An update! I know Rachey reviewed and wanted an update, and luckily I was (finally) able to finish the edit work for this chapter this very week, so here it is at last. :)

Chapter 11: Before the Storm

The ground rumbled and parted in two, sliding open to reveal an underground landing bay, and the Silver Blaze descended, docking alongside a fleet of smaller blimps. From here, Future Luke drove Luke and Layton around with his van-blimp. Future Luke's base turned out to be less like a base and more like an underground city, situated within what must have been the world's largest cavern. From his seat inside the blimp, Luke peered out of the window, watching semi-detached houses, shops displaying wares, lit up lampposts, metal dustbins and wooden benches go by as they flew through the paved streets.

By arcing his neck up, he could see hundreds of tiny, sparkling stars shining brilliantly across a dark blanket of sky. Normally Luke would have been awed by such a beautiful display, but instead he found it disconcerting, because they had to be quite deep underground. The "sky" display was probably formed using the same technology which allowed the small blimps to use the stealth. An elaborate illusion, then, but one that was likely very much welcomed by the inhabitants living underground with no access to true sunlight.

Luke couldn't see anybody out and about on the streets, but it was getting nearer to 9 o' clock. Future Luke informed them that it was for the best that the streets were empty; most of the civilians in the town didn't know about the plan to bring the past professor to the future, and there was every chance that Layton's appearance would cause a great deal of unnecessary panic.

Future Luke parked on the outskirts of the underground town, beside an iron gate in front of a red country cottage with a thatched roof and small square-shaped windows. The owner of the cottage came out into the garden to greet them, a short brown-haired lady in a long, beige summer dress, with a small, round face and tiny eyes showing somewhat subdued enthusiasm.

"This is Becky," said Future Luke. "She's offered some lodging space for you both for a couple of days, at my request."

"On the house," she added, flashing a smile, and flicking her long hair aside. "No need to worry about the expenses."

"Very much obliged, madam," said Layton.

"Oh, none of that 'madam' stuff, if you please. Becky will do. I do have my reputation as London's most famous and wondrous host to uphold, after all."

"You're both famous and wondrous, are you?" said Luke, in a tone that indicated he strongly believed otherwise.

"Yes, little man. For starters, I make a smashing breakfast. My house is kept spotless and tidy, as you're about to see; and I know how to tell a gripping story."

"All I'm interested in is the food, to be quite honest," said Luke.

"Luke...!" said Layton. "Mind your manners!"

"Um... sorry," he said. Sometimes his mouth took control before his brain really had a chance to think about an appropriate response, and now he was hoping that she hadn't taken offence.

But Becky seemed to take Luke's remark as a challenge. "You like your food, huh? Well, you just watch. I'll whip up the best supper this side of the river. Then we'll see who's got the last laugh."

"Honestly," said Future Luke. "You really shouldn't be so cheeky."

"W-what?!" said Luke. He was willing to accept admonishment from the professor, but not when it was from himself. "You're one to talk, Mr 'Flaunts Authority At Every Turn'!"

"Excuse me?" said Future Luke. "What would you know?"

"More than you, mate!"

Becky laughed, raising an eyebrow as both Lukes looked at her with equally angry expressions. "You're arguing with yourself. You do realise that, don't you?"

"Looks like fun," said Layton, with self-deprecating sarcasm. "I can't wait to meet my future self. I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

"Hopefully it won't come to that," said Future Luke. "If we succeed in stopping Dimitri, we'll be able to use our time machine to go back into the past and put things right, once and for all."

"Even so," said Layton, "I find this current state of affairs to be most deplorable. I know I would certainly like to have some stern words with myself."

Future Luke sighed gently. "No offence, Professor, but I doubt he'd listen to reason – even if it was coming from you."

"That sure would be a sight to behold," said Becky, and her eyes lit up; she really did look like she was preparing to tell the most fantastical tale, a master storyteller mesmerizing their audience with a riveting tale of derring-do.

She made two fists and punched them together. "Two Professor Laytons going head to head. Brain against brain."

"Kinda scary, if you ask me," said Luke. What would the 'evil' professor be like?

Future Luke seemed quite keen to change the subject. "I need to go to the command centre and take care of a few last minute things before we launch the time machine tomorrow. This is where we part ways, for now. I'll be back for you tomorrow morning."

"What about Flora?" said Layton. "Is she all right? I'd like to see her, if I may..."

"It might be a bit late to see her... but... okay, I'll see what I can do. All right, then. I should be back here in about a couple of hours or so."

"Thank you," said Layton.

Once Future Luke left in his blimp, Becky immediately walked up to the sole oak tree in the garden and frowned at it.

Huh? thought Luke. What's she looking for?

All was revealed when she folded her arms and said to the tree: "You can come out, now, Flora."

A lady wrapped in a decorative flowery shawl popped out from behind the tree. She was wearing sunglasses to hide her face.

"F-Flora?" said Luke. She was much taller, and had her hair tied in a ponytail coming down the right side of her face, but other than that, he could tell it was her, in the same way that he could see himself in his own future self. She was nervous.

"You were waiting for Luke to leave, weren't you?" said Becky.

Future Flora said nothing, and took her glasses off. Her eyes flickered back and forth between Luke and Layton, her behaviour showing an almost wild unease.

"Luke... he actually did it," she said quietly. "He brought you here." Suddenly, she pinned Layton with a hard, unforgiving stare. "Luke may trust you, but I certainly don't."

"Believe me," said Layton, "I am just as dedicated to putting a stop to my future self as everyone else here."

"I don't believe you," said Future Flora, clenching her fists, an apparent eleven years of festering revulsion suddenly erupting. "I hate you," she rasped. "I hate what you've become. I hate what you've done. I hate what you've forced me to do. I'll never trust you."

Layton took a small step back; he looked a little hurt. "Flora, I-"

She held an angry index finger up, cutting him off. "I don't want to hear it. I suggest you take a good look at this future, and see for yourself what you've done. This is what you'll become."

"That's ridiculous!" snapped Luke. "Our timeline is different to yours! Just because everything turned out rubbish here, doesn't mean you can blame my Professor Layton for it!"

This seemed to stop her in her tracks. She blinked in surprise, and turned around, with her back facing them, shaking her head. "Don't, Luke. Just... don't."

She ran off, one hand over her mouth, and Luke was quite sure he could hear quiet, but distressed sobbing.

Crumbs, I didn't mean to upset her... thought Luke, frowning.

Becky waved a hand. "Oh, ignore her."

"Ignore her?!" said Luke. How could he ignore possibly Future Flora after seeing her run off like that?

"Well..." Becky stared thoughtfully in the direction that Future Flora had gone. "It was her inheritance money that allowed us to build this place. She took it kind of hard..."

Oh, no... thought Luke. That means all the robots in St Mystere must have been all shut down...

"I see..." said Layton.

"Personally, I think she's just being selfish. She's not the only one who's been affected. We've all had to make sacrifices just to get to where we are now. We all did what we had to in order to survive. What's the point in moaning about it now? Far better to focus your energies in making things right. I mean, it's not like anyone forced her to cough up the dosh."

"With all due respect, mada - er, Becky... I'll have to disagree. There is a very good reason for Flora's actions," said Layton.

"Well, you'd probably know that better than I would," Becky admitted. "But you'll soon see your own Flora, won't you? So it doesn't matter what my Flora thinks of you, frankly. Anyway, enough about that. Why don't we all go inside? How does a nice cup of tea sound?"

"That... would be lovely," said Layton.

It was two hours later when Future Luke took both Layton and Luke to see Flora, at the site of a medical centre. Layton had thanked him profusely; he was quite concerned for Flora's possible state, and didn't want to delay in seeing her any longer.

They passed by the reception, and the clanking sound of Future Luke's boots echoed as he took them down a long, wide corridor. He nodded to a guard, who was sitting behind a desk at the end of the corridor, and the guard nodded back, typing something. There was a gleaming, metal door blocking their progress, with an electronic keypad connected to a set of large levers and gears.

"Right, I've let the doctor know you're here," said the guard after a pause.

"Thanks," said Future Luke. He walked up to the door, punching a key code. To either side of the door, cogwheels whirred into life, and the door slid open with a hiss.

"Is there a reason for all this security?" said Layton.

"You'll see," said Future Luke.

They walked through a much smaller corridor, with several rooms leading off from it, and after continuing for a couple of minutes entered room number 12. The walls inside were all white, giving it the clinical, almost detached feel of a hospital. The room also had two beds on the right-hand side, with light-green curtains hanging on either side of each bed. A small table with a yellow jug of water on it was situated in the middle of the two beds. There was an odd machine, with a small TV screen in the middle of it, hanging off the wall on the left side of the first bed.

Layton felt a spark of elation as his eyes fell upon the person lying in the second bed. Flora was all right! She was sitting up, head engrossed in a book entitled "Cooking Made Easy"; apparently it had been supplied to her to keep her entertained.

His first instinct was to walk over to her immediately and check to see how she was. However, there was a lady doctor opposite the first bed, tending to a boy roughly Luke's age and height, and since it seemed obvious that this doctor had had a hand in taking good care of Flora, it was appropriate to ask permission first.

The doctor was very short, and had a crooked nose upon which tiny, shiny spectacles sat. The boy was sitting on a metal fold-away chair, and she was attaching a peculiar device across his forehead.

Upon hearing their approach, she looked up, and started when she saw Layton, narrowing her eyes, and with a stern line of a frown coming across her face. She had the air of a bull in a meadow who would charge full-throttle with horns at the ready if threatened; definitely not someone to anger if you could help it.

"It's okay, Doctor," said Future Luke, holding up his hands. "Remember, I told you?"

She sighed, the movement of air making her fringe fly upwards. "Sorry," she said, shaking her head. "Luke did explain everything to me... about the other timeline. You're still teaching at university in your timeline, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's right."

She remained sceptical, but at least she had lost the bull-in-the-meadow expression.

"Well," she said, after a pause, "this all must be very strange for you, Professor. I'm sure Luke's told you, but we've spent years fighting our Layton. Apologies, but I'm afraid it's a bit hard to change the reflex reaction when you look exactly like him."

"That's quite all right," said Layton.

"I'm Doctor Lorna Wilde," she said, "and this young man is Clive."

A boy? thought Layton. He recognised the name from his conversation with Dimitri. Why would Dimitri need a child? On the other hand... he couldn't help feeling that he'd seen this boy somewhere before. Maybe it was his uncanny resemblance to Luke that was throwing him off.

Clive peered out from behind Lorna. "Oh! You're the Prime Minister!"

"Oh, dear, no," said Layton, straight away.

He looked up with pleading eyes. "I'm not a criminal! You've gotta believe me!"

"Settle down, now, there's a good lad," said Lorna soothingly.

"Er... I believe you," said Layton.

"Phew..." said Clive. "You're not going to imprison me, are you, sir?"

"No, of course not," said Layton. "Wherever did you get that idea?"

"That scientist, Dimitri," said Clive.

"Ah," said Layton. "That explains a bit."

Future Luke frowned, and folded his arms. "Hmm," he said, mostly to himself, "I wonder what else Dimitri told him?"

"Actually," said Lorna, pulling a pen from her chest pocket, "this presents the perfect opportunity for a test. Professor, would you mind asking Clive to do something?"

"Pardon me?"

"Anything. Ask him to do a handstand or something. Hop on one foot."

"Hop on one foot?" said Layton, not quite liking where this was going. Was this going to result in the same odd behaviour he'd seen with Cuthbert?

"I'll do anything you say, sir!" said Clive, and without waiting for any more words, he started to hop about the room. The device on his forehead flashed a blue light, and Doctor Wilde scribbled something furiously into a notepad.

"Uh... okay..." said Luke, his head turning round to follow Clive's movements.

"You should have seen him when we first found him two weeks ago," said Future Luke. "He thought Emmy was his fairy godmother."

Flora turned the weird-o-meter up a notch by saying: "What can I do for you, Mr Prime Minister?"

Startled, Layton turned around, to see her smiling. "What? Flora, it's me. From your time."

"Don't be silly! I'll hop around the room too, if that's what you want!"

"Wha...?" Surely Flora knew that he wasn't the Layton of this time? She didn't seem herself. The real Flora would have made a fuss about being left alone. He wanted to hug her, to apologise for leaving her alone in this weird version of London, but he had a sinking feeling of dread, a feeling that the message wouldn't get through.

Luke had picked up on the strange behaviour as well. "What's... wrong with her? Why doesn't she recognise the professor?"

"Because," said Future Luke gravely, "her brain has been 'reprogrammed'. Clive too. They'll follow the professor's every command."

"You what? Reprogrammed?" said Luke.

Future Luke turned to Layton. "I won't ask you to do it, but if you asked Flora to reveal the secret of St Mystere, she would do so wholeheartedly."

"Of course I would!" said Flora brightly, and Layton tried not to cringe. It was unnatural, that smile. No one could be that happy, not even Flora. "The whole village is made up of robots," she said, "and the Reinhold fortune is accessed by pushing the Golden Apple on the -" Luke covered her mouth before she could say any more.

Layton almost fell over himself in his shock. He had suspected something of this nature - however, he had also hoped that his alternate self would not have gone so far as to brainwash Flora, too. But evidently Future Luke was right. Future Layton must have snapped, in this timeline, to do such a thing to poor Flora. No wonder Future Flora hated him so.

"This is... horrible..." he managed. Now he could see the reason for the high security; anyone under the influence of this mind control couldn't really be trusted to walk around by themselves.

"Hah!" said Doctor Wilde. "Glad you see it that way, at least."

"How could I... he...?"

"You're... Flora's guardian, aren't you?" she said.

"Yes..." His voice was strained, and he hated himself for not having the guts to look Lorna in the eye.

"Layton..." she said. "I can see you're genuinely worried about her."

Her soft tone was so at odds with the harsh greeting she'd given him earlier that he looked up. A kind, gentle expression shone straight through past her fierce exterior, and suddenly it was clear why she was a medical doctor. She was obviously a firm believer in helping people, and that came first and foremost before anything else.

"There's no need to worry. I've been keeping an eye on them here since they arrived, and I know they'll both be fine. Fortunately for them the setting appears to have been at the lowest possible. No permanent damage has been done."

Layton gave her a pointed look. "Fortunate... or deliberate?" he said.

"Who knows? I can't say I've ever understood your other self, Professor. But give these two another night. From what I've seen, it looks as though they'll be right as rain in the morning. With such a low setting it wears off naturally. Though, they may experience a mild headache. Now... it is late. I'd like to get Clive back to his room and off to bed, if I may, and then head for the hay myself."

"Yes. Of course, Doctor," said Layton. "Thank you."

"Let's head back, Professor," said Future Luke. "We all need rest for the big day tomorrow. Oh, and you might want to tell Clive to stop hopping, else he might never stop."

"I don't mind!" said Clive, though he did look like he was running out of steam.

Polly shifted positions, finding it difficult to sleep within the laboratory. His thoughts continually turned back to his days as a test subject inside Dimitri's lab, despite the fact that it had happened in a separate timeline.

Why could he still remember those days when he could simultaneously remember his days in this timeline as a free parrot after escaping from the pet store? It didn't make sense.

He became extremely agitated when he discovered that there was another reason why he was unable to sleep. There was another presence within him.

Hello, Polly.

You! What do you want? 'Cause if you're planning on sending me halfway across the universe, you can forget it! Use somebody else!

I'm sorry for using your body as a vessel. But you were the only one I could reach.

Why me?

The reason is as much a mystery to me as it is to you. My guess is that it has to do with Dimitri's actions in the other timeline. You hail from that timeline, not this one. You probably gained some rather bizarre temporal properties long before I came into the picture.

Those bloody experiments! You'd better not be part of Dimitri's crew!

I am not with Dimitri. Far from it - his experiments have affected me as well. How else do you explain my own temporal abilities?

...Was it really that important to reach Layton, then?

We are talking about a complete breakdown of reality if I don't succeed.

Dimitri wouldn't be that foolish, would he?

What do you think?

Oh, balls. He's gonna do it, isn't he?

I must stop this breach into Infinity.

Why don't you teleport me into the future at the point just before it begins? Then Layton would be able to stop him directly, instead of you giving him all these weird-arse clues.

I cannot get near Dimitri's Infinity module. It... affects me; it completely strips of my abilities. I already tried once, and - well, you saw the results. I lost the ability to communicate effectively. I could only communicate through images and select hidden memories.

Does that mean you've got your time-travelling powers back?

To a degree. They are only partially restored. You will not like it, but... it was Bill Hawks who restored them.

That whiny little man? I bet he didn't do it on purpose.

I will need to borrow your body once more, I'm afraid.

And have Dimitri chasing me all over Russell Square again? You must be joking.

He will not be able to find us now. You are still wearing the temporal signature suppressor. Besides, he has more important things to worry about.

Humph! Well, go ahead. At least you're asking for permission this time.

I told you, my powers went askew.

Yeah, yeah… Go on, then. Do whatever you want.

...

What's with the silent treatment all of a sudden?

I thought you would put up more resistance. You have been complaining non-stop ever since I first entered your body.

I'm not complaining because I don't like Bill and I want out of this laboratory. Where are we headed? And when?

To the Silver Blaze. Tomorrow morning. I believe that is both when and where your presence will be required.

No. Not tomorrow morning. Take us there right now so I can get some sleep before tomorrow. And teleport this sleeping tent while you're at it.

Ah. Yes. I forgot. You need sleep...

And you don't?

Not as such... No.

Who exactly are you?

The answer to that will have to wait until I'm sure we have a chance for success. Until then, just think of me as your guide through time.

More weird-arse nonsense. Right. Just what I need...

The next morning, Layton and Luke were treated to one of Becky's delicious breakfasts, after which they returned to the health centre courtesy of Becky's car-blimp. To Layton's immense relief, both Flora and Clive were much better, just as Doctor Wilde had predicted.

As Layton approached Flora's bed, she took one look at him - strange, how she seemed to instinctively know he was her Layton and not the future one without needing any verbal confirmation - and immediately rose to her feet, running to him with such eagerness that she practically headbutted herself into his chest.

He bent down, holding her close as she wrapped her arms around him. When Claire had died in that explosion, ten years ago, he made an internal promise to not let anyone get close, ever again. The truth was that he wasn't sure if his heart could take another deep cutting loss. But... had he gone too far in this timeline?

Is that what had happened to his future self? Had he cut himself off completely, so much that he no longer felt anything positive any more? Is this what would happen to him in his own future? It frightened him, shook his sense of self - his very core.

This one time... he would allow himself to get close. He hugged Flora firmly, and she settled into the embrace, nuzzling her head against him.

"Flora..." he whispered. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay," she said softly. "It wasn't you. I know it wasn't."

"No, it's not okay," said Layton, frowning. He pulled away, though he kept her at arm's reach, with his left arm still on her shoulder, and with his eyes locked on hers. "You had your free will taken from you. And I was the one who took it away."

"Professor," said Luke from behind, sterner than Layton had ever heard before. He stood up and faced the boy. It was startling how much he looked like his older self right now. His eyes were narrowed in that same way.

"She's right. Don't you remember what my future self said? Our timeline is different. You and I are still friends."

"Yes, but..." For how long?

Luke now looked severely offended; his cheeks flushed red. "Are you really questioning our friendship, Professor?"

"Of course not. We are friends, and I would very much like it to stay that way."

"You're nothing like your future self," said Flora, shaking her head. "I've met him, I should know. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about him that's not quite right. Different. He's not you, that much I can tell you."

Layton sighed. "I'm afraid I see more of myself in him than I'd like. But Luke," he said, raising a hand before the boy could object, "you are right. Feeling sorry for myself will not help matters. There is one difference. I believe my future self simply gave up. And I choose not to give up."

Layton next turned to Clive, who was still sitting on his bed. "I owe you the sincerest of apologies as well, my boy. What my future self did to you was reprehensible."

Clive shook his head, and stood up, joining the group. "Nah, s'okay. The Big Luke explained everything to us, that this is an alternate timeline. Your alternate self should be the one apologising." He paused, and then his gaze turned to Luke.

"So... er... you must be Flora's friend, right?"

"Yeah," said Luke. "You already met my older self, by the sounds of things..."

The two boys stared at one another for a moment, giving each other identical analytical looks; and then Clive folded his arms, going into a spectacular pout. "Well, colour me disappointed, Flora. I look nothing like him!"

"Huh?" said Luke. " 'Disappointed'? What have you been telling him, Flora?"

"Nothing!" she said, though the way she hid behind Layton seemed to indicate that she had been talking about Luke.

"Ah, now I understand," said Layton. "You two were posing as my niece and nephew, correct?"

"Eh? Now how on earth did you find out about that?" said Clive, awe creeping into his voice.

"He does that a lot," said Flora, somewhat shyly. "Figuring things out, I mean."

"But... we don't look that much alike," said Luke, frowning a little. "Do we?"

"Of course not!" said Clive. "Oh, wait... Speaking of figuring things out... That reminds me."

He took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it to Layton.

"I found this while I was running away from those gangsters. Um... Flora tells me you're good at solving puzzles... She said you'd know what to do with it."

Layton took a look at the piece of paper, which said:

G.. A..

F.. E. D.

G.. -1B. C.

A. -1B. F..

G...

"Interesting, if a little vague," he remarked. He still had the three parchments that he had gathered from the mysterious voice. Did those riddles have anything to do with this one?

"Puzzle from yourself to yourself, perhaps?" said Becky, speaking up.

"Very likely," said Layton. "According to Big Luke, my future self knew we were coming."

What did the letters mean? The dots? Some kind of special Morse code? Knowing his future self, it would make sense in due course.

"Less thought, more action," said Becky, snapping him out of his thoughts. "C'mon, we're running late. We need to leave now if we're going to meet Luke on time. We might see Max at the landing bay as well."

"Who is Max?" said Layton.

"Max Cunningham. Can't miss the guy," Becky said, pushing Layton gently out of the door. "There could be a hundred people in a crowd, and you'd spot him every time. C'mon, there'll be time for questions later. Chop, chop!"

The rebels' underground aviation bay was chock full of activity today, as people in blues and browns rushed about carrying boxes to and from different blimp-cars. Layton noted that Luke's silver airship was now not the only large "robot fish"; another finned ship adorned in blue and gold colourations had joined it.

In the centre of all the commotion, a giant of a man was bellowing orders. He could have been described as a human megaphone because his booming voice could be heard clearly over the din even without one.

"Max Cunningham, I presume?" said Layton.

"Told you you couldn't miss him," said Becky.

Max noticed the group, and came towards them with large, heavy strides. With a lion's mane of hair and a cheery disposition, he was a sort of young, brown-haired Father Christmas.

"Hey-ho!" he called, adjusting his goggles. "Here to see Luke, are you? They're nearly done at the time machine, and you lucky folks get to be the first to try it out!"

Layton didn't feel particularly lucky to have an evil twin running around carrying out unspeakable acts of horror, nor did he feel happy about being a potential guinea pig in what was sounding like a first time experiment, but as a gentleman he declined from saying as such.

"Is that your ship over there, sir?" he asked, pointing to the blue and gold airship.

"Oooh, yes. That certainly is mine, good sir. My pride and joy, she is! The Blue Lightning. Fast as fast can be and packs a right wallop!"

"She looks like a beautiful ship," said Layton.

"Thanks! My name's Max Cunningham, leader of the Brighton resistance force. Pleased to meet you all." The big man took everyone's hand in turn, shaking with far more force than was necessary; Layton, Clive and Luke all rubbed their hands gingerly, while Flora took one giant hand with both of hers to avoid the same fate.

"And look: there's our boy-wonder now," said Max, grinning.

Layton turned around, looking in the direction that Max had indicated, and saw Future Luke coming towards them through the crowd.

"No doubt he'll give me another speech like the one last night," said Max.

"He's just worried about the whole thing," said Becky. "Our success all hinges on whether we can get this time machine to do what it's supposed to."

"Brace yourselves, nonetheless," said Max, winking at the group.

Future Luke did indeed look rather stressed; his eyes were tired and sagging. Nonetheless, he appeared to be full of enough energy to chastise Max as soon as he arrived.

"I still don't think you should go, Max," he said straight away.

"Still? If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. I won't be swayed from my decision! You might be able to boss around everyone else around here but you're not my boss!"

"That doesn't give you the right to act like a jackass!"

"After the stunt you pulled yesterday you're lucky I don't give you a whack behind the ears, boy!"

Future Luke rolled his eyes. "It's not you I'm worried about."

"Fffff. Layton doesn't know we've refined the stealth technology on the Blue Lightning."

"He's no fool," snapped Future Luke, apparently angered by Max's lack of concern. "He'll be expecting us there!"

"Come, come now. Give me a little credit," said Max. "I'm not an idiot either, I'll have you know. I won't attack him head on, that would be suicide. On any other day, I wouldn't even bother trying to go near him. But today we have to know where he is. And, unfortunately, that means getting up close."

Max waved his arms around animatedly to emphasise his point. "We're losing too many pigeons to the jet-sprays; he's using those effective disruptors for our scout robots; and just a couple of minutes ago he erected a new jamming signal around his fleet which'll take another couple of hours to decipher, by which time we'll have lost his location. He's not taking any chances, that's for sure. In fact, he could be heading right for us here and we wouldn't know until it was too late to do anything about it.

"I don't know about you, Luke, but I get the impression that Dimitri's Infinity Project is the least of our worries."

"We're in agreement there." Future Luke gritted his teeth, as if reluctantly coming to a decision. "Just... be careful, Max. If there's any trouble, you get straight out of there, hear?"

"Ha!" Max boomed. "You telling me to be careful. That's a new one!" Max's bouncy expression bounced into a chasm of seriousness. "I wish you the best of luck, Luke. See you on the other side."

"Same to you, Max."

"Right, off I go! Hey-ho!" he bellowed, so loud that it almost seemed as though he would break into operatic singing at any moment. He looked back to wave at the group whilst still walking away. " 'Twas nice to meet you all!"

"Bye!" Flora called.

"He's a cheerful bloke," said Luke.

"Yeah... sorry you had to see that," said Future Luke. "We don't always see eye to eye, Max and I, but he's a good man. I'd trust him with my life. We'd better get going, at any rate. Ready for the time machine?"

Not really, thought Layton, but out loud he said, "Let's go."

Clive said, "I'm not ready. At all." He looked at everyone else in quick succession with a troubled expression on his face. "But we have to... to do this, right? To stop the bad Layton."

"Is something the matter?" said Flora.

"No," said Clive quickly. "I'm a bit nervous about the time-travelling, I guess."

"You'll be fine," said Future Luke. "You'll be back in your own time before you know it."

"That's... kind of the problem," said Clive.

Layton watched as the boy's brow furrowed into worry, and Flora put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. There it was again, Layton realised. That feeling that he'd met Clive somewhere before.

But where?

It was this question that tugged at Layton's mind as he and the others followed Future Luke up the ramp and into the Silver Blaze. Why was Clive so reluctant to go back to his time? Did it have something to do with what the mysterious voice wanted Layton to do?

Layton wasn't sure.

[ - Hidden Memory #11 - ]

"I really don't understand you sometimes," said Dimitri, speaking into a radio transceiver. He was currently on board his ship, the Antares, making final preparations for tomorrow. Hershel was on the other end of the line, on board his own ship. "You're pleased that Clive and Flora got away? Luke has them both, doesn't he? That indicates a severe security breach on our part, and yet you make it sound as though it's nothing. Please explain your reasoning."

"Perhaps I simply made it easy for Luke."

Dimitri rubbed his temples, before rubbing his eyes. He hadn't got any sleep last night, what with his nerves being so high-strung the day before his big project was set to go online. As such, he wasn't feeling particularly patient today, and his patience was never much good on the best of days when it came to dealing with all things Hershel.

"Are you saying, Hershel, that the rescue was part of your plan?"

"Not exactly, but I had considered the possibility. I removed certain... obstacles."

"Is there any point in me asking you why you did such a thing?"

"Why are you so concerned? I thought you had extracted all the data you needed from Clive?"

"And then some," said Dimitri. In the other timeline, Clive builds a massive fortress and sets about destroying London… and he tricks me into helping him do it.

"So what is the problem?"

Deep breaths, thought Dimitri, shutting his eyes and rubbing his face this time. Mustn't lose temper...

"The problem is that Luke has access to a time machine as well -"

"-Which he can only use both ways reliably once your Infinity module goes live."

This was very true. Descole's time machine could only travel forwards and down the stream of time without any problems. Going back upstream to the past was possible, but it needed an established link to Infinity in order to create a wormhole that would last more than two seconds, and Descole hadn't got far enough in his research to be able to create one. He wondered how Luke was going to get round this, and then wondered what Hershel had planned to counter it. There would be a plan, of course.

"I just wish you'd tell me what you were up to once in a while," said Dimitri. "For my peace of mind."

"And ruin the surprise?"

"Yes," said Dimitri bluntly.

Hershel chuckled. "If it preys on your mind so much, perhaps it is time I let you in on a few things. After all, we will need to co-ordinate our efforts if we are to succeed."

Dimitri let out a sigh. "Finally..." he said.

Hershel said, "I will send someone right away. Have you met a man called Ward?"

[ - 11 - ]

Author's stuff: So, chronic illness always makes things difficult whenever it rears its ugly head and the last five months have been pretty crappy as a result. I can't promise anything concrete because every time I do it blows up in my face, but I am doing the final edits (which I'd planned to do last year - go figure) for chapters 12 and 13 as quickly as possible this week while I'm well again and have the chance. Fingers crossed I can get them out in a timely fashion.

Next chapter is called "Into the Eye". In which Layton figures out the whole truth. :)