Bleep bloop. Finally, the Professor is going to make an appearance.
Guest: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the poem :D
GoldGriffin: I like your story, and I'm glad you like mine. As for your question about Layton...well...it'll eventually be answered, though not in this chapter. Thanks for reading!
So Tom goes to seek the help of the legendary archaelogist / puzzle master. What'll happen nao?
Chapter Two
Resurrection
"Hello, my dear."
"Oh! Hello, Hershel." Claire giggled.
"Well, uh..." Hershel scratched his head nervously. "There's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time..."
"Really? What is it?"
Hershel pulled out a small box from his pocket. Inside was a ring.
"Will you marry me?"
"WAKE UP CLAIRE!"
Claire awoke from her pleasant dream with a startled yell. Seeing Tom standing there with an annoyed look on his face, she screamed back, "DON'T WAKE ME UP LIKE THAT!"
Tom still wore the same deadpan expression. "Then how about you get up earlier? There's breakfast downstairs. I'll go to Gressenheller now. I should be back within...two hours? It depends on how much convincing I need to do."
Claire grumbled something about letting her "get some more sleep."
"...right. I'll be off then."
Of course, there was no way in hell Claire was going to stay in a room for the entire morning. As much as she loved to lie in a bed for an extended period of time (a really, REALLY extended period of time), she loved eating food more. As such, shortly after Tom left the room, she promptly got dressed and went downstairs. Also, she wanted to visit Gressenheller University herself. Listening in on Tom's conversation with Hershel would be quite interesting. After eating a scrumptious meal consisting of eggs and bacon (and, of course, tea-she was Professor Layton's girlfriend, after all), she strolled outside and saw Tom.
"The buses haven't arrived yet?" Tom muttered, "Hell. Oh, hello, Claire, didn't see you there. Did you have breakfast?"
"Hello. I already ate. I liked the bacon very much."
"Good. So did I."
They sat there in silence, then Tom sighed.
"Claire, why do you want to go to Gressenheller University with me?"
Claire was stunned. "How did you know?"
"Well, you seemed rather downcast yesterday when I said I was going by myself."
"...well, I mean..."
"The Professor's there?"
"Basically."
"That's totally a legitimate reason." Tom laughed. "Alright. You can listen in when I talk to him. Take this." He held out a tiny metallic bud. "It's a radio of sorts. I have a matching one. You'll be able to hear anything the Professor or I say. It goes in your ear, like this. Ah, here's the bus. I have to go now. See you soon."
As the double decker careened down the busy road, Claire went back inside the hotel and walked to her room.
Tom stepped off the bus. It was only a short walk from there to Gressenheller University-Tom took only two minutes. The place was bustling with students and activity, a stark contrast to how quiet it was in the night.
"Excuse me, ma'am," he asked a student. "Is Professor Layton in his office?"
"No, he's teaching a class right now. Why do you ask?"
"I have personal news for him. Family matters."
"Oh. Well, his break is at 9:30, so you'll be waiting...twenty minutes, give or take."
"I see. Thank you."
As the student continued on her way, a voice came from Tom's earpiece: "You're very skilled at lying, you know. 'Family matters'?"
Tom chuckled. "It's an art."
As the minutes slowly ticked away, Tom found himself wishing he had something to do other than stare at the clock. Luckily, twenty minutes passed relatively quickly, and he soon found himself standing where he and Claire just were the night before. He knocked on the door.
A voice from inside said, "Come in."
Tom opened the door and saw a tall figure with a top hat on his head.
"Good morning, Professor Layton."
"To you as well. Mr...?"
"Tom. Just call me Tom."
"Alright then...Tom. What is it you wish to talk to me about? You're a little old to be a student here."
Tom sighed. I have to persuade him. It's the only chance. "Professor Layton, do you know what a Time Guardian is?"
"Indeed I do." Professor Layton was puzzled (A/N: I'M FUNNY) by this question. "The Time Guardians use the Oculus to control the time stream."
"Good, that saves me a lot of explaining. You see, I'm the current one. And I need your help."
To say that Professor Layton was surprised would be the understatement of the century. He was downright stunned. A Time Guardian, standing in his office? It seemed surreal.
"You're...you're the Time Guardian?"
"Yes, sir. I am. And I've come to ask you for help."
"Well...sure. What is the matter?"
"The Oculus has gone missing, you see. It has gone to some place in spacetime. I know neither where nor when it will appear. As you, an archaelogist, no doubt understand, recovering the Oculus is of extreme importance. The fate of the world hinges upon who gets it first: us, or...the others."
"I understand. But why ask me for help, of all people?"
"Because you are one of the few people who know a great deal about the Oculus and the Time Guardians. Because you have connections. Highly important connections. I cannot afford mistakes and I know that you and your friends will not let me down."
The Professor mulled over this for a few seconds and replied:
"And what if I do not help you?"
"Then existence, as we know it, ends."
"And supposing I did not care about existence?"
"Hm?" Even though Tom was partly expecting this reaction, he did not expect the Professor to express his thoughts so directly.
"I do not think you understand. I have lost everything. I have lost my apprentice, my assistant, my family...everything. You cannot possibly understand the grief, the pain that I have suffered for these past few months. Even the people I met on my investigations, I am sure, have forgotten me. I have already given up. I do not care about existence, Time Guardian, because I am already dead." The professor's eerily calm demeanor as he said those words would have been highly unnerving to most people. But not Tom.
"You're wrong."
"How so, my boy?"
"You have no idea." Tom stared directly into the Professor's eyes. "I have been watching you these past few months. Watching you turn into the man you are now. I have followed you every step of the way. I understand. But I don't think you understand yourself. Your friends are still out there, Professor. If you will not do this for me, will you do this for them? They care about existence as well. You are not dead, Professor. You are alive, your friends are alive, and they still care about you. If you asked them to help me, they would do it without even knowing who I am beforehand, simply due to their faith in you. You've lost your way; the way has not been taken from you."
"Here." Tom tossed a ball of paper to the Professor. "The poem you wrote yesterday. Such a short, sad poem. I like poems too. Here is mine for you:
The road is long. The road is not kind.
To traverse it requires a sound and clear mind.
It takes one who pushes himself to go far;
To go on, no matter how tired you are.
That used to be you, but you have fallen so.
From so high above to so down below.
Some reasons were given, but in fact au contraire,
There was one real reason: the passing of Claire.
Since then your life has never been quite the same.
Friends come, then leave as fast as they came.
Now you think of her and lament that she's gone,
But I think she'd want you to get up, dust yourself off,
And go on."
Tom turned to face the door. Before he left, he said the following.
"I will come back tomorrow. I hope you have made a decision by then."
He then left, closed the door behind him, and did not turn back once.
Next chapter will be more lighthearted: Claire takes Tom clothes shopping! Poor Tom...lol.
Review, follow and favorite please! I know almost no one does anyway, but writing this message lets me dream on :D