Friday, January 28, 2011

Chapter 3: Exploring London


“You know, it doesn't make sense, why would Clive break out of prison just to inform you not to go to that speedway? How would he even know about it anyways? And for that matter, how would he know where to find us anyways? We could've been anywhere!” We were back at Layton’s house, after going back to the store and paying for the clothes, Layton cringed at the price-tag, but when I assured him I would pay him back, he just shook his head and told me that it was ok, and that he was glad to pay for it, and expected no payment for it.

“That is yet another mystery that needs to be solved”

Mystery 3: Return of Clive?
It appears that Clive has broken out of prison, but for what reason? What connection does he have with the speedway? How did he find us?

“All I know is this, I am ready to get out there and solve this mysterious mystery!”

“Great, let's get back to the investigation shall we?”

“Ok! Sounds like a plan!” I instantly got up, ready to go, but Layton stayed on his chair, and took a sip of his tea, and was obviously in thought about something.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm Q, however…”

“Hmm?”

“Ah, never mind, I got caught up in my thoughts, let’s go.”

“Professor, if you don’t mind, could you tell me what exactly what you were thinking about? If it’s something private and you rather not talk about it I understand, my curiosity can get the best of me sometimes.”

“It’s nothing of significant importance to our investigation, but since you asked…actually I’ll ask you one important question, which is an odd one for sure, but something that’ll help me learn more about you.”

“Ok?”

“Apologies if this is a sensitive question but, before I found you at that bus stop, do you remember what you were doing, or where your place of residence was before hand?”

“Just like I thought, I knew he was going to ask me this question eventually…”I thought as I pondered how I would answer yet again, and almost felt thankful that I had already knew the question ahead of time, even if the means of knowing it wasn’t exactly the most gentlemanly way. “Professor…can I be honest here?”

“Of course.”

“I honestly do not remember where I was before I blacked out…and I’ll be honest, I don’t even remember being at the bus stop to begin with, my mind is still foggy about the events that have transpired.” Part of that was true, I couldn’t have know I was at a bus stop because I was passed out at the time, but I kept the real truth away, and I almost felt guilty for lying to him, though I had a feeling the truth would eventually be brought out into the open eventually, and knowing the Professor’s ways, he would see the truth the moment I made a move or say something that would point towards the answer.

“Ah, I see, thank you for taking the time to answer my question, this will help me greatly.”

“Help you? In what way? You said that it wasn’t important to our investigation, so um, I’m kind of confused here.”

“Apologies for the confusion, it is indeed not important to our investigation, but it’ll help me for something later on down the road, and it helps strengthen our relationship as Assistant to Professor.”

“I understand, now with that out of the way, let’s go explore London!” I noticed that Layton was writing down and erasing some things in his notebook, probably updating some stuff, most likely the mystery surrounding me. It felt kind of weird that I would have a mystery surrounding me, but I knew that I would get used to it.

Mystery #02-Origins of new assistant (updated)
It appears that Q has some info about his origins, he doesn’t remember how and when he ended up at the bus stop, though it looks like he’s hiding something, and I can’t figure out why. I must consult with Inspector Chelmey later and ask him to get a background check on Q, I didn’t want to do this, but it’ll help me strengthen our relationship.

“Shall we be on our way now Professor? The sun is high, and we still have almost a full days’ investigation ahead of us.”

“Indeed we shall. Let’s first start by going to that restaurant downtown and asking the owners there, they are always in the know how of some of the town’s gossip, and seeing as though the McKneeway stadium has been getting a lot of attention lately, I suspect that they have likely have heard stuff about it, which will help us get further in our investigation, even if most of the stuff we learn is based on rumors, after all, rumors and gossip always have a basis somewhere in truth.”

“Alright, let's go then!”

“Professor, wait!” I heard Flora scamper from upstairs, almost tripping down the stairs in the process, and stopped in front of me and started talking to Layton casually, as though I wasn't even there.

“Um, Flora, do you realize that I'm behind you?”

“Oh! Sorry Q didn't see you there.”

“Is something the matter Flora? You came down here in quite a hurry.”

“Oh, um...I was in your observatory and I heard you guys were leaving so I came back...um...”

“What exactly were you doing there? That is no place to be playing you know Flora.”

“I was uh...fiddling with the telescope, trying to see if it would work...”

“Uh, if I may interject into this conversation, why were you trying to use a...telescope in the middle of the day? That logically makes no sense Flora...”

“Well, I tried looking into it, and moving it around, but I saw nothing but darkness...”

“So you were...peering into his telescope? Great Flora, that's exactly what I wanted to hear...”

“Anyways, what do you really want Flora? This doesn't seem warrant for you to be all...”

“Professor, can we please just get going? I'm too anxious here...oops, sorry for interrupting you...”

“Now Q, we must always attend the needs of a lady, after all, that's what a true gentleman does.”

“I apologize, I’m way too anxious to get our investigation re-going, and didn't even think of Flora's needs.”

“Now Flora, what is wrong?”

“I...heard you guys were leaving, and I...I want to go with you! I hate being left alone! You do this all time!”

“Now Flora, you know that our investigations can be quite dangerous, and I wouldn't want any harm to be upon you.”

“Flora, think of it like this, what if you got hurt during this, we would never forgive ourselves for allowing you to be in harm's way...”

“I can take care of myself thank you very much Q!”

“Calm down Flora, I was just expressing my concerns.”

“Oh, and I also thought of a puzzle while I was in there!”

“...A puzzle? Is this the same puzzle as last night?”

“Of course not silly! It’s a completely different puzzle than that!” She held in her hand some scraps of paper, which I could vaguely see something on each of the scraps.

Puzzle #007: Crazy Jigsaw
20/20 Picarats
There is a 15 piece jigsaw puzzle of sorts out of these scraps of paper, and it is your job to reassemble them to see what the paper represents. However, you have a very strict time limit, or else you’ll have to restart. You have One minute to reassemble this puzzle.

“Um, a Jigsaw puzzle? Really?”

“Sounds like a fine way to test your puzzle-solving skills.”

“Alright, if you say so Professor.” I started putting the pieces of paper together, starting with the corner pieces, as I was solving it; the picture was forming, which was a picture of a telescope.

“You have thirty seconds remaining Q, hurry up!” Flora said right into my ear, making me lose my concentration for a split second, but I kept on working on it, quickly solving the puzzle, and getting the mock jigsaw puzzle together.”

“Alright, here’s my solution…Puzzle solved!”

“Good Job Q, you had more than fifteen seconds to go!” Flora gave me a surprise friendly hug, and then proceeded to take the shredded pieces of paper and throw them in the trash.
“Ok, with that over with, let’s go Professor, for real this time.”

“You’re not going without me, no matter how much you argue I’m still going with you guys, so don’t even try!”

“If you insist Flora, don’t blame us if you happen to get a cut or a bruise.”

“Oh hush Q.” Layton was already gone; I assume he was already ahead of us, getting the all famous Layton-Mobile ready for whenever we decided to get there for once.

An hour later…

We exited from the Layton-Mobile about a block away from the restaurant that we were supposed to go to gather information from. Flora kept complaining about being hungry, despite her being at the house and having an ample opportunity to eat there, but Layton just shrugged and said that we might eat there if it proves to be a valuable source. Flora got kind of mad at him, but then went back to sleep.

“Wait, why are we parking here? The restaurant is down the street from here…”

“This is unfortunately the closest we can park Q, and besides, a little walk never hurt anybody, we could learn more information.” Layton tipped his hat again, and then proceeded to get out of the vehicle and motion for us to follow suit. As we stepped out I realized the beauty of the place. The Big Ben in the distance, the sight of brick buildings surrounding us; showing us that this city had a lot of historical meaning in England. The trees gave off an aroma that could only be described as mystical and charming. It was quite a busy street, people in cars driving back and forth to work or for leisure, people walking casually, for various reasons.

“This…this place is beautiful Professor, absolutely splendid.” I blurted out in a spur of the moment situation, not even thinking of what I was saying.

“Indeed it is Q; this time of year can produce breathtaking scenery around here.” As we started making our way to the sidewalk, a sudden gust of brisk air hit us, catching me and Flora off guard, as she started shivering and muttering to herself about being cold.

Wow, there are so many people here, I'm not used to this sadly, I'm from a small town, and well, it’s usually very boring for me...” We continued our way to the sidewalk, where everyone was walking, not minding anyone but their own business. I had to hold Flora's hand, so she wouldn't get left behind in the big crowd of people that were there for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

“I hope I don't get lost in this crowd of people.”

“Don't worry Flora, I won't allow you to get lost.” I smiled the best I could, and then turned to see Layton, who was a bit ahead of us, so we hurried up; I almost dragged Flora in the process.

“Layton, why are you in such a hurry? Is this restaurant such an important place or something?” I said to him once I caught up with him.

“Not so much that I'm in a hurry; I'm just beating the crowd.”

“Ah, I understand Professor; do you have any idea why there is such a crowd here? There doesn't seem to be any parade or anything in particular going on that would warrant such a hefty crowd of people.”

“I haven't the foggiest idea of what's going on, though I can hypothesize that since its lunch time that could be the reason why.” Layton nodded at me, and we continued to move on through the crowd. We turned the corner and there was the restaurant, the Main Street Cafe. The Bright Neon Sign showed me its name, in front of the brick entrance. It wasn't anything particularly exciting, just an entrance. The more exciting, or should I say, depressing thing was seeing the alleyway next to the restaurant, it's cold dark glare it gave me revealed its history, it sheltered the people who were unfortunate enough to not have a place of residence at the time, for various reasons.

“Q, we're here, let's go in.” Layton touched my shoulder, which made me jump up in surprise.

“Oh, sorry Professor I just got lost in my thoughts for a little bit there.” I noticed someone in the distance, sitting in the filth that was in the forgotten alleyway, he seemed to be a normal person, except he had a bow and arrow and was practicing tuning it. As soon as he noticed me, he placed his Bow on his back and ran up to me, surprising me with his sudden appearance.

“You’re that Layton guy's new assistant aren't you?” The guy said in a kind of rude demeanor.

“So what if I am? Does it change anything?”

“Hmph, don't be rude kid, it's pretty obvious that you are.”

“Uh, I don't see how I was being rude...I just answered your question...” I scratched the back of my head, and then turned around to see Layton and Flora, who were waiting patiently for me. Flora was playing with one of the buttons on her dress, while Layton was checking the time on his pocket watch. He looked up at me and smiled, waiting for me to resolve the situation so we could move on.

“Were you expecting the all mighty Layton to respond to this and expect me to just cower under his might and run off without another word? You’re more pathetic than I thought.”

“Uh, so it’s bad for me to check up on what they were doing? Especially since you’re wasting my time presently, and besides that uh…who are you?”

“’My name is Caleb, Caleb Jones.”

“What is your Profession Caleb?” Layton suddenly interjected into the conversation, asking very politely, as to try to calm the guy down.

“What does it look like? I’m an archer, obviously.” He reached for his bow, and before I could realize what he was about to do, he fired an arrow almost straight up in the air, the arrow landing next to flora, which made her freak out and hide behind Layton.

“Hey, what the heck was that for?! Are you insane or something?! You could’ve hurt someone by doing that you know!” I went to grab his bow, thinking he would fire again, but I missed, and got a firm kick in the stomach from him, making me lose my balance, resulting in me almost falling on top of Layton, but I prevented that from happening.

“Q, are you ok?” Flora asked me looking from behind Layton, hiding from another potential arrow attack.

“Yeah, of course I am, I just kind of got caught off-guard by that, so yeah, I kind of over-dramatized that whole thing, he didn’t really put that much force into it…”

“You are…very protective of that bow aren’t you Caleb?”

“Well duh Layton, it’s my pride and joy.”

“That was very rude of you, you know!” I yelled at Caleb.

“You were trying to take my bow away, it was purely a defensive mechanism you moron!”

“I thought you were trying to hurt us so I decided to try to stop you!”

“Oh come on, did you see how horrible of a shot that was?! I did that on purpose just to show off my skills, I deliberately missed all of you!”

“Still, you don’t go doing stuff like that in public! What if someone happened to walk by and got into its path?! What then?!”

“I barely put any force into it so regardless it wouldn’t have hurt!”

“Ok you two; let’s resolve this situation without yelling. Caleb, I apologize for my Assistant’s rude demeanor there just now, but still, that was a reckless thing that you did, so both of you are at fault here.”

“B-but Professor, I was just trying to protect you and Flora!”

“I know Q; I was just making sure that everyone was aware of this. Now if you’ll excuse us Caleb, we must be on our way.”

“Wait…I have a puzzle for you two.”

Puzzle #008-Escape the room
10/10 Picarats
A man is trapped in a room with no doors or windows. How does he escape?

Uh, nice puzzle, Professor, what do you have to say about this?”

“This is a simple enough puzzle for you to solve, in fact, I think I already have the answer.”

“Ok, I’ll quickly solve this puzzle so we can finally get on with our investigation.” I pondered over it for a minute or two, eliminated all the possibilities, then it became clear to me.

“You guys are about to put me to sleep waiting for the answer. Just say it already.”

“Geez, Mr. Impatient much? Anyways, the answer is surprisingly simple. To escape the room, you would simply go through the Doorway. Puzzle solved!” I was just glad to have solved it so we could make more progress, and really, it wasn't that difficult of a puzzle, just had to think about it for a minute to come up with the simple and painfully obvious solution.

“Good job, at least you can think, unlike a lot of people around here today. Anyways, I keep hearing you talk about getting information about something, what is it?”

“We are asking people information about the McKneeway speedway; do you happen to know anything about it?” When I had asked him the question, he looked at me with a little shock in his face, a sign that whatever this place was, it was significant if just the mere mention of it made someone like him shocked.

“Oh, oh yeah, I know about the place, what do you want to know about it?” Finally we were making progress, albeit just a little bit.

“Any information you might have on the place will be satisfactory Caleb.” Layton said very gentlemanly like to him.

“Oh, on second thought, uh...go talk to Braden first, at the Main Street Cafe, and then after you get the information from him, I'll tell you more.”

“Who? Does he work there or something?”

“His name is Braden Poapst, he's a friend of mine who works there, he should know just as much about the subject, as it's become a heated topic lately, at least until that one day....but that's not the point. Now get out of my face, you're annoying me.”

“Um...ok, come on Layton, Flora, let's go.”

“That seems to be the best plan right now, alright, let's go.” Layton nodded and we walked into the cafe, as we were right in front of it. The place had an old world charm to it, a few nice wooden tables, the original brick walls, and the nice dark wooden floor made it an inviting place to come and eat, though I hadn't the slightest idea what you could actually eat here, though that wasn't the point of our arrival here. Despite the outside being busy, the inside had barely any people at all. There was a man and a woman sitting at one of the small tables together, the woman was showing the man a card, and apparently he was getting a bit frustrated and yelling a bit. There was another person at the bar, waiting for something, probably her order or whatnot. Layton decided to talk to the girl, and nodded to me, which meant to follow him. Flora was still behind Layton, still nervous, but was slowly realizing she wouldn't be attacked again.

“Good day to you Madam, May I inquire a question?” Layton asked the lady, who promptly turned around.

“Um…who are you?”

“I’m Professor Hershel Layton, puzzle extraordinaire.”

“Oh! You’re that guy I saw on TV after you saved London from that Mad-man!”

“Do you know where Braden Poapst is? We need to talk to him about a certain subject.” I butted my way into the conversation, just to move it along.

“I think he’s out back, taking out the rubbish or something, not for sure.”

“So he’s not the owner of this place I see?”

“Of course not, the owner of this place is the famous Catsun!”

“Um…ok, anyways, we haven’t introduced ourselves, I’m Qhj, call me Q, I’m Professor Layton’s new assistant, what’s your name?”

“I’m Kay Veran, nice to meet you. Oh! And while you’re waiting, I have a puzzle for you if you want to waste some time with it.”

“Sure, I love puzzles!”

Puzzle #009-Ancient Inventions
15/15 Picarats
There is an ancient invention that is still used today that allows people to see through walls. What is this invention?

Hmm…let’s see, an invention that allows people to see through walls…oh, I got it!” It was such an easy puzzle that even I was surprised of its simplicity.

“Then what’s the answer?” She said having a neutral expression on her face.

“Here’s my solution…it’s a window!” I pointed my finger triumphantly at her, and then when I realized what I had done, I quickly retaliated my finger away, so she wouldn’t be potentially offended by it.

“Darn…I knew that puzzle was too easy for someone like you, well, at least enjoy your stay here, and I hope you find out what you’re looking for!”

“I’m pretty sure I will thank you ma’am.” I decided to go check out the other two people who were sitting at the table.

“I told you, I don’t know the answer, why do you keep antagonizing me about it!” The guy said, obviously a little frustrated at the girl.

“That’s now…3545 times you have failed in your lifetime John, congratulations, you have hit an all time low.” The Woman said laughing hysterically, I was afraid she was going to fall out of her seat as much as she was laughing, so I almost went to save her, but then she stopped.

“Oh shut up Luna I swear you’re so annoying sometimes, coming up with these stupid puzzles, making me so mad, you do this on purpose, you know how horrible I am at puzzles, and yet you give them to me, and won’t even give me a hint or two when I ask!”

“Hello you two, can I be of assistance in any way?”

“Luna gave me this puzzle, and I can’t figure it out, can you help me Stranger?”

“Uh, sure, and my name is Qhj, call me Q though.”

“I would put this as another fail of yours, but since you already failed at the puzzle, I won’t.”

“Just so I’m clear here, your names are John and Luna right?”

“Yep!” They both exclaimed at the same time.
“Alrighty, now John, show me that puzzle, I’m kind of nuts about puzzles.

Puzzle #010-Stop and Go
20/20 Picarats
When do you stop at green and continue at red?

“Please help me Q, she won’t shut up about it, and it’s driving me batty!”

“This puzzle is very simple, and I’m surprised that you didn’t get it.”

“Please, just say the answer so I can beat myself in the head over it…”

“You don’t have to resort to violence over a mere puzzle. Anyways, the answer to this particular puzzle is this…when you’re eating a watermelon.

“…wow…I’m…such…a…idiot I swear to god.”

“See, I told you it was easy!”

“S-Shut up Luna!”

“Ahem, anyways, do you guys know anything about the rumors surround the McKneeway Speedway? Me and Layton over there are investigating it and any info you two may know is a big asset for us at this point.”

“Sorry, I can't say that I know anything of significance about the place, all I know is it's had a lot of controversy surrounding it.”

“What kind of controversy are we talking about here Luna? The fact that it never had its grand opening or what?”

“It's kind of hard to explain...the controversy stems from the fact that despite the fact it's been condemned, reports keep coming in about weird noises originating from the place, but whenever authorities step in to find out what's going on, the place is seemingly abandoned, not even a trace of anything going on, so the authorities don’t even care anymore about it, and almost make it out to be a big joke.”

“So basically the news reporters and all that are really over exaggerating it in their eyes and therefore refuse to investigate? That’s kind of dumb if you ask me.”

“Well, that’s all I really know, I apologize for the inconvenience. Also if you want, I have another puzzle I thought up if you want it.”

“I have the time; I’m waiting for another person so we can get info from him, show me the puzzle!”

Puzzle #011- Cause of Death
25/25 Picarats
Dead on the field lie ten soldiers in white, felled by three eyes, black as night. What happened?

“Let me think here…hmm…” Despite having my thoughts almost solely focused on the investigation, I found it strangely fun to help or just to solve puzzles in general, it was a weird thought, I never thought myself to be such a puzzle fanatic, but all the signs were pointing that way. After about a minute’s thought, I finally realized the answer.

“Do you know the answer?”

“Yes I do, I believe a strike was made in 10 pin bowling. Puzzle Solved!” I pointed enthusiastically, as it were my new victory pose or something.

“Wow, you really are good! Almost as good as Professor Layton, you must be his new assistant or something, since I don’t see Luke anywhere.”

“Indeed I am, I feel very honored actually to be his assistant. Anyways, with that I must be on my way, thank you for the time, and I hope you have a good day Luna.”

“You to Q.”

“John well…I hope your day ends up better than what it is now.”

“Yeah…I can only hope though…” I returned back to Layton, who promptly asked me if I had gotten any info from the two, and I told him about the authorities not investigating the place like they should, and then we went back to waiting. It was a very long five minutes waiting for this man to return from whatever he was doing. Flora kept complaining that she was hungry, but Layton assured her that we would get something to eat while we were here, which was helpful because I was a little bit hungry.

“Oi! New customers! Hold on, I’ll find you three a seat.”

“Are you Braden Poapst?”

“Indeed I am sir, I am the waiter of this fine establishment.”
Braden didn’t appear to be much older than I was, he had a hat on his head with a big L on it, which I was about to ask him what it was about, but I decided against it. Otherwise there wasn’t anything too distinctive about him, he just seemed like a normal person who had a hard-working job and got paid, though I realized it probably wasn’t the best of pay since the restaurant industry didn’t exactly pay the best. We found a seat towards the back, that could accommodate all three of us. Flora was the first to take her seat, then Layton, and finally I sat down.

“So, what can I get you three to drink?” He held the notepad in his left hand, signifying he was a right handed person.

“Um…Hot tea please.” I said.

“I believe I’ll have what Q is having.” Layton said smiling,

“Um…I’ll have milk!” Flora said giggling.


“Arighty, I'll-a get that!” He walked off, obviously to get our drinks. After a minute or two of waiting, and nothing significant happening, Braden came back with our drinks, and I knew this was the time to start asking questions.

“So um...Braden, from what I've heard, you know some good info about the McKneeway Speedway, me and Layton here are doing our little investigation about it, and would like to know some information about it.” I spoke up before he had a chance to speak.

“Oh..uh, you want to know more about the place huh? Well, I know somethings about, not a lot, though there is this one thing...”

“Any information you could provide for us at this time is beneficial to us Braden.” Layton chipped in.

“I like potatoes!” Flora said laughing.

“Um...that's nice Flora, anyways, what do you have for us?”

“Well, before I can tell you, you have to solve a puzzle!”

“Um...ok, I suppose that can be arranged, help you solve a puzzle for us getting information.”

Puzzle #012-The Other Dollar
20/20 Picarats
Three guys check into a hotel, they are going to split the cost of the room. The room is $30.00. They each kick in $10.00 and head up to their room. The manager gets wind of it and tells the clerk room is only $25.00. The clerk hands five $1.00 bills to the bellhop and tells him to refund the guys' money. On the way to the room the bellhop gets a thinking, and says to himself, "No way can three guys split $5.00, so I am going to help out." He stuffs $2.00 in his pocket and gives each guy a buck. So now, each guy has paid $9.00. $9 x 3 = $27.00 plus the $2.00 the bellhop stole = $29.00. Where is the other dollar?

“Uh...Professor, you got anything for this?”

“Hmm...aha! I got the answer, very devious puzzle indeed, for the sake of getting information I'll answer it...there was no extra dollar! The cost of the room is $25 plus the $2 the bellhop stole plus the last $3 they 3 guys got, so ergo, there is no extra dollar.”

“Ah, the famous Professor Layton, solving puzzles as soon as he hears them, well done, as promised, I'll give you the goods.”

“Alright, finally we'll get somewhere!”

“Ahem, as you know, I work here and I hear a lot of gossip and rumors about various things, and I have heard a lot of rumors surrounding that place. Something about the place being used for a top secret illegal project.”

“What kind of project?”

“It varies wildly from person to person, some people say it’s just a bunch of druggies who are very crafty at hiding their stash, to even stuff like another attempt at making a time machine, ever since that Dimitri Guy stopped making it or something, not a lot of details were released about it. I assume since you know more about the whole situation Layton, after all, you were the one who cracked the case.”

“The possibility of someone creating another time machine…especially considering the circumstances of what happened 10 years ago…and just a few months ago…”

“Now remember Layton, this is all purely rumors and speculation at this point, so it could be something completely different.”

“Yeah, it could even be something completely crazy and be a machine that is somehow capable of transporting people into another dimension” I said jokingly.

“However, I know one thing for sure, whatever is going on there, it’s definitely some sort of project.”

“How do you know for sure about that Braden?” Layton asked.

“See, there’s this guy, he comes in every so often, and he is a very odd fellow. His mustache is all weird, and generally is a very grumpy guy; however that’s not the point. I often overhear him talking on the phone with another person; they talk about some top secret project, never get to hear exactly what it’s about. I did hear him talking about that Speedway though, but that’s about all I hear about it, the name only.”

“Do you know who the other person on the line is?” I asked taking another sip of my tea.

“Unfortunately no.”

“Well, that’s a lot of help, we will have to find the location of this person and confront him about whatever he is working on, maybe he is working with the people in the Speedway, who knows. Thank you for your support, the information you have supplied has helped us a whole bunch.”

“No problems Q, Layton. Now, do you three know what you want to eat?...”

30 Minutes Later…

We left the café, satisfied with our meal, Flora gave me another random hug, which I didn’t mind, and Layton merely laughed. We talked about the case and the info that we had acquired. As we were about to embark back to the Layton-Mobile to continue on, we got confronted by the archer fellow again.

“So, did you get the info you were looking for?”

“Sure, why Caleb?”

“You must have a terrible memory, I told you once you talked to Braden to report back to me and I would give you the other half of the story Q, geez, what do you need, memory pills or something?”

“Hey, don’t be rude, alright? I apologize.”

“Our apologizes Caleb, we did not mean to forget about the information you promised to give us, in fact, I was about to remind Q myself about it until you showed up”

“I don’t like you mister you tried to hurt me…” Flora however didn’t hide behind Layton like before, this time she merely stood there, in an almost confident like pose, like she was saying that she wasn’t scared of him anymore or something, I laughed to myself after seeing her like that.

“So, did Braden tell you about that funny mustache dude?”

“Uh, sure, why?”

“See, I know the identity of the guy he talks to on the phone, he looked suspicious, so I bugged his phone while he wasn’t looking one day while he was in the restroom of the restaurant. Nevertheless, I found out who it was.”

“Why would you do such a thing? That’s an invasion of privacy!”

“Q, that’s none of your business why I did it, anyways, the guy is an infamous scientist, his name is Dimitri Allen...” I saw that Layton was shocked by this, and remained silent for a good thirty seconds before he responded.

“And who is the…other person who is working with Allen?”

“Layton, the other person is a certain Don Paolo. Apparently they are working on this project, but for reasons unknown. And that’s all the new information I know.”

“I appreciate your help Caleb, now if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way again.” Layton nodded, and gave a weak smile.

“So, what’s our plan of action now Layton?”

“We must find those two and stop whatever it is they are working on.” Layton said in a very serious voice as we started walking back to the Layton-Mobile. Flora was unaffected by anything that had happened, though that was part of her being a child. A lot of new information had been shown to us, and I knew that now was the time that it might get a little bit dangerous considering that Don Paolo was involved in this charade. However I didn’t know the extent of the danger involved until later, and as we furthered our investigation, the puzzles would get harder and harder, and some people would be a lot less cooperative than the ones we have talked to now…

Friday, January 7, 2011

Chapter 2: Beginning Investigations

Chapter 2: Beginning Investigations

“Why am I awake at three o'clock in the morning? I really should be sleeping...I'm going to have a long day today...Why can't I go back to sleep... I was sleeping like a baby earlier until I got woke up by a noise...” I heaved myself out of the bed and put on my glasses, as I have a sudden overwhelming urge to go to the bathroom. After doing my business there I started to go back to my room, then I noticed a faint light coming from Layton's Bedroom.

“Is Layton really awake at this time of night? Nah, he probably was so tired after doing that last minute work that he merely forgot to turn off the light...I should do that for him, though that would mean...” I paused for a second and thought about it, it took me about a minute to process it due to my exhaustion, and then it dawned on me. “Oh, I could possibly see Layton without his hat...though that would be ungentlemanly of me to look at him without his hat...but still, I'll try my best to avoid that.” So I slowly opened the door and sneaked into his room to avoid waking him up. As I approached the lamp, I noticed a bunch of notebooks on the table, all with names on the cover. “The Perilous Speedway...wait, he's keeping a journal on our adventure already? We haven't even started...technically... Maybe this is what he meant by “last minute work.” Let's check it out.

Mystery #1: The Perilous Speedway
Just what exactly lies deep within this mysterious speedway? What kind of secret makes an entire town disappears after the person comes back from exploring the place empty handed?
I do believe we'll learn more about this place as we investigate.


Mystery #2: Origins of New Assistant
Where exactly does our New Assistant reside from? I suspect his origins have a very deep and rich background, I shall ask tomorrow more about this, I am hopeful that he will provide some answers to this perplexing mystery.

“He's...really concerned about my background? Gah! How in the world am I going to explain to him that I'm from another dimension...I'm in quite a pickle right now...” It was then and there I realized how interested he truly was in me, he wanted to know more about me, mainly because at this point, I was a blank slate, he didn't know much about me other than my name and the few details I gave him. Most people would think this was creepy, but for me, knowing how Layton was, it wasn't really, just him solving another puzzle, but this time the puzzle was me.

“Oh, I must have left the light on by accident, I should turn that off.”

“! Uh...uh-oh...” I quickly hid under the desk, making very little noise in the process, other than my foot sliding across the chair that was sitting pretty far from the desk. I felt like a ninja.

“That's weird, I could've sworn that I left this notebook closed before I went to bed, but I shouldn't worry about trivialities.” I heard him turn off the light then walk back to bed, which I didn't dare to look at him, mainly because he didn't have his hat off.

“...phew, that was way too close for comfort. That was not such a good idea after all, next time I should just mind my own business. Now...I got another puzzle to solve, avoiding waking him up again.

Puzzle #3: Sneak n Snore
20/20 Picarats
You must escape from Professor Layton’s room without waking him up, however if you go to slow you’ll take too much time and he’ll spot you, go to fast, and you’ll make too much noise and wake him up.
Figure out the speed at which you need to go to successfully exit the room.

“This is a tricky puzzle indeed, though it’s easily solvable I believe. One must just find the middle of the road in terms of speed, and the variable is probably steps per second. Unfortunately we’re missing the two variables I need, the slow speed and the fast speed.” I thought about it for a whole minute before the answer finally came to my head. “Here’s my solution…It’s two steps per 15 seconds, going one step would take me way too long to progress anywhere quickly, and taking 3 steps, while it would work, wouldn’t be worth the risk of making the floor creak and waking him up. Puzzle solved…” I silently walked across the floor doing two steps per 15 seconds, and it proved to work, as I didn’t hear a peep from him, other than his breath. Once I got out of the room I let out a big sigh of relief. “Ok, note to self, don’t ever try to sneak into another person’s room, especially when the person who occupies the room is in it. I feel kind of guilty now, doing that, but I learned some good information I suppose. Now before I go to bed I might as well get a glass of water from the kitchen, it wouldn’t hurt.”

I walked down to the living room in absolute darkness, trying not to bump into anything in the process, which I was doing suboptimal. Just then I bumped into another person, and we both jumped back into retaliation, and I went into a fighting stance. “Who’s there?! Don’t make me call the police!”

“Eek! I s-should be saying the same thing to you! You don’t sound like Luke at all!
“Wait, who are you and how do you know Luke Triton?!”

“I-I’m Flora Reinhold, and how do you know about Luke?!”

“I’m Professor Layton’s new assistant…I should at least know a little bit about his background.”

“W-What’s your name?”

“I’m Qhj, though you can call me Q, like I said I'm Professor Layton's new assistant, I'm what you call a puzzle enthusiast, not as much as Layton of course, but close enough...but enough of that, we need to turn on the light so we can at least see each other...than I'm going to bed, I have a long day today and I need my sleep...”

“Oh! Yeah, I'll get to that”

“I'll get it, no problems Flora.” I quickly walk over and turn the light on, first having difficulties finding the stupid thing, then eventually hitting the switch by complete luck, turning the lights on, so we could actually see each other.

“Y-your tall mister, I'm scared...”

“You're really scared of me because of my height? Wow...No offense, but I couldn't hurt a fly let alone be scary, understand? Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going to sleep, ok?” I started to walk back to my room when Flora suddenly yelled my name.”

“Qhj! I have a puzzle for you to prove your worth!”

“...Seriously? A puzzle at this time? Can't you wait until I get more sleep...”

“Nope, I can't wait.”

“Ok, show me the puzzle...”

Puzzle #4: Security Cameras
25/25 Picarats
There is a 5x5 room, and you only have the budget for one security camera to secure the room; however the camera can only see 3 spaces in front of it. Where do you position the camera so it can secure the whole room?

“That's actually a decent question, did you just make it up on the spot or have you thought about it for a while and refined it?”

“I can't say.” She stuck her tongue out at me very childishly, which if I wasn't tired I would've been mad, but instead I laughed.

“Let me think about this for a little bit...I imagine this is very easy, I'm just over-thinking it...”

“So, do you know the answer?”

“Well, here's my solution...You would place it in the middle of the room! This is another puzzle where you left behind one vital piece of information, and that is whether the camera is rotating or stationary. If it was stationary, this puzzle would be impossible, so assuming the camera is rotating, you could place it in the middle of the room, and because there will only be 2 spaces in each direction, it can see everything. Puzzle solved, now please let me go to bed.”
 
“Ok, fine, you got that puzzle right; I’ll let you get your well deserved sleep.” She smiled at me with that innocent child-like smile, suddenly hugging me and looking up at me smiling.

“Well uh, thank you, that hug was nicely appreciated, anyways; I’m going to get some sleep, night flora.”

“Night Q, sweet dreams.”

“Same to you.” I walked up back to my room and got back under the comfy covers that I had been awaiting for way too long. One question was on my mind though as I started to doze off. “Why did Flora suddenly hug me like that? Or hug me at all, knowing that I’m a complete stranger? Maybe she did it out of kindness, or maybe she did it just because I solved the puzzle, which absolutely made no sense whatsoever, or maybe she did it out of randomness, and meant nothing by it…who knows, the fact that I’m overanalyzing a hug is weird enough.” Finally after what seemed like forever, I finally fell asleep, ready and willing to face the day’s challenges…

Five hours later…

The knock on the door, the rustling of the bed covers, and the sound of Professor Layton’s voice greeted me when I awoke this morning.

“Good morning Q, I hope you had a restful night.”

“Huh...? Oh...oh! Good morning Professor, yeah, I did, and oh, did you see Flora? She apparently came in sometime last night...”

“I did not, not yet anyways, she said she would stay at my office at the university yesterday, I suppose she got lonely and decided to come back after we fell asleep.”

“Hi Professor! I'm down here!” I looked down and saw Flora on the floor, with a pillow obviously stolen from my bed, and a quilted blanket, which was probably taken from the nearby closet.

“Uh, Flora, can I ask a question?”

“Yeah, what?”

“Why are you sleeping on the floor? No offense but there is a couch in the living room to sleep on at least.”

“Well, I felt really lonely being on the couch, and since you wouldn't budge when I tried to get in bed with you, I decided to steal one of your pillows and slept on the floor!” She smiled innocently again, unaware of exactly what she said.”

“F-Flora, why would you do that?!” I was a little flustered by what she has said.”

“I'm going to make you guys something to eat, I'll be in the kitchen now.” She got up and skipped out the door, bumping into the door in the process somehow.”

“Ahem, anyways, morning Professor, what are our plans for today?”

“Well, today we're going to start out investigation as you know, and since we have no basis on where to start, we will be just talking to citizens and see if we can get any firm grasp about the speedway.”

“Ah, but there is one thing that we need to do while investigating, well really, something I need to do before we really get cracking into our investigation...”I realized there was one thing that I was lacking, which was a full wardrobe. I had been just dropped into this world with just the clothes on my back, and that's about it.

“And what would that be?” He tugged on his hat to push it back into a straight line, and I was still amazed to actually see him in the flesh.

“Well, I was thinking of making this into a puzzle for you to solve, but since I'm not the best at making puzzles on the spot, I'll just tell you. See, uh...well...I need clothes...”

“Don't worry Q, I was going to take you to get some new clothes anyways today, I had to do the same thing after I got Flora...it wasn't exactly the most exhilarating experience I've had, but it was a necessary task.”

“Yeah, shopping for clothes isn’t entirely that much fun, but like you said, it’s a necessary thing we must do. So, when are we going any who? Right now or a little bit later?

“We will depart in about an hour, that way we can have something to eat and make some final preparations, and so you can be fully ready, I don’t want my assistant to be tired after all.”

“That’s true, so, what’s our plan of action for now?” I was ready to tackle the day’s challenges, but Layton insisted on waiting, but I didn’t really mind the wait, I knew it was going to be excited, so a mere delay on our departure just made me more anxious and ready.

“First, let’s go check on Flora and see what she’s up to, then we’ll have breakfast and head out, does that sound good to you?”

“Sounds good to me, though I’ll go take a shower to make myself smell at least presentable.”

“Good, we shall be waiting in the kitchen when you finish.” The next hour wasn't particularly exciting, I took my shower, and had breakfast with Layton and Flora. Somehow though during that I dozed off, and Flora had to wake me up, whilest laughing at me for getting the contents of my meal upon my face. When I looked at him, a little bit nervous of what his reaction was going to be, I was reacted with a grin, and an obvious sign that he was trying to hold in his laughter, then finally after about thirty seconds we all burst out laughing, which then I grabbed a paper towel and wiped my face off. After that, we said our goodbyes to Flora and went on our way to get me some new clothes.

30 Minutes later...

“Wow, this is a pretty little place, what is it called again?”

“This place is the Suburban Outfitters store, run by a good colleague of mine, which you'll probably see here in a minute or two, so we shall wait here for now.” He smiled peacefully at me while adjusting his hat again.

“Hello and welcome to the Suburban Outfitters! My name is Bethany Rainbolt, and I'll be helping you out today with anything you need...oh! Hello Hershel Layton, long time no see, I had a feeling that you would come back eventually.” Standing in front of me was a young woman, probably in her early 20's, long black hair, was a bit skinny, but it didn't really matter, she was a little bit taller than me, and since I'm around 6 foot 2 inches, you could tell she was a very tall woman, she also had a pretty silver necklace with a little heart on it.

“Greetings Madame, I should remember to visit more, I apologize, my Lectures and my adventures take up most of my time nowadays.”

“No need to apologize...and who did you bring along? I don't recognize him, what's your name good sir?

“M-me? Oh, my name is Qhj, though you can call me Q.”

“Ah, what a unique name you have, I'm hoping nobody picks on you for having a name like that.”

“I used to, until I finally put my foot down and just started to ignore them, which after that they left me alone.”

“Excellent, excellent! Any who, what may I get you two today hmm?”

“I'm not getting anything Madame, my new assistant here is getting a new wardrobe for himself, which I shall be paying for myself. So please, show him to where your work outfits are.”

“I'll be honored Hershel, now come along Q, I'll show you to where the clothes are.” She looked at me and pointed to the general location, and then started to walk there. “Come along, It's not that far of a walk, and I know the perfect clothes for an assistant in training” She winked, catching me off guard.

“If you insist.” We started walking our way through the aisles and aisles of clothing, starting with women's handbags and purses, women's clothing, etc. Once we reached the men's clothes and most importantly work clothes, which was for some reason farther back in the store, I resisted the urge to ask why though.

“Let me see here...I'll find the perfect set-up for you...” As I waited for her to pick out what she thought was the right clothes for me, I got to thinking about what I had saw last night.

“Is Layton going to ask about my origins like it said in the journal? Makes sense, since he never wants to break a promise, especially one made to himself. What do I say anyways? Well, I could always just be very vague and say I don't know my exact origins, which is somewhat the truth, I do know where I was before the incident with my DS, but not to the point where I could really describe it easily, and he would never believe my story, so that's going to be a problem.” Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Madame Rainbolt's voice telling me she had picked out the clothes.

“Here you go sweetie, I picked what I thought would be the most appropriate clothing for your travels with the fair Professor.” The first article of clothing was a rugged thick pair of jeans, meant to take on even the toughest of weather conditions. “This is in case he makes you go into any caves and potentially get scars and bruises.”

“That's good to know.” I gave a nice smile to her, showing my consideration.

“Oh, there is one thing I must ask of you before I show the rest of your clothes.”

“And what's that Mam?”

“I want you to solve this easy math puzzle to show that your really Hershel Layton's apprentice.”

“Oh..a puzzle, ok! I love puzzles!.”

“That's the spirit sweetie! Its nothing to challenging, but it's better than nothing.”

Puzzle #005-The better deal.
15/15 Picarats
Your wardrobe altogether costs 199.99€ I give you a choice between two discounts. Once is a 20% off the total purchase than an additional 10% off from the price, or a simple 30% discount from the total price. Which one is the better deal?
“A math puzzle? I can deal with this no problem...let's see...”I started to solve the problem in my head, multiplying it by ten percent, than 20 from there to get the price, which was 144 euros, than I took 30 percent off the price which ended me with 140, so the answer was obvious.

“So, do you got the answer?”

“Well, here's the solution...Its the thirty percent deal. When you factor up both of them, the ten and twenty percent ends up at 144, while the single thirty percent ends up at 140, which is the better deal!”

“Very good sweetie, I'll show you the rest of your clothes now.” As she was showing me the rest of my outfit, I heard the door be slammed open at the front of the store. I went to check, but racks of clothes were blocking my way and I didn't want to seem rude by walking away to check.

“I like these, uh..can I get about a week's worth of these, preferably the shirts be in different colors..also, did you hear the door be slammed open?”

“Oh! I heard it, wonder who came in...”

“I'll go check, ok?I look around and look to see a man completely hidden in his pitch black hoodie, appearing to hold what looked like a pistol of some sorts at Layton. “Gah!”

“What's wrong sweetie?”

“Stay here, and don't go anywhere, ok? Just go along with it...”

“Um, ok.” I quietly went through the racks of clothes to get close enough to hear what if anything the two were saying without being caught, though it was very annoying having to bend down and go through them to avoid being seen over the racks.

“Laaaayton! I have one thing to say to you, and you better take head of my words.”

“And what would that be sir?”

“Do not if you want to spare your life, investigate the McKneeway speedway. I swear if I hear that you are I'll...use this on you, you hear me?!”

“Do I...know you, from somewhere sir?”

“S-Shut up! Don't make me use this!” He raised the gun up and was ready to fire at any moment, heightening the situation's intensity levels a lot higher.

“Crap...I have to stop this before it gets out of hand...”

Puzzle #006: Stop the confrontation!
0/0 Picarats
Simple: Save the professor from the masked man!

I went to the left side of the building, and went through the racks to avoid being caught. As soon as I got through the last rack of clothes I was at the front of the store, about 50 feet away from the hooded man. I hadn't been paying attention to the conversation, but I had assumed it was Layton trying to get the man to give him info about who he was, without him thinking of what exactly he was thinking. “This is it...this is my time...” I slowly walked my way towards him, ever so stealthily, which actually worked surprisingly, and once I got up to 20 feet from him, I charged, tackling him to the ground, his hoodie flew off him, revealing his face.

“Get...off me!” I reached for his gun, but he successfully repelled me, and kicking me a few feet away.

“Clive? What are you doing here? Your supposed to be in prison for what you did a few months ago!”

“Heh, heh, surprise Hershel...I escaped from that dump a few days ago, Prison life wasn't as cracked up as it portrayed. I thought I would be able to repent for my sins...but instead I just got worse...now first off, this little brat here is going to pay for that...”

“Not if I can do anything about it!” I quickly jumped back up and did a very high kick, somehow kicking the gun of out his hand, then slapping it away once I could reach it to where he couldn't easily grab it.

“You...I'll get you for this!” He ran off out the door

“Clive! Wait!” Layton dashed out the door after him.

“Wait...wait for me!” I followed suite, trying my best to keep up in the pursuit for the bad guy, I turned the corner to see Layton staring up towards the roofs of the apartment building.

“Did...did he get away?!”

“Unfortunatly it seems he did, I tried my best to catch him, but he suddenly disappeared in this alleyway...”

“Great, just great...and who was he anyways? It seemed that you knew him.” I really knew who it was, playing Unwound Future, but obviously he wouldn't know about this, so it was in best interests to remain unacknowledged on the subject of this person.

“His name is clive, a few months ago he was involved on an attack on this fair city. He was in the brink of insanity, I managed to pull him back into reality and stop his attack. He peacefully surrendered and went to jail to repent for his sins, but it seems like life in prison has changed him...for the worse...”

“Wow, what a tale. Do you think we should call the police?”

“Madame Rainbolt surely would've called the police, after overhearing what occurred.”

“So, what is our plan of action from here?”

“We pay for your clothes and get away from here to avoid the rush of questions from the police, after all, we still got to find out more about that Speedway, specifically the secret buried with in.”

“Sounds like a plan!” A lot had happened within such a short amount of time that it was hard to keep everything straight. Especially since Layton got attacked by the hooded man, only for it to be Clive. I was still on the adrenaline rush from the little scene there, I couldn't really think perfectly straight, so I had no idea what was going to happen next, however, whatever it was I knew me and Layton could take together. It was only the beginning of what was going to be a very long investigation, and would that result in more than one occasion one of us being in danger's way. Our next course of action was to continue investigating, but a certain girl decided to come along side us, making things very interesting, very interesting indeed...