Twilight Syndrome
Disclaimer:
Professor Layton is owned by Level-5
Danganronpa is owned by Spike Chunsoft and Lerche
Hello, and welcome to my first-ever professor Layton fic. This all started when a fanfic reader asked me if I heard about this title, and out of curiosity I checked it out, where I found out that this series is actually a video game developed by Level-5 and released on the Nintendo DS and 3DS. Although the setting is in London, the fact that it was developed by a Japanese video game developer somehow piqued my interest and I began researching it on Wikipedia and other wiki sites, and there I get to know more about the titular character and his exploits, which border more on adventure mysteries with puzzle elements.
Being new here, I decided to come up with something unique so as not to make this sound like the usual trope of a story based on the video games. It took me a week or so to come up with a story and after some thoughts an idea popped in to my head after watching the movie Batman Returns, which depicts how the Penguin gained an early suffering during his childhood, which was quite similar to Layton when he was orphaned at an early age.
In this debut fic, aside from mysteries, I will be putting some medical drama and a bit of adventure, as well as including certain characters from other series. You'll see what I mean once the next chapters arrive, and I hope you would like the first chapter since this will be the first time that I would do a fic featuring Layton himself.
Lastly, since I have yet to play the game since I do not own a 3DS, I do not know the current setting of the Professor Layton series, so here I will have this fic set in the present time so as to fit it with other present-day series.
Feel free to let me know what settings Layton is (if based in the 80's or 90's).
Well then, time to commence the first chapter, so read on and enjoy!.
Ch. 1: Posuto Middonaito Danpu
Somewhere in London…the time now is 12:35, and the streets are somewhat deserted, as there are no people walking by since everyone is asleep at this time, though there are some policemen making graveyard shifts and patrolling the area to ensure that there are no BAD ELEMENTS roaming around, and so far things are generally peaceful and you can see two policemen are taking a coffee break and talked about how and why they chose this shift even though they would have preferred taking the day shift instead of the night shift.
"Enjoying your shift…?"
"Sort of…"
"Ever wonder why you choose this shift?"
"Well…"
"I sure would have preferred the day shift…"
"Me too…but at least the pay is quite okay…"
"Yeah, well…want to go buy a coffee?"
"Sure…cappuccino tastes great at a time like this…"
As the two cops are sipping their coffee, they did not notice that a car had passed by and sneaked past the two policemen, due to the car's engine not displaying a sound as if it was designed to work that way to avoid detection, and as the two policemen resumed their posts, the car was quite far away and went near a bridge, and you can see an unidentified person alighting from the car and is getting something from the compartment and then threw it off the bridge before heading back to the car and left the scene in a hurry.
With no one around and the scene empty, the incident went unnoticed as the night went on as if nothing has ever happened, and the scene shifts downward where you can see that it was a river, and the object being thrown down slowly descended towards the bottom of the riverbed until it was no longer noticeable and the river went still.
-x-
Several hours later, it was already morning, and the time now is 09:30, and the streets is now full of people brimmed with activities, where vendors are seen selling their wares such as food, clothing and other items that coincide with the latest trend, and you can see the vendors enticing passerby to buy their latest products, and there a new stall is seen where an English merchant is selling what appeared to be an imported gadget, where Luke Triton and Flora Reinhold are passing by, and there the merchant began showing them the gadget which appeared to be a video game cartridge attached to a handheld device with a portable monitor, and showed it to Luke, which seemed to pique his interest.
"Hey, boy…"
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
"What is it?"
"Would you like to buy this game?"
"Is that a latest one?"
"Yes…a new arrival…it is the hottest game that came out from japan…it is popular…and is even making waves in South East Asia…!"
"Hmm…"
The merchant told Luke that this is the latest video game that debuted from Japan and told him that this game is very exciting and it is a very popular platform game that is making waves all over Asia and he spent a lot just to bring a supply here to sell them. The game, according to the merchant, is titled Mighty Action-X, and he said that he is willing to give a discount if Luke chooses to buy it.
Luke decided to test it out, and soon he finds it a bit interesting as Flora watches the game, and yet she felt it was quite generic since all the player has to do is move, attack, and evade. While Luke enjoyed it at first, he soon felt that Flora was right and gives the devices back to the merchant thanking him for letting him test the game but told him he is not interested to buy it, and though dismayed at first, the merchant was fine with it and thanked him for giving it a try.
"Sorry, sir…it is not to my liking…"
"I see…"
"Well, thank you for letting me test it…"
"Oh, that is okay…if ever you changed your mind…you can find me here…"
"Sure…I'll think about it…and if I change my mind, I might consider buying your games…"
"Thanks, kid."
"You're welcome."
"see you…"
After that, Luke and Flora walked around the park and they both sat at a bench which is near the river, and it is shown that the place Luke and Flora are currently at turns out to be Thames River, and there the two friends began talking about their recent adventures while Luke is always praising his mentor, Herschel Layton, and told Flora that one day he will become like Layton which Flora smiled and said that as long as he learns a lot from the professor, Luke would surely inherit a lot from him.
As the two chatted along (both are aged 13), a strong wind blew and Luke's cap was thrown off towards the river, and Luke frantically tries to retrieve it but Flora cautions him that he might fall off and get drenched, but he told her that he will get it back, saying that he can't function well without it, and as Luke tries to grab it, Flora held onto his legs as he tries to use his arms to get it, though he himself is in danger of falling over.
"Okay…"
"Luke, be careful…!"
"I know…"
"Maybe we should get help…"
"It's fine…I can manage…!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah…okay…almost got it…!"
"…"
By then Luke managed to get his cap back, and Flora helped him get back up, and there she noticed something on the cap and pointed it out, where it shows that several maggots are on the cap, and Luke frantically flap his cap to get the maggots off, but then Flora notices that more maggots are starting to float onto the water surface, and Luke observed it and gets a feeling that something is not right, and he tells Flora to call for a police and she ran off, and several minutes later, a few policemen arrived and noticed the maggots though they seemed to dismiss it saying that there is nothing worth looking, but then Herschel Layton, aka Professor Layton, arrived with Flora and asks Luke what happened, and there he told him what he thinks, and Layton glanced at the river and asks a policeman to get a volunteer to go down the river to see if there is something down there that causes the maggots to be spawned, and though the policeman appeared reluctant, he decided to accept it and called for a scuba diver to check out the river, and the diver went downward to find out, and several minutes later he came back up and told him he found several items that are there, each wrapped in a blanket and told the police he needs a rope to pull them up.
"I found something at the bottom!"
"What is it?"
"Not sure…they're wrapped in blankets!"
"Is there anything you need?"
"Ropes…lots of ropes!"
"Is that all?"
"Yes!"
"Very well!"
Layton listened to the diver's words with intent as he suspected something that may be worse than what he initially suspect, and several more minutes later, the police came with a long rope and the diver went back down to tie the items together and signaled the police to pull it up, and after several more minutes the items were brought up, about ten of them, and there the police and the diver grimaced as they smelled something FOUL coming from the items wrapped in blankets, and Layton tied a cloth around his mouth and nose and untied the blanket, where it revealed to be a corpse of a child, already in a state of decomposition.
Luke and Flora backed away in surprise seeing several maggots coming from the corpse's skull, and the police began cordoning the area and checked the remaining nine, and they are also revealed to be corpses of children, already decomposed and maggots swarming out. Layton clenched his fists seeing that this may be a case of murder as the victims were thrown at the Thames River and wondered who would do something this cruel.
Luke then approached Layton, asking what does he think of this, and Layton said that this may depend on the autopsy being performed, and he is weighing that this may be a case of homicide or murder, seeing that nine bodies have been discovered, and told Luke that the discovery may be coincidental due to his cap falling off the river, only to indirectly discover the bodies due to the maggots getting caught on his cap.
"Really, professor…?"
"That is what I deduced so far, Luke…this may be a coincidence…and perhaps this was meant to be…"
"…"
"If not for your cap getting caught in this, these bodies would never be discovered…"
"Who would do something like this…?"
"I do not know…if given the chance, I would like to investigate this…"
"Do you think this is…?"
"No, Luke…this is far from over…"
Layton, Luke and Flora watches on as the police began to take the corpses to the morgue to find out who the victims are and how to contact the relatives, and Layton had a feeling that this may be far from over should more bodies be discovered as he overheard the police captain instructing his men to get volunteer divers to search most of Thames River to see if there are more bodies being dumped there.
Flora commented to Luke that this may have been a coincidence or if this was meant to be, and he wondered if this is the case, yet he could not help but feel bad that the victims were innocent children and wondered who would do something this horrible to them, which she nodded and comforted Luke though she herself felt bad about it.
-x-
Meanwhile, the scene shifts at Heathrow Airport, where passengers are seen arriving and disembarking, some heading towards the departure area and the other towards the exit of the airport, and it was lively as you can see the passengers are greeted by either family members or friends, and they were pleased to see each other after arriving.
"Hey!"
"Jolly Rogers! It's been years!"
"Hello there!"
"Welcome back, mate!"
"Ha-ha!"
"I sure missed you, old chap!"
"Finally…I am home!"
"Let's get married!"
The scene then shifts to a certain passenger, who arrived, and after showing his passport, he was given clearance and is heading for the luggage area, and the guard glanced at the said passenger, and the other guard also glanced at the person, noting that he appeared to be a teenager of Asian descent, and noted that he is about 14 years old, though his height suggested that he may be 13, as his height is quite below the average height of adults.
"Excuse me, young lad…"
"Yes?"
"May I see your passport, please…"
"…"
"Hmm.."
"Well?"
"Okay, here you go…"
"…"
The passenger in question is shown and he is identified as Nagisa Shingetsu, a native of Japan, and he came to London to meet with someone as the contact is said to be a medical equipment supplier, and despite his age, his papers showed that he is a medical prodigy specializing in radiology, and while his attire consists of light grey plaid jacket over a blue shirt, and pants that match the jacket. He also wears a brown-orange scarf and a bowtie underneath it.
However, he is also seen wearing a doctor's coat, and after getting his luggage, he went to the inspection area where another guard inspects his belongings, and while the guard sees that it consists of only clothes, he noticed two strange items, one that resembled a belt buckle with a lever, and the other a gaming cartridge that has the tag BANG-BANG SHOOTING labeled on it, and the guard asks Nagisa about the two items.
"Would you explain to me these two items?"
"They're a gaming console and a game cartridge."
"Really…?"
"Yes."
"And you brought them here…?"
"Yes…I play games when I have vacant time…"
"Really…?"
"Yes."
Nagisa made an alibi assuring that the two items are harmless, and the guard, despite showing doubt, accepted it and allowed Nagisa to leave, and soon Nagisa left the airport and hailed a taxi, where he told the driver to take him to an undisclosed location, and the taxi left heading east, and Nagisa is looking forward to his next destination.
To Be Continued...
Hope you liked the opening chapter, as this is the first time I made a fic that has a possible murder case involved. I apologize if this may not be up to your liking, though I promise that the plot would keep you interested as the upcoming chapters will have lots of suspense and mysteries.
Also, a character from another Japan-made series showed up. He is from another mystery-themed game Danganronpa, though the character who appeared at the end of this chapter is based on the spin-off game, Danganronpa: Another Episode (aka Ultra Despair Girls). Though what role he would play, it will gradually be revealed in the upcoming chapters.
Preview:
Layton, Luke and Flora are about to get embroiled as more bodies have been discovered, and soon they gathered clues as to what caused the deaths, and are establishing a motive to this bizarre case.
See you in 2 to 3 weeks…
Reviews are welcomed...