Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: The Frigid Melody

The Paintings in the Cave pt. 1

Phoenix finished off his tea with one last absurdly large mouthful.

"Okay, time to decide," he said as he set down his cup and leaned his elbows on the dining table. "How in the heck is today going to work?"

Layton tried to put the ridiculous tea-chugging out of his mind.

"I'm sure Trucy and I wouldn't want to be seen by the townspeople," he pointed out. "Odds are they still consider us to be murderer and murderer's accomplice."

Trucy leaned forward on her chair and thumped her chin down on the table.

"I don't want to stay in here all day again!" she complained. "It gets so boring after a while!"

"I thought you guys had fun yesterday?" asked Phoenix.

"Well, yeah," Trucy said with a shrug. "But I want a change of scenery, you know? Daddy, this place is barely bigger than our apartment!"

Phoenix looked around at the cottage they were sitting in and gave his daughter a small shrug as if to say 'yes, I suppose'.

"If you guys like, I could stay here and keep you company." Luke gave Trucy a friendly smile. "Or..." The smile quickly faded. "Mr Wright, will you need my help again?"

Phoenix pressed a thoughtful hand to his chin.

"I might," he said. "I don't think I could be sure until the trial actually starts. I think I'll have to get a read on Ms Michaela first."

"It's safe to assume she won't be happy to see you," said Layton.

He watched as Phoenix withdrew on himself in a painful grimace.

"I figured," he said nervously.

"But isn't that unfair?" Luke spoke up with a frown. "Lawyers shouldn't be conflated with the criminals they're defending, especially if those criminals are innocent like we know the Professor and Mr Edgeworth are!"

"Not much we can do about that," Phoenix sighed, and he leaned his head on one hand. "You don't even want to know how many dumb, stupid, repetitive 'lawyers are evil' jokes I've been forced to overhear at my job back home."

Trucy threw herself onto his arm.

"Don't worry, Daddy!" she said cheerfully. "You can always beat them at poker!"

Phoenix chuckled and poked his hand under her hat to ruffle her hair.

"Good point," he replied.

Layton cleared his throat for attention.

"If it's all the same to you three," he said once he was noticed, "I'd quite like to take a look in the passage we opened last night. I have a feeling there's something down there that the late Ms Skellig in particular wouldn't have wanted us to see."

At the suggestion, Phoenix gave an exaggerated shudder of disgust.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. "It was pretty damn freaky in there."

"The time of day may have played a factor in how we perceived the caves, Phoenix," Layton explained. "As far as I'm concerned, it only makes sense to investigate with a more energised and wakeful mind."

"Huh?" Luke's hands thumped on the table as he glared at the Professor in shock. "Professor, you went out investigating without me?!"

No, not just shock. Disappointment. The poor boy very clearly felt like he had missed out on something exciting.

Layton decided to forego explaining what had happened in the darkness. Just thinking back to that voice he and Phoenix had heard, speaking to them, disembodied, right beside them yet invisible, watching them...