I hope everyone had a lovely holidays, during mine I showed my brother Les Mis and now he won't stop sending me screencaps of Marius pulling weird faces. This was a horrible idea.
Now for the chapter that I like to call "Now you get to work out which beloved Layton characters are going to die" or, if you don't know the original story, "Now you worry because you're aware some of these people will die.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 8- Red and Black
A great commotion had risen up from the banks of the river, as the meeting of the Thames Arms Restaurant came to a start. Randall was met with a hearty welcome as he entered the doorway. An unusual band of people sat in front of him, some old and some young, experienced and just joining. But all there for one reason.
"Randall!" yelled Crow "The men of Kodh have theirs all prepared."
"Mosinnia as well!" Called Janice, Randall smiled to them.
"The time is nearly here." He spoke with such vigour that the patrons leant forward in anticipation "Though not quite yet, I have this… feeling. Everyone stay alert, we'll need to be prepared." He looked round the room as everyone began to talk amongst themselves "I see that we still have a few to arrive, so please enjoy yourselves until everybody is present." The noise died down and slowly rebuilt as all the members began to move around and speak to one another.
This was his team, the people who would help him to lead his revolution. They all knew that once Bill Hawks had taken over, there'd be no place for them or anyone in the town that couldn't fit his laws. They would revolt, get a new leader. One who could change their lives for the better.
He looked round at them in turn, proud of the choices he'd made. Stood by his side was Alphonse Dalston, a hotel owner with a remarkable sense of leadership, if not a little overinvolved. Randall knew that he himself was the true leader, but saw Dalston as one of the main aspects of the team. Even if their similarly brash natures made them clash during every conversation.
At the back of the room were Arianna Barde and Crow. Arianna was a young woman that was currently training to become a doctor, though a bout of deadly illness when she was a child had made her somewhat a Hypochondriac, meaning that she tended to spend her time assessing herself rather than actual patients. Crow was a former street kid that used to lead around a pack of children in the centre, a role that was now taken by Luke. He and Crow were very close, acting almost like siblings. A true businessman, Crow was always capable of finding equipment and weapons that Randall asked for. He found it better not to ask where they'd come from.
Sat with a notebook in her hand was Janice Quatlane, an Opera singer who was equipped with an extravagant voice and never seen without her songbook. She wasn't fully on board with the idea of violence, but after her partner Melina fell ill and lost all her money due to the bills, she knew that something there had to change. Looking over her shoulder was Aurora, a new member to the group that had an unusual introduction. Found wandering the streets with no recollection of her life before, there were speculations about her but nothing was fully known. She quickly became accustomed to the group's ways and soon found herself pulled into the rebellion. Randall had to chuckle to himself at the way she was gazing at the book with an almost childlike quality.
Sat by the bar were two older women engaged in a game of chess, the first being Katia Anderson. As the granddaughter of Duke Herzen, she was technically an upper-class woman but found the company of the townspeople more fulfilling than that of her Grandfather, though she would often worry about his condition as the other members discussed his influence on their ideals. She huffed as her king was taken from her. The culprit was Amelia Ruth, a well-known chess Champion that was renowned for her intelligence. She was clearly one of the most useful in the team, but her reserved nature made her go unnoticed during many meetings. Randall often worried about her.
Then there was the most peculiar member, Henry Ledore. Henry used to live with Randall's family when they were younger and he'd never seemed keen on any of Randall's ideals, and even in older life he warned against the revolution when the idea had first sparked in his mind. Yet here he was, sat with a book at the table in the corner. He'd complain about flaws in plans but eventually helped them in greater solutions. Randall often wondered what it was that kept him there…
The door slammed open.
"Clive?" Randall walked over to "You're late."
"You only got here five minutes ago Ascot."
"Shut up Dalston." The man laughed as Arianna moved towards the front of the room. She studied the solemn look on his face.
"Are you alright Clive? You like you've seen one of those duck tile puzzles." Clive smiled.
"No nothing like that, she was something beautiful like an angel. I think I'm in love. But I only saw her for a second; I don't know who she is." The room became ablaze with people speaking to him, most of them questioning how that was even possible. Randall's voice rose above them.
"Clive. We're planning a Revolution here; we don't have time to worry about your lonely heterosexuality." Randall waited until everyone had settled down. Clive sulked in the chair beside him. "We strive to something much larger than any of our lives here. The red blood of our sacrifices will relight the passion of London, Destroying the darkness that will wash over this town if Hawks manages to take over." He turned to Crow "Do we have all the guns?"
"Two for each of us here." Katia raised her hand.
"Is anyone going to question whether these are legal?" Crow mumbled something about a business, but refused to go into further detail. At the entrance of the room, a small voice piped up yelling for everyone to listen. Amelia packed the chessboard away and started going over the best locations for the barricade. The voice rose up again, louder this time as Randall slid across the table towards the corner where a member was deep in another world.
"Henry put the book DOWN. We have work to do." Henry rolled his eyes as he slipped the book back into his bag and glared at Randall's smirking face. The voice yelled several more times until it was literally screaming across the room.
"LISTEN EVERYBODY" Everyone turned to see Luke Triton stood atop the table, hands cupped round his mouth. He sat down, legs swinging, and lowered his voice. "I just got word from the castle. Duke 'erzen is dead. The official procession is tomorrow." Katia gasped, resting her head in her hands.
"Dead?" asked Aurora "Randall, what does this mean?"
"It means…." He shook his head and started waving his finger around "It means this is the day! Well, tomorrow's the day if you want to be specific. It's Revolution time." He was met with questioning faces of the crowd "In the absence of Anton Herzen, the people of this town will be furious at Bill Hawks. They'll be leaping to rebel against him, if we can interrupt the procession-" He heard a sob from the other side
"Randall! 'ave some sympathy will ya.?" Came the voice of Luke, he turned to see Katia with tears streaming down her face. He should have realised that the news would affect her. He leant down her level and moved over to her.
"Katia? We don't have to do this if it would upset your family, we can find another way."
"It's okay, I just need a moment. I knew this was going to happen I just didn't know the realisation would hurt so much." Amelia put a hand on her shoulder.
"You still want to do this?" She wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Of course. This is what Grandfather would have wanted, a rebellion on the morn of his death." She laughed "He always was into dramatics." A cheer rose up through the room. Randall stood up tall with more confidence that the group had seen that evening.
"So it's settled then? We interrupt the procession and gather forces; we'll create the Barricade in the town square, outside the Clock shop. Gather the weapons now, we have to hurry." As people scurried around, Clive rose from his seat, still humiliated from his outburst earlier. That was the last time he was ever late for a meeting. He walked out the door and stood looking over at the River.
"Clive, I have good news." He jumped in the air and would have fallen head first into the Thames if an arm hadn't wrapped round him at the last second.
"Emmy? Good god, don't do that to me!" Emmy laughed as he tried to catch his breath
"Shut up, while they're all distracted in there, you can follow me, I found her."
There is a reason behind each of these specific Layton characters being there, but it'd take FAR too long to explain all of them. Some are obvious and some are some incredibly obscure ideas.
Reviews are very very appreciated!