A/N: Here's the next chapter!

Review Reply to Gamergirl: Well, Pearl did say "to keep you safe"! And you didn't, no worries. The Lord is going down though! And no worries about the typo correction! It happens, especially at midnight!

Well, here we go!

…

Chapter Eleven: The End Game

Layton, Tucker, Pearl, and Flora finally made it to the center of the tower, out of breath and exhausted.

"The doors! They won't be able to get through!" Tucker panted, throwing his shoulder against one of the doors, slowly pushing it closed.

"But they're ghosts!" Flora exclaimed in confusion.

"Just trust me!" Tucker yelled. Layton dropped his sword and grabbed the other door, helping Tucker to close them, while Pearl held the ghosts back with blasts of her spiritual magic.

The doors closed with a slam, and the group waited for a few minutes, but no ghosts came through.

"We are safe, for now," the professor said, fixing his hat. Everyone nodded in agreement, and looked around the room. It was large and round, mostly empty, except for a large stone covered in gold glowing ruins

"The Halfling Stone?" Flora asked.

"It would seem that way," the professor replied, walking over and studying it with a small frown. Venrin ruins were something he wasn't able to read, and he was suddenly regretting allowing both Luke and Eric to be part of the other group.

"Well, our mission is to destroy it, right?" Tucker asked, checking his ecto-gun.

"Unfortunately," Layton sighed, stepping back. As an archeologist, he hated the thought of destroying an artifact. However, he knew it was the only way to stop the Lord and save Danny.

Tucker nodded, aimed the ecto-gun at the rock, and shot it.

Nothing happened.

"Huh…" Tucker looked at the ecto-gun curiously, wondering what to do now.

"Maybe we should try spiritual magic?" Pearl asked, stepping up to the stone and placing her hand against it before closing her eyes.

Moment's later, the gold glow turned to blue. Cracks arched from the ruins, spider-webbing across the stone surface, and the rock slowly crumbled. The glow vanished, and Pearl opened her eyes.

"Remind me to stay on your good side," Flora said, wide-eyed. Pearl chuckled at that, before looking at the other two.

"Now what?"

"We go find the other group, and hopefully, Danny," the professor said. All four turned to look at the door, where there had been ghosts on the other side moments before.

"Think they're still there?" Flora asked.

"I don't know," Professor Layton said. He moved forward, picking up the sword once more, and carefully opened the door.

The corridor beyond was deserted.

"Let's go."

The group quickly moved through the tower, heading towards the basement where they knew they would find at least Danny.

…

Luke dove towards Alfendi, grabbing him and rolling. Seconds later, a green-gold blast created a small crater where the boy originally stood.

"What the hell is taking them so damn long?" Alfendi growled, letting Luke help him to his feet.

"Your demise is inevitable. It would be so much more simple if you just submitted," the Lord said, advancing on the two boys. Sam, wielding an ecto-pistol, frowned and shot at him.

The Lord stumbled as the shots hit, and he turned on the girl, the green-gold switching to an icy blue.

"WATCH OUT!" Eric yelled, diving at Sam and knocking her to the side. The blast slammed into his legs, freezing them solid, and he hit the ground with a shuddering gasp.

"Eric!" Luke yelled, before frowning at the Lord. He then noticed Sam's quarterstaff, broken in half and abandoned. He ran over, picking up one half, and weighed it in his hand. It was about the same length as a fencer's sword.

Nodding in determination, he ran towards the Lord and lunged forward, thrusting his makeshift sword towards Danny's back.

As soon as he hit middle school, Luke joined the fencing club and took lessons. Like his mentor, he took to it instantly and became good at it.

However, facing a fellow student or fencing opponent was entirely different then facing an ancient lord in a ghostly body. The Lord whirled on Luke, knocking the weapon aside before it could hit him, and slammed a green-gold blast into his chest, throwing him backwards. The small piece of the shattered Magatama that still hung around Luke's neck flashed weakly, but was ineffective.

The door to the room opened just as Luke slammed into the wall and slumped to the floor.

"Luke!" Pearl cried, running over to her boyfriend. Flora spotted Eric, whose legs were frozen solid, and gasped, running over to help him. Professor Layton's eyes narrowed in anger at their opponent, and it was only by taking a deep breath that he managed to keep a clear head.

"The rest of your party has arrived," the Lord said in a bored tone , studying the four new people. Tucker looked over at Sam, his eyes flicking towards the Lord and back. Sam's eyes hardened, and she shook her head slightly, and Tucker got the message. Danny couldn't fight back from the inside any longer.

"Why, yes, we have," Hershel responded, adjusting his hat and looking at the bands. The Lord looked at the bands around his wrists, before looking back at the group, his gold eyes blazing with anger.

"What did you do?" he growled.

"Ooh… my head…" Luke groaned softly, putting a hand to his head. Pearl bit her lip, gently pushing his bangs off his forehead.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Luke nodded, letting her help him to sit up.

"We simply leveled the playing field, so to speak," Layton said with a smile, happy to see that Luke was alright.

"You will regret this," the Lord growled, the glow around his hands growing even brighter.

"I propose a battle of wits, rather then fists," Layton said. The Lord hesitated, the statement intriguing.

"Oh?"

"Yes. A puzzle battle, if you will; you against myself. Each of us will come up with riddle. If we both are able to answer, then the speed in which we do so will determine the winner," he explained.

"And the stakes?"

"If you win, we will leave and allow you to fully regain your rule," Hershel said, crossing his arms. The others gasped at such a chance, but the professor continued before anyone could say anything. "If I win, you will free Danny from both bands and return to dormancy."

"That sounds like fair terms," the Lord said with a nod.

"I give you my word."

"And I give you mine," the Lord said. Professor Layton nodded, looking at Sam.

"Time us, if you will?" he asked.

"Yes, Professor," she said, her heart pounding in her chest. She really hoped the professor knew what he was doing.

"I will allow you to go first," Layton said. The Lord nodded thoughtfully, watching everyone until he decided on his riddle.

"'I don't have eyes, but once I did see. Once I had thoughts, but now I am empty. What am I?'" the Lord chanted. Layton closed his eyes in thought, going over the question in his mind over and over.

'I don't have eyes, but once I did see…' does this mean that at one time, it did have eyes, and lost them? That seemed the most reasonable.

'Once I had thoughts, but now I am empty…' Physically? Mentally? Both?

Sudden inspiration struck, and a slow smile spread across Layton's face.

"Would the answer happen to be a skull?" he asked. The Lord flinched back, surprised, and Layton smiled.

"I assume I am correct. Now, it is time for my riddle." Professor Layton hummed thoughtfully, pacing the chamber as he thought of a suitable riddle. Finally, he decided on one and stopped, facing the Lord. "'What can be swallowed but can also swallow you?'" he asked. The Lord frowned in confusion, thinking over the question, over and over.

Try as he might, the answer alluded him. Irritation grew to frustration, which grew to anger, making it harder to come to an answer. Finally, once he knew he took longer then Layton, he scowled.

"This does not change a thing!" he roared, swinging both hands up to shoot at Layton. The professor held his ground, one hand to the brim of his hat, as he waited.

The glow around his hands didn't appear. His hands froze, his eyes wide. The professor smiled, closing his eyes.

"You gave me your word," the professor reminded him.

"I—"

"You lost."

Both bands around Danny's wrists suddenly unlocked and fell to the ground in a clatter. His gold eyes reverted to blue, and his form shifted from ghost to human. A moment later, he collapsed.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker yelled, diving towards him. Sam pulled Danny's head into her lap, tapping his cheek gently to wake him up. "Danny?" she called.

"Ugh… wha…?" he muttered, putting a hand to his head. "What… happened?"

"The Venrin Lord took control of your body… don't you remember?" she asked.

"I… Clockwork!" he gasped, lurching forward.

"Yes?" a disembodied voice asked, just before a glowing clock face appeared. The minute hand quickly circled the face, and Clockwork appeared.

"I… you… he… I… huh?" Danny spluttered. Clockwork smiled warmly at him, before turning to face Eric. With a wave of his hand, the Ghostly Ice disappeared from Eric's legs. Clockwork then turned back to Danny.

"Did you really think I was gone?" he asked as Flora helped Eric to his feet.

"Y-yes… I saw you turn to ash… I, you… the Ghostly Wail…" Danny put a hand to his head, this thoughts jumbled. Clockwork's smile softened, and he floated over, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"What you saw, Danny, was a clone. Just before the Lord unleashed the Ghostly Wail, I saw what would happen, and I switched myself with the clone. I knew it wouldn't be me to defeat him this time," he explained.

Danny smiled slightly. "Why not?" he asked softly. Clockwork's smile widened even more.

"Because I would have had to kill his current host, just as I did before. If I didn't kill you to save the world from your evil older self, why would I do so now?" he asked. Danny chuckled at that, before letting Sam help him up. The others came over as well, and Alfendi knelt down to study the bands.

"What do we do with these?" he asked.

"I will keep them."

Everyone looked up at Clockwork again as he revealed a Fenton Thermos.

"In that?" Tucker asked.

"Yes. Just as you three did the Reality Gems. This will keep them safe, and I will remove them from the time stream in order to keep history from repeating," Clockwork explained. Alfendi moved away from the bands, and Clockwork carefully lifted them, placing them into the thermos. He closed it, and looked up at the group.

"I will now send you back to Fenton Works," he announced.

"What about the Specter Speeder?" Luke asked.

"I will return that as well," he said, before pressing a button on his staff. The group faded from view for a moment, only to appear in the basement of Fenton Works. Danny looked around and sighed in relief.

"Let's get you upstairs so you can rest," Sam said, helping her tired boyfriend up the steps. Once those two and Tucker disappeared upstairs, Luke sighed softly, looking down.

"Finally coming down from the rush of a great discovery, my boy?" Layton asked, wrapping an arm around him. Luke looked up and chuckled.

"Yeah. Who would have thought, though, you know?" he asked. "It was just like the Azran…"

"Well, the Venrin civilization dates back as far as the Azran does," Eric said.

"Hm… maybe all of the civilizations of that time were that advanced," Luke mused. Flora and Alfendi looked at each other, nodded, and moved forward until they both stood in front of Luke. Hershel sighed softly, knowing what was coming, but knew he couldn't stop it either. Luke, confused, looked between the two.

"The next time you run off like that, Luke Triton, I won't stop at simply cutting out your tongue. I will rip out your spine and beat you with it," Alfendi growled, his amber eyes flashing dangerously. Luke's eyes widened and he paled a little.

"Don't ever do that again. You really scared us – all of us," Flora added, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. Luke sighed, looking down.

"I… I'm sorry. I just… thought I was doing what was best," he said sincerely.

"And you've learned your lesson. That's the important part," Layton said firmly, a note of finality in his voice as he studied his son and charge. Out of everyone, he understood Luke's reasoning the best.

After all, Flora and Alfendi never met Targent.

Luke had.

Silence followed his words for a bit longer, until Alfendi looked up at Layton.

"Father, the riddle you told the Lord, the answer... what was it?" he asked. The professor looked over at his son.

"Alfendi, my boy, I'm surprised you haven't figured out the answer yourself. The answer to that riddle, is Pride."

…

A/N: Another chapter down! One more to conclude the piece, and then I'll start outlining "Professor Layton and the Seer."