Professor Layton and the Angel's Prophecy

Flight Over London

The ship had already started to move through the air, and Hershel followed the others as they made for the control room. It was only as he entered the centre of operations (not too much different from the previous room) that he realised someone was missing. At once he noticed two more special agents, plus the pilot, but there was a key figure missing.

"Where is Chief Inspector Grosky?" he inquired, casting his gaze about one more time should the Chief Inspector suddenly appear. Only a trip to the loo, he would laugh.

Agent Cookson, of the two agents whose name Hershel knew, made to answer.

"I-"

A booming cry cut him out.

"Wait! You cannot forget your greatest ally?!"

The voice was far away, coming from below. Hershel and others moved to the window, glancing down to see the source of the voice, but knowing from his peppy attitude exactly who it was.

"Quick," he stated hurriedly, eyes fixed on the darting figure of the Chief Inspector below. Grosky was running like a madman, and only he could be keeping pace with such a ship. "We must stop!"

Layton turned to the pilot as he frantically tried to draw the machine to a halt.

"It's stuck!" came the panicked reply of the pilot. "It's not stopping!"

Hershel was at the pilot's side in a second, quickly assessing the situation, wondering what could be done. Glancing up, he saw the Houses of Parliament looming straight ahead.

"Can you turn the ship?"

"I could before!" screamed the pilot, frantically pushing away at buttons. "I don't know what happened; it's like it jammed!"

"Calm yourself. We shall figure this out. This is a puzzle to be sure."

Hershel looked over the console and smiled.

"I think I have the solution to this puzzle." Turning, he grinned at Clive. "Would you be willing to solve this puzzle, Clive?"

"I..." Clive looked around at the terrified faces around him, at Flora's face, etched with fear, tears springing to her eyes. "I think I can."

"Think?"

The nerves vanished then, instead boldness taking their place. Clive did like a challenge. A proud grin adorned his face then.

"Come now, Professor. I made a gigantic robot! Do you really think fixing an airship is any harder?"

Hershel looked unsure, but knew Clive was their only shot. Grosky aside, if the ship couldn't stop, they would all crash. And so, Clive would solve his second puzzle that day. At the console, he looked over all the buttons and began to memorise their position. Dropping to the ground, he reached under the console and started to grab at the wires beneath.

The pilot reacted then, jumping to his feet.

"What are you doing? This is madness! Get away from there!"

"Do not fear," Hershel replied, holding his hands up to try and compose the infuriated man. "I believe in Clive."

"He'll get us killed! Just get him away from there!"

A few of the other agents interjected then, telling the pilot to calm down and trust the Professor. Clearly outnumbered, the pilot bowed his head and moved to the corner of the room.

Now all attention was turned back to Clive, and only Hershel looked back to spot the pilot glaring menacingly at them.

Flora could not bear to watch, and instead moved to the window, glancing down at the small figure beneath them. Grosky was still as adamant as ever. She was almost mesmerised by his movements, the way he leapt over cars and swung around lampposts. Slowly he made his way further up, jumping across roofs, springing from chimneys and metal boxes to reach even higher rooftops. Silently, Flora was rooting for the Chief Inspector, as if his arrival on the ship would solve all their problems. Because, as seconds ticked by, she knew they were ever closer to their demise, and she could not look up.

As Flora continued to watch Grosky's ascent, Layton moved to Clive's side.

"Do you require any assistance, Clive? I can't claim to be an engineer, but I've solved many such conundrums before."

"No, Professor," came a muffled response below. "You tasked me with this. I don't need any help; no hint coins or something to get me out of this mess."

Hershel bit his lip, glancing up Big Ben, only two blocks away. It was not that he doubted Clive could solve this puzzle, but would he do it with enough room for the Bostonius to turn away in time?

Of all the times for things to go wrong, now did not have to be it. If-

"Professor!" exclaimed Flora, a mix of hope and excitement in her tone. "Look, the Chief Inspector is amazing!"

Not wanting to leave Clive's side, but curious to see what had raised Flora's spirits in such a predicament, he ran over to her. Already, the rest of the special agents were gathered around the window. The pilot stayed at the back, ominously still.

As he reached the window, he looked down to see that the Chief Inspector was showing off, as always. Each second he springboarded from one rooftop to the next, gradually gaining height in his quest to board the Bostonius. Seeing Grosky gracefully triple flip over a ridiculously high apartment complex told Hershel all he needed to know. Grosky would make it up here, and he could help.

Running back into the large foyer he had entered, Hershel fumbled with the lock mechanism on the entrance hatch and then ripping it open, he pressed a button for the ladder to slowly descend. At such an altitude, the airship soaring through the sky, Layton once more that day had to hold onto his hat, the other hand gripping the edge as he peered down at the small world below. Sure enough, he could see Grosky was almost high enough to leap for the ladder. The ladder itself stretched down quite a way, but as it drew to a halt too early, he knew what he had to do. Pulling his hat down tight around his head, he slowly began to descend the ladder, moving through open air, the hectic gusts ripping at his sides, threatening to carry him away.

He soon reached the bottom, and then linked his legs carefully through the rungs and he wrapped them around it. He felt his hat dangerously slide off his head, and he pressed it down until it wrapped snugly, if a little too tight around his head. Releasing his arms, he swung down until he was hanging upside down, arms stretched wide to catch the Chief Inspector. Viewing Grosky's climb from such an angle was enlightening to be sure, and an upside down parkour-expert made for quite the thrilling sight. Grosky leapt and bound over every obstacle, and with each passing second his actions brought him closer to the airship, to Layton.

Grosky soon caught site of the Professor, but only wiped sweat from his head and powered on. Now he had a plan. The man must have been exhausted, but then his legs seemed to gain new purpose as he took off at a frightening speed. He began to zig-zag then, until suddenly, he ran to the edge, and leapt from his row of houses, to the next, sticking the landing perfectly, easing Hershel's just-stopped heart.

And then he did it again. Heart stopped once more, aghast at Grosky risking his life in such a way, Hershel did not see Grosky's plan immediately. But then it hit him.

"He's gaining momentum," he smiled slyly, awaiting for this bold new plan of the Chief Inspector's to work.

Grosky leapt twice more before finally taking one final great bound, arms stretched skyward, the man screaming with pure adrenaline. Grosky whizzed through the air, almost going straight past Layton's outstretched arms, but the Professor quickly caught the Chief Inspector's arms, and then they were hanging together. There was no time for celebration just yet.

Both men swivelled their heads around as the shadow of Big Ben loomed over them. It was too late!

Closing their eyes, they awaited the end.