Professor Layton and the Last Specter (Leia fanfic) {On Hold}

The Beginning

As the fireplace wasn't lit, three candles were the only light provided in the dimly-lit room. The chamber contained a lot of expensive furniture, from a huge wall filled with books to the comfortable red armchair the man was sitting in. His appearance matched with the room, as it was made of dark cloth and had a look that you would expect from longer ago than this century. His face was hidden in the shadows, but one could see his eyes were fixed on the yellowish pages of the old book in front of him. When it seemed he had found the part he was looking for, he read it out loud.

'Long ago, in a lawless age, a pack of bandits invaded a small village. Amidst the chaos, a terrified, young farm girl played her flute to drown out the madness. As the music spiraled high into the sky, a giant specter appeared above her. She begged the specter to destroy the bandits, and it swiftly obeyed. The town was saved, and the specter vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. But the farm girl knew that in times of danger, she needed only to play the flute and the specter would appear again.'

As he finished the last sentence, the man closed the book and looked up, his face still covered with shadows. 'A quaint tale, wouldn't you say?' Another man, a butler as it seemed, answered. 'Aye, Master.' The man in the armchair leaned forward a little bit, ready to stand up. 'I think the time has come for us to pen the next chapter.' The butler bowed his head and said with an obedient yet clear voice: 'Of course, Master.'

Somewhere else, not even that far away from the conversation of the two men, four people were in a hotelroom. It was already dark outside, and the thick mist blocked most of the sight. A man with a high hat and neat clothes got up from a yellow armchair that he had been drinking his tea in. He walked towards the window, where a young boy dressed in blue was watching the street from. 'Well, what do you think, Luke? Do you see anything yet?' The boy didn't even look up at the man. 'No, nothing,' he yawned. 'I'm still having a tough time buying all of this,' the third person, a middle-aged woman dressed in yellow, said with disbelief in her voice. 'It sounds like some scary bedtime story. Is this even possible?' 'Well... we'll soon find out,' the man replied. The woman watched him walking towards the armchair again and then turned to look at the little boy. '...And a poor little boy who predicts where the giant specter will appear,' she did little to hide the laugh in her voice. Luke looked up to her, sighed in annoyance and watched the streets again. Ignoring the fact she didn't seem appreciated, she walked towards the bed and sat down there. 'So, what now? I mean, what if this thing never even shows up?' Nobody answered. The man picked up his cup of tea and drank some of it while closing his eyes. It was silent for a second, everybody had sunk into their own thoughts.

Suddenly, the soft sounds of what seemed like a flute could be heard. 'Hm?' The man opened his eyes again and looked around the room to see where the sound had come from. 'What is-- What on earth could that be?' 'It sounds like... It sounds like music!' the fourth person said. It was a girl, around fifteen, dressed in a shirt and shorts. Everyone got up and walked towards each other to stand in the middle of the room. 'The flute... It must be...' Luke murmured. A rumble could be heard outside, making the buildings to shake. The man ran towards the windows. 'Quickly! To the window!' he shouted. They all rushed there and looked outside, to immediately back down of fear.

Outside the hotel, a giant creature of which only the contrasts could be seen was walking through the streets. He was higher than the houses, and broke them down with huge, long arms ending in pointy fingers. Two thin things were sticking out of his head. He was like a shadow covered with mist and darkness. 'What is that thing?' the woman shouted. Luke and the girl held their hands in order to not lose consciousness because of fright. The creature got up from one of the destroyed houses and two fierce, red-glowing eyes were now visible. 'Can this be...' the man began. '...the specter!' the girl shouted while closing her eyes. The woman reached for her pocket to take out a camera and quickly took some pictures of the frightening sight. One of the arms of the specter reached in their direction, crushing half of their room. The four people ran away to not be crushed with it. The woman was astonished. She couldn't say a single word and just looked at the specter now gliding away from them. She had finally seen the dark giant, and it made her even more determined to help the professor keep his word. Together, they would shine the light of truth upon this ghastly shadow.