Paradox Lost: Part 6
Ahhh! I want this to go so much faster, but I can only type about 60 wpm for a few hours before I have to stop and rest for a while. The ending scene is just killing me and there's so much more fun to be had when Luke gets to where and when he should be.
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Paradox Lost
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Something Luke would remember for the rest of his life, no matter how long or short it may be, would be that Hershel Layton at any age was a born ladies' man. Improvisation seemed to be second-nature to him. Upon meeting Miss Olivia Hawkes at the Museum of Science, Luke introduced her to Hershel, naming him as his new apprentice, then encouraged Hershel to try greeting her as a proper gentleman. The boy just about swept her off her feet, bowing with a flourish as he swept off his hat and pressing his lips to the back of her hand in a childish kiss while declaring her to be 'an absolute pleasure to meet'. Luke just about fainted on the spot again; no wonder he had so much trouble keeping those women away from him!
"Quite the charmer!" Olivia giggled, blushing and laughing as Hershel released her hand and plopped his hat back on his head. Luke managed a tight smile and nodded in agreement. "Well, thank you both so much for coming by to visit us. Are there any particular displays you would like to view?" she went on, leading them further into the building and past cases of odd devices and painted charts.
"Actually, I'm in a bit of a bind." Luke admitted cautiously, "I have a pocket-watch in dire need of repair but I doubt I can trust any clockmaker to set his tools to it. Would you happen to know of any persons with the skills to craft clockwork mechanisms for a pocket-watch?" Olivia brightened and nodded, chuckling behind her hand.
"Indeed I do, Sir Luke!" she replied cheerfully, "My grandfather works here in the museum as a handyman of sorts. He maintains all the mechanisms in our automatic moving displays. Since they run on clockwork, he's had many years to hone his skills in the craft." She hurried to another hallway and gestured down the way, "Follow me and I'll take you to meet him!" Luke made to walk over but Olivia held out a hand. "Ah, I'm sorry but I'm afraid you'll have to leave your bag behind. My grandfather is very particular about security and the sight of a bag in the rear of the museum is likely to have him in a tizzy." Luke stopped, startled, and looked down at the satchel, gripping its strap tightly, nervously.
"Um, well...." he stammered slightly. Well, now what? The satchel held many of his things for him, items that weren't to exist in this timeline and items of significant personal value. He couldn't just leave it anywhere; that would be far too dangerous! He felt a tug at his sleeve and looked down at Hershel, who beamed up at him brightly.
"I can look after it, Sir Luke! Please? Let me take care of your bag for you!" he offered eagerly and Luke tightened his grip even further. Olivia laughed easily behind her hand.
"What a good apprentice you have! That's a marvelous idea! Sir Luke can leave his bag with you, of course; everyone knows the trustworthiness of the Layton Family!" she exclaimed and Luke had the sinking sensation that he'd been cornered into a rather nasty trap. If he didn't give the satchel to Hershel now, it'd be like insulting the family name. And if he tried to give warning for him not to look inside, it would be the same thing. Issuing a tiny sigh of resignation, Luke slipped the strap from his shoulder and placed the bag in Hershel's arms, managing a smile for his sake, albeit a bit strained.
"I'll be right back, Hershel. It shouldn't take very long." he remarked instead, hoping that would be warning enough for the boy to stay out of his things. Hershel just beamed all the more brightly while Luke slipped his notebook out of the satchel and pocketed it. If anything, he would keep it on his person for now, just in case. With a hesitant wave, Luke left the boy behind in the main hall of the museum, following Olivia deeper into the rear of the building. Hershel waved back excitedly, waited until Luke and Olivia had vanished into the labyrinth of rooms, then scampered off with a maniacally gleeful giggle.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Olivia led Luke into one of the larger rooms in the museum. It was barely lit, with the glow of some candles being filtered through shelves of wooden display pieces and dusty glass. The curator hurried along eagerly, calling out for her grandfather as Luke looked around himself in mild interest. He hadn't brushed up on this kind of science in a long while, not since sealing off several rooms in the Layton house back in his own time. He mostly stuck with temporal theory and history, researching and preparing for his mission months in advance. Some said that he had taken the historical interest in honor of his mentor, that Professor Layton would have been proud to see his apprentice follow in his steps. Luke ignored the praise, focused on his studies and his work, his training and research for one sole purpose; rewrite the past to prevent his future.
Only that blundering fool of a doctor had miscalculated and stranded him here in the far past.
He paused at one shelf, poking at what was supposed to be a representation of the human heart made with wood and sheepskin, when Olivia hurried to him and started tugging at his sleeve to catch his attention. He allowed her to lead him away again, worrying briefly over his satchel back in Hershel's care, before he snapped to attention and spotted the elderly man bent over a work table in the back of the room, candles scattered around him to light his work. Small cogs and bits of clockwork were spread before him and the man blinked up at him owlishly through large glasses, his tools in hand.
"Sir Luke," Olivia began with a cheerful smile, "this is my grandfather, Barnsworth Hawkes. He can help you with your dilemma." Barnsworth sniffed loudly at hearing what his granddaughter had brought to him, a young man with an unimportant problem.
"You're the one who has trouble with a watch?" he questioned, squinting at him through the large lenses and making himself look comical, "Why not just go to a clockmaker?"
"The pocket-watch is very... unique, as it were. I don't trust the skills of any normal clockmaker to handle this and there are some very delicate secrets embedded in the make of the watch." Luke explained carefully, thinking through his words with caution, "Since you work on the clockwork in the museum, you are the best candidate for adapting to unique devices, and that would be most beneficial to my problem. In addition, you appear to be far more trustworthy in keeping those secrets as they are." The old man squinted more, to the point where it seemed he'd simply shut his eyes, but he seemed more interested than before.
"Then why not send it back to its maker? Surely if you don't wish for the watch's secrets to be uncovered, you would send it back to the one who created it." Barnsworth countered.
"The watch must be repaired as soon as possible, if not immediately. And sadly, the maker of this watch is not with us now." Luke phrased easily, leaving his words open for interpretation.
"I see, I see." the old man mused, pushing away the cogs on his desk, "Right then. Let's have a look at it and see what the issue is." Luke pulled the watch from his pocket and set it down on the desk, keeping it covered as he lifted a finger in warning.
"This is a discreet affair, so please don't record any of the secrets of the mechanism in this watch, and swear not to reveal what you will be working on to anyone." he reminded and looked over at Olivia, "That extends to you as well, madam." The woman blinked in surprise, her hand lifting to her mouth in response.
"Is it really that important, Sir Luke? To keep mum about the repair of your pocket-watch?" she asked in a hushed and slightly awed tone. Her grandfather barked out a harsh laugh, sitting back in his chair and causing Luke to shoot him a stern glare.
"I don't see why you should raise a fuss over it!" Barnsworth guffawed, "The way you talk on about it, you'd say that fixing your watch was a matter of life or death!"
"As a matter of fact, Sir Hawkes," Luke hissed, "it rather is." With that, he lifted his hand from the pocket-watch and stepped back. Barnsworth gave him a strange look, then shrugged and moved closer to inspect his new assignment.
The watch looked nice enough on the outside, a shiny metal that looked golden but proved not to be as it didn't behave like gold did to pressure. The inside was what perplexed the old man, with numbers engraved where they shouldn't be and the hands ticking back and forth over the twelfth hour. It didn't look like it told time properly, which might be the problem. He said as much but Luke corrected him on that. The watch wasn't meant to tell the time, but keep track of it. It didn't make much sense, but he added that the moving hands were supposed to remain suspended like that. Just, not over the twelfth hour. There was also a thirteenth hour that Barnsworth asked about and Luke tightened his mouth at the mention, shaking his head slightly and refusing to give information about it.
When the face was lifted and set aside, the old man was able to take a look at the clockwork mechanism running the pocket-watch. They looked normal enough, being made of metal, and three cogs were cracked, sending the timing out of synch. After studying it a while longer, Barnsworth looked up at Luke with a stern expression.
"Young man, in all my years, I've never seen a watch like this before. I might be able to replace the cogs and repair it, but I'll need more information than you're giving now before I can even hope to attempt putting it together." he told him gravely, "I'll need molds to create the replacement gears, and blueprints to make the molds. I'll need instructions on what this thing does before I can wind it to work that way again. Son, I need to know what this is, before I can help you." Olivia looked between the two men in confusion, hopelessly lost on what was happening. The most she could understand was that Luke's watch wasn't normal. Luke stood fast under the old man's gaze for a long, tense moment, remaining silent as his face became obscured by the shadows of his cap and the dancing candlelight. "If a vow of silence is what you want, then I give it, for myself and Olivia. Not a word will escape our lips until St. Peter asks of it." Barnsworth added sincerely.
The silence went on and Luke's mouth moved, forming words without sound before he truly began to speak.
"Time-Binder. It keeps track of events occurring in the timeline and is set to start the countdown once a specific event takes place." he whispered softly, "I'm sorry that's all I can say about it." He pulled the notebook from his pocket and opened it, pulling a folded scrap of paper from within it and placing it on the table before Barnsworth. "This is a copy of the blueprint that was used to create the pocket-watch. Use it to create the molds and the gears. You'll be helping me save a man's life with this." He pulled his hand away, allowing the old man to gingerly pick it up and unfold it, his eyes sweeping across the diagrams and notes with growing fascination, before his face shifted to a horrified look.
"Young man, this hour marks-!" he began in shock and Luke stiffened, schooling his expression into a fierce glare that killed any further comments.
"My mission is first and foremost, Sir Hawkes." he remarked coldly, "Everything else is nothing and will be nothing when I am successful. And I mean to be successful." With that, he turned and began to leave, pausing suddenly and speaking back over his shoulder, "I'll gladly make a sizable donation to this museum in exchange for your help. It's the least I can do. Thank you." He left Barnsworth and Olivia speechless in the room as he began making his way back to the main hall of the museum.
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Paradox Lost
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Something Luke would remember for the rest of his life, no matter how long or short it may be, would be that Hershel Layton at any age was a born ladies' man. Improvisation seemed to be second-nature to him. Upon meeting Miss Olivia Hawkes at the Museum of Science, Luke introduced her to Hershel, naming him as his new apprentice, then encouraged Hershel to try greeting her as a proper gentleman. The boy just about swept her off her feet, bowing with a flourish as he swept off his hat and pressing his lips to the back of her hand in a childish kiss while declaring her to be 'an absolute pleasure to meet'. Luke just about fainted on the spot again; no wonder he had so much trouble keeping those women away from him!
"Quite the charmer!" Olivia giggled, blushing and laughing as Hershel released her hand and plopped his hat back on his head. Luke managed a tight smile and nodded in agreement. "Well, thank you both so much for coming by to visit us. Are there any particular displays you would like to view?" she went on, leading them further into the building and past cases of odd devices and painted charts.
"Actually, I'm in a bit of a bind." Luke admitted cautiously, "I have a pocket-watch in dire need of repair but I doubt I can trust any clockmaker to set his tools to it. Would you happen to know of any persons with the skills to craft clockwork mechanisms for a pocket-watch?" Olivia brightened and nodded, chuckling behind her hand.
"Indeed I do, Sir Luke!" she replied cheerfully, "My grandfather works here in the museum as a handyman of sorts. He maintains all the mechanisms in our automatic moving displays. Since they run on clockwork, he's had many years to hone his skills in the craft." She hurried to another hallway and gestured down the way, "Follow me and I'll take you to meet him!" Luke made to walk over but Olivia held out a hand. "Ah, I'm sorry but I'm afraid you'll have to leave your bag behind. My grandfather is very particular about security and the sight of a bag in the rear of the museum is likely to have him in a tizzy." Luke stopped, startled, and looked down at the satchel, gripping its strap tightly, nervously.
"Um, well...." he stammered slightly. Well, now what? The satchel held many of his things for him, items that weren't to exist in this timeline and items of significant personal value. He couldn't just leave it anywhere; that would be far too dangerous! He felt a tug at his sleeve and looked down at Hershel, who beamed up at him brightly.
"I can look after it, Sir Luke! Please? Let me take care of your bag for you!" he offered eagerly and Luke tightened his grip even further. Olivia laughed easily behind her hand.
"What a good apprentice you have! That's a marvelous idea! Sir Luke can leave his bag with you, of course; everyone knows the trustworthiness of the Layton Family!" she exclaimed and Luke had the sinking sensation that he'd been cornered into a rather nasty trap. If he didn't give the satchel to Hershel now, it'd be like insulting the family name. And if he tried to give warning for him not to look inside, it would be the same thing. Issuing a tiny sigh of resignation, Luke slipped the strap from his shoulder and placed the bag in Hershel's arms, managing a smile for his sake, albeit a bit strained.
"I'll be right back, Hershel. It shouldn't take very long." he remarked instead, hoping that would be warning enough for the boy to stay out of his things. Hershel just beamed all the more brightly while Luke slipped his notebook out of the satchel and pocketed it. If anything, he would keep it on his person for now, just in case. With a hesitant wave, Luke left the boy behind in the main hall of the museum, following Olivia deeper into the rear of the building. Hershel waved back excitedly, waited until Luke and Olivia had vanished into the labyrinth of rooms, then scampered off with a maniacally gleeful giggle.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Olivia led Luke into one of the larger rooms in the museum. It was barely lit, with the glow of some candles being filtered through shelves of wooden display pieces and dusty glass. The curator hurried along eagerly, calling out for her grandfather as Luke looked around himself in mild interest. He hadn't brushed up on this kind of science in a long while, not since sealing off several rooms in the Layton house back in his own time. He mostly stuck with temporal theory and history, researching and preparing for his mission months in advance. Some said that he had taken the historical interest in honor of his mentor, that Professor Layton would have been proud to see his apprentice follow in his steps. Luke ignored the praise, focused on his studies and his work, his training and research for one sole purpose; rewrite the past to prevent his future.
Only that blundering fool of a doctor had miscalculated and stranded him here in the far past.
He paused at one shelf, poking at what was supposed to be a representation of the human heart made with wood and sheepskin, when Olivia hurried to him and started tugging at his sleeve to catch his attention. He allowed her to lead him away again, worrying briefly over his satchel back in Hershel's care, before he snapped to attention and spotted the elderly man bent over a work table in the back of the room, candles scattered around him to light his work. Small cogs and bits of clockwork were spread before him and the man blinked up at him owlishly through large glasses, his tools in hand.
"Sir Luke," Olivia began with a cheerful smile, "this is my grandfather, Barnsworth Hawkes. He can help you with your dilemma." Barnsworth sniffed loudly at hearing what his granddaughter had brought to him, a young man with an unimportant problem.
"You're the one who has trouble with a watch?" he questioned, squinting at him through the large lenses and making himself look comical, "Why not just go to a clockmaker?"
"The pocket-watch is very... unique, as it were. I don't trust the skills of any normal clockmaker to handle this and there are some very delicate secrets embedded in the make of the watch." Luke explained carefully, thinking through his words with caution, "Since you work on the clockwork in the museum, you are the best candidate for adapting to unique devices, and that would be most beneficial to my problem. In addition, you appear to be far more trustworthy in keeping those secrets as they are." The old man squinted more, to the point where it seemed he'd simply shut his eyes, but he seemed more interested than before.
"Then why not send it back to its maker? Surely if you don't wish for the watch's secrets to be uncovered, you would send it back to the one who created it." Barnsworth countered.
"The watch must be repaired as soon as possible, if not immediately. And sadly, the maker of this watch is not with us now." Luke phrased easily, leaving his words open for interpretation.
"I see, I see." the old man mused, pushing away the cogs on his desk, "Right then. Let's have a look at it and see what the issue is." Luke pulled the watch from his pocket and set it down on the desk, keeping it covered as he lifted a finger in warning.
"This is a discreet affair, so please don't record any of the secrets of the mechanism in this watch, and swear not to reveal what you will be working on to anyone." he reminded and looked over at Olivia, "That extends to you as well, madam." The woman blinked in surprise, her hand lifting to her mouth in response.
"Is it really that important, Sir Luke? To keep mum about the repair of your pocket-watch?" she asked in a hushed and slightly awed tone. Her grandfather barked out a harsh laugh, sitting back in his chair and causing Luke to shoot him a stern glare.
"I don't see why you should raise a fuss over it!" Barnsworth guffawed, "The way you talk on about it, you'd say that fixing your watch was a matter of life or death!"
"As a matter of fact, Sir Hawkes," Luke hissed, "it rather is." With that, he lifted his hand from the pocket-watch and stepped back. Barnsworth gave him a strange look, then shrugged and moved closer to inspect his new assignment.
The watch looked nice enough on the outside, a shiny metal that looked golden but proved not to be as it didn't behave like gold did to pressure. The inside was what perplexed the old man, with numbers engraved where they shouldn't be and the hands ticking back and forth over the twelfth hour. It didn't look like it told time properly, which might be the problem. He said as much but Luke corrected him on that. The watch wasn't meant to tell the time, but keep track of it. It didn't make much sense, but he added that the moving hands were supposed to remain suspended like that. Just, not over the twelfth hour. There was also a thirteenth hour that Barnsworth asked about and Luke tightened his mouth at the mention, shaking his head slightly and refusing to give information about it.
When the face was lifted and set aside, the old man was able to take a look at the clockwork mechanism running the pocket-watch. They looked normal enough, being made of metal, and three cogs were cracked, sending the timing out of synch. After studying it a while longer, Barnsworth looked up at Luke with a stern expression.
"Young man, in all my years, I've never seen a watch like this before. I might be able to replace the cogs and repair it, but I'll need more information than you're giving now before I can even hope to attempt putting it together." he told him gravely, "I'll need molds to create the replacement gears, and blueprints to make the molds. I'll need instructions on what this thing does before I can wind it to work that way again. Son, I need to know what this is, before I can help you." Olivia looked between the two men in confusion, hopelessly lost on what was happening. The most she could understand was that Luke's watch wasn't normal. Luke stood fast under the old man's gaze for a long, tense moment, remaining silent as his face became obscured by the shadows of his cap and the dancing candlelight. "If a vow of silence is what you want, then I give it, for myself and Olivia. Not a word will escape our lips until St. Peter asks of it." Barnsworth added sincerely.
The silence went on and Luke's mouth moved, forming words without sound before he truly began to speak.
"Time-Binder. It keeps track of events occurring in the timeline and is set to start the countdown once a specific event takes place." he whispered softly, "I'm sorry that's all I can say about it." He pulled the notebook from his pocket and opened it, pulling a folded scrap of paper from within it and placing it on the table before Barnsworth. "This is a copy of the blueprint that was used to create the pocket-watch. Use it to create the molds and the gears. You'll be helping me save a man's life with this." He pulled his hand away, allowing the old man to gingerly pick it up and unfold it, his eyes sweeping across the diagrams and notes with growing fascination, before his face shifted to a horrified look.
"Young man, this hour marks-!" he began in shock and Luke stiffened, schooling his expression into a fierce glare that killed any further comments.
"My mission is first and foremost, Sir Hawkes." he remarked coldly, "Everything else is nothing and will be nothing when I am successful. And I mean to be successful." With that, he turned and began to leave, pausing suddenly and speaking back over his shoulder, "I'll gladly make a sizable donation to this museum in exchange for your help. It's the least I can do. Thank you." He left Barnsworth and Olivia speechless in the room as he began making his way back to the main hall of the museum.