Fanfic / Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: The Frigid Melody

Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: The Frigid Melody is a Continuation fic to Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, written by RainyMeadows.

Two years after the events of Labyrinthia, Hershel Layton is sent a letter ''asking'' him to locate someone who went missing while visiting the small, remote, Scottish village of Fatargan. However, while on the train journey up to Scotland with his former assistant Luke Triton, whose back in England while his father is at a conference, the two happen to meet a certain Lawyer, who seems to have changed since they all last met, along with the addition of his daughter Trucy.

This story would later contain stories that is part of the "Melody-verse", and has the following sequels:

• The Frigid Melody: Encore: An epilogue to the main story, where Phoenix and Trucy decide to spend their remaining vacation days in England touring London in Layton's company, while the former attorney catches feelings for the Professor.
• Sourdough: A one shot following the aftermath of Turnabout Succession.
• Luke Triton: Ace Attorney: An Ace Attorney style adventure where new lawyer Luke joins the Wright Anything Agency following Apollo's decision to stay Khura'in. His story won't be a walk in the park though, especially when something terrible happens to Phoenix...

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Series-wide tropes include:

• Crossover Couple: Between Layton and Phoenix.

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The Frigid Melody provides examples of:

• Abandoned Mine: Fatargan used to be a coal mining town, but said mines have been abandoned for years due to the miners finding the journey there too exhausting.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In canon you don't see what Phoenix goes through during the seven years between losing his badge and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Here, the aftermath of his last case has completely made him bitter and angry; he can barely talk to his old friends since because he was accused of faking evidence all his cases were reopened and reinvestigated. He even brings up that his childhood friend Larry Butz has being questioned three times since then. The only thing keeping him together is Trucy, and even then he feels like abandoning her because he's not good enough of a parent for her.
• Alleged Lookalikes: Downplayed. Trucy, Luke and Phoenix realize that her puppet Mr Hat has a passing resembles to The Professor (both have dark clothing, little beady eyes and a top hat) which they find very amusing, though Hershel does not. Later comes into play when Trucy has to pretend that he is Mr Hat to some villagers.
• Ancient Tomb: At one point Layton finds a door with a puzzle lock in some cave tunnels, so he and Phoenix go searching them at night but don't get very far after opening them. Then later on, Layton, Luke and Trucy go searching them and find cave paintings on the walls of around two hundred red handprints that, according to The Professor, date back six hundred and fifty years ago and where made by a Pictish Settlement. They also discover another one on the ceiling that depicts soldiers and their king in war paint attacking a village, this makes them realize that this must be where the story of The Painted King comes from.
• Armor-Piercing Question: In the third trial when Layton asks the townsfolk in the court why The Painted King was dubbed as such, no one can explain.
• Bad Cop/Incompetent Cop: Both Office Poe's are this. They're constantly rude to people, ignore Phoenix every time he comes to the police station and aren't afraid to push others around. Layton and Edgeworth even comment that when they were being interrogated, they only asked if they had done it, over, and over, and over again.
• Big Entrance: Near the end of Chapter 24, The Professor, Luke and Trucy interrupt the third trial, with information reveling the truth about The Painted King and his horde.
• Blackmail: The reason Layton ends up looking for Miles Edgeworth is because the Yatagarasu aka Kay Faraday used the secrets of his past cases he didn't wish to be known public as leverage.
• Clear My Name: Much like any Ace Attorney game, Phoenix ends up defending a few people who've been falsely accused of a crime. These include Athena Cykes, who is accused of murdering a security guard on the train. Dr Wallace, who is accused of giving a patient, Mr Oldfart, the wrong medicine which made him ill. Layton, who is accused of murdering Mr Oldfart. And Miles Edgeworth, who is accused of causing the death of Angela Skellig, after neglecting their supposed duties as The Minstrel.
• Close-Knit Community: The people of Fatargan are rather distrusting of visitors and newcomers, so much so that the only reason the presence of The Painted King become known was becomes Mrs Oldfart let it slip out during the first trial.
• Closest Thing We Got:
  • During the initial trial on the train, the dining car is converted into a makeshift courtroom. The train's lead conductor acts as the judge and a latte glass serves as her gavel. The conductor admits to being in over her head and occasionally pauses to ask if she's performing her role correctly.
  • Fatargan is too small to have its own courthouse, so they hold trials at the town hall instead. The judge wears a black bathrobe in lieu of normal robes and uses a toffee hammer for a gavel.
• Combat Medic: Turns out that Dr Wallace is this.
• Continuity Nod: Several.
  • Phoenix's past as an art major become useful in one case.
• Corrupt Politician: Mayor of Fatargan, Angela Skellig. Layton and Phoenix come to this conclusion after having a conversation with them, during which they makes subtle threats against Layton and Phoenix, insults Phoenix and lies about Miles still being in the village.. Then several chapters later, Phoenix, Hershel, Luke and Trucy discover they are in charge of The Painted King cult, coerced Miles into being The Minstrel and was the one who killed Wrenkley Oldfart.
• Deadpan Snarker: Phoenix, Dr Wallace, and Miles Edgeworth do a lot of this throughout the fic.
• Disappeared Dad: When asking Angela Skellig about Michaela's father she replies that he isn't around.
• Distant Finale: Downplayed with the finale chapter, which takes place five years later, were Professor Layton has adopted Alfendi and Katrielle, and Phoenix and Trucy tell Apollo of their adventure in Fatagran when he finds the silver violin.
• Dreadful Musician: In canon, Phoenix is known to be a dreadful pianist. Subverted here, where he's very skilled at the violin, having been playing for last nine years.
• Elective Mute: Subverted with Athena Cykes. The only reason she won't speak is because she's gone temporally deaf due to being in close proximity to when the victim in the murder on the train was shot.
• Everybody Knew Already: Downplayed and Justified with Phoenix's emotional state. Though Layton and Luke haven't seen Phoenix in two years, they can tell how dramatically he's changed, and because Trucy can read people, she can tell that he's, as she puts it, really sad.
• Finishing Each Other's Sentences: The Poe twins do this, which Dr Wallace comments is very annoying.
• Foreshadowing: When Phoenix, Luke and Trucy hear The Minstrel playing a number of showtunes while their investigating the site that Mr Oldfart's body was found, Trucy notes it's odd considering their in Scotland and you would think they'd stick to something Celtic. Phoenix even jokes that he'd like to hear the theme tune of The Steel Samurai. A few chapters later, Phoenix hears The Steel Samurai tune being played by The Minstrel and on a hunch goes to investigate and discovers The Minstrel is Miles Edgeworth, which is also why none of the violin music was of any Celtic songs.
• Foreign Queasine: Downplayed. With Phoenix and Trucy being American, they've never heard of certain British meals, but enjoy them thoroughly.
• Frame-Up: In the first Fatargan trial, Dr Wallace, the village's new doctor, is set up for tampering with Mr Oldfart's medicine by The Oldfarts themselves on orders of The Painted King aka Angela Skellig. Then The Professor is set up for the murder of Mr Oldfart by, yet again, Angela Skellig.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: The backstory of Angela Skellig, the Mayor of Fatargan. Nearly thirty years ago, while looking after her baby daughter Michela on her own, she was an overworked and underpaid housemaid to the owners of the mines. After some time of dealing with her overbearing employers, she overheard her boss talking about the cave paintings left by the Pictish Settlement in the mines which had recently been discovered, so she secretly went to look at them. She used what she found to create the mythos of The Painted King, told anyone who would listen to her, and eventually the belief in The Painted King got so strong, it forced the owners of the mine to close them down and then leave the village, which resulted in her becoming the mayor. Unfortunately she would do anything to keep the origins of The Painted King being quested, as one curious miner found out.
• Ghastly Ghost: It's believed that ghosts haunt the town at night and playing the silver violin at night protects the town from being attacked by them. It turns out to be true.
• Heel–Face Turn: Michela has one of these by the end of the finale trial after reading her mother's private journal and coming to terms with the fact her mother was a manipulative murderer.
• A Hero to His Hometown: A her in this case. Michaela Skellig is beloved by the residents of Fatargan.
• Holy Water: The water of Fatargan is supposed to have some sort of supernatural energy. Jack Hill even comments that vegetables grown using the water are larger than usual. It even manages to recharge the Magatama when Phoenix accidentally drops it in.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: When Layton is explaining how in the caves he found paintings that that told the story of the Painted King, Michaela objects to this, saying no one can believe him if he doesn't have photographs of these painting which depict conquests and massacres. Layton then says to her:

Layton: “Ms Skellig, I only mentioned that I had found paintings of the people who inhabited this region long ago,” Layton stated. “I didn’t mention anything specific about what those paintings showed.”

• It Tastes Like Feet: The Poe brothers make a cup of tea which somehow tastes like Imperial Leather brand soap.
• Jaded Washout: Over time Layton and Luke notice how Phoenix has changed in the last two years since they met, causing them both at different times to call him out for his attitude.
• Locked Room Mystery: In Chapter 16 Angela Skellig is reveled have died from a would do the head, in her locked office, the night Edgeworth was rescued from the Pictish Shrine, unfortunately because it stopped Edgeworth from playing the silver violin throughout the night, the residents of the village belief he is responsible. Though by the end of Edgeworth's trial, it's assumed Angela most likely died from a stroke, during which she fell onto the mantelpiece, hitting her head.
• Lovecraft Country: Fatargan is made out to be this. It's an isolated village with a bus service that only comes every few days becomes the cliff roads are very dangerous to drive on, its very cold and snowy, ghosts roam the village at night, and the villagers worship a cult known as The Painted King.
• Magic Music: The residents of Fatargan believe that to stop The Painted King and his horde from destroying the town, someone must take the role of The Minstrel and play an instrument known as the silver violin at the Pictish Shrine every night to ward him off. of course this is a ploy to keep the townsfolk placid.
  • It's discovered even later in the story that the music actually was calming down the ghosts, and a person with some latent spiritual power playing the silver violin turns out to be the key for putting them to rest for good.
• Mystery Cult: The Painted King. After it's existence is reveled to Phoenix and Layton, the latter theories that if Mrs Oldfart hadn't mentioned it during the trial, it would have likely still been kept a secret from them.
• My Beloved Smother: Deconstructed. Angela and Michela have a strong relationship since they only ever had each other, with Michela's father being completely absent from her life, but thirty something years ago, Angela started a cult based on a lie, which Michaela was aware of, so she and her daughter could have a better life. However, during that time Angela has murdered two people, as far as we know, and lied to Michaela that Miles willing took on the role of The Minstrel.
• Oh, Crap!: A bit after the reveal that Fatargan is actually haunted, Phoenix, Layton and Edgeworth are attempting to wrap up the trial...when Jack speaks up that they haven't had a Minstrel for two nights, the spirits were already more hostile than usual the night before, and it's getting very close to sundown...
• The Owl-Knowing One: Sir Edgar Shelley dePhillips IV, Backbranch MP of the Attic of Lords is an inversion. He's rather pompous.
• Public Secret Message: During his time in Fatargan, Edgeworth left notes in a book on The Painted King at the public library when he did reach on it, hoping someone else would see them, so to find and rescue him.
• Real After All: While the cases that go to trial are not ultimately supernatural and both the Painted King himself and the Cult surrounding him have mundane origins, it turns out the Sacred Well IS just as sacred as advertised, the horde of ghosts milling about every night is NOT a hallucination, and the Minstrel's playing actually WAS keeping them calm.
• Shout-Out: Several throughout the fic:
  • Layton has been on Time Team
  • When asking Dr Wallace if Wrenkley Oldfart is really dead he responses that they are ''morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, positively, absolutely, undeniably and reliably dead''.
• The Reveal: The identity of who the professor is looking for isn't revealed to the reader until Chapter 15, when Phoenix hears a familiar tune being played and along with Layton, Luke and Trucy, follow the music to the Pictish Shrine, where its reveled the one who is playing, and who Layton is looking for is none other than Miles Edgeworth.
• The Runaway: Downplayed with Luke, who never actually told his parent's where he was going or that he be going on another adventure with the Professor.
• Skeptic No Longer: Both Layton and Edgeworth are, not surprisingly, convinced pretty much from the get-go that there's a reasonable explanation for the seemingly supernatural events in the village. Also not surprisingly, Finding out that nope, Fatargan really is haunted causes a bit of a paradigm shift. They both ultimately decide to go with it, although Layton takes it a bit more gracefully than Edgeworth.
  Edgeworth: Damn it all, Wright! I didn’t want to believe this! I didn’t want to believe this place was actually honest-to-god haunted! But you just HAD to expose me to all that Fey family madness, didn’t you?
• The Teetotaler: Phoenix drink of choice "grape juice" is actually non-alcoholic here. The reason behind it has even more depth here than just a running gag in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Ever since losing his badge he's become scared that if he goes for the strong stuff he won't stop, and he knows the last thing Trucy needs is an alcoholic parent.
• Three... Two... One...: The first trial in Fatargan is about to begin, but the prosecution is nowhere in sight and the judge is preparing to declare Not Guilty by default. Nick realizes what's about to happen and surreptitiously counts down on his fingers before Michaela makes her grand entrance with perfect dramatic timing.
• Thriller on the Express: During the train journey to Scotland the professor and Luke meet Trucy who is looking for her daddy (unaware that Phoenix is her daddy), when they find her daddy in the luggage carriage tied up, they also discover that one of the security guards has been murdered. A twelve year old stowaway is found and accused, but not believing that the child could have done it, Phoenix suggests a trial on the train, which they actually do! At the end of the trial it turns out the victim was part of a smuggling ring and was killed by his partner, another security guard. The reason being was that Phoenix had walked into the luggage carriage (where the drugs were being kept) by accident, so the killer knocked him unconscious and then tied him up, and while the partners decided what to do, the victim panicked that things had gone too far, so he was killed.
• Town with a Dark Secret: Fatargan, Oh boy where to start. The town is home to a cult known as The Painted King, a supposed god who unless violin music is played every night will send their army down to the town to destroy it. Several months prior to the start of the story, Miles visited the town and upon him mentioning he plays the violin the mayor and the townsfolk coerced him into playing it every night with the false promise of letting him leave if he does. So by the time Phoenix, Layton, Luke and Trucy find him, he's nearly frozen to death.
• Tragic Keepsake: When The Professor, Luke and Trucy escape a cave-in in Chapter 21, Trucy sadly loses her red hat and cape, which were a gift from her birth father, Zak Gramarye, which she had promised to keep safe until he came back.
• Two Shots from Behind the Bar: Or in this case a shovel (I mean spade) called Caitlin, owned by the Kings' Arms owner, Jack Hill.
• Vehicular Sabotage: The reason Miles ended up playing the part of the minstrel was become their car was deliberately pushed into a gauge and the mayor made up excuses for them to continue playing.
• Villainous Breakdown: Justified with Michela Skellig. Through out the third Fatargan trial, as information about her mother's true nature comes to light, (such as murdering Mr Oldfart and keeping Miles in the village against his will to play the role of The Minstrel) Michela starts to unravel. However, She keeps denying to herself that all these years her own mother has even been lying to her, saying anything her mother did was for the village and its citizens. Then Phoenix gives Michela her mother's diary to read for the court. She doesn't take what's written in it well.
• Wham Line: At the end of Chapter 24, Layton, along with Luke and Trucy, find a stone doorway set into the side of a hill, and after some examination and discussion, Layton reveals to them...
  "Mark the date, both of you. We’ve found the tomb of the Painted King."
  • Also, in Chapter 26, when Dr. Wallace speaks up about Layton's theory that the Sacred Well has hallucinogenic properties.
  Dr. Wallace: On my first day in Fatargan, I took a sample of water from the Sacred Well. I’d heard rumours about it before I came here and I wanted to see what sort of chemical make-up that water had. Like you’ve been suggesting, I wanted to see if there was anything in there which shouldn’t be.
  Prof. Layton: And what did you find?
  Dr. Wallace: Nothing.
• What the Hell, Hero?: As mentioned above, this happens to Phoenix twice. First by Luke, when he puts the theory that Layton could have killed Mr Oldfart, and then a few chapters later by Layton, who having had enough of Phoenix's attitude, tells him that he knows Phoenix must have been through something awful in the last two years since Layton and Luke saw him to make him like he is, that Phoenix shouldn't just keep it to himself and tells Phoenix he can talk to him about it.

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The Frigid Melody: Encore provides examples of:

• The Cameo: Phoenix meets Descole in chapter 2, although he isn't aware of the latter's identity.
• Exact Words: When Luke's parents come in very worried about him, Layton asks if Luke really asked for their permission to go on their latest adventure. He said he did, he just didn't say if they gave him said permission.
• The Stinger: The ending has a rain soaked Luke coming up to Layton's door, holding a baby Katrielle.

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Luke Triton: Ace Attorney provides examples of:

• Ascended Extra: We don't know much about Luke's wife Marina when she originally appeared. Here, she gets focus as Luke's first client and eventual assistant, and their romance is explored.
• Big Damn Heroes: True to form, Phoenix makes a return in Case 5 with an updated autopsy report to help Luke.
• Big Damn Kiss: Marina lays one on Luke, after Alfendi is declared Not Guilty.
• Call-Forward:
  • This won't be the first time Alfendi becomes a prime suspect in a murder.
  • The epilogue has Alfendi and Katrielle deciding they both want to be detectives, setting the stage for their own stories in the future.
• The Cameo: Minus Case 1, each jury panel has one character from the Ace Attorney series serving there. In case order, there's Desiree Delite, Uendo Toniedo, Maggey Bryde, and Larry Butz.
• Cliffhanger: Case 4 ends with Luke and Layton stumbling upon Alfendi standing over a dead body of a guard.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Athena has adopted Apollo's use of saying "I'm fine!" to reassure others.
  • Case 4 features a returning Espella as the defendant, having left Labyrintha to become an analytical psychologist. She also mentions the town now has statues of Layton and Phoenix.
• Everyone Has Standards: After Marlow outs Michela as transgender without her consent, everyone else is the courtroom is outraged at him for revealing something so private and goes into chaos. Even Layton can't keep his composure and encourages Katrielle to attack Marlow.
• First-Name Basis: After Layton comforts Luke during his Heroic BSoD in Case 5 by stating he and Phoenix are not perfect either, Luke starts calling the professor by his first name.
• Foreshadowing: Michela being born male is hinted back in Case 4 when she states she can't endometriosis (a disease involving a uterus).
• Happily Adopted: Alfendi at this point in time hasn't been officially adopted by Layton yet and is only being fostered. By the end of Case 5, though, Layton decides to officially make Alfendi his son and they tearfully hug.
• Heroic BSoD:
  • Played for laughs in Case 4 when Luke sees Layton and Phoenix kissing.
  • Played seriously in Case 5 when Luke realizes he had an innocent man arrested to clear Athena's name back in Case 2. Both Layton and Phoenix reassure him he's still a true lawyer.
• She Is All Grown Up: When Espella's returns, Luke is shocked to see how much she's grown in the last ten years.
• Shipper on Deck: Pretty much everyone loves teasing Luke and Marina about their relationship.
• Ship Tease:
  • It's hinted that Espella has developed a crush on Eve, and in the epilogue she plans to return to Labyrintha to talk to her.
  • Alfendi mentions he hopes he works with Ema in the future once he becomes a detective. He also starts blushing once he meets Trucy for the frist time.
• Shout-Out: Wouldn't be Ace Attorney without them:
  • "The code is now 11037".
  • The victim and culprit in Case 4 are clear references to The Witcher.
  • After Phoenix awakes from his coma, he is found playing on his violin a song from a movie about a Japanese like Alice in Wonderland.
• So Proud of You: Layton mentions in the epilogue he's very proud of what Luke has done.
• The Stinger: The final scene shows Phoenix about to tell Apollo and Trucy they're related, having realized that he can't keep the secret any longer now that he's been in a coma.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Espella's reaction as she realizes she's gonna be arrested and put on trial yet again.
• Villainous Breakdown: The breakdowns return in glorious form:
  • Case 1: Mr. Hart sucks on his pipe so hard he swallows it and lets out a smoke ring that surrounds his face like hangman's noose and he collapses. Later, Gaspen angrily tears off his wig and slams it to bench, declaring he's retiring after the trial is over.
  • Case 2: Dr. Tysle breaks his clipboard.
  • Case 4: Jennifer screams as cards rapidly fly from her sleeves. A full bouquet of roses then appears from her chest and knock her to the floor.
  • Case 5: Marlow starts laughing madly and breaks the witness stand.