev up that Edgar realised that their lifeboat had been converted into a speedboat.

The engine came to life and Edgar had to hold his seat tightly as speedboat took off at great speeds with the other boat following them.

"This is not so bad," Edgar remarked as they sped into the dark night.

BOOOM!

A large explosion ripped through the night. Edgar turned around to see the Crown Petone start to blow up in a burst of flames. Despite being at a distance, Edgar could feel the heat on his face.

The explosion hurtled flaming debris to rain down some of which almost hit them.

"GET DOWN!" Layton shouted and protected his head from the missiles.

Edgar didn't think just reacted. He pushed Amelia's head down and used his body to cover her from the debris. Luckily, they weren't too bad since they were some distance and the ones that did hit him bounced off his leather jacket.

Eventually the downpour passed, and Edgar allowed Amelia up. She said a quiet thank you to him and watched the blazed ship in horror with the others.

Each one of them saw the ship burn and sink into the cold waters of the North Sea. Their faces were filled with shock and relief that they weren't on there.

However, Edgar was looking at the ship in horror for a different reason as they were carried into the night.

'Emmy's going to kill me when she finds out I left the rented tux on the ship,' he thought.


Wow, this took a long time to write. I've been felling a little sluggish lately.

Hope you enjoyed it, nonetheless.

Nothing more to add see you next time :)

Next Time: A mysterious island