Notes: Written for Monsieur-Alpaca, who gave me the prompts Dark Layton/Layton and "It's all your fault!" Set in the evil Layton AU, with spoilers for Lost Future and Miracle Mask.

Layton is used to hearing people tell him that things are all his fault at this point in his life. Used to hearing them scream it at him. His whole life has been wandering from one disaster to the next, trying to piece together a peace existence that he can cherish for himself, all while everything breaks apart around him.

...And it's always his fault.

When Randall had insisted that they went into those ruins and had died there, that had been Layton's fault. They all told him it was his fault, with either their mouths or their eyes. Because Layton could not save him.

When Claire had been killed by the explosion at the laboratory, it had been Layton's fault once again. For a second time, Layton had been unable to save someone near and dear to him. Or anyone involved in what had happened that day. So the foolish boy Clive had wasted no time in telling him that it was Layton's fault during their... reunion.

He had tried as best he could to find out about what happened to Claire, to bring the truth to light. But all it had resulted in what him finding himself lying face down on the pavement, beaten and bruised. Sticking his nose in to seek justice had been his fault.

So on that day, when Dimitri screamed at him, he merely smiled.

"It's all your fault!"

"Yes," agreed Layton, "I suppose it probably is."

"Don't you even care? I thought we were both doing this for Claire! Not for... for politics!" Dimitri spat.

"Oh no, you misunderstood me," he corrected, "It is not my fault that your time machine doesn't work. That folly lies entirely on your own head. What is my fault, is that I once let myself be beaten down by insignificant whelks like yourself. I allowed people to convince me that things outside of my control were my fault. But no more. If the machine doesn't work, then you are of no further use to me and that is certainly not my fault."

"What are you babbling about?" Dimitri demanded, but at this point Layton was already signalling for two of the guards to grab him, "Don't you care about Claire? This was all for her!"

"And it still is all for her. Don't you worry about that for even a moment," assured Layton, "But to save her, progress must be swift. And you, my old friend, are now in the way of progress."

"You'll regret this, Hershel! You can never save her life without me!" screamed Dimitri, as the guards dragged him forcibly out of the door.

Layton did not answer, because he knew that Dimitri was wrong. None of this was Layton's fault. And he would never again allow another person to convince him that their own mistakes were his fault. The only person who's mistakes he'd account for were ones that were truly his own. And, he'd come to discover, as sickeningly narcissistic as this might be to believe, Hershel Layton did not ever make mistakes.