Here's the next chapter, hope you'll enjoy it.
Dikratsblim - Thanks so much. Yeah, the ruins of Akbadain chapter was a little...off, but I think they were just experimenting with what worked well the with 3DS. Judging by how it didn't appear again in either 'Azran Legacy' or 'PL vs PW', I could only assume that a lot of people didn't like it either. It was fun for like the first ten minutes or so but, as you said, it went on for way too long. Besides, I hated that robot mummy puzzle. It took me ages to work it out.
I'm glad you like Edgar as a character. In some ways, they are more or less the same character as they quite similar childhoods and experiences. They are both ambitious, have good moral judgement and strong-willed people. However, where they part ways is that Layton went to be a successful and easy life, while Edgar had an unsuccessful and hard life. This, of course, doesn't mean that Layton is necessarily worse because he had a better life (since it has been proven that he had his fair share of struggles as well) it's just that they both have different world perspectives. I don't know if you know the musical 'Blood Brothers' by Willy Russell (It's very, very sad. The ending almost made me cry) but the story is very similar to Layton and Edgar's case. Anyway, sorry I'm rambling.
I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you'll enjoy the next one. Thanks for reading.
Djinn - Thank you so much. This chapter will be quite exciting so I hope you'll enjoy it.
wellingtonlucus282 - No problem, thank you for reading.
Thank you all for reviewing :)
Chapter 8: The Reunion Inn
Foyer, The Camel's Hump Hotel
It was another sweltering day in the city of Monte d'Or and Edgar was trying to beat the heat by staying in indoors as long as possible before they had to leave to continue their investigation. He was sat on one of the comfy sofas, idly gazing over the room as he waited for Layton and Emmy to get ready. His mind, however, was on what had happened the previous night. First, everybody vanishing in Tingly Town as well as what Layton told them about Randall's death.
'Last night's miracle was...different," he thought to himself, 'Up to now, the Masked Gentleman has had accomplices to help pull off his tricks, but there's no way that the entire fairground was in on it. It's impossible. Perhaps he knew that we knew he was using accomplices and decided to change his next miracle to throw off our scent. But that just raises more questions on how he knew in the first place. We definitely need to investigate more,' he leaned back on the sofa and gave a soft smile, "Then there's Layton. He promised me that that was all he knew, but why do I feel like that's not the entire story. The Prof did mention he left soon after the incident so there's no chance of him knowing anything else. Angela and Dalston are unlikely to know anybody else and Henry's being tight lipped about everything. There has to somebody else. Who knew what happened after Randall's death who will be willing to talk to us. But who could that be?'
Before he could think anymore, he saw Layton and Emmy coming down the stairs. He stood up and met them halfway with a tired wave.
"Good morning, Edgar," Layton greeted.
"Morning, so are we going to the fairground this morning?" he greeted back as they headed to the exit.
Emmy nodded seriously, "Indeed, considering that nobody at Tingly Town even realised they disappeared; we have to assume that the trick is somehow different from the others."
"I was thinking the same thing."
"Let's see if we can find some evidence to support that theory," Layton encouraged as they stepped outside into the blazing heat, "We will then have to discover where the next miracle will be taking place. I wonder what he could have meant that it could be seen from anywhere in Monte d'Or?"
"Off out for another investigation, huh?" a familiar voice grunted from nearby.
They turned to see who had spoken and were surprised to see Dalston standing outside their hotel with his usual smirk despite how tired he looked. They blinked in astonishment at the man as they were expecting him to be still under arrest.
"Dalston, what are you doing here?" Layton asked.
"What? You preferred that I was still clapped in irons?" Dalston chuckled, "They released me this morning. Said I was free to go. Gonzales told me about your intervening with the police to prove my innocence. But I still haven't forgotten how you suspected me at first, too?"
Layton frowned guiltily, "I do apologise, but you must understand I had to take every possibility into consideration."
"Hmph!" Dalston grunted, "Next time, you leave the one that involves me out of it, all right?"
"I rather hope there won't be a next time, Dalston."
"And one more thing, Layton. I..." he hesitated slightly, "I...I want to thank you."
Layton was a little surprised by this, "Thank you, Dalston. But I-"
"Will you just shut your trap for one second and let me say my piece?" Dalston interrupted, "I'm in your debt, all of you. Remember that."
Dalston was a proud man and hated to admit that he was in the wrong. However, deep down, he was also honest and knew that Layton didn't have to help him get out of prison. And so, despite their history, Dalston was thankful for what he, Emmy and Edgar had done for him and Layton knew that. The professor smiled gently and tilted his hat at him, knowing that Dalston would not take no for an answer.
"If I ever have need of something, I'll be sure to ask. Thank you."
Dalston grunted and decided he needed to change the subject, "So, uh, where exactly have you got to with your investigation? I assume something turned up otherwise I'll still be in the clink."
"They didn't tell you?" Edgar questioned, "Another miracle has happened."
"Another one," Dalston muttered in anger, "Nobody got hurt, did they?"
Emmy shook her head, "Not as far as we know. We're heading to scene again to find anymore clues."
"Right," he said as he began to walk away in the direction of his hotel, "You'd better keep me informed. I don't want to be left in the dark, you hear me?"
He soon quickly left, leaving the three of them outside the hotel. Emmy and Edgar watched him leave in curiosity while Layton hummed to himself and scratched his chin.
"He seems a bit different then when we first met him," Emmy observed.
"Maybe he's just relieved to be no longer a suspect, " Edgar guessed, "Now that he's proven innocent, he can fire up his business again," he looked back at Layton and frowned when he saw the thoughtful look on his face, "Something the matter, Prof?"
"Left in the dark," Layton muttered to himself, not answering his question. Suddenly, his head snapped up, making his assistant's jump, "Of course! I think I might know how the Masked Gentleman performed the vanishing miracle," he declared.
Tingly Town
Walking through the amusement park felt weird for Edgar. Everything acted like normal. Visitors rode on rides, ate their snacks and behaved like nothing had happened the night before. It was rather eerie, but Edgar tore his mind away from it as he and Emmy followed Layton through the park, up the wooded hill and stood before the tower where they had met the Masked Gentleman.
Layton observed the Tower while his assistants waited for his verdict, "Everything seems to be the same as it was last night..." he mused.
Edgar raised an eyebrow, "Err...Prof. You mind filling us in on your revelation?"
The Professor turned around to them with a small smile, "In our investigation so far, what can you say is the Masked Gentleman like?"
"Grandiose."
"An absolute prat."
"Pretentious."
"Cowardly."
"Malicious."
"An absolute prat."
Emmy gave Edgar a look, "You already said that."
"He made us chase him through the backstreets on horses," he pointed out, "I think using it twice is necessary."
"Hmm...fair enough," she turned back to Layton, "I agree, he's an absolute prat."
Layton sweat dropped, "Well, I suppose so," he admitted with a small sigh, "But what I was hoping for was that the Masked Gentleman isn't afraid in building elaborate contraptions to support his illusions," he pointed to the tower behind him, "While, the Masked Gentleman had our attention inside the tower, he rotated the floor so that we went out to the opposite side of the building."
Edgar's and Emmy's eyes widen in realisation, "No way," she gasped, "But we didn't feel it move at all."
Edgar nodded in agreement before it soon dawned on him, "Wait a minute! You're not suggesting!" he exclaimed as he began to run around the building to the other side of the side.
Instead of rest of the tree-filled hill, that he was previously expecting, he soon came across a path that led from the tower down the hill. He looked at the side of the building and almost laughed when he saw that it was completely identical to the other side. Same door, same brick pattern, same everything. Even the trees surrounding the area looked the same. He jogged down the hill and stopped in shock when an exact replica of Tingly Town was presented in front of him. The rides still moved automatically, the paths were the same, but the only difference was this fairground was completely abandoned. Edgar gave a brief laugh as he turned back to Layton and Emmy who had followed him down the path.
"You have to be kidding me? This is ridiculous," Edgar said.
Layton shook his head, "I had my first suspicion as soon as I saw that last night," he explained, pointing to one of the seats on the Ferris wheel, "you found the note the Gentleman left behind on the Ferris wheel and ripped it off. However, you accidentally took some of the paint if with it as well. But as you can see..."
"The paint isn't ruined," Edgar finished, observing the unscratched paint of the Ferris wheel seat, "I would have noticed if I wasn't panicking," he turned to Layton innocently, "Finally, a good reason to vandalise things."
"No it isn't," Layton sharply denied.
Edgar chuckled, took his notebook out and jotted the latest development down.
Mystery Solved - The Vanishing Miracle: Using a combination of the darkness in the Tingly Tower and a rotating floor mechanism, the Masked Gentleman was able to convince us that a replica of the funfair was the real thing. The detail is extraordinary. The Masked Gentleman will go to any length!
"But this is unbelievable," Emmy uttered, "the amount of planning, funding, the attention to detail. There's no way that nobody didn't notice this. I guess they could have used the night celebrations as a cover up for any noise, but this must have taken months to pull off."
"And just so the Masked Gentleman can spook us and the Ledore's for one night," Edgar hummed "This is borderline insanity."
"Quite," Layton firmly agreed as he looked over the empty funfair.
"This does remind of one thing," Emmy said, "When we bumped into Henry's accountant yesterday, he did mention that Henry more or less owns the entire city. Recently, he's been investing in construction projects across Monte d'Or including Tingly Town. Perhaps there's a connection."
Edgar frowned slightly, "Is that information really something an accountant should be really telling strangers about or did you interrogate him forcefully."
"He told us," Emmy said.
Edgar raised a sceptical eyebrow.
"Honestly, he did tell us."
"I won't be disappointed if you did use force...just really concerned."
"I'm telling the truth!" Emmy insisted.
Layton hummed and stroked his chin thoughtfully, "I believe this warrants another meeting to the Ledore's."
Ledore Mansion
Angela opened the door and gave them a sad smile, "Hello again," she greeted as she let them in, "How are you progressing? I'm starting to fear that we'll never catch the Masked Gentleman..." she trailed off as she closed the door and shook her head in misery, "If only we could find the Mask of Order that he spoke of, perhaps, we could stop him."
"Do you really think that we could trust anything the Masked Gentleman says?" Layton questioned.
Angela frowned slightly, "But the Mask of Order is a genuine artefact that was recorded by Rutledge. You must have read about it too."
Edgar raised a curious eyebrow at that, "You read Rutledge's book as well? I didn't think you were interested in archaeology."
Angela gave a small yawn, but hid it behind her dainty hand, "I was up all night reading his work Ever since the Masked Gentleman mentioned the mask I knew that I had to discover more about it."
"I have read that the Mask of Chaos and Mask of Order exist as a pair," Layton nodded with a small hum, "It's possible that one could stop the other-"
"We know the police aren't going to catch him any time soon," Angela interrupted firmly, "If we want to save the city, we must find that mask!"
Emmy and Edgar shared a subtle but puzzled look at her declaration. It could be their imagination, but she seemed overly keen to finding the Mask of Order. Angela sighed and placed a hand on her forehead.
"I thought Henry must have found it among the things he brought back from the ruins, but he claims not to..."
"Angela, where is your pendent?"
It was Layton's turn to interrupt as he looked down at her neck. Edgar looked as well and hummed when he saw that Layton was right, the pendent she had been wearing all this time was not around her neck. Angela blinked in confusion at his sudden question.
"Pendent?" she asked before nodding in realisation, "Oh, that. I lost it. I think the string must have snapped. It was getting old anyway. I was thinking of replacing it sometime,"
Layton nodded, "I see. Well, I suppose this is a good opportunity to do so," he cleared his throat, "We were hoping to speak to Henry. Is he here?"
"Yes, he's in his study."
"Thank you," he said before the trio headed to the stairs and up to Henry's study, leaving Angela behind on the ground floor.
Being the first to arrive, Emmy knocked on the door two times and waited for permission to enter. They heard a tired sigh come from the other side of the door, followed by a simple 'enter'. They did so and found Henry sitting on one of his chairs, looking over a few papers in his hands. He set the bundle down on the coffee table, stood up and greeted them with a stern look.
"Professor Layton..." he looked wearily at Edgar and Emmy, "and co. How can I help you?"
"We would like to ask you a few questions about yesterday's incident," Emmy told him, causing the older man to frown in disinterest.
"I gave a full report to the police. They're now investigating what happened."
"No need," Edgar said, "We already know what happened. There's a full-scale replica of the funfair that the Masked Gentleman built."
Henry gave him a dry look before, "Is this some sort of joke to you?"
"Actually Edgar is right," Layton stepped in before he explained what they had uncovered.
Once Layton was finished, Henry rubbed his temples to calm his headache, "That's...hard to imagine and completely impossible. Nothing gets built in this town without my permission."
"And that's why we're here," Emmy told him calmly, "We heard that you recently invested in construction projects across Monte d'Or. What are they for?"
Henry tutted in annoyance, "I hope this isn't another of your wild accusations. I'm telling you that I'm perfectly innocent."
"If you are innocent then," Edgar began to say before looking at the closed down behind them. He hummed and leaned in close to whisper, "then it's in your best interest to cooperate with us. I know you have some sort of hidden agenda and you don't want to tell us, but, right now, we're your best of getting to the bottom of this."
Henry raised a curious eyebrow, not quite sure why he was being hostile to him. Even Layton and Emmy were slightly surprised by this turn in his personality. Eventually, Henry sighed in defeat.
"What do you need?"
"Any information you have available," Layton told him.
Henry hummed thoughtfully, "Very well. I won't stand in your way. Most officials and businesses in town will cooperate if you give them my name. But I'm afraid that is all I can do for you. I have my own work to do."
"Thank you, Henry," Layton said in appreciation.
He hummed again and headed to the study door, "I must take my leave. Please feel free to look around my study. If you find something useful, then take it with you. If you'll excuse me," he briskly said, before he walked out of his study.
They watched him leave before Edgar said, "So when he said that we can take anything that is useful. Does that mean I can take that paining?" he asked the other two.
Emmy shot him a glare, "How's is that useful?"
"It's useful in making me money by selling it."
Before Emmy could scold him, they heard a squeaking sound coming from outside. Turning to the door, a person they Edgar had never seen before came into the room on a rickety wheelchair. She was an elderly lady with greying purplish hair tied up in a bun, fair skin, and black eyes. She wore a long red dress, a pair of golden earrings and large square-rimmed glasses that she peered tiredly around.
"Henry, is someone there?" she gently asked, before she laid her eyes on them, "Oh! Guests!" she happily exclaimed before she stared at Layton, "Hmm. You look familiar, but... I'm sorry. Do I know you, young man?"
Layton was taken slightly back, "Are you..." suddenly his small eyes lit up in remembrance, "My goodness! What a surprise to see you Ms Ascot," he said as he walked to her side.
'Mrs Ascot?" Edgar thought in confusion.
The elderly lady regarded Layton before her face filled with joy, "Hershel? Hershel Layton, is that you? What happened to your hair?"
He merely chuckled at the remark before turning back to his assistants, "Emmy, Edgar, I'd like you to meet Mrs Ascot, Randall's mother."
"Oh," Emmy uttered in shock at the revelation, "It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am."
"How are you, Mrs Ascot? It has been a long time. Are you visiting Henry and Angela?" Layton questioned curiously.
Mrs Ascot shook her sadly, "Not exactly. It's...a long story. Ah, where do I start? After Randall's accident, my husband and I employed all possible means to find him. We hired rescue teams to search the ruins, had a new passage dug... We spent our entire fortune."
"You gave up your wealth to find him," Edgar mused gravely.
The elderly lady hummed yes, "He was our only child. You would give up everything to get them back."
Edgar frowned. He thought back to how Randall spoke about his father and how he would deny him to pursue his career in archaeology. However, now he could see that he had actually cared for him for all this time. It must have been hard for them when they got the news.
"It pained us to be in that big house without Randall," Mrs Ascot continued, "So we left Stansbury and came here with Henry. When my husband passed away, I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Henry asked me to stay with him. He took me in and settled my debts. He said he was making everything ready for Randall's return."
"Henry never mentioned any of that," Layton said.
Ms Ascot chuckled, "Does that surprise you? Henry has always been like that. He never blows his own trumpet. If he doesn't feel that something needs to be said, he keeps it to himself. It's just his way," she reached out and gently gripped Layton's hand, "Please, just...be kind to him, won't you? I don't think he's fully accepted Randall's death. If this Masked Gentleman knew what Henry was really like, he would not be doing this. If only Randall were alive... He would help Henry. They were like brothers growing up, you know. This city is Randall's too..." she trailed off slightly, prompting Layton to speak for her.
"Yes, Randall would have been tireless in hunting down the Masked Gentleman," he agreed, gripping her hand back.
"Mrs Ascot, is that you?" asked Angela as came into the room before stopping short as she saw her talking to them, "My apologies, am I interrupting you."
"Oh, psh, Angela," Mrs Ascot said dismissively, "Is it lunchtime, then?"
Angela nodded, "Yes, I thought I'd call you before the food got cold. I didn't mean to barge in..."
"No, no, that's all right. We were just about to leave anyway," Layton told them, "Our business with Henry is done and we have other matters to attend to," Layton excused, earning a small curious frown from her.
"Very well," she said after a few moments, "Good luck. I hope you manage to find the Mask of Order soon. It's the only way that Monte d'Or can be saved."
"We will do our best. Come along you two," Layton said to his assistants ushering to put the door.
Before he left, Edgar turned back to Mrs Ascot and gave her a small smile, "Thank you, it was lovely meeting you."
"You too, young man," Mrs Ascot cheerily said with a small wave of her hand as he left the room.
They descended the stairs and headed through the parlour towards the front door, just in time for Henry to come out of the kitchen. He raised his eyebrows at him, surprised to see them leave already.
"Are you going? I was just making some tea."
"Yes," Layton told him with a polite nod, "Do forgive us. We're certainly not one to pass up a cup of tea."
"Well, no matter. We'll have time for tea when everything is resolved," he said as the Professor continued to usher them out the front door.
"We'll hold you to that," Edgar called out behind them.
"Good bye Mr Ledore," Emmy added as the door closed behind them.
They walked down the path, making sure to be well away from the mansion before Edgar decided to speak up.
"You sure got us out of there in a hurry," he pointed out.
Emmy nodded, "Indeed and what 'other matter' are there that we have to attend to? Do you have a new lead."
"Perhaps..." he answered eventually, "We need to go and talk to Mayor Williams at City Hall. There is something I need to verify."
Edgar raised an eyebrow before shrugging, "It'll be easier now that we have Henry's permission to do anything. However, we still need to find out where the Masked Gentleman will strike next."
"I was hoping you two will work on it while I talk to the mayor," Layton said, "I believe there's a map of the city in the foyer. Investigate and find any potential spots."
Emmy and Edgar nodded in understanding before the trio headed off in the direction of the City Hall.
City Hall
As usual, City Hall was packed with police officers and pencil pushers trying to get on with their various tasks. Layton went off to talk to the mayor about something and, after that, he wanted to meet up with Sheffield about to discuss what happened at Tingly Town. Meanwhile, the two assistants studied the map of Monte d'or that was posted on one of the walls of the City Hall. Emmy stared intensely at every single road, alleyway and place of interest, trying to find the best place for the next miracle to occur while Edgar lazily gazed at it. Emmy sighed and looked over at him.
"Have you spotted anything yet?"
"Yeah," Edgar answered, before pointing near the centre of map, "There's a bloody tramline right there. We could have just used that instead of walking everywhere. But in terms of where the miracle is taking place...then no."
She gave him an annoyed look before staring at the map again, "You are more civil today."
"Hmm?"
"With Mr Ledore, I mean," Emmy clarified, "I thought that once I told you that Tingly Town was under the supervision of Mr Ledore, you would have used it against him. But instead, you told him it was his best interest. What change your mind?"
Edgar sighed and rubbed his face, "I guess so and I probably would have. There is so much evidence damning him; it'll be stupid to not accuse him. However, now...it just seems like there is too much evidence damning him."
"Surely, you can't have too much evidence."
"You can if the real culprit wants Henry to look guilty."
Emmy snapped her head to him, "You think he's a scapegoat."
"Not a scapegoat, per se, but he's definitely being targeted," Edgar replied with a small frown, "It seems like every bit of evidence was found without any effort like it was placed there so that even the Monte d'Or police could find it. Whoever is behind all of this is making it seem like Henry was the culprit and like idiots we fell for the red herring."
"You mean, you fell for it."
"Yes, we all fell for it as a team."
"But you mostly fell for it."
"Now is not the time to play the blame game, Emmy. We must all own up to our mistakes."
"I'm not playing any game, I'm just stating fact."
"We don't need facts; we need the truth."
"The facts create the truth. That is more or less the purpose of a fact."
"Well, no matter who the blame falls on," Edgar said dismissively, causing Emmy to roll her eyes, "What's important is that Henry's in trouble and we need to find the Masked Gentleman before he gets taken down."
Emmy hummed in worry and looked at the map carefully, "But where? Where on earth could the last miracle take place?"
"Altava! Criminal!"
Edgar groaned as he recognised the voice Grosky. They turned around just in time to see him dash across the City Hall over to them, knocking over a half a dozen office workers and police as he went. One worker, who was carrying a tall stack of papers, managed to get out of the way in time and sighed in relief.
"Grosky," Emmy said wearily, "What can we do for you?"
"And can you not shout criminal in a room full of police. It's demeaning for the both of us," Edgar added with a dry look.
Grosky frowned angrily at them and shook his fist in the air, "I want to know why none of you told me that the Masked Gentleman was at the Reunion Inn!? I would expect this behaviour from you, Criminal. but Emmy surely you're bett-"
"Wait what!?" Edgar shouted in shock and confusion, "What do you mean? Where did you hear this?"
The inspector's raised his eyebrows, "Didn't Bloom tell you?" both of the shook their heads to say no, "Well, the Masked Gentleman is hiding in the biggest hotel in Monte d'Or. That's got to be where he'll be doing his next trick. Once you're done here, get Layton and meet me at the Reunion Inn. FOR THE YARD!"
The worker carrying the tall stack of papers heard the cry, his eyes widening when he saw Grosky coming at him.
"No, no, no, no!" he yelled before the inspector slammed into him and made him throw the paper into the air.
As Grosky ran out of the front door, the worker, now lying on the marble floor, watched as all the paper fluttered around him in horror. He sighed and hung his head in defeat. Emmy and Edgar sweat dropped as they saw what happened.
"I honestly believe Grosky is doing more damage then the Masked Gentleman," Emmy mused out loud.
"Yeah, maybe he's the menace we should be stopping."
The sight of a stovepipe hat over the crowd caught the two's attention as Layton made his way over to them with a rolled up piece of paper in his hand, "I have finally confirmed some things. Have you found where the next miracle is going to be."
Emmy nodded, "Grosky told us that detective Bloom has figured it out. He said that the Masked Gentleman is hiding in the Reunion Inn."
"The Reunion Inn?"
"Bonnie was telling me about it," Edgar recalled, "It's huge and right in the centre of Monte d'Or. I suppose it's the only place that make sense."
Layton hummed and studied the map where the hotel is clearly marked, "I have heard of it. Apparently it is the first hotel to be built in Monte d'Or. Did Grosky mentioned how Bloom came to this deduction?"
"No, he didn't," Edgar muttered, looking over the poor worker still picking up his papers off the floor.
"Well, then there's no time to waste," Layton told them, "Let's get on the tram and head over to the Reunion Inn. Something tells me that we will finally find our answers there."
"So you know there was a tram here all along?" Edgar asked, glaring at the Professor.
He responded with a sheepish expression, "I may have spotted it yesterday near the racetrack," he said, causing Edgar to grumble about his aching feet.
The Reunion Inn
It was the evening by the time they got to the Reunion Inn. This was the the second time Edgar laid eyes on it and to say that it was an enormous building wouldn't do it justice. The hotel was gigantic, standing beneath it was enough to make you feel like an ant. It was situated on an island in the middle of Monte d'Or's famous oasis where a bridge allowed visitors to access its large doors. Its tower stretched up into the dark evening sky and the lights lit up the area brightly as if it was welcoming them to come in. The trio looked up at he building in slight awe before Edgar grumbled in annoyance.
"Well, if I was going to hide anywhere, it'll be here. The place has got to have hundreds of rooms."
"Then I guess we have to start searching one room at a time," Layton mused as they began to walk down the cobblestone path towards the hotel.
They crossed over the wooden bridge and pushed open the oak doors into the fabulous lobby where guests mingled with each other and the staff, wearing uniforms, busied themselves with their duties. The hotel lobby was a round room with the reception desk in the right corner opposite the front door. It had blue and golden carpets, high wooden framed ceiling and a selection of comfortable chairs and sofas for the guests. At one end, there was a grand staircase that led up to the many rooms the hotel has to offer. While on the other side of the lobby, it leads onto another larger room which, if Edgar had to guess, was right underneath the central tower.
"So, this is the Reunion Inn," Emmy said as she looked around the place, "It's much larger then out hotel. I kind of wished we were booked here."
"This is also the place where Monte d'Or began," Edgar added, testing one of the sofas contently.
"Yes, this hotel was an expansion of the first building that Henry put up while he searched for Randall," Layton told them, "He never did give up the search for his friend."
Edgar offered him a sympathetic smile before he spotted a familiar face that happened to be working behind the reception desk, "Hey, isn't that Mordaunt?" he asked, nodding towards the moustached man, "What is he doing here?"
The Professor and Emmy looked and saw that he was right. Mordaunt, Henry's aide, was scribbling something in his large leather-bounded logbook, his large eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"Hmm? I don't know," Layton admitted as they walked up to desk, catching Mordaunt's attention, "Mr Mordaunt, it's a pleasure to meet you again."
"And you," he responded, shutting his logbook, "Ah! I've never mentioned it, have I? Among my duties to Mr Ledore, I also happen to be the manger of this hotel."
Edgar gave him a strange look, "You attend to Mr Ledore and run a giant hotel like this? Sounds exhausting."
"It can be troublesome sometimes, but I'm more then happy to do it," he responded before waving at them to follow, "This way, please. We've been expecting you."
He walked about behind the desk and began leading them to grand staircase. As the ascended, Mordaunt looked back at them with a concerned look.
"I heard from Mr Ledore that the Masked Gentleman is believed to be hiding here..."
"We're not quite sure yet, but we'd like to investigate the premises," Layton told him.
He gave the Professor an appreciative nod, "Yes, of course. We'd most appreciate it if you could find him before he strikes again."
Up and up they went until they finally stopped at the seventh floor and walked down the empty corridor. They stopped again at the last door to which Mordurant produced a key from his pocket, swiftly unlocked it, swung the door open and reached to the side for the light switch. Once they had stepped inside and the lights flickered on, they saw that they were in a large messy room. On the far side, there were several wooden storage cupboards, a table where books and other notes were strewn upon and a few other miscellaneous objects were placed like an ornate vase, a small stepladder and a wooden chest. The walls were painted in a dull grey and hung upon it where several framed photos, three decorative swords, and other notes. The most bizarre thing in this room was that was a sectioned off part on the wall and within the wooden frame borders were a collection of scribbles and symbols that seemed intelligible to any observer. Edgar couldn't help but feel that this room was slightly out of place in a hotel so magnificent, they were probably standing in the least fancy room in the whole building.
"What is this room?" Layton asked as he looked around.
"This is the private office where Mr Ledore conducts his research," Mordaunt answered.
Emmy observed the many framed photos on the wall, "This is quite as tidy as his study."
"Well, Mr Ledore is a very busy man, and the cleaning staff are, under no circumstances, to be allowed in here."
Edgar wiped his finger on a book cover and inspected the thick layer of dust on his finger tip, "Clearly," he muttered.
"You'll find all the documents related to town administration and planning archived here. This room is filled with the hopes and dreams of Mr Ledore. Every thought he had as he built Monte d'Or remains here. I imagine any doubts you might still have about him can be cleared up here. Please feel free to investigate this room as long as you feel like."
Emmy moved onto the next frame holding a grainy photo of twelve people in construction gear and hard hats, standing in front of a oasis. The photo was old and was not a great depiction, she couldn't even see the faces of people.
"What's this photo of?" Emmy asked in curiosity.
Mordaunt looked over, "It's a photo of the crew that investigate the ruins first after Mr Ascot' death. Sorry for the quality. It somehow got ruined in the past decade or so."
"Huh," she uttered, "So there are the men who found the oasis."
Edgar looked over her shoulder at the photo, "Nine men and three women actually," he said offhandedly, before he tapped three individuals on the photo, "That one, that one and that one are women."
Emmy gave him an odd look, "How do you know?"
"He's correct," Mordaunt confirmed, "There were exactly three women and nine men on the expedition. Quite remarkable."
Edgar shrugged with a smirk, "I know a woman when I see one."
"But the photo is too grainy to pick any features out," Emmy said, "Surely, you can't just tell on sight."
"Call it a Cipher intrusion," Edgar joked.
Layton hummed with interest, "Extraordinary. Quite a unique skill."
"Don't praise him," Emmy complained, "even if it exists it wouldn't be useful in any real situation."
Layton chuckled before he studied that sectioned off wall, his eyes trailing every single squabble and note on it, "This wall is the same as the one that was in Randall's room," he uttered before his eyes fell on a toy robot on the desk nearby, "And this toy... So after all that...he still-"
"Professor," Mondurant's said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "in the next room there is a records room where Mr Ledore keeps various important documents. Since you're already here, would you care to see it as well? I hope to be thorough in aiding your investigation."
Layton cleared his throat and nodded, "Right, of course. Edgar, Emmy. I'll be away to investigate the records room. Could you two continue investigating the room while I'm gone?"
Emmy grinned and took out her camera, "Leave it to us, Professor."
"Yeah, we got this," Edgar agreed over from the other side of the room with one arm behind his back.
Layton gave him a stern look, "Put it back now."
Edgar sighed and revealed the sword he was hiding behind him and placed it back on the holder on the wall, "Fine, I guess I'll just search the room without a sword. Spoilsport."
Ten Minutes Later
Emmy rifled through what must have been the next old, dusty book, flicking through the pages in slight boredom. After finding nothing helpful, she sighed and put it back on the shelf and picked up the next book along to do the same. The search, so far, had been fruitless for them both and they were starting to get agitated. She looked up from the shelf towards Edgar who was inspecting the sectioned off wall with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Found anything yet?" she asked.
"Yes," he called back, not tearing his eyes away from the mess of notes and symbols, "Either Randall was completely insane or he relied mainly on guesswork. I can't decipher a single thing from this rubbish."
"To be fair, Randall had been working on it for months," she pointed out, moving on to the next book."
"That definitely indicates that he was insane then," he muttered.
He finally moved away from the wall and sat down on a chair next to the cluttered table. He tiredly gazed over the table and move some papers around until he uncovered something that caught his eye. It was a old leather-bound journal that looked like it had seen better days. The leather was worn and the pages were turning brown, but Edgar could still see the title: 'Expedition Log.'
'Huh, is this logbook from one of the search parties?' he thought, 'It could be useful.'
He picked it up, undid the brass clasp and opened it up to the first entry which must have started some time after the search began.
It read:
'Our search of the ruins for the lost boy continues. We use the inn by the oasis as our base of operations now.
The ruins are a dark and ominous places and no one would even dream of going in there without the enormous sum of money being offered as a rewards. I've hardly been contributing out of the kindness of my own heart, either.
We were only a handful of people to begin with, but now we've turned onto a full-blown expedition team. We descend into the narrow pit by the oasis every day with the prospect of finding the boy and striking it rich. We've had no luck so far, but that boy Henry Ledore certainly has. The word is he struck gold here! A pile of treasure big enough to make your eyes boggle. In fact, I've heard that's how he's been able to offer such an enormous reward for finding his friend.
And so we press on, deeper, deeper and deeper into the ruins. Just recently, we found a strange room with two mysterious pedestals. The chamber seems to be the final room of this underground complex, and we have created a scaffold to connect it to the world above, but we can't go any further.
Unless we've all grossly overlooked something, our search for Randall Ascot is coming to an undeniable end. After all, it's been over a year now since the boy went missing. Soon, this will all be forgotten. Monte d'Or was built upon the forgotten ruins. And perhaps one day Monte d'Or will be forgotten too...'
And that's where it ended.
Edgar hummed and closed the logbook, 'This must have been before Monte d'Or became a city,' he thought, 'It also looks like Henry did find the treasure after all. However, he never did find Randall.'
He sighed and looked around the room, his eyes falling on a writing desk nearby. He stood up and walked over to it, picking up a framed photograph that was next to a toy robot. The photo depicted two boys about six or seven, smiling happily at the camera. One had short blondish brown hair and blue eyes, while the other had messy red hair and black eyes. He raised his eyebrow when he saw a blue toy robot in the blond boys hands, the exact same robot on the desk. He picked up the toy, looking at it and then back at the photo.
'It's the same toy?' Edgar thought in astonishment. He looked harder at the blond boy until his eyes widened in realisation, 'Wait. Is that Henry? Then that must mean the redhead is...Randall,' he turned to Emmy and held out the photo frame for her, "Take a look at this."
Emmy stopped her search and took the photo and began inspecting it, "Wow! That's Henry, isn't it?"
"Yep, which means the other boy is Randall."
"They look like brothers," Emmy mused, smiling slightly at how happy the two boys looked.
"Not only that, but look," he then showed her the toy in his other hand, "Same toy robot."
Emmy raised a questioning eyebrow, "But this photo must have been at least over twenty years old."
"And yet, not a single scratch," Edgar said, inspecting the toy critically, "It's had some minor work done, but still it's in pretty good nick. Not bad for an antique. Henry has done a good job looking after it."
"It must have been very important to him," Emmy suggested, carefully handing him back the photo frame, "Look what I found," she said before holding up an office binder, "Hotel registers. These list the names of the guests and their rooms. There are sixteen of them, one for each year the hotel's been open."
"Not to burst your investigation bubble, but I doubt our favourite megalomaniac would be in there. Not unless he signed his name under M. Gentleman."
"It's not the registers that's important," Emmy told him before she took a smaller binder out, "I found this hidden in here. A record of the Masked Gentleman's appearances, including copies of the warning letters."
Edgar inspected it. The binder was packed with writing, notes and copies of photos, making it bulge slightly.
"Henry was doing his own research as well," Edgar said before he mumbled, "Would've been useful a few days ago."
She nodded, "It must be horrible to see someone trying to destroy what you've built. I don't think Henry was willing to trust anybody in case they were somehow involved with the Masked Gentleman. Plus, Henry must have felt betrayed when the Professor didn't stay in Stansbury to help him search for Randall. They weren't on the best of terms."
"Still would've been useful," Edgar argued.
A knock at the office door caught their attention before Layton stepped into the room, holding something behind his back, "So have you two found anything?" he asked.
"Indeed," Emmy chirped happily, "I found a records Henry was keeping on the Masked Gentleman."
"And I found a journal from one of the people on the search party," Edgar added, showing him the leather-bound journal.
"Good work. And I made a discovery of my own," Layton said, before he showed them what he was hiding.
Edgar almost dropped the journal in shock while Emmy gave a small gasp, because in Layton's hands was a very familiar golden mask, it's wicked smiled seemed to mock them menacingly. There was no mistake, for what Layton had found was none other then the Mask of Chaos.
"That...that can't be..." Emmy stammered, "the real Mask, can it?"
"Kind of makes our finds look insignificant," Edgar muttered miserably, "Where did you find it?"
"It was hiding in the records room," Layton explained, handing it over to Edgar for him to inspect.
Emmy hummed in interest, "So, it wasn't stolen at all."
"Told you it was impossible," Edgar said, taking a small magnet out of his pocket and trying to get it to stick to the mask, "So, Henry did hide it here then."
Layton shook his head, "It wasn't Henry that hid it," he told them much to their surprise.
"Well, maybe this is the Mask of Order," Emmy suggested, "The one the Masked Gentleman was trying to find."
Layton shook his head again, "Not quite. You see, I expected to find a replica of the Mask of Chaos here. A fake mask. But to my surprise...this turned out to be the genuine Mask of Chaos. It seems that someone placed it here. But why? And is the Masked Gentleman even aware of this?"
"But that doesn't make sense," Edgar said, putting away his magnet, "Why is the Masked Gentleman demanding for the Mask of Order when he doesn't even have the Mask of Chaos?" he questioned before he raised the mask to his mouth and gently bit on it. Pulling it aware, he frowned when he saw that the area he bit had remained untarnished, "Also what is this mask made of. It's weird. It's not an alloy otherwise the magnet would have stuck to it and it's not a pure metal otherwise I would have made a indent."
"I would have assumed it was gold," Emmy said.
"It doesn't feel like gold. In fact, it doesn't feel like any metal I know of," he told them, "Besides the craftmanship is...amazing. You said that it was hundreds of years old?"
"Thousands even," Layton confirmed.
"Well, whoever made this used technology as advanced as today's. Perhaps even better then our modern technology," Edgar said as he looked down at the grinning mask, "Really weird."
Layton nodded, "I see. However, back to the investigation. According to Bloom, the Masked Gentleman is somewhere in this hotel. Let's meet up with Mordaunt down at the lobby and see if he can tell us of any other rooms that may be of interest to us," he said taking the mask of Edgar and hiding it under his coat.
Emmy and Edgar nodded in agreement and they all left through the door. As they locked the door behind them and walked down the corridor to the stairs, Edgar couldn't help but remember how the mask felt in his hand. There was something very strange about the mask.
Hotel Lobby
As soon as they entered the lobby, Mordaunt instantly waved at them from the reception desk urgently.
"Professor Layton, I had just returned to the desk when I found this in the pigeon hole," he told them, placing a red hardback book on the desk in front of him, "It was addressed to you, but none of the employees saw who had delivered it."
Layton, Emmy and Edgar stared at the book wearily. There didn't seem anything wrong with the way it looked, but they all had the suspicion who it was from. Hesitantly, Edgar reached out and picked the book up and flicked through the pages in case it was booby trapped. Once he confirmed it was safe, he opened it up to the front page with writing on it.
"It's been a while since I read a story out loud to anybody," Edgar mumbled before he began to read from the book.
'Once upon a time, in a small kingdom surrounded by woods, there were five children who were the best of friends.
They spent their days enjoying their beautiful land, fishing in the streams and running over the grassy fields.
One day, they climbed the tallest hill in the kingdom. And at the very top of the hill they found a mound of treasure.
Reading the words 'Brave adventurer, you may claim me!' on a sign nearby, the friends took the treasure and divided it equally.
Four of them spent their share on items they wanted, but the fifth buried his in a beautiful place surrounded by green.
He wanted to be able to relive his adventure and hunt for the treasure with his friends any time he wanted. He hoped it would always give the five friends a reason to be together.
This boy knew that people change when they grow up, but the buried treasure would always be his link to the past.
He returned from burying his treasure and fell asleep in a sunny spot by the window, completely content.
THE END'
"I can't believe it," Emmy muttered.
"I know," Edgar agreed, "he used an entire book to write something shorter then a short story. What a waste of paper."
"Not that! I meant I can't believe the Masked Gentleman would send us something like this. It sounds like a fairy tale."
Layton hummed thoughtfully, "A kingdom surrounded by woods...five close friends, treasure."
"Is it me or does it seem a little...unfinished?" Emmy said, "It's like it didn't have a proper ending."
"Maybe there's another one," Edgar suggested, "Like he's-"
Suddenly, the lights snapped off, plunging the hotel into darkness. Guests screamed in shock, while the staff looked around in confusion as they tried to figure out what just happened. Mordaunt jumped into action and began flicking switches under the desk.
"The power is gone. Everything is down. How did that happen?" he asked himself as he tried to keep calm. He ran to the front doors and tried to open them, but they wouldn't budge, "We're locked in."
They watched on in concern as Mordaunt ran off to comfort the guests and to order his staff.
"Looks like we're trapped," Edgar sighed.
"No doubt this was the Masked Gentleman's handiwork. He has been waiting for us."
Emmy growled in annoyance, "Fine, we'll play his game. But where's he leading us to?"
"Perhaps, the story contains a clue to his whereabouts," Layton suggested, "The story ended as the boy 'fell asleep in a sunny spot by the window'."
Edgar snapped the book shut and put it back on the desk, "If he fell asleep then he needs a bed. Which means he's in one of the rooms," he waved to one of the bellhops who happened to be running by, "Excuse me, is there a room with a window that faces south."
"I'm a bit busy right now, sir-"
"That's all I need to know. I won't ask you another question."
The bellhop gave a stress-filled sigh, "There are three that fit the description on the third floor. There's the Ruby Suite, the Emerald Suite, and the Sapphire Suite. Now I must really get going."
Edgar nodded and the bellhop ran off.
"Three rooms," Emmy hummed, "I suppose we have to search all of them."
"Not necessarily," Edgar said, "Remember, 'a beautiful place surrounded by green'."
Layton smiled, "Oh of course, the Emerald Suite. That must be our next location. Let's hurry before the Gentleman starts his miracle," he said before they took off in the direction of the gran staircase.
The Emerald Suite
This was exactly what Edgar was expecting from the Reunion Inn. The suite was ginormous with a king's size bed, an oak wardrobe, paintings and everything that a rich guest would want...unless the guest happened to not like the colour green. The carpets, the furniture, the walls and even the plant pots were a bright emerald which was a little off-putting as soon as they stepped in. Once they got used to it and vacated the guest staying in the suite, they began searching for the clue. Under the beds, behind the curtains until finally Emmy lifted up a painting hanging on the wall when something fell out from behind it. She picked up the object and saw it was another hardback book.
"I found it," Emmy called out to them.
Layton and Edgar made her way over to her and studied the book in her hands, "Another book," Edgar muttered, "What does it say?"
Emmy cleared her throat, opened the book and began to read
'Once upon a time, there was a young boy who came across an injured dog and took him in.
As the dog healed, he learnt to trust the boy and slowly forgot his wild ways. In the following years, the two grew up together and never spent a day apart.
But the day came when the boy had to leave the village to pursue his dream of becoming a scholar. The boy entrusted the dog to his family, knowing he would protect them.
As the boy departed in his cart, the dog howled. He was sad to see the boy go.
The boy grew into a fine young man and became a famous scholar.
When he finally returned home, he was eager to show his family and his dog what he had made of himself. But when he arrived, he found his house empty.
The young man asked a passer-by what had happened.
The helpful stranger told him that the family who lived in the house had been chased out years ago by a wild dog. And that's when the young man realised...
He had been betrayed by the one he trusted most. He had no home to return to and his family were gone.
With grief weighing heavy upon his heart, the young man disappeared into the woods, never to be seen again.
THE END'
"Blimey. Grimm Brothers eat you heart out," Edgar commented.
Layton hummed in thought, "Clearly another allegory, but I'm not sure what it means."
"The last part would lead us to another room, right?" Emmy questioned.
"Yes, the young man disappears into the woods," Edgar agreed, "However, if he meant us to go outside then why would he lock the doors?"
Emmy had placed the book down on the room's emerald coffee table when she spotted a leaflet on it. Picking it up, she inspected thoroughly before she presented it to the two men.
"What about this," she said, "There's a conservatory at the top of one of the towers filled with plants and foliage. That could be what he meant."
Layton and Edgar looked at the leaflet and nodded in agreement.
"That must be it," Layton said.
"Let's go."
Conservatory
The conservatory was spectacular. It was a round room on top of one of the hotel's many towers containing a collection of plants from trees like oaks and palm trees to bright flowers and cacti. According to the sign, it was a controlled ecosystem, everything was kept at a humid temperature to keep the foliage healthy and green.
However, in terms of finding a book, it made things a little difficult. They checked under bushes, through branches and combed the tall grass. Edgar would have accidentally slipped into the steam that ran through the room if Emmy hadn't caught him at the last moment. Finally, Layton was the one to find it in the branches of an apple tree and informed the other two instantly.
"We have to come back here again," Emmy said, "I'm sure it looks lovely in the daylight," she threw Edgar a teasing smirk, "Although, maybe next time you should watch you step."
He rolled his eyes, "It's dark. How was I supposed to know that bloody thing was there," he muttered before turning to Layton, "Do you want to read it out this time?"
"Certainly," Layton said before he cleared his throat and opened the book:
'Once upon a time, there was a very poor man who lived in a vibrant, bustling town. The townspeople were very kind and made sure that, though, the man had nothing to his name, he never lacked for anything.
One day, the richest man in town took pity on him and bought the poor man a shop so that he could earn a living.
The poor man ran a good business, and his shop quickly flourished.
Soon it became the most successful shop in town and attracted customers from far and wide. Not even the rich man's shop could compare. No longer poor, the man bought up all the food in town, intending to dominate the market and make a huge profit.
He raised the price of food so high that no once in town could afford it, but merchants from richer towns were eager to buy all they could get. The man had become so blinded by money that he forgot the debt he owed to those in his home town.
His neighbours starved, but the man was only concerned with watching his fortune grow.
The greedy man became so rich that rumours of his wealth spread to even the most remote corners of the land. He built himself an opulent palace, exulting in his fame while the town decayed around him.
The townspeople had no choice but to leave. In time the man was the only person left, lord of an empty kingdom.
There, his loneliness, a vast and empty chasm, swallowed him whole.
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL'
"That was more of an economic textbook then a story," Edgar mused.
Emmy rubbed the back of her neck, already tired with this scavenger hunt, "What do you suppose the Masked Gentleman is trying to tell us?"
Layton frowned in thought, "A town decaying in the midst of great prosperity...a man growing richer and forgetting the great debt he owes...hmm."
Emmy scratched her chin, "He mentioned 'a vast and empty chasm'. Maybe that's the next place."
Edgar nodded, "Unless you count Grosky's head, there aren't any vast and empty chasms in Monte d'Or," he said, earning a scathing look from Emmy.
"Oh I know," Layton suddenly said, "When we were in the lobby we passed by a hall. I believe that is what he meant."
"Great," Edgar sighed, "more stairs."
Unknown Suite Room
In a darkened room, a man hidden in the shadows sat looking at the photographs strewn over the coffee table. The photos were off different parts of Monte d'Or and even one of the Masked Gentlemen standing proudly on top of a building. The man glared down at them, inspecting every small detail of the city.
"It's here," he uttered to himself, "I know it is."
A knock on the door made him briefly look up from the table before staring down at the table. He called out 'enter' and almost instantly the door opened and detective Bloom stepped into the room, closing the door swiftly behind him.
"I talk it you still have't found it," the man growled irritably.
Bloom stepped forward and bowed deeply, "The mask is in this hotel," he told him, "Sir, please accept my apologies."
"Apologies do not produce results," the man sighed, "Get the mask. Is that clear?"
"We will find it, sir."
The man hummed and leaned back on the sofa, "The Garden of Healing...the City of Harmony...we have two of the three. Which is just another way of saying we have nothing at all."
"Yes sir," Bloom agreed before he turned and left the dark room.
Grand Hall
This room was just as grandiose as the other rooms. Well, technically the grand hall was the base of the main tower that made up the Reunion Inn. If one were to stand in the middle of it and look up, they would see several floors with golden balconies ascending high above them. Each floor decorated with flowers and Prussian blue fabric draped over the sides. If Edgar had to estimate, he would say that it must have been at least fifteen stories high. The hall was just as wonderful with blue carpets, flower bouquets neatly presented and comfortable sofas placed on either side of the room.
"Wow!" Emmy uttered as she too looked around, "This hall must be as tall at the hotel itself."
"It is rather spectacular," Layton agreed.
Edgar hummed in agreement and looked around. His eyes fell on one of the sofa on the other side of the room where he saw, yet again, another hardback book leaned against the back of the sofa, waiting to be found. He jogged over to it and snatched it up, opening it to the first page.
"Let this please be the last story," he muttered.
"I have a feeling we are getting close," Layton told him, "We should be meeting the Masked Gentleman at any moment."
Emmy nodded, "Then we must be vigilant of our surroundings. Edgar, would you please read the last story."
He sighed as he took one last glance of his surroundings before reading the book out loud.
'Once upon a time, there was a kind princess who lived in a secluded kingdom deep within a valley.
This princess was so beautiful that suitors camped outside the castle for months, hoping for a chance to woo her.
But not one of the wealthy and handsome young man pleased the princess.
Then one day, as the princess was gazing from her window, she saw a young knight riding by. The princess fell in love with him instantly and begged her father to allow him an audience.
The king was happy to encourage the match, and it wasn't long before the princess married her young knight.
Some years later, when the two were rulers of the land, the young king ride out to slay a dangerous dragon.
The queen waited for her king to return. But he never did.
The chancellor did all he could to comfort the queen in her grief. With time, the queen's heart betrayed her lost husband and she began to feel love for the chancellor. The chancellor's plan had worked. He had sent the king into a dragon's cave and then collapsed the entrance.
The queen knew none of this. She only knew that the king was gone and she loved the chancellor. The two had a lavish royal wedding and the audience sat with rapt attention, eager to see their new king.
It seemed that here, they would bear witness to the miracle of love.
Now the treacherous chancellor had the queen, the crown and the country.
BUT...'
"But what?" Emmy asked as Edgar closed the book.
"That's it. It just ends like that."
"The Masked Gentlemen must feel betrayed by someone he trusted, someone who stole his love," Layton mused, "While he was trapped in a cave..."
Emmy shook her head, "I'd be pretty angry too! But what does this have to do with Monte d'Or?"
Edgar looked down at the final page, "'the audience sat with rapt attention,'" he read again, "Is there a theatre or cinema in this hotel. If so, then that would probably our next stop."
"I don't think there's a theatre," Layton said as he rubbed his chin, "But I saw on the map that there was auditorium on the top floor."
"That certainly sounds like they type of place," Emmy agreed, "Let's go."
"Can we at least wait until the lifts are working again," Edgar complained.
Auditorium
The trio stepped into the dark, quiet theatre and began, shivering at how cold it was in there. It was a medium-sized auditorium with hundred red velvet seats facing the cinema screen. According to Montdaunt, who they bumped into on the way up, the auditorium had not been used for a while now as there were repairs needed to be done to the equipment.
Their footsteps echoed eerily as they made their way to the centre of the room, observing the stalls that curved around them.
"I don't see anybody here," Edgar whispered, "Do you think we came to the wrong place."
Layton frowned, "I don't know. Let's start searching the stalls and see if there are any cl-"
Thunk!
A loud noise made them jump before a light of the projector snapped to life at the back of the theatre. It was followed by the rapid clicking noise of a film being played. Instantly they turned around to the screen when they saw that the projected on it was one word:
'BUT...'
The word soon faded away before another story appeared on the screen:
'The king was not dead. One year after entering the cave, he awoke to find himself buried under the rubble.
He used every last ounce of strength to dig his way out of the debris.
Finally, he made it back out into the open air. He hurried to the castle, anxious to relieve his wife's worry...
And there he found his queen and his chancellor, living happily as husband and wife.'
The last sentence faded away. Nothing happened for a few seconds before the screen lit up once again. This time it showed two cut out shadow puppets one of a princess and one of a king. They seemed to be in the middle of merry dance. The cut out holes that formed their mouths were wide and wicked, rather like the Mask of Chaos itself. Then the image snapped away as quickly as it appeared.
Their stared at the now blank screen, hearing the projector slowly turn itself off from behind them. They did nothing for a few seconds not knowing what to do now.
"What? Is that it? Is that the end of the story?" Emmy gasped.
"Surely not. There has to be something-"
Edgar was interrupted when the lights flickered on above them. They rubbed their eyes to get used to the brightness, relieved that they can see properly now that the power had been restored.
However, that relief didn't last for very long.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the unmistakable voice of the Masked Gentleman rang out through the auditorium, "Welcome to my humble theatre of revenge."
The screen dropped to the floor, revealing the Gentleman himself standing on the stage before them, tilting his top hat at them in greeting.
But he wasn't alone.
Edgar's eyes widened in horror and the words got caught in his throat when he saw Bonnie being held by the scruff of her coat. A fabric gag was over her mouth and her arms were tied behind her back. She struggled in his grip and kicked him in the shin, but the Masked Gentlemen held her firmly in her gloved hand.
"I believe this young girl is with you," he said mockingly.
"MOTHERFUC-" Edgar began to roar, but Emmy held him back before he could jump onto the stage.
Layton stepped up with a furious glare, "Let her go, you villain. You have no right to involve her in all of his."
"Villain!?" the Gentlemen barked in laughter, "For shame, Layton. After all this effort I've made to keep you thoroughly entertained. I do hope you're looking forward to final act. Tonight, my revenge will rise to its dramatic climax as the curtains fall on Monte d'Or. But first, Layton - the man who abandoned his childhood friend... I have a special show planned just for you. I'm sure your young friend here will play her role perfectly."
The Masked Gentleman picked up Bonnie in his arms, jumped off the stage and ran out of the auditorium before they could react. They took after him, following the muffled screams of Bonnie as she struggled to get away. Edgar was the first to burst through the doors, his eyes widening when he saw the Gentleman, who was now wearing his white wings, perched on the side of the balcony with Bonnie under his arm. He realised what he was going to do and sprint over to them.
But he was too late.
"BONNIE!" he yelled as the Masked Gentleman leapt of the side of the balcony with a rope in his other arm that was tied to one of the light fixtures.
He glided gently down the inside of the tower, trailing the rope from behind him. Expectedly, he made a loop with the rope and throw it another light fixture on the balcony as he glided by. He did it again and again and again at every floor until he neared the bottom, creating a criss-cross web of rope in the inside of the tower. At the last taunt rope, the Masked Gentleman placed Bonnie on it, her legs wrapped tightly around it as she held onto dear life. Her oversized bonnet fell off her head and landed with a thump on the hard oak floor. There was about a fifteen feet drop between the rope she was hanging onto and the Grand Hall below, so if she fell she would be injured or worse. They leaned over the top floor balcony, the mouths hung open in sheer terror. But nobody was more afraid then Edgar as horror brewed into anger.
The Masked Gentleman chuckled and stepped onto the floor gracefully, dispelling his white wings back into his suit.
"9, 10, 11, 12. Just how deep do you want to delve?" he sung before he glared up at them, "I hope you've enjoyed this look into my world, Layton. I've left you one final puzzle so that you may save your little friend. It looks like she's in quite a predicament. And so high up as well! Oh my..."
"YOU BASTARD!" Edgar roared, "WHEN I GET A HOLD OF YOU, I'M GOING TO RAM MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ARSE YOU'LL BE TASTING SHOE LEATHER FOR WEEKS!"
The Masked Gentleman darkly chuckled, "Of course, this puzzle is open to you as well if you're brave enough. I only asked Layton to play because he has a history of letting friends down."
Layton frowned angrily at that while Emmy looked at him in worry.
"Professor, what are we going to do? I don't think Bonnie can hang on by the time we reached her floor."
He shook his head thoughtfully, "We must-" that's when he noticed that Edgar had disappeared. He looked back and saw the teenager a few meters away, his flat cap pulled over his face, casting a shadow over his eyes. Layton raised his eyebrows when he realised what he was about to do, "No Edgar! Stop!"
But Edgar didn't listen. Instead, he sprinted to the balcony, jumped onto the barrier and leapt off the side of the floor. He ignored the screams of his Emmy and Layton as he well towards his target and at the last moment, he grabbed a hold of one of the tightened ropes that crossed the tower. He winced in pain as he felt his arms pulled almost out of their sockets and the sudden catch, but luckily he managed to hang on.
He let one of his arms go and reached under his jacket and pulled, of all things, the same sword from Henry's office and slung the blade over the rope, grabbing the other end with his other hand. It was only a decorative sword and wasn't very sharp otherwise he would have cut his hand open. Using the broadside of the sword to support his weight, he slid down the rope like a zipline, going from one end of the tower to the other in seconds. When it ended, he let go of the sword, slung it over the next rope down and slid down once again. He kept on doing this, quickly getting closer to Bonnie. However, he knew that she was getting tired. He needed to a quicker way of doing this.
He was about halfway down a rope when he heard Layton call out to him from a few floor above. He grabbed onto the rope and look up at him questioningly.
"Edgar!" Layton called out from over the side of the balcony, "Drop onto that rope! It's a faster route!"
He looked down and saw a rope one level below him. He followed the roped, his eyes finding every single change on his path. He nodded in understanding when he saw a better route and instantly let go of the rope. He free fell one level of the tower and grabbed onto the rope directly below him, bracing for the impact. That time, the force of the fall almost made him loosen his grip on the rope, but luckily he managed to hang on at the last moment. He swung the sword over the rope again and slid backwards down the rope and then another rope and another one until he landed on the rope Bonnie was on.
He dropped the sword onto the floor, not needing it anymore and swung his way towards her.
The exhausted Bonnie tried her best to hang on, but eventually she lean to far to the left and fell off the rope, her legs kicking uselessly as she went.
But then, not a moment too soon, Edgar reached over and grabbed her by her arm, preventing her from falling any further. He panted and sighed in relief as he pulled her up towards him and held her under her arm.
"I've got you..." he uttered, as she looked up at him. "...Don't worry I've got you."
Making sure she was secure, he swung his leg up and over the rope so he can use his other arm to get to his pocket and pull out his pocketknife. He raised the knife to the rope binding Bonnie's arms and began slicing it off. Once he had cut through them and her arms were released, she instantly wrapped her arms around his neck. Now that his arm was free from holding onto Bonnie, he reached up and grabbed onto the rope.
"Okay," he said, "This is only way we're getting down so hang on tight."
He lifted the knife to the rope they were attached to and began slicing into it. After a few second, the rope snapped and they began to drop to the ground. Edgar hung onto one half of the rope and he and Bonnie swung down and thanks to a few brief calculations in his head, he managed to land with his feet on the ground of the Great Floor as elegantly as the Masked Gentleman had done. He sighed in relief as he felt the hard floor under his feet and leaned down so Bonnie can detach himself from his neck.
"Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" he asked in worry as he removed the gag from her mouth.
Bonnie shook her head and smiled broadly, "No 'at was proper fun. Can we do 'at again?" she asked excitedly.
Edgar rolled his eyes, picked up her cap off the floor and put it on her head.
"You are an absolute nightmare, you know that," he joked with a relieved smile, 'I saved her,' he thought happily, 'I managed to save her.'
The sound of rapid footsteps caught his attention as Emmy and Layton descended the stairs and ran over to them. Emmy instantly kneeled down to check on Bonnie while Layton went up to him. The Professor looked at him and then down at the bent sword not too far away.
"I thought I told you to put it back," Layton said with a small smile.
Edgar laughed and put his pocket knife away, "Luckily, I had the foresight to ignore you."
They heard a dark chuckle behind them and they turned in time to see the Masked Gentleman walk casually towards him, twirling his cane in his hand.
"Bravo Cipher! You risked your life and saved your friend. Not everybody is willing to do that," he said, glaring at Layton through his mask.
"I'm honestly going to shove that mask down his throat," Edgar growled.
Layton calmly walked towards the Gentleman, stopping a few feet in front of him, "I suppose he did save his friend. And as a friend once told me...no risk, no glory."
The Masked Gentleman flinched when he said that before he muttered darkly to himself, "Well, I suppose I won't be needing this anymore."
He took off his hat and threw to the side which was followed by his white haired wig which revealed messy dark red hair. It was at that moment that Angela, Henry and Mordaunt ran through the door and stopped in shock when the Masked Gentleman finally took off his mask and dropped it on the floor with a thud. Angela gasped, Henry's eyes widened and Layton frowned sadly as they caught sight of the man. His skin was tanned and he looked older then the last time they saw him, but there was no denying it. It was him.
"Who is he?" Bonnie uttered in confusion.
Edgar sighed, "I should have known from the last story," he whispered to her, "Bonnie this is Randall Ascot...back from the dead."
Randall flicked his hair and smirked at his childhood friends wickedly, "Did you miss me?"
And that's it!
I thought I would end the chapter here on a cliff hanger. I had to cut and reshape some of the story to shorten in down for this story as well as get rid off some of the puzzles, because they didn't fit well into writing format. Ah well, I hope you enjoyed nonetheless.
Thanks for reading :)
Omake - What would have happened if the chapter was more like the original story
Auditorium
The Masked Gentleman stood proudly on the stage in front of Emmy and Layton. He held Edgar by the scuff of his jacket. During the show, he had sneaked up behind him and pulled him away before they could notice and now he was holding him hostage.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to my humble theatre of revenge!" he proclaimed, "I believe you are missi- ack!" he cried out as Edgar rammed his elbow into him stomach.
He followed it up with a left hook to the face, sending the Masked Gentleman to the floor in agony.
Edgar raised an eyebrow down at him, "Yeah, I don't know what you're plan was, but I'm pretty sure it would have worked better if I was a eleven year old boy. Not a teenager who could take you on in a fight."
"Duly noted," the Masked Gentlemen groaned, crying out again as Edgar kicked him in the stomach.
Layton and Emmy sweat dropped as they watched him beat him up.
"I guess that's case closed," Emmy sighed with a shrug.
"Yes," Layton agreed, "although, I can't help but feel a little disappointed with how anticlimactic it was."
