Had the situation not been so grim, the others might have laughed. Even so, they felt a small sense of triumph in their stomachs. This seemingly indestructible villain was just a man.
As Oliver stumbled back and recovered, Hershel rested his hand on Katia's shoulder.
"As a true gentleman, I would say that violence was not how this delicate situation must be handled." Katia bit her lip and then lowered her head in shame. A scolding from the Professor was a bigger deal than it seemed. "However, in this case, I would say you are justified."
Katia looked up furtively so see that the Professor was smiling. She found it in herself to smile too and she gave him a quick hug. The Professor always found ways to comfort her.
The other members of the group in the centre of the clearing also found themselves grinning and Flora had opened her mouth in exclamation. This was a new side to her father she had not seen. If Luke had been here then he would have had an ever bigger reaction than them all.
Thinking about Luke summoned unwelcome feelings inside her and Flora did not want to confront those anymore. She had found out that Luke had left from Dean Delmona when she went to check up on the Professor after finally being released from Scotland Yard. When the Dean had told her where her father had went, she had to take a seat and collect herself. Luke had been like a brother to her. To find out that she would not be there to see him off was like a monumental blow to her stomach.
She would have sat there silent that afternoon had it not been for the timely appearance of Luke's mother. She had dropped by the University to pick up some of her husband's documents and she had gone to the Dean to ask him if there were any last bits of Clark's items lying around. She saw Flora and frowned. She had only met Flora once, but she knew that she was the Professor's adopted daughter and good friends with Luke. That she might not been there to see him off was unacceptable.
Shortly after saying goodbye to the Dean, Brenda Triton and Flora rushed to her car and they were at the dock before the setting of the sun. The Professor had just hugged Luke and was watching as Luke ran off towards his father.
They parked the car and when they ran to see the Professor, he had already disappeared into the throng of people. They tried to follow the top hat which stood taller than the crowd, but they realised quite sillily when they caught up with who they thought the Profess was, that the person wearing the hat was someone dressed exactly like the Professor. He was shorter and more portly, however, and he remarked about how inaccurate Flora's costume was. Flora tried to assure the rude man that she was the real Flora, but Brenda pulled her away mentioning that they came here for Luke.
They approached Clark who was packing some bags and Luke was a few steps away, his hat covering his eyes as he remained silent.
Clark was happy to see them and he tapped Luke on the shoulder gently to gain his attention. The young boy looked up to see that Flora was staring straight at him, her wide smile filling him with warmness. He quickly wiped his eyes of the few tears that remained, eager to look like nothing had bothered him but he could see that Flora had only grinned wider and he sighed.
"Now, now, Luke." She said, her ever-present smile lighting up the moods of all those around her. "I don't want your departure to be a miserable one."
"Flora, I'm so glad to see you!" He exclaimed joyfully. He ran towards the young girl and gave her a big hug. Flora hugged him back tighter than she had ever hugged anyone, she thought with a frown. She had not realised how much Luke's departure really affected her until now.
"Don't be gone too long!" She whispered as they kept the embrace. She had not realised she was crying until a small tear fell on her hand. "I want you back soon. For me and the Professor. Can you do that for me?"
"You insolent little rat!"
Flora snapped out of her daydream as she saw that Oliver had recovered and was pointing his finger menacingly at Katia.
"Well you can't say you didn't deserve it!" She responded with venom in her voice. Oliver looked like he was about to scream when she took a step towards him her first raised once more. He jumped back in fright and covered his face in fear.
As some of the group sniggered, he realised how pathetic he had looked and he quickly composed himself.
"Enough!" He hissed, his snake-like tongue releasing a spray of saliva. Katia wondered how she could ever have fallen in love with this man. "It's time my dream finally comes to fruition! It's time Claire returned!"
"I now know that Claire falling in love with me was the best thing that could have happened to her." Hershel said solemnly. tipping his hat down a little. "It is clear the length that Dimitri, Don Paolo and you go to just to seek revenge is a clear piece of evidence why Claire could only have found happiness with me." He turned to Dimitri and uttered a short apology, but he waved it away. "You travel the path of madness and anyone who would do so does not deserve her."
"Maybe we did seek revenge, Hershel, but we were justified! What man could stand by, content to let the love of their life be stolen by someone better than them?! We only resorted to such lengths because we are human! Can you say that you would not do the same?!"
"Yes, Oliver. I can! A human does not seek revenge because something is stolen. A monster does. If our roles had been reversed, I would be devastated, but I would move on as is the way of life. Seeking revenge is pointless. Jealousy and grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on."
"Look at the great Hershel Layton acting so wise!" Oliver jeered, slowly circling the group. "Let's see where your words of wisdom get you when I cast my net. My dream net!"
"Dream net...?" Hershel breathed, staring at Oliver with cautious eyes.
"Oh yes, you know that I intend to use the gas. I shall cast a net that will allow us all to live our dreams!"
"This is utter madness, Oliver!" Hershel protested. "Your plan is to cover Folsense in the gas so that we are taken back to a time before her death, but Claire was never in Folsense!"
"Ah, but Professor, do you not see? I don't merely want to stretch my net over this dreary town. I want to cast it over the entire world!"
*****
The cool breeze from earlier returned and even the townsfolk, still in a joyous mood, felt it this time and the air reeked of foul tidings. They were so excited to see their deceased loved ones that they did not even question Oliver's methods. If they had though, would they be outraged? What if they didn't care about the methods, but simply wanted to just see their loved ones?
All this Hershel considered. He knew just how easily madmen like Oliver could play to the people's emotions. He knew that as much as he and their small group would try and make them see reason, Oliver would remind them what the gas would do and they would not care. They would just accept it. No matter what happens, Oliver does not once look like the villain.
Chelmey and Grosky could see this too, but although they itched to arrest the man, - after all, he was only a few feet away from them - they knew that he would order his men to fire on the unsuspecting crowd.
"Well citizens of Folsense!" Oliver cried, sure to allow everyone to hear. "The time is upon us. Now, I shall perform a miracle unlike any other! Now we shall be with the ones that should have been here all along!"
As the crowds roared in excitement, Dorothea sighed.
"He sure knows how to wrap a crowd around his fingers..."
"I can't stand this..." Katia murmured. She was fighting back tears. She cast her mind back to the conversation she had had the other day with the Professor and Flora. She had to be strong. She kept the tears from falling and she hugged Dorothea tightly. She needed her friend's comfort now more than ever.
"It will be alright, Katia." Dorothea smiled, stroking her friend's back. "The Professor will sort this out. As she said this, she felt her heart twinge. She really couldn't say for certain if this was true.
"Thank you, Dorothea. I know that you are just trying to comfort me..." She let go of the maid and took a step back, showing them all her smile, large and full of hope. "But that is just what I needed!"
She spun around, now filled with a great feeling of determination that she had never quite felt before.
"Come on, Professor. Let's stop this madman!"
*****
The citizens of Folsense had fallen into a hushed silence for the first time that night. They were ready for the miracle to happen and Oliver could provide it.
The group with Katia, now dubbed Team Layton by Flora stood in a tight-knit formation, standing cautiously for what was about to happen.
The Gatherer men had eased in their positions now that the town was not hostile, but they did not break ranks either. Katia thought it was very unnecessary as Oliver was going to cover the whole world so there was nowhere to run, but then she realised that although the others would be spared, the same could not be said for Team Layton. Especially the Professor himself. Oliver would no doubt kill him.
"Prepare to witness the might of the Azran civilisation at work. I am sure none of you have seen its finesse! Its raw beauty!"
Hershel scratched his head as he recalled the stunning beauty of the Azran locations left behind. The Golden Garden. The City of Ambrosia. The infinite Vault of Akbadain. The many locations during his around-the-world trip searching for the Azran eggs up until his journey through the Azran sanctuary. It was safe to say that he had seen more than anyone, even Donald Rutledge!
"Oliver, I beg you not to do this!" Hershel stated, raising his hat slightly. "This is not how we honour the memory of Claire! If I could bring back Claire, I would, but this is not right! You are doing more harm than good. Using the gas will have devastating effects on the world!"
"Oh you worry too much, Layton. So the gas tricks our eyes into seeing the world from ten years ago?! What does that matter?!"
"It is not that that I am concerned about, Oliver. You know that the gas does more than that. The gas deceives the mind so we believe what we want to believe. That will only lead to death and destruction and you know it! Stop this now!"
"What?! Stop ten years' worth of research and planning just because you are worried a few fools will get hurt! You are more demented than I if you think I will stop because you said so. I have worked too hard to achieve this and now the time is upon me, I will seize the chance. Finally!"
"I see that I cannot convince you... Then I shall have to stop you!"
"And how will you do that?" Oliver smiled gleefully and raised his hand. A few of the Gatherer thugs nodded their heads and raised their guns slowly. "Try and stop me and I will tell them to open fire."
"NO!" Flora cried, covering her mouth.
Hershel grimaced and pulled his hat down over his head. He had found himself doing that quite frequently over the last few days.
"So you see that there is quite simply no stopping this. I have ensured that nothing will stop this moment!"
"And how do you intend to use the gas, Oliver? The world must believe they are living in the past, but how can you tell the whole world?!"
"There is a reason why this had to take place at night. More specifically, during a full moon..."
As Oliver grinned, the group glanced up at the sky at the moon, shining white and as round as a ball.
"The Gatherer is a rather fascinating piece of machinery. The Azran were a very advanced people. This machine, made up of many pieces, can harness the energy of anything and then direct it towards an area as small as an ant hole... or as large as the world!"
"So that answers how you can spread it over such a wide distance, but how does the moon come into this?" Clive inquired. "How do you spread the message?"
"At the state the Gatherer was in when I tested it on the town earlier, it could do just what I wanted, but it would only last for an hour. Now that the device is complete, it can last as long as I want it to. I am sure that some of you looked at the moon. And then you forgot what you saw. Tell me, Professor. What could have happened to the moon that caused anyone who looked at it to become statues and see their loved ones chasing them down and trying to kill them?"
"I see..." Hershel muttered.
"What is it? Inspector Marauder asked, tired of remaining silent.
Hershel turned to Flora, Dorothea and Katia and gestured towards the bridge.
"When we tricked Mr Anderson, we were able to do so because we made him believe that looking at the moon would cause him to behave like a statue, just like Oliver had surely told him before activating the incomplete Gatherer. But the trick on the town involved the moon, because a full moon is an object, seen by many and so perfect for a message to be displayed on. I wondered why I and many others were not affected when looking at the moon. The truth was, the message affected people in different manners. It left a simple message, forgotten once looked at, but think about it now. Perhaps you can remember it."
"Freeze or Be Chased by Love!" Albert exclaimed excitedly.
"Indeed. While some of us froze, the rest of us continued on, but were to be affected by the latter half of the message. We were chased by love."
"Chased by love?!" Katia frowned. "I didn't know anyone there."
"That's because you thought you didn't. In truth, those people are loved ones. Deceased I assume."
"I just love to see you squirm as you work it out!" Oliver laughed, wiping an imaginary tear away from his eye. "I have sat back in fascination listening to you lot try and work out how my ingenious plan worked."
"So tell us then!" Katia demanded. "Save us the time and trouble!"
"Oh very well, it takes away the fun, but... I suppose we are on a bit of a ticking clock. Soon the moon will be gone and I will have to wait another month and I can't have that!"
"Your plan would fail!" Inspector Marauder stated. "The moon is up for one half of the world, but the other half is in daytime. How does your plan work then?"
"I wondered when someone would ask that. Well, the easy answer to that is that I don't plan on turning the Gatherer off. It will display that message on the moon forever and when the moon rises for the rest of the world, so shall the message."
"The message only seems to work under the presence of the full moon, however..." Hershel said, crossing his arms as he thought about Oliver's plan. "When the sun rises, the effect shall surely wear off."
"Uh-uh! Not this time, Layton. All it takes is one look and the effect is permanent. That is the power of the Azran. Isn't it breathtaking?!"
"I'll take away your breath if you don't stop this now!" Katia yelled.
"Ah, the feisty side is festering. Still, I think I am rather tired of it now. I have waited long enough; it is time to activate the machine."
"You can activate it Oliver, but we'll never look at the moon! You will never ensnare us!"
"That is a good point.... You could choose not to look at the moon, but then I wouldn't allow it."
With a snap of his fingers, a group of Gatherer thugs ran over and secured each of Team Layton. They struggled, but it was to no avail.
"Watch now as I bring forth the mighty Gatherer!"
Team Layton and the citizens of Folsense listened as the ground beneath them seemed to shake. It shook in rhythm and they realised that it was to the beat of footsteps. All eyes turned west as suddenly a large walking mechanical man stepped into view from behind the trees. It was almost as large as the castle has been and so was a truly phenomenal sight.
It was a rusted turquoise colour and had intricate carvings spread all over its body. Its head reminded Layton of the golems he had seen devastating the world below when he had his final run in with Targent. The Gatherer was truly a sight to behold and the people below truly found themselves breathless.
When the mechanical man stopped a short distance away from Oliver and Team Layton, it raised its arms to the sky and seemed to hold them there, awaiting further orders.
"Well, Layton, are you ready?" Oliver let out a great round of laughter and when he finally stopped, he was ready for his dream to finally come true.
"Gatherer!" He called out to the Azran machine. The man seemed to hear him and twitched its head slightly. "Cast the Dream net!"
The man seemed to nod and then all was tense silence as the man kept his arms raised firmly. A few seconds passed as nothing happened. Just as people started to doubt the machine would work, there was an almost deafening sound as a large beam of red light was cannoned out of the machine's hands and into the sky, towards the moon. When the light hit the moon, it proceeded to spread around the white orb until the whole moon was red light.
Hershel found himself in awe and terror ot the sight. He did not want it to happen, but all the same it was a sight to behold.
"Now!" Oliver screamed. "Release the gas!"
The machine once more nodded and then its chest began to open. It twisted and turned and then it stopped. Then a large tube-like device shot out of the ground and found its way deep into the remains of the castle and into the hole that was now free thanks to the castle's collapse. The tube appeared to be absorbing all the gas and there must have been enough in there to cover the world for the tube did not retract back in for quite a while.
When it clicked back in place, the machine was ready and it removed one hand away from the light and aimed it at the sky. There was a moment as the machine charged and once more it was like canon fire as the gas was sent rocketing into the sky.
It reached the atmosphere and then stayed up there as a large brownish-purple haze the size of a massive cloud.
The people below were confused and then suddenly there was a blinding light and an explosion. When they could see once more, the gas was expanding across the sky in all directions.
Hershel could not see it, but he was sure it was quickly spreading its way to cover the entire Earth. As the half of the world in sunlight saw it, they would have been panicked, yet unaware that as soon as the sun set and the moon was visible that they would be transported through time in a way.
Not even Oliver was sure of what the gas would look like, but now that it covered the entire sky, it left an effect that made the sky a purple translucent veil with sparkles of light. It was rather pretty and Oliver found himself proud for that. If this was to be how the sky looked from now on, it wasn't a bad sight. Much like a night sky, except the stars were sparkles of dazzling light and the sky was a soft purple colour.
"The message is clear to see everyone!" Oliver roared. "Look now to the moon and see your loved ones. The Dream Net is cast and from this night forward, I Oliver Strapping have changed the world!"