Sorry for the wait, here's the next chapter :)

Djinn - Thank you so much. I quite agree and all that time his friends were suffering because they thought he had died. I always thought it was weird how they just let Randall go after everything he's done, so I decided to change it a little. Thanks for reading.

wellingtonlucas282 - No problem, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Dikratsblim - Thanks so much. Yeah, I always get a little sad as well, but there are plenty more games and intermissions to look forward to. Azran Legacy is going to be great, but I'm glad you mentioned the travelling from area to area. I won't lie, portraying it is going to be...difficult. I have some ideas floating about on how I can tackle it. So there are six areas they need to travel to and each of them have their own separate cases. It might take up a couple of chapters. Also I think it'll be more realistic for them to go to each place geographically. I know they're not real places, but I can hazard a guess of what the places are based on by their names and environment. So from London it'll be San Grio (Mediterranean), Misinna (Near East), Phong Gi (South East Asia), Torrido (South Western America), Hoogland (Northern Europe) and the Nest (Europe somewhere?) so they can circumnavigate the globe. I'll keep working on it and find a way eventually.

Thanks you also for the reassurance. It's been a while since I've updated any of my stories and I'm growling a little tense. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

kalecream - I know what you mean. The houses in the UK are not designed for hot weather. Plus I don't have air conditioning so it's even worse. Hope you've had a lovely time at the Philippines (I've always wanted to go there) and thank you for the reassurance. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Thank you for the reviews :)


Intermission IV: Edgar Vs the V.A.U.L.T 5000!

Layton's Office, Gressenheller University

It had been a while since they had returned from Monte d'Or and life carried on as normal. Layton and Emmy was taking a break from their otherwise busy schedule and invited Luke over for tea. It had been a while since they had seen each other and thought this would be a good opportunity to catch up. Luke was telling them all about his times at school, all his new friends, and how well he did on his last exam while Layton and Emmy were telling him about their time in the City of Miracles.

Once Emmy had told the young boy how everything was resolved, he leaned back in his chair and his mouth was agape in utter amazement.

"Wow! That was brilliant!" he exclaimed in excitement before he bowed his head sadly, "I wish I could've been there. I want to go to Monte d'Or."

Layton chuckled in amusement, "Now, now, my boy. If you had come with us then you wouldn't have done so well in that exam you were proud of. It would be rather ungentlemanly of me to disrupt your education."

"Yeah, I know," Luke muttered with a pout, "But I wish I could have at least seen one of the Masked Gentleman's miracles."

"Those miracles were dangerous, Luke," Emmy pointed out, holding a finger in the air, "A lot of people could have been hurt. I'm very sure that Edgar would have agree with me."

Luke perked up at that and looked around the office curiously, "Speaking of Edgar, where is he?"

"Janice's boiler broke down last night and so he's helping her fix it. He should be on his way here now," Layton told him.

"Oh okay," Luke said, "Edgar sure knows how to do a lot of things. Crafting, plumbing, fixing... it's incredible."

Emmy rolled her eyes, "Please don't say that in front of him. His head is big enough as it is."

Layton sipped his tea before replying, "I believe the term is a 'jack of all trades'. Edgar is someone who knows many different skills and practises that he's picked up over the years. I'm sure if you ask, he would love to teach you a-"

Knock! Knock!

Layton was interrupted by two sharp knocks to his office door. He hummed curiously before he called out, "Please come i-"

Suddenly the door swung open and slammed against the wall, making the others jump in surprise. They were even shocked when a man in his late forties leapt into the room and posed with his hands on his hips as if he was a superhero. He was a short, plump man with a round face, slightly tanned skin, blond hair that was curled up into a large pompadour and thin pencil moustache underneath his button nose. He wore a bright white suit with a golden tie as well as a monocle over his left eye. He looked around the office with a wide grin on his face before announcing in a booming voice:

"Greetings and salutations, lady and gentleman. Now who in here is the master thief known as Edgar Cipher!"

Emmy was the first to recover from the shock and stood up in anger, "Hey, you can't just come-"

"Oh look at this," another voice droned in a dull tone, "I haven't seen such this interesting specimen in years."

They looked around the plump man to see another intruder who also looked to be in their forties. She was as tall and thin as a lath with straight black hair, pale skin and had dark rings around her eyes, making her seem like she was going to fall asleep at any moment. She wore a professional-looking grey blouse and knee-length skirt and had a pair of spectacles perched on her pointed nose. She was currently crouched down next to the door, inspecting the lock with tired eyes.

"A simple deadlock that can be opened by a primary key made by the Watson and Company around fifty years ago. It looks like it hasn't changed since," she turned to Layton with a bored expression on her face, "You should think about changing it to something more secure. Although it's an antique, any person with less then five braincells can open it and rob you blind."

"R-right, I'll keep that in mind," Layton uttered in confusion.

"Another sniffing around that old lock Ms Knock," the man bellowed, "We are here for Mr Cipher," he glanced over Luke, "I knew he was young but I didn't know he was this young. This Cipher lad looks like he's still in primary school."

Luke frowned crossly, "I'm not Edgar. I'm Luke. Luke Triton. Who are you?"

The man threw back his head and laughed, "My apologies. We haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Nick Picker and this is my associate and chief designer Fortuna Knox. Now about Mr Cipher..."

"Wait, hold on," Emmy interrupted, "That wasn't much of an explanation. Who are you?"

"They're belong to the Picker Company," a familiar voice answered. They all turned to the door and saw Edgar carrying a white box under his arm whilst leaning against the doorframe, looking at both of them with a raised eyebrow, "They're a safe and lock manufactures that cater to rich families across the city. I've come across a few of their vaults in my time."

The portly man's eyes lit up in excitement as he recognised him, "Aha! You must be Mr Cipher that I've heard much about. You see Ms Knox. I told you that this is the man for the job."

Fortuna sniffed and looked down at him through her spectacles, "I can see that. Not only that, but you seem to have come across some of my designs," her eye twitched slightly as if she was holding back her fury, "I hope they were...quite the challenge."

"I suppose they were," Edgar shrugged as he put the box on the table and opening it up to reveal a trey of pastries he brought for Luke's visit, "but then again, I say that the World Times's cryptic crossword puzzles are...quite the challenge, but I still manage to solve them while I'm having breakfast," he remarked as he sat next to Luke, causing Fortuna to narrow her eyes at him.

"Quite the spirited one," Nick laughed, not seeming to be as angry as his colleague, "And it's that spirit we need...as well as your expertise. I have a proposition for you, Mr Cipher. Recently, our company has come up with a design for the latest and greatest line of depository innovation," he declared before Fortuna handed him a rolled up blueprint from seemingly nowhere.

He unfurled the designs on the coffee table, almost knocking off everyone teacups if they weren't moved out of the way just in time, to reveal a design for a safe. At first, as they inspected it, it didn't look any different from any old safe; a plain box made out of thick black metal with a heavy door on the front. But, as they read the descriptions, they can see that it had more complicated locks, the walls and the door were made out a thicker metal and there seemed to be a smaller safe within it made out a silvery metal which had its own labelled descriptions.

"This is the Versatile And Unbreakable Locking-up Tool 5000! Or V.A.U.L.T 5000," Nick proclaimed excitably, "What you are seeing is the future in keeping valuables and precious items safe from...well, people like you, Mr Cipher."

Edgar hummed in annoyance at that.

"If I may," Layton interrupted, "How did you know of Edgar's history? Scotland Yard has made sure to keep his personal life hidden from public knowledge due to him being a minor."

Nick waved a dismissive hand at him, "Well, Mr...Mr..."

"Layton. Professor Hershel Layton."

"Well, Mr Hershel, we have friends in Scotland Yard. As you can probably have guessed, we work rather closely to prevent the hoi palloi from giving into their thieving tendencies. Now, please don't interrupt. We are getting to the good part," he said with a small laugh, "In order to promote our newest creation, I have a suggested a publicity stunt in order to catch the investors' attention. We will place a valuable item into the V.A.U.L.T 5000 and you, Mr Cipher..." he pointed dramatically at him, "...will try and break into it."

...

...

...

"WHAT!?" Emmy and Luke cried.

"What?" Edgar deadpanned.

"Oh dear," Layton sighed.

"Yes, break into it," Nick repeated, "What better way to demonstrate the V.A.U.L.T 5000's then by having a master thief try and break into it. If it beats the best in the business, then investors will flock to our business by their hundreds. It's perfect!"

"And what, pray tell, am I trying to steal?" Edgar sighed uncaringly.

Nick chuckled, "I knew that'll catch your attention. They're will be two items that is generously donated by the head of the Laymen's Reserve Bank, Mr Grant Sloanes. A ruby from his private collection and a £1000 of his own money. Mr Sloanes is eager to hear of our latest creation and so what better way to show it off."

"That seems a little risky," Emmy said, "What happens if Edgar's is able to break into it?"

"Don't be stupid," Fortuna snapped at her, "There's no way he can do it. Even if he was able to break through the first vault, the second compartment will stop him in his tracks-"

"Now, now Ms Knox. Let's not give the game away," Nick interrupted before she can rant anymore, "Now, will you accept or not, Mr Cipher?"

Layton cleared his throat and stood up from his chair, "As Edgar's guardian, I cannot allow this. He is on parole until the age of eighteen and if he commits one more misdemeanour he will be sentenced."

"Oh, I'm sure we can work something out with the police," Nick said, "It's only a publicity stunt after all. Besides, when he fails in his attempt he will be rewarded for his efforts."

"Wait!" Luke called out, "Why are you assuming that he will fail?"

Nick grinned, showing off all his teeth, "Because he will, little boy. This is advanced technology we are talking about. Years of blood, sweat and tears had gone into making this and some thief isn't going to just break into it at a drop of a hat."

"He isn't some thief! He's Edgar Cipher! He can do anything!" Luke shouted angrily.

"You obviously don't know what you're talking about," Nick said uncaringly, "I don't need to prove anything to a simple child like you. Leave and let the adults talk."

Luke's face scrunched up in anger and he gritted his teeth, "Why you-"

"Luke, that's enough," Edgar firmly said, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, making the young boy calm down, "There's no point arguing."

"But Edgar," Luke uttered in shock.

"Aha! I see you have taken up on our offer then," Nick cried out, grinning from ear to ear.

Edgar leaned back in his chair and shrugged, "Nah," he answered simply.

...

...

...

Nick blinked at him blankly, "No?"

"Nah," Edgar repeated, "Don't feel like it."

"But I'm offering you an opportunity to-"

"Listen," he interrupted, taking a croissant out of the box, "I would love to do this, but...I don't care. Like really do no care about anything you have been saying for the past five minutes. Besides, I'm really busy right now. As you can see, I'm completely swamped," he said, lazily taking a bite out of the croissant.

"But you're-" Fortuna was about to say before Layton sharply interrupted her.

"I believe it is time for you two to leave," he firmly warned as Emmy stood up, preparing to use force if she needed to.

Nick and Fortuna regarded them both, anger apparent in their expressions. Eventually, they picked up the blueprints, muttered bitterly to themselves before taking their leave, making sure to cast another look back at Edgar as the door shut behind them.

"Well, that was interesting," Edgar said nonchalantly, "Anyway, sorry I was late. How's school going, Luke?"

The young boy turned to him in shock, "Why didn't you take the challenge? They were insulting you."

"So? Who cares what they think of me. Besides, why should I take their offer. I'm retired."

"But-"

"Luke, it's fine," Edgar said ruffling his hair, "Don't think about it to much. I'm more interested in eating this croissant right now," he said as he took another bite out of the pastry.

Luke frowned sadly at his reply, bothered by his lack of enthusiasm. If it was him, he would have taken the challenge and prove to those snobs he could do it and make them apologise for how rude they were. The young boy couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in him and spent the rest of day in a sour mood.


Edgar's Room

It was the very next day and Edgar was sat at his writing desk, construction something out of wood with glue and nails. It was then he heard a knock at his door, making him look up from his work before grabbing some newspaper clippings on his desk and shoving them in his draw.

"Come in," he called before the door swung open to reveal a concerned Luke, "Hey, Luke. What brings you here?" he asked before showing him the wooden box he was making, "Do you like it? It's not done yet but-"

"Yes, it's great," Luke cut him off, much to his surprise, "Edgar about yesterday-"

"Yesterday? Oh right, the Picker Company. Honestly Luke don't worry about them. I don't think they'll bother us anymore," he reassured him with casual wave.

"But they shouldn't have treated you like that," Luke argued, "insulting you, calling you a thief and a criminal. Why didn't you do anything?"

The meeting the previous day had kept Luke up all night. It bothered him that they could just barge in and make remarks that were so wrong. Edgar was a good person, although a little rough around the edges, and he looks out for him like he was his little brother. Luke holds a lot of respect for him after what he has been through and what Nick said angered him. However, what bothered him more was that Edgar didn't retaliate or call them out on how horrible they were being. That wasn't the Edgar he knew.

Edgar raised an eyebrow before he chuckled in amusement, "Luke, I'm not going to get hung up by what a couple of weirdos said about me. Besides I am a thief...well I was a thief and now retired."

"Still-"

"The point is that they're not the first morons I'll meet in my life and they are definitely not going to be the last. The best I can do is ignore them and they'll eventually go away. Isn't that the point of my rehabilitation? To become a better person and learn to be a member of society?"

"Well...I guess..." he sadly admitted.

Edgar gave him a reassuring smile, "If you are still unsure then talk to the Prof. He'll back me up."

Luke nodded sombrely before closing his door and walking down the stairs to look for Layton. He still felt unsure about the whole thing, but he didn't know why. If Edgar didn't want to it then it's his choice.

'Maybe if I talk to the Professor, he can tell me what's wrong. He's good at this sort of stuff,' he thought as he stepped into the living room.

He found him on the far side of the room facing away from and was about to call out to him when he noticed the telephone receiver pressed against his ear.

"I see...I'm sure we can be there tomorrow. Thank you, Mr Picker," Layton said before he put the receiver down and ended the call. He turned around and Luke saw the thoughtful look on his face, "Mr Picker has invited us to tea at the Ritz," he said, much to the young boy's surprise, "And it would seem the Mr Grant Sloanes accompanying him."


The Ritz

The tearoom of the London's Ritz hotel was busy as usual as the city's elite dined on the finest foods while chatting over politics, the economy and other boring subjects. Luke couldn't help but feel a little out of place in such a prestigious building with its golden chandeliers, its ornate wallpaper and carpets, its polished mirrors and its lovely view of Green Park just outside the window. He sat awkwardly in his chair and inspected the assortment of cutlery on the table before him before looking up at Professor Layton sat beside him.

"Do you know why Mr Picker wanted to meet us here? He doesn't seem like the type man who hangs about here," he curiously asked, before looking at the two other empty seats at the table.

"I'm not quite sure," Layton admitted, "Personally, I would have preferred to meet somewhere a bit more humbler. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this. Oh, there he is now," he said, spotting the round man following one of the butlers to their table.

However, he was joined by another man who was carrying a large briefcase. He was tall and lean with black hair, tanned skin and droopy blue eyes. With his wide chest, large bearded chin, sharp facial features and his strong arms, he gave off an intimidating aura that made Luke sink into his chair in nervousness. That along with his light blue suit and green tie, made him even more menacing. Especially with that eerie grin upon his face.

"Hullo there!" Nick called out in a friendly manner as he and the tall man took their seats, "Glad you could make it. Ms Knox has other business to attend to so she won't be joining us today," his eyes landed on Luke, "Oh and you're here as well. I was expecting Mr Cipher," causing the young boy to grit his teeth.

"Edgar unfortunately couldn't make it. He's currently helping the Dean of our university with some paperwork and I invited Luke in his place" Layton explained before looking at the other guest, "Am I right in assuming you are Mr Grant Sloanes? Owner of the Laymen's Bank Reserves."

"You assume correctly," he gruffly replied, "I've got to say, I was sceptical at first. Mr Picker's idea is certainly ambitious, and I have to admire that, but at the same time very risky. I'm more comfortable now that I have met with Mr Cipher's representative. Gives me a good idea of the people I'm working with. You know what I'm saying?"

Layton raised an eyebrow at that, "My apologies, Mr Sloanes, but if you're referring to the Picker's Company publicity stunt then I'm afraid to inform you that Edgar is still refusing the partake in it. He has retired from that life."

Sloanes looked briefly surprised by this before glowering down at a nervous Nick, "You said that he agreed."

"Err...well...what I meant to say was...err..." he stammered before a waiter, with greying hair and a bushy moustache, rolled up to their table with a trolley of tea and cakes, "Ah! Here we are. Can't make any decisions on an empty stomach I'm afraid. Ha Ha!"

"Mr Picker," Sloanes growled warningly before thanking the waiter for the tea set before him.

"Well, I wanted to take this opportunity for both parties to meet," Nick said, completely ignoring the waiter as he put his tea down on the table, "Hopefully, we can come to some understanding."

"Mr Sloanes," Luke said, catching his attention, "Mr Picker and Ms Knox have been treating Edgar unkindly. He's not a thief or a criminal anymore. In fact, he helps solve crime along with the Professor. The publicity stunt is just plain cruel and he wants nothing to do with it."

"I quite agree. Edgar has given his answer so I believe it should be respected. Perhaps, there's another person who can take his place," Layton suggested as he sipped his tea that was put in front of him.

Once he had set his tea down he hummed curiously and looked down at his tea. He then glanced at the waiter's feet, who was putting an assortment of small cakes in the middle of the table, and hummed curiously again. Before, Luke could ask what he found interesting, Nick was speaking.

"Me being cruel? I wouldn't say that. I'll be happy to compensate Mr Cipher after his loss."

"And what if he succeeds?" Luke asked pointedly.

"Impossible!" Nick laughed loudly, "Even if manages to bypass the first chamber, the second chamber would easily trip him up. There is a system in place that records and maintains the temperature and air pressure inside it and the only way to turn it off and on is by the owner themselves. If the chamber is breeched or open without turning it off, an alarm will sound and a jet of incapacitating gas to be sprayed into the thief's face. So even if they do break into the V.A.U.L.T 5000 then they are not going to go very far."

"So Edgar may lose even if he tries," Layton hummed, earning an enthusatic nod from Nick.

"Precisely. Fantastic isn't?"

Luke shook his head, "That's cheating."

"Don't be so childish. It's not cheating," Nick crossly retorted.

"No, I have to say that it is cheating," Layton agreed.

"That's not the point!"

Sloanes grumbled something under his breath before he reached down and opened the briefcase by his feet. He proceeded to take out a black wooden box and placed it on the table in front of him.

"I'm sure that Mr Picker has told you about this," he said, opening the box to reveal a sparkling brilliant cut ruby about the size of one's thumb sitting on a cushion of black velvet, "This gem has been in my family for four generations and was brought by great great grandmother for my great great grandmother on their wedding anniversary. Nine carat and worth around ten thousand pounds in todays' market. I'm sure there are hundreds of thieves and burglars up and down the country who would love to get their hands on this," he said as the rest of the table admired the gem, "Gentleman. I make a living out of keeping our patron's money safe and sound and I know they will be devastated if they lose all of it, just as much as I would be devastated if I lose my family heirloom. In order to that, I need to best security as possible. Guards, safes, vaults, anything to earn our patron's trust and what Mr Picker is offering is a very tempting offer, but I need a guarantee. I'm sorry that Mr Cipher feels...uncomfortable about this situation, but Mr Picker assures me that he is one of the best. If this V.A.U.L.T 5000 manages to catch him out then I can rest easy knowing that our patron's needs are safe. So, if there's a way to convince him, then please do so for my business' sake."

Luke frowned unsurely and looked up at the Professor. Layton seemed conflicted about the proposal, but after a while he gave a weary hum.

"I...see what I can do," he eventually told them, causing Nick to grin happily and for Sloanes to nod in appreciation.

"Great," Nick said happily as he stood up, "now how about we-AH!" he suddenly cried as his leg gave way under him.

He fell to the side of the table, instinctively grabbing onto the tablecloth as he went down and taking it with him along with the everything on it, sending tea and cake flying into the air. This included the ruby which fell out of its box as it fell and rolled on the carpeted floor before coming to a stop. Luke, knowing that it was by far the most valuable thing, immediately jumped up and grabbed the ruby before it got lost, earning a sigh in relief from Sloanes. The waiter from before ran over, picked up the box and held it out for him to put the ruby back in.

"Here you are, young master," he said.

"Thank you," Luke said putting the ruby back in the box.

Everybody in the room looked down at a tea-stained, cake-splattered Nick Picker wrapped up in the elegant tablecloth he had pulled off. The man pushed himself off the floor and gave a seething Sloanes a nervous smile.

"Luckily, our vaults are more effective at keeping things safe then I am. Ha ha!" he chuckled sheepishly.

"Oh dear," Layton sighed, feeling a little sorry for the man.


Layton's Residence

That afternoon, after returning from the Ritz, Layton had some work to do at the university, but Luke wanted to speak to Edgar again. After discovery that Edgar had finished helping Dean Delmora and returned home, Layton dropped him at his residence. Luke found Edgar in the living room on the sofa eating a slice of Victoria sponge cake; his hair was slightly damp as if he had been in the shower recently. He greeted Luke with a friendly wave.

"Hey Luke, would you like a slice. I baked it just now," he said as Luke sat beside him on the sofa.

"Huh? I didn't know you could bake," he mused before, turning his attention back to the problem, "Edgar, we met Mr Picker and Mr Sloanes today."

"Oh, so he hasn't given up yet. Shame," Edgar said, taking another bite of the cake.

"Yes and I still think you should do something about it," he told him firmly, "You can't just sit here while he's-"

Edgar sighed and put the plate on the coffee table in front of him, "Luke, what do you want me to do. Do you want me to accept the challenge?"

"Well no-"

"Then you don't want me to do the challenge, then."

"No...I mean yes...I mean...I don't know," he admitted, bowing his head sadly.

"Luke, what's really going on? Why do you want me to do something?" he asked gently, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I...I just don't like how they talked about you. You're a good person and my friend and you have been trying really hard to improve yourself and move away from your past," he softly said as tears threatened to form in his eyes, "They don't know you...the real you. They don't know that you had no choice and you were doing it all for...Agatha. It just upsets me, how they can treat you like this. If somebody did that to me...well, I'll be angry and I don't understand why you're not."

Edgar frowned sadly as he briefly remembered the memory of his little sister. However, he took a deep breath to calm himself down and gave the younger boy a small smile.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way. But do you remember why I became a thief in the first place?" he calmly asked.

Luke looked up at him with a straight face, "Because you're a kleptomaniac."

"Ack!" he cried, not expecting the brutal answer, "How do you even know that word?"

"Emmy calls you that all the time."

"Right...well, I guess I have to speak to her about that next time I see her," he muttered bitterly, "Yes, I may be a little...okay, a massive kleptomaniac, but before that I was doing it to help Agatha because she was ill and nobody else was going to help us. I know you think me of somebody who doesn't go down without a fight and cause mischief when I can, but I only do it for a reason. They might be putting other people in danger or somebody might need to be taken down a peg or maybe I'm just bored. I can't go around and cause trouble unnecessarily; I have to pick and choose my battles where I know I can win. I'm not rising up to Picker's and Knox's challenge because I don't care about them and what they think about me. If they had threatened somebody that I care about then would agree immediately, because it's a good enough reason; just like helping Agatha was a good enough reason for getting into crime. I know that what they said about me was upsetting, but you have to be the better person in these situations. The more insults and pain you tolerate and ignore, the stronger you are as a human being; never lash out and insult back because after a few seconds, when the anger subsides, you might regret it. You don't see the Prof retaliate when somebody is rude to him, do you?"

"No...I suppose not..." Luke admitted.

"That's because, in his own words, it wouldn't be ungentlemanly of him to do so. Honestly, don't worry about me, Luke, let me deal with it in my own way," he told him with a warm smile, "You feeling better?"

Luke sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes, "Yep."

He felt the anger slowly leave from his body; his sour mood becoming less and less. He felt relieved. Relieved that Edgar knew what he was doing and feeling a little guilty for not believing in him,

"Good, now get yourself a slice of the cake and we can-"

RING! RING! RING!

They both jumped at the sound of the phone. Edgar frowned thoughtfully as he stood up and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr Cipher," the recognisable voice of Nick came from the other end, causing him to groan, "I was wondering if-"

"No."

"You don't know what I was about to say."

"No, I'm not doing it. My answered hasn't changed. Goodbye," he firmly told him, but before he could the receiver down, Nick called out to him once again.

"Now wait one moment. I'm sure we can come to some arrangement. We can organise it with the police so you won't get in trouble, we are offering a substantial sum in compensation and why don't we throw in a free V.A.U.L.T 5000 for yourself. Now how does that sou-"

"Give it to me!" another voice demanded on the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of a scuffle.

"Ms Knox!" Nick called out in shock.

"He's not going to take the offer, because he's a sneaky little criminal!" Fortuna shrieked, "You listen here, you little punk, for twenty years! TWENTY YEARS! I've provided the world with high-class, sophisticated and the most secure locks that should be impossible to pick open, but now my reputation is ruined by you and your thieving! I haven't slept in weeks slaving away on the V.A.U.L.T 5000 so the least you can do is do what your best at and CHALLENGE IT! WHAT ARE YOU SCARED NOW, YOU LITTLE COWARD!? I'VE KNOWN HUNDREDS OF YOU CRIMINALS AND BESTED THEM ALL AND I'M NOT GOING TO LET ONE BRAT RUIN ME AND MY DESIGNS!"

He heard the sound of a phone being torn out of her hands and Nick spoke into it again, "Forgive my colleague. She's-"

"Oh, now I see," Edgar said knowingly, "You're not doing this to promote your product. You're doing this for revenge."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds before the rage-filled voice seeped through the receiver.

"Fine. You got us. The Picker Company has suffered significantly in the past years. Our reputation in keeping valuables safe have been completely shattered. Customers have stopped trusting us, the investors are pulling out and we are on the brink of bankruptcy all because of you. I have been trying to be nice to you, Mr Cipher, but now my patience if running thin; so I'm going to asking you one last time...do the bloody publicity stunt."

"And I'm going to say this one last time...I'm retired," he replied, emphasising the last word, "so bugger off."

Nick sighed on the other end and, to Edgar's surprise, chuckled, "Fine, I suppose you have given us no choice."

"What are you talking about?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh, you know what, I just remembered," he chirped, returning to his original booming voice, "A few of our safes have been broken into a few hours ago, weren't they Ms Knox?"

"Indeed," Fortuna said in the background, "He's stolen quite a few valuables they we were keeping safe. But don't worry, I think we know who it may be. We've had...quite the history with this particular criminal."

Edgar almost dropped the receiver in disbelief at what they were implying, "You're kidding me? You're framing me."

"Of course not. You have to be completely innocent to be framed for something," Nick mused, "What was that Mr Hershel was saying? One last violation and you're in prison. Such a shame if, somehow, you happened to fall back into bad habits, wouldn't it? But then again it would be one less criminal out of the streets."

"They will not believe you?"

"We have friends in Scotland Yard," Fortuna said, "I'm sure they'll agree with us."

"It's your choice, Mr Cipher. Do the stunt or go to prison. We're more then happy with either result."

He gripped the receiver in a vice grip and gritted his teeth in rage. He looked over at Luke, who seemed confused by what was happening, and sighed in defeat, "Fine, where is it held."


Christie's Auction House, London

Two Days Later

Layton parked the Laytonmobile outside the white marble building in the middle of the area in London known as St James' and they quickly got out. They saw all a herd of journalist and photographers filter their way into the building while the attendants were busy sorting them out into neat lines. Luke looked up at the large auction house building as a feeling of dread ran through his body. He glanced over at a miserable-looking Edgar getting a large bag out of the boot of the car, filled to the brim with tools and other equipment used to break into safes. They young boy was saddened when he explained what Nick and Fortuna had done. He made him promise not to tell either Layton or Emmy about what had happened, but every second he was finding it more difficult to keep a secret.

Emmy looked up at the building and gave a small hum, "They surely have pulled out all the stops for this one. I mean imagine renting out an prestigious auction house like Christie's for...this."

"I imagine that Mr Picker and Ms Knox would try to make this event as much of a spectacle as possible to draw everyone's attention," Layton mused before turning to Edgar, "I must ask again. Why did you agree to this after insisting you were retired?"

Edgar sighed and brushed passed them towards the main door, "They'll keep badgering me if I didn't so let's get this over with."

Layton and Emmy shared a concerned look while Luke frowned sadly. They all followed him inside.

They met Nick, Fortuna and Sloanes in the brightly-lit lobby. Nick waved cheerily at them as they approached while Fortuna merely turned the nose up at them.

"Hullo there! You've made it!" Nick called out, "I'm so glad you finally agreed to this challenge, Mr Cipher."

"Yeah great," he muttered before turning to Sloanes.

"Cipher, huh," Sloanes grumbled, putting out his hand for him to shake, "You must be the master thief, I've been hearing about."

Edgar took his hand and shook it, "It's a pleasure to be stealing from you today. I've always wanted a have a go at breaking into your bank."

Sloanes chuckled menacingly, "What stopped you?"

"Couldn't find a big enough bag."

"Funny. But I guess we have to see, won't we," he said casting a look at the safe makers who flinched slightly, "I've been told that Mr Picker was forcing you into this challenged. Is that true?"

Edgar glanced at Nick and Fortuna wearily before responding, "No, of course not. The thought of trying to break into the safe and steal your ruby and £1000 was too much of an exciting chance to turn down."

"Good to hear," Sloanes grumbled as he straightened his suit jacket.

Edgar looked over his shoulder and spotted somebody he wasn't expecting, "Is that Constable Barton over there?"

They all looked over and saw the short police officer over by the buffet table, eating a plate of hors d'oeuvres happily with his left hand while holding a black wooden box in his right hand.

"Is that your ruby he's got," Luke asked, recognising the box from the other day.

"Indeed it is. Constable Barton has volunteered to oversee the event and I have made him hold onto my family heirloom for safe keeping," Sloanes explained as he turned back to Edgar "I hope you don't mind, but I've ordered him to keep the ruby as far as away as from you as possible."

"Smart move," Edgar hummed.

Emmy nodded happily "I suppose the safest hands are the ones that hold up the law every single da- and... he's left the box on the table," she sighed, seeing the Constable walk away from the buffet and accidentally leave the box behind, "Barton! Barton! The box! You left the box!"

The police officer stopped at her shouts, turned around and gasped before running back and collecting it.

"Sorry! Won't happen again!" he called back, holding the box in the air.

Everybody sweat dropped at the sight while Sloanes clenched his jaw tightly in annoyance.

"It looks like I'm not the only person you have to look out for," Edgar commented.

before running back and collecting it.

"Sorry! Won't happen again!" he called back, holding the box in the air.

Everybody sweat dropped at the sight while Sloanes clenched his jaw tightly in annoyance.

"It looks like I'm not the only person you have to look out for," Edgar commented.


Exhibition Hall

The time has come and everyone had gathered in the main hall with the paparazzi and guests huddled together on one side. Layton, Luke, Emmy And Sloanes we're sitting in front of the crowd, waiting patiently for everything to begin.

On a dais at the far side of the room sat the monstrosity known as the V.A.U.L.T 5000. It was much bigger then everyone was expecting, standing at shoulder height to Edgar and made of the thickest steel that looked like it was taken off a battleship. It had a large vault wheel right on the front of the door and several number dials on the right hand side. The first door was opened to reveal the second chamber; the door of which had even more number dials on all four of its corners as well as a number key pad. Edgar inspected the gigantic safe before turning to Fortuna standing nearby.

"Don't you think you went a little overboard?" he asked.

"No," she snapped, "now step away from it."

He raised his hands in the air in mock surrender and stepped off the stage as Nick took the centre.

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for all coming today for this special occasion," he announced with a wide grin, "all of us possess something valuable; something that you would never ever give away. Perhaps that special thing has considerable worth or perhaps the memory of the special thing is what makes it priceless. We, at the Picker Company, understand the meaning of value, in its many shapes and forms, and will do anything to preserve it. That is why our line of safes and vaults are one of the best in the country; to make sure to protect everything you hold dear to you," he announced dramatically, causing Edgar to roll his eyes, "However, there's no point telling you, when we can show you. Behold! The V.A.U.L.T 5000!" he proclaimed, stepping aside to show the safe, "Designed by our chief engineer, Fortuna Knox, this is by far the strongest and most advanced safe that has ever been created. It's blast-proof, pick-proof and we guarantee that no thief or ruffian will ever get into it. To prove this, we have a special guest today. May I introduce to you, our benefactor for this event and volunteer for this demonstration, Mr Grant Sloanes."

The bank owner stood up and waved to the cameras behind him, his signature eerie smile still on his lips.

"Now Mr Sloanes has generously denoted £1000 of his own money for this event," Nick continued before he held out his hand to him, "If I may, Mr Sloanes."

Sloanes took our an envelope filled with the £1000 from his right inside pocket and handed it to him. He took the envelope and placed it gently in the spacious safe before turning back to the audience.

"Money may seem a lot, but I'm sure it's merely spare change, Mr Sloanes already had," he joked, earning a few chuckles, "that is why Mr Sloanes had also kindly gave his most precious item in his possession," he gestured for Barton, making the police officer nod in acknowledgment and walk onto the stage. He held out the box he was protecting and opened it up to reveal the beautiful jewel, much to everyone's awe, "a family heirloom. Not only valuable, but irreplaceable. However, it will be more then save in the V.A.U.L.T 5000; with its reinforced walls, hundreds of code combinations and anti-theft devices. Constable Barton, can you please place the ruby in the safe."

"Of course," Barton cheerily said, before he turned his back to the audience and placed the box into the safe with both hands. Once in placed, he turned back to the audience, "Safe and sound."

"Very good. Now Ms Knox, would you please do the honours," Nick said.

A wicked smile spread over the thin woman's face, "With pleasure."

She stepped onto the dais and closed the second chamber. As soon as it was sealed, a large whirring sound emitted from the V.A.U.L.T 500 before it stopped suddenly. Fortuna then grabbed the second door and, with all he strength, pushed the safe door closed. The heavy door slammed into place before it made several loud clicking sounds as the locks shut themselves.

"Now this young man here..." he said waving for Edgar to come on to which he did begrudgingly. When he got close enough, Nick placed a hand on his shoulder, "...is knowledgable on how to pick locks and safes. Isn't that right?" he asked, secretly digging his fingers into his shoulder painfully.

Edgar grimaced as he saw Fortuna in the corner of his eye, giving him a look that said 'play along or else'. He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, let's get this over with."

"Good, now you have one hour to try and steal everything in the V.A.U.L.T 5000 and walk out of this room. Shall we begin?"

"Fine."

"Brilliant!" Nick bellowed.

At that an attendant that worked for the auction house brought a podium on to the stage which held a large hourglass. He lifted it up, ready to start the countdown. Edgar sighed and rolled his eye when he noticed Barton walking up to him. The police constable stuck out his hand for him to shake.

"Good luck, Edgar. I'm sure you'll crack it."

Edgar gave a small smile and shook his hand, "thanks Barton."

Over at the audience, Luke fidgeted in his seat as he watched the event play out in front of him. Very soon, he couldn't take it any longer; he needed to tell somebody what was going on. He turned in his chair and looked up at the imposing Sloanes.

"Mr Sloanes there's something important I need you to tell you," he said urgently, "Nick and Fortuna are forcing Edgar to-"

"Now, now Luke," Layton suddenly interrupted, "this is not the time."

"But Professor!"

"It's about to start," he cut him off again, not taking his eyes off the front.

Luke looked as if he was about to protest, but he eventually gave in and slumped grumpily in his seat, concern evident on his young face.

Nick cleared his throat and bellowed, "Let's begin in 3..."

Edgar took a deep breath and focused on the locks of the safe.

"...2..."

Emmy frowned in worry while Layton hummed and looked on with a passive expression.

"...1..."

Luke clenched his fists tightly, getting more tense by the second.

"...GO!"

And with that, the attendant flipped the hourglass on it's head and Edgar immediately knelt in front of the V.A.U.L.T 5000. He pressed his ear against the door and began to work on the first lock, moving the dial gently and listening to the mechanics shifting inside. However, the door was so thick that he could barely hear the subtle ticks of the combinations falling into place, causing him to grit his teeth in anger.

This was going to be difficult.


20 Minutes Later

Edgar had managed to unlock five of the locks of seven number dials and was making steady progress, although he knew he could do it much faster. It was frustrating; once he thought he cracked it by hearing a solid 'click' noise, it had only made the noise a second time after a few minutes. Upon investigating, it seemed that the locks have a timer to how long it is unlocked before it sealed itself again. If Edgar had to guess, then he had to unlock every single combination in a space of time to truly unlock the door. He could say that it was cheating, but he doubted that anybody would care.

He looked over his shoulder and saw Luke look up at him in sheer worry. He offered a reassuring smile before getting back to work.


20 Minutes Later

Emmy and Luke sighed in relief when they saw Edgar twist the vault wheel open and pulled the first door open. He had passed the first stage, but it was not the end. He had spent the majority of his time on the first door and left himself hardly any time for the second door. It didn't help that he would frequently walk away from the V.A.U.L.T 5000 to scribble something down in his notebook. Luke assumed, judging by how focused he stared down at the pages, that he was planning his next few moves, writing down potential combinations and jotting down other strategies in getting it open. Over in the corner, Nick and Fortuna looked on with unreadable expressions on their faces as they watched ever single move he took.

Ever so often he would pull out another tool from out of his bag, but in the end nothing would work on it. It was clear that Edgar was struggling.

With twenty minutes to go, Edgar had a lot to do in so little time.


15 Minutes Later

Edgar was still crouched down in front of V.A.U.L.T 5000, tools and equipment of every shape and size surrounded him as if they were his fallen comrades after losing a battle. He looked at the hourglass on the podium and sighed angrily. He had barely made any progress on the second door. It was too thick and the combinations were too long and complicated; he knew that there was no way he could break into it.

"I give up," he muttered suddenly.

So suddenly that nobody was expecting it. Even Nick and Fortuna were taken back by what he say.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" she asked in disbelief.

"I give up. I can't get break it," Edgar repeated, "you win. Congratulations or whatever."

Nick and Fortuna shared a look with each other in confusion. A few seconds later, the penny dropped and they both jumped into the air in victory.

"He's been defeated!" Nick cried as confetti cannons fired from the side of stage, showering the are with colourful pieces of paper.

"The V.A.U.L.T 5000 has bested the master thief," Fortuna said, a cruel smile spreading over her gaunt features.

Luke's face dropped in utter despair, "No, he can't give up now," he whispered to himself.

"I don't think he wants to continue, Luke," Emma sadly said as she watched the miserable-looking Edgar brush some of the confetti off his hat, "He didn't want to to do this in the first place. Continuing would just make it worse."

"But-"

Layton shook his head, "I'm sorry. But this is his decision in the end."

Luke frowned and looked down at the ground. They were right, of course, this did seem like the best option for him. Edgar, meanwhile, sighed in annoyance and leaned his head to Fortuna while Nick was posing for the cameras.

"So, what's my compensation. It better be good?" he whispered.

She responded with a cold look, "Your compensation is being a free person. Just be lucky we're not going to do anything else," she snapped, infuriating him even further, "Don't worry. I doubt we'll contact you or your little friends ever again," a wicked smile spread across her face, "We got what we want. How does it feel to lose? Does it hurt? That's what you get for what you did to my designs."

He snarled angrily at her before he turned away, walked off the stage and out the main door. His hands were shoved into his pockets and his head was lowered to the ground; anger and disappointment radiating off him as he want away. Layton, Emmy and Luke watched him leave for a few moments before they followed him out of the room.


Outside

They found Edgar outside next to the Laytonmobile. His eyes was cast down to the pavement and he had his hands in his pocket, disappointment and anger evident on his face. He merely shook his head at the car, urging them to get in.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he muttered bitterly.

Layton, Emmy and Luke shared a worried look before the Professor unlocked his car, allowing them to get in with Emmy in the shotgun seat and Edgar and Luke in the back. As Layton started the car and began to drive away, Luke glanced over at the older boy who was simply staring out the window with a thoughtful look.

He sighed sadly and bowed his head, "I'm sorry, Edgar."

Edgar raised an eyebrow but didn't look away from the window, "What for?"

"I…forced you into taking up the challenge-"

"Don't worry about it," Edgar interrupted, "besides it wasn't as if I had a choice in the first place when they decided to falsely accuse me."

"Yeah, but before that…I guess I felt a little left out. Your adventures sound so exciting and I'm missing all of them. I thought that I saw you do this challenge, it will be like I was part of it all. The puzzles, the code-breaking, the safe-breaking. I just wanted to see you do your last heist before you retire…but I now know that I was being insensitive and I'm really, really sorr-"

"I believe we're at a safe distance now," Layton said, cutting Luke's apology off before he could finish.

Emmy turned to them with a bright smile, "You've messed with Luke enough, Edgar. Drop the act now."

"Huh?" Luke uttered, "What do you mean?"

Edgar turned away from the window and, to Luke's shock, had a mischievous half-smile upon his face, "Sorry about that. Had to make it believable and all," he said cheerfully before chuckled, "Damn, I miss this. The thrill of it all and knowing you got away from it."

"What do you mean? What did you have to make believable? What's going on?" Luke rapidly asked.


Christie's

Back on stage, in front of hundreds of flashing cameras and eager journalists, Nick opened up the safe and presented the inside of the V.A.U.L.T and the precious treasure within. He leaned down and picked up the box and held it before Sloanes with cheery grin, ready to reveal what's inside.

"And as you can see, your ruby has been unscathed," he said opening the box with a dramatic flourish, "Remember now! If you want to protect everything you hold dear to you, then buy our company's secure vaults! Because there is no such thing as being too safe!"

….

….

….

….

"It's empty," Sloanes growled darkly, his face twisted in anger

Nick blinked in surprise at what he said, not quite processing what he said. He slowly looked down at the box in his hands and his jaw dropped when he saw that it was indeed empty. He stared at the interior for a few seconds, turned it upside down in case it happened to drop out before reaching his hand in to feel for the ruby.

His face dropped in disbelief as he came to terms with reality.

"Err…" he stammered, looking up at the furious face of bank owner, "…this wasn't supposed to happen."

"Nick," Fortuna called out to him, just as astonished as he was.

He turned and around she showed him that the envelope was completely empty save for a few pieces of paper cut down to the size of a bank notes. On the first paper was a small doodle of Edgar wearing a crown and written in the top corner was '£1,000'. On the back of the paper, written in neat handwriting was:

'Don't spend it all at once ;)'

"What?" Nick uttered in confusion as the paparazzi continued to snap photo after photo.

"But how?" Fortuna questioned, feeling like she was going to faint at any moment.

They felt a large hand press down on their shoulders. They looked up and gulped as the saw Sloanes glare darkly down at them.

"Oh, I'll definitely remember you two," he growled menacingly, "I'll remember you as the bozos who lost my ruby."

The locksmiths shared a terrified look, preparing themselves for the fury that was about to be released on them.


Laytonmobile

Edgar smirked proudly as he held the ruby in one hand and the wad of fifty pound notes in the other, presenting them to the astonished Luke.

"You…you got them," Luke gasped.

"Of course, I did," the older boy replied with a casual shrug, "I'm a brilliant thief. And now that I won, I guess that means I-"

"You didn't win them. We're heading towards Mr Sloane's residence and returning them immediately," Layton reminded sternly, causing Edgar to scoff.

"Fine. Spoilsport."

"So you did manage to break in to the V.A.U.L.T, then," Luke said.

"Nope. Didn't really need to," he replied as his grinned widened, "What's the point in breaking into a safe when there's nothing worth stealing in the first place."

"Huh?"

"I believe that Edgar has been planning this since our first meeting with Mr Picker and Ms Knox," Layton said, keeping his eyes on the road, "Edgar seemed to very interested in the blueprints that Mr Picker set down. Almost as if he was trying to remember as much as possible about it. My next suspicion was when he began gathering newspapers he could find on Mr Sloanes and locked himself in his , it wasn't until we went to the the Ritz that I was able to confirm my suspicions."

"What happened sat the Ritz?"

"Oh, you noticed that," Edgar said to Layton in amusement, "I suppose there's no fooling you."

"What happened at the Ritz?" Luke repeated.

"Well, I just happened to overhear that you and the Prof were going to meet Picker at the Ritz, so…"


- Flashback Three Days Ago -


The Ritz

The corridor that led to the staff area of the hotel was completely empty as most of the waiters maids and bellhops were busy with their duties. This part of the hotel was much plainer then the rest of the building with white plaster walls and green stone floors.

That was when one of the windows along the corridor, made a 'click' noise as if it had just been unlocked. The window opened outwards and Edgar climbed through wearing a rucksack on his back. Once he had both feet on the floor, he closed the window behind him, took off his rucksack and pulled out a spray bottle and began sprayed his face and armpits with water before putting it back in his bag. He walked down the corridor until he spotted a door with a sign that read 'Staff Room' and a security lock just above the handle. He began to pant as if he had just ran a marathon and ran to the door, making sure his rapid footsteps can be heard, before he tried opening the door forcibly. Of course, the door didn't budge because it was locked and began knocking on it urgently.

'Since it was coming up to noon then the morning staff must be heading home now,' he thought to himself, 'so if my calculations are correct…"

The door swung open to reveal a rather annoyed man wearing a waiter uniform, but with the tie undone, "Can I help you?"

"…Sorry…" he uttered through tired sigh pants, "…first day…running late…"

The waiter took in his tiered appearance and the 'sweat' on his face and shirt. He sighed and stepped aside, "Fine, come on in," he told him, allowing him to come into the deserted staff room, "Aren't you a little young to be working here?"

Edgar put his ruck sack on the table, "Oh…no…I can…show you…my I.D…if you want…" he lied as he pretended to rummage through his pockets.

The waiter waved his hand dismissively at him, "Don't bother. You wouldn't be here if you weren't."

"Thanks…" he said before opening his ruck sack and giving a fake gasp, "Damn it! I forgot my uniform. Great, I'm going to get fired on the first day," he muttered miserably.

"Relax," the waiter said, "there's a few spares in the back," he said pointing to the door behind him, "need anything else?"

"No, thank you so much," he called out with an innocent smile. As soon as the waiter left and closed the door behind him, Edgar dropped the act and headed to the back room, "first class service, second class security," he told himself.

He entered the back room and found a line of freshly dry cleaned waiter suits hanging on a clothes rail. He searched for one that was about his size and changed into it quickly. Once that was done, he reached into his rucksack and pulled out a towel and put it over his shoulders. He then took out a hairbrush and a bottle of talcum powder. He scattered some of the powder onto the hairbrush and began brushing it into his hair while standing in front of a mirror on the far wall. After a few minutes, his hair turned from black to greyish black and, to make sure it stuck, he took out a can of hairspray and sprayed his hair. He then got a make-up kit out of his rucksack, took out the eye shadow and made the bottoms of his eyes look darker to give him a weary expression. Once he took out an eye liner and gave himself crow's feet around his eyes to make him look older, he was done.

He took off the towel, put all his equipment away, picked up his rucksack and headed out of the staff room and down the hallway and into the lobby. He disposed his rucksack behind a potted plant near the door and headed towards the dining area. He looked around and spotted Layton and Luke in one of the middle tables. He saw Layton look up towards him and thought for a moment that he had been caught when suddenly Nick and Sloanes passed by him, heading towards the table. He breathed a sigh in relief and headed towards the kitchen.

The kitchen was packed with chefs and waiting staff cooking, preparing and serving the customers' orders. They were so busy that didn't notice the one imposter that had snuck in. He looked around and spotted the table that had the prepared platters, ready to be served. He made his way to it and looked at every one until he found a little label that read 'Sloanes Party' on it. He picked up the platter, which included a tea set with four cups and cake stand full of truffles and other small cakes on it, and placed it on a nearby trolley. He began to take it towards the tearoom, when suddenly:

"Hey!" Edgar stopped short and looked back at a chef coming towards him with an annoyed frown, "What you think your doing?"

"Oh I was-"

"You forgot the milk jug," he said placing said jug on the platter, "come on, focus. We've got customers to serve."

"Right. Sorry," he said, internally sighing in relief, "You know how it is on a Monday."

"It's Thursday."

"Feels like a Monday."

"Tell me about it," the chef muttered as he walked away again.

Edgar turned back to the kitchen door and exited into the tearoom. He rolled the trolley over to the table that they were sat where a nervous Nick spotted him.

"...Ah! Here we are. Can't make any decisions on an empty stomach I'm afraid. Ha Ha!"


-Flashback End -


"Wait!" Luke cried, "you were our waiter! How did I not spot you!?"

"Descole's not only the person who can put on a disguise, you know," Edgar said with a shrug, "Although, judging by how the Prof was able to spot me, I still have a lot of work to do."

"Usually the waiting staff at the Ritz don't wear boots as part of their uniform," Layton pointed out, causing Edgar to click his tongue in annoyance.

"Can you even do that? Won't you get in trouble?"

"I was only pretending. No harm done," he argued, "If anything the real criminal thing is them not paying me for doing their job."

Layton and Emmy sighed wearily.

"I believe a more serious crime is you breaking and entering and impersonating hotel staff. But I'll let it slide for today," the Professor said.

"At least I can stop wondering where my make-up kit went," Emmy muttered.

"Anyway," Edgar said, "The reason why I'm doing all of this is because I noticed a label on the blueprints that read C2HBrClF3. If I know my chemistry, which I do, that would be the chemical formula for Halothane; commonly used as an anaesthetic gas. It didn't take me long to realise what would happen if I were to open the second chamber," he explained, "there was only one thing I could do: I needed to do a switch."


- Flashback Three Days Ago -


"Mr Picker," Sloanes growled warningly as Edgar put the set down before him.

Secretly, he eyed the suitcase at Sloanes feet and guessed that is where he was keeping it. He continued to lay out the rest of tea and he maintained his focus on the suitcase, however his attention was captured when Luke spoke up.

"Mr Sloanes. Mr Picker and Ms Knox have been treating Edgar unkindly. He's not a thief or a criminal anymore. In fact, he helps solve crime along with the Professor. The publicity stunt is just plain cruel and he wants nothing to do with it."

'Aww Luke, thanks," Edgar thought happily.

"I quite agree," Layton said, "Edgar has given his answer so I believe it should be respected. Perhaps, there's another person who can take his place."

'This is fun. No wonder, Descole does this sort of thing," he thought as he set the cakes down on the table, missing the curious look Layton sent him.

He decided that it would look suspicious if he loitered around them and opted to walk away to think of another way to get to that briefcase. He pushed the trolley over to a free table and pretend to arrange the flowers in the vase whilst keeping an eye on the table as they continued to talk.

'Maybe I can offer to take it to the cloakroom?' he thought before shaking his head, 'No way, is he going to let it go. From what I've uncovered, he keeps it near his person on all times. Can't blame him really. Maybe I can-" suddenly, much to his surprise, Sloanes reached down towards his luggage and took out the ruby box and placed it on the table, 'Damn. Now it's going to be harder to make the switch now it's out in the open,' he thought bitterly before he looked down at the tray placed on the trolley, '...unless.'

He took the tray off the trolley and, making sure nobody spotted him, placed it on the floor. He got in the perfect place before he put his foot on it and waited for the right time. After two minutes, he saw his opportunity. He saw Nick rise from his chair, his right foot hovering in mid-air before being placed on the carpeted floor. That's when Edgar pushed the tray across the floor; the polished silver allowing it to glide over the floor swiftly as it reached it's target beneath Nick's foot.

He needed it to be perfect. One second later and the tray would glide under his foot. One second earlier and the tray would hit the back of his shoe and he could possibly get caught. He held his breath as he saw friction took hold and slowed the tray down. Closer and closer it got to Nick's foot; the gap between the sole of his show and the floor getting narrower and narrower until...

...the tray slid beneath his foot and Nick stepped on it.

"Great, now how about we-AH!"

Edgar almost laughed when he saw the tray slid out from under his foot and thrown him off-balance. He fell forwards and, as predicted, grabbed hold of the tablecloth and taking its contents with him including the ruby in the box. The ruby fell out of the box and Edgar saw his opportunity to...


-Flashback End -


Luke suddenly gasped, "Oh I know! You switched the ruby with a fake one while it was on the ground! That means that the ruby in the V.A.U.L.T 5000 is the fake while you always had the real one!"

"Not exactly," Layton spoke up, "Remember Luke, you were the one that picked up Mr Sloanes' ruby, not the Edgar."

Emmy nodded in agreement, "Also, I would assume Grant Sloanes would know if it was fake or not just by looking at it. It's his family heirloom, after all."

"Oh right," Luke uttered, "then what did you-" he said before his eyes widened in realisation, "wait, you don't mean you-"

"That's right!"


-Flashback Three Days Ago -

While everyone was distracted with Nick and Luke had picked up the ruby, Edgar took action. In one swift motion, Edgar found the box the ruby was in and scooped it up and put it in his pocket. He then, from another pocket, took an identical box out of his other pocket and held it out for Luke to put in.

"Here you are, young master," he said, deepening his voice to disguise it.

"Thank you," Luke said putting the ruby back in the box.

Edgar nodded before he put the box back on their table and headed out of the tea room while waiters were fussing over Nick. As he did, he spotted a Victoria Sponge cake on a trolley that one of the waiters had abandoned. After looking around and seeing nobody looking his way, he took it and the cake stand and headed out of the door.

"Excuse me," one of the guests at the table called out to him as he passed by, "can I have-"

"Sorry, don't work here," Edgar casually told him as he walked on by.

The guest gave him a confused look as walked out of the room.


-Flashback End -


"You switched the boxes?" Luke asked, "But why?"

"Since I can't switch the ruby, I had to get creative. Sloanes' ruby is not the first time it's made a public appearance. In fact, I've known about it before. Anybody would steal such an exclusive jewel like this," he said, observing the ruby in his hand, "However, Emmy's right. It's such a brilliant cut that swapping it with a fake would be out of the would out of the question. You won't fool anybody. But I've noticed, in newspapers and articles, that Sloanes kept the ruby in one place. The black wooden box; I doubt even he would notice that it was different. So, I copied the design and created my own-"

"That's what you were doing when I came to see you," Luke realised

"Exactly. However, I added a new feature to the box. If you press it in a certain place, a small opening would open up at the bottom of it; large enough for the ruby to fall through and slip down somebody's sleeve without anybody noticing. Have I told anyone I've gotten in carpentry."

"But Constable Barton showed the real ruby to the audience before he put it in the safe," Luke pointed out.

"Nick and Fortuna are not the only people to have friends in Scotland Yard," Edgar said with a smirk.

Luke's eyes widened, "Barton was part of this!"

"If they wanted to play dirty then I will to," Edgar responded crossly, "After I explained the situation to him and how they were threatening me, he was willing to go with it…I also convinced him with a slice of cake. All he had to do was catch the ruby and slip it to me. Which he did perfectly."

"Welll, okay," Luke said, "that explains how you got the ruby, but what about the money?"

"That's when I noticed he was putting on an act," Emmy spoke up, "he made another switch when none of us realised it. A common thief tactic to find out where something valuable is located on a person is by mentioning it. The victim will check if it still there by touching their pockets or glancing at where it is hidden. It's a subconscious reaction. When Edgar mention the money, Sloanes touched his jacket pocket showing Edgar where it is."

"Ah I see," Layton hummed, "from that and his unusual behaviour, you were able to deduce that Edgar was planning something and built up your case from there. Quite observant."

"That and I saw him slip the envelope out of his pocket and replace it with the fake one when everybody was looking at Barton," Emmy said with a small giggle.

"Yep, pretty impressive right?" Edgar said, turning to the younger boy with a grin.

"Oh," Luke uttered passively, "Err…yeah. Impressive."

Edgar blinked blankly at his bland reaction, "…What? What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing," Luke said hesitantly, "just thought…well after what you did at the Ritz…you would do something more, I don't know, exciting."

Edgar gasped before he frowned angrily "Not everything has to be an overcomplicated scheme, you know. Sometimes picking a pocket is the best and safest way. It takes time and effort to pull of schemes and I only had three days."

"I'm not criticising you," Luke defended himself, "I was just expecting something bigger."

"Fine, next time I'll just do a 'Thomas Crown Affair' and cut a hole in the ceiling and abseil down to pick someone's pocket. Geez."

"What's the Thomas Crown Affair?"

"Anyway," Emmy interrupted, "What I wanted to ask is whether you could have broke into the V.A.U.L.T 5000 if things were different."

Edgar hummed thoughtfully before he shrugged, "Probably, if I actually tried. I spent most of my time filling in this," he said, showing them the notebook which he was waiting in. Instead of the plans and combinations they thought he was noting down, they saw a cut out cryptic crossword from a newspaper glued to one of the pages; it was almost filled in.

"Oh, so that's what you were doing," Emmy sighed.

Edgar closed his notebook, "I mean, I did consider cracking it, but then I thought it was better to not crack it after all."

"Huh? Why's that?"


Exhibition Hall, Christie's

Meanwhile, in an almost empty, darkened hall, Nick and Fortuna were looking over the V.A.U.L.T 5000 frantically, inspecting every nook and cranny of the safe.

"How did he do it!?" Fortuna shrieked in confusion and anger, "How did he do it!? It's impossible!"

"We can't stop until we discover how he did it," Nick desperately said, wiping the sweat off his forehead, "Keep looking! He must have done something!"

"Damn you, Edgar Cipher!" Fortuna cried.

Two attendants watched them from the other side of the room, looking tiredly upon the sad sight.

"They're not going to stop, are they?" one said to the other.

"Give them five minutes before calling security. I want to get home," the other said.


Laytonmobile

"That's pretty ruthless," Emmy commented, "But I can't say they didn't deserve it."

"That's right," Luke finely agreed with a sharp nod of his head.

"There is one thing that still eludes me," Layton said, "You seemed quite adamant to leave your past behind you and yet you did all of this. What made you decide to take up the challenge, Edgar?"

Edgar frowned slightly at the question. He thought back to their first meeting; how Nick didn't say Layton's name correctly, how Fortuna called Emmy stupid, and how they spoke down at Luke and called him 'little boy'. The reason why Edgar decided to come up with this entire scheme and got out of his way to take them down a peg was because they were rude to the people he cared about. Edgar doesn't trust a lot of people, but the people he does trust are the ones that are precious to him.

"Don't know," Edgar finally answered with an indifferent shrug, "Sounded like fun."

Of course, he would never admit it...

...that would make him look soppy...

...and he couldn't have that.


That's it, hope you enjoyed it.

This chapter was actually inspired by an episode of 70s/80s show 'Tales Of The Unexpected' where a former thief is challenge to break into a safe. I thought it worked pretty well for Edgar's character. I also introduced Grant Sloanes from the Katrielle games. I have some plans on how to tie Edgar to her detective agency so I thought I'll bring some elements from that game into this story.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.

Bye :)


Omake - Daily Life Of Victor Soul's OCs

Garden

Sitting on a bench underneath a tree was Michael Timere from 'The Legend Of Timere', wearing his usual Slayer attire and his woven sugegasa upon his head and a thick bandage wrapped over his empty eye sockets. He was sharpening his sword with a whetstone, using the wind currents to guide his hands when the breeze told him of another person coming his way. He sighed wearily, but didn't stop his sharpening.

"Bloody hell. Can't imagine the size of you mail you get if you need a letter opener that big," Edgar joked, nodding to his katana, "in fact, a better question is how tall is your mailman."

"Don't insult my weapon," Michael grumbled in reply, "and what do you want?"

"Thought I'll come over and meet the new guy. I like your story, by the way. It's very...grim," he mused as he sat on the bench next to him, "born into a wealthy family, father is absent for most of your life, mother is abusive, fought in World War One..."

"World War...what?

"...Whoops. Sorry. Spoilers. Anyway you get to Japan and have your eyes ripped out by a demon and now you hunt them for a living."

Michael hummed in annoyance, "I don't slay demons for 'a living', as you say. Being given money would be an insult to me. I slay demons because it's my one true purpose in life. I will cut them down, slaughter and butcher all of them until they no longer plague the earth with the foulness. Only then...I will be at peace."

"Wow..." Edgar uttered, "that's so...cliché," he said with a chuckle, "I can't see you being popular with that attitude. Nobody likes the murdering broody type. Especially with women? By the way, can I have your harem since you're too busy with the demon slaying."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Michael's lips, "Amusing. However, I think this bravado is a front. Are you sure you're not jealous that my story has more followers then yours?"

"Perhaps, but I do have one thing that I have more of then you, "Edgar replied with a smirk.

"And what's that then?"

"Eyes."

...

...

...

...


Living Room

In Victor's home, the rest of the OCs were relaxing on their personal armchairs. Lewis was knitting a scarf, Charles was reading a book and Night Terror was doing a crossword and all of them were enjoying the tranquility, Night Terror hummed and tapped the pen on his metal skull mask thoughtfully.

"Hmm, nine letters 'to maim viciously or to kill violently,'" he read out loud.

"Huh," Lewis said, "Got any letters?"

"Just the first one. The letter 'S'."

Suddenly, the door opened and Edgar ran in and slammed the it behind him; his face was mixture of amusement and panic. The other OCs looked over at him in confusion.

"What did you do now?" Charles asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Err...word of advise," Edgar said, "Don't mention the eye situation to the new kid. He's a little sensitive about it."

SMASH!

The sound of a katana piercing the wooden door ripped through the room, making them jump in their seats. They peered through the hole in the door and saw the livid face of Michael on the other side.

"I'm going to slaughter you, you bastard!" Michael roared.

Edgar glanced back at him before casually walking away, "Okay, you'll guys deal with that."

"Hey wait!" Lewis cried out, before he gulped as another piece of the door was smashed away, "don't leave him with us."

"Aha! I've got it! Night Terror called out before jotting something down on the crossword, "Slaughter. That must be the word."

Victor would soon find the door in pieces and ground Edgar and Michael to their rooms for the rest of the day. Yet another normal day living with his OCs