Layton

Chapter 3

I awoke in a bus, with an old woman looking down on me. My clothes were different, although I had no recollection of changing them.

 "hello there, glad to see that you're finally awake, that was quite some fall you had there, how are you feeling?" she said.

 "What fall?" I asked, "The last I remember I was walking on my way to the temple, then" I gesture around the bus adding to the effect, "here I am."

 "No." began an approaching figure, "you came here on board MY bus by yourself, and demanded in the most outrageous way to go to the old city, well it just so happens it seemed suspicious, and I turned around just in time to watch you falling off the platform!" the bus driver ranted. He took a long deep breath and continued, "Anyway, are you feeling better?"

 "Hang on a moment, if you're here, who's driving the bus?"I asked.

He looked at me as if I pointed out the obvious. Then ranted “what the hell! Look, what age are we in? We have something called autopilot? I wouldn't have..." he was interrupted by a vibration coming from my pocket. They all looked at me and I couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

 I picked up the phone, on the other end a kind, soothing voice began, "Well Boy I thought you were dead! Where on earth were you? You were supposed to be at the temple more than five hours ago!" then he exhaled, and before he could rant again I beat him to it, "hello Layton!" I said, smiling at how the bus passengers’ eyes widened and their jaws dropped. "Glad to see that you’re ok too. What was that about the temple?" at this point they were shocked beyond belief, Layton was a legendary figure who achieved unbelievable results, but the temple was another matter all together.  Layton continued, "Look my friend, you don't have to impress everyone around you. I pretty much understand what happened, and you know where to meet me, I’ll see you in about half an hour. Don't be late!" and with that he hung up.

 The bus driver had the shock of his life. "Was that, was that Layton" he stammered, and I nodded. He calmed himself down, exhaled and asked "so, where do you need to go?".

"The archives." I said, "Make it quick!" and he ran off.

 Something was nagging at me, I was sure I didn't come alone, yet asking around on the bus told me that it was only me. Until I met someone. He was in his late forties, and had a few grey hairs, and a wispy beard. He came up to me, and whispered in my ear, "You did come with another, a young woman. I have met this person in the past, and you must know something about her."

"What are you talking about? Who is she?" I demanded.

"She is evil, she will do anything in her power to try and kill you, she attempted to this today. Stay away from her, and do not let her words corrupt you. Take no heed of her, and do not think about her, nor ponder over what I have said. And most importantly, do not tell anyone what I have told you, or else they will suffer, though not at my hand." with that he walked off and left at the next stop, but I thought that there was something suspicious about him.

 We soon arrived at the meeting place, and someone was waiting for me.

 Layton was tall and slender; he always combed his thin, brown hair carefully and neatly. His face was shaven and he had a very eloquent way of speaking. Rumours had it that he had crafted his own unique style of lightsaber, based on an ancient weapon known as the "katana".

He was waiting for me outside his second home; the Archives or as it is more commonly known, the Library. He loved nothing more than a difficult puzzle and a good book, he preferred using paper, but sometimes even he had to resort to more modern means.

 Layton looked different. Instead of his usual white robes, he was wearing strange attire that seemed awfully familiar. And it suited him well.

He started first. "Ah, there you are, lucky for you are not late." he wasn't taking my absence seriously. He loved being fun, but was serious when he needed to be.

 "Don’t you want to know where I’ve been?" I ask.

 He dismissed it with a wave of his hands, "heard about it already." Layton knew everything that was going on, due to an army of informants that were all over the city.

There was a silence for a few moments, broken by Layton.

"So," he asked, gesturing over his clothes with a grin on his face, "what do you think?" "Well, it looks a bit old fashioned, although it is very elegant” I said,

"And the staff" he asked again,

I assumed that staff meant a walking stick for younger people.

I told him that it was very ornate.

Although something was nagging at me, I realised that the outfit with the top hat seemed familiar. It clicked in my head just before Layton told me himself.

"It is a style of clothing worn by the ancient culture known as the "Victorians" and this is the normal style a high class man would dress." Layton explained.

He was right a, high class man would not dare to step out of their house without the dark brown overcoat, with the highly polished silver buttons. The brown top hat with Layton’s distinct orange ribbon. Combined with the brown shoes, the pristine white shirt and the golden pocket watch on a golden locket he was a magnificent sight.

"So out of all the ancient cultures of our forefathers, why chose this one?" I enquired,

"The rest were not simply to my taste. Also I could not modify them to suit my own style.

I should have that. Layton was a scholar; however he was very particular in his physical appearance.

"So", I asked, "not all of these Victorians dressed this way"

Layton responded by saying that the Victorians would usually wear black, where he wore brown and that they wore a waist coat.

"What exactly is that?" I asked, pointing to the staff.

"Ah, that is a staff, yes it is a walking stick, like you thought it would be, although people once thought it was used for magical purposes for example spell craft and alchemy, I taught you this once didn’t I?" he said.

Looking at it didn’t seem very magical, in Layton’s predictable brown, it seemed very ordinary. A long and thin brown piece of wood, didn’t look very exciting, however it had a very peculiar metal lump at the top.

Layton stared at me with his brown, warm and inviting eyes, and smiled.

"Now that all this pleasantry is out of the way it is time for your lesson. I believe it is about the culture who referred to themselves as the “modern day humans”. They reined from the year 1901, the death of Queen Victoria, to about 2020, the apocalyptic cataclysm" he said.

“Am I going to learn about this event? “I asked him.

Layton remained silent; he had a faraway look in his eyes, like when he knows something I don’t.

"No, not yet." he began after a long pause. He looked at me with sadness in his eyes. “But some things are better unknown, for I do not wish for you to suffer the consequences."

With that we left, and I couldn't help wondering what he meant by that.