A/N: Hey guys! Okay, explanation time. I was supposed to write Phantom Investigation next, buuuuut… during the outlining process, I had a LOT of trouble.

The thing is… I REALLY want to write Professor Layton fanfiction. And this one has been bouncing around in my head since February.

It was originally going to be an Ace Attorney/Professor Layton/Danny Phantom crossover, but there was just WAY too much going on, so it's now a Professor Layton/Danny Phantom crossover. Plus, it wouldn't work with my other story, "The Golden Turnabout," since this is happening DURING that fanfiction. There is the slightest AA elements in the fact that the first part of this chapter is in Kurain Village, and Pearl is a large part of this tale (since Luke and Pearl have been dating for three years now).

You don't have to go read that one, don't worry.

It would be a good idea to read "The Professor's Apprentice" before this one, due to a few characters and some information, but not necessary. If you have any questions, just ask!

Information time: Luke is 23 and freshly graduated college.

Pearl is 21.

Alfendi is 14 (I didn't take this into account when I wrote "The Last Semester").

Flora is 24 and graduated from Gressensheller with a BA in Creative Writing (she also acts as the Professor's assistant).

Danny, Sam, and Tucker are 19 and graduated from Casper High (Tucker is no longer Mayor).

Eric and Loudon Shiner are my OCs.

Okay, I think that's everything! Here we go!

…

Chapter One: The Beginning

Kurain Village sat high above the rest of California, the July sun baking down on the mountain top village. In front of the largest house, Fey Manor, stood Luke Triton.

He shifted his weight slightly from foot to foot, equal amounts excited and nervous. Pearl Fey, his girlfriend of two years, smiled up at him.

"I can't believe you're going on an actual dig!" she said. Luke smiled, taking her hands in his own and letting the two pairs swing between them.

"How many times are you going to say that?" he asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. Pearl giggled, stretching up on her tippy toes, kissing his cheek.

"I'm just excited for you, that's all!" she replied with a grin. Luke grinned at her.

"So am I," he admitted, pulling her closer and giving her a gentle kiss. Pearl responded immediately, and it was a few minutes before they pulled apart.

Just then the sound of a car horn drew their attention to the road. Luke quickly looked back at his girlfriend and pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head.

"I'll see you in a few weeks, Pearl," he breathed softly against her hair. Pearl smiled at that and gave him a tight hug before realizing something.

"Oh!" she pulled back and reached into her long sleeve, pulling something light blue out. Luke looked at it curiously.

"What's that?" he asked.

"A Magatama. One of mine. I've imbued it with Spiritual Magic. Take it with you to keep you safe," she said, pressing it into his hand. Luke looked at it, noticing a thin chain attached, and smiled, putting it around his neck and under his shirt, where it sat against his heart.

"Of course." He hugged her once more. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied without hesitation. With another honk of the car horn and a sigh, Luke bent down and picked up his satchel and duffle bag. He then turned to the car where Dr. Gregory Kingston, his mentor, and Dr. Clark Triton, his father, waited. Pearl watched after him, her hands resting on her own Magatama.

…

"Welcome to Amity Park, Clark, Luke," Gregory said with a warm smile, glancing between his colleague in the passenger seat, and his assistant in the back. Luke looked up from his notebook and looked around at the small town reputed to be the center of ghost activity, and reached up, touching the spot where Pearl's Magatama hung beneath his shirt.

"The Native American artifacts were found in the park, right?" Clark asked, looking over at Gregory, who nodded.

"Yes, by a few archeologist researching something else," he replied. Clark nodded, resting back against the seat and continuing to look around. Luke, however, looked at his book thoughtfully, wondering what this other group could be researching.

He didn't have to wait long. Greg pulled up into the parking lot of the park, and the three men gathered their equipment from the trunk. They then trekked their way across the park until they found the dig, with a tent set up near it. As they moved closer, a man, just a year older then Luke, stepped from the tent, his blond hair shinning in the summer sun. He spotted them and waved. Luke instantly recognized him.

"Eric!?" he called, jogging forward.

"Who?" Greg asked Clark quietly.

"Eric Shiner, son of Professor Loudon Shiner of Gressensheller University. Luke and him were equal parts friends and rivals when we lived in London," Clark explained.

"Luke!?" Eric called, shoving his bangs out of his brown eyes. "The last time I saw you, we were, what, thirteen and fourteen?" he asked, taking in the appearance of his old friend. Luke now stood at 5'10" and was slightly lanky. His hair style was still the same under his blue cap, and his face was plenty tan from the field work he's done.

Eric, on the other hand, was about three inches taller then Luke, more muscular, and a lot tanner, showing that he's been doing digs and field work a lot longer then his friend.

"Yeah, something like that," Luke replied, suddenly aware of the slight, American accent he's picked up in these last ten years. Eric smiled at that, but didn't comment. "What are you doing here, anyway?" Luke asked, tipping his head slightly to the side.

"Well, my father and I are researching the Venrin. Are you with the archeologists from California?"

"Yep. But… what are the Venrin?"

…

Luke wasn't going to lie. The Venrin deeply fascinated him, just as the Azran had when he was younger. However, he wasn't here with his mentor and father to research them.

They were here for the Native Americans.

Dr. Shiner and Eric told the three archeologists about their find; a stash of stone arrow heads. It wasn't nearly as deep down in the ground as the artifacts they were searching for, but it was there and would need to be studied as well.

"In the week it took you guys to get here, I already found a few artifacts," Eric said smugly to Luke as they sat down for dinner that night.

"What!?" Luke gasped, nearly choking on his boiled potatoes. Eric grinned brighter.

"Yes. There was two pieces of jewelry, necklaces, and a tablet I'm currently working on deciphering," he explained. Luke huffed, frowning at his plate. "Dad, meanwhile, is still working out in the field."

"How far have you gotten on deciphering that tablet?" Luke asked.

"About halfway," Eric answered, leaning back in his seat, enjoying watching his old friend/rival squirm. He had always been so jealous when Luke would go on adventures with Professor Layton, it was great finally being able to best him at something. Luke huffed again in response, looking down.

He needed to find something – anything – before Eric finished deciphering that tablet.

"We're going to go back to the hotel after dinner," Clark said, leaning over to Luke. Luke hesitated before nodding.

"Do you mind if I explore a bit? I mean, this is Ghost Capital, USA, and after spending so much time in Kurain…" he trailed off, and Clark smiled.

"Sure. Just be careful. Don't…" Clark let himself trail off, realizing Luke was no longer a kid and didn't need to be told to not stay out too late. Luke just smiled warmly at his dad, giving his arm a squeeze.

"I'll be careful. Don't worry, Dad," he said with a smile.

…

Luke carefully picked his way through the dig, shinning a flashlight just before his feet to make sure he didn't step on anything vital, until he got to the area where the arrow heads were found. He then clicked on his head-lamp, pulled on some gloves, kneeled down, and began to carefully dig.

Working a dig was a lot different then the adventures he had with Professor Layton, but they were still exciting in their own way. The blood pumping adrenaline of hoping for a discovery, the excitement of finding one, the thirst for knowledge of trying to figure out what the discovery meant, everything.

Suddenly, the light from his head lamp flashed off of something between Luke's hands. His eyes widened, and he quickly used a brush to move the dirt off of the metal object until he fully unearthed it. Carefully, he lifted it up to study it closer. It was a circle of metal, almost like a bracelet bangle, or a band, made out of a mysterious, silver metal with emerald green ruins on it.

Definitely not Native American. He sat back, studying the ruins before remembering a few of the artifacts he'd seen in the tent. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a piece of cloth and carefully wrapped the band. He then placed it back into his bag and threaded his way back to the tent.

Inside hung all kinds of maps and topographical charts of the park. One map was broken down into a grid, with different areas marked off, almost like they've already been searched. Luke, however, was more interested in the tablet that Eric had been gloating about earlier. It was laying on one of the desks, a few books around it. Looking closer, Luke realized one of the books was a dictionary of the ruins, translating them into English.

He pulled the band out and flipped through the book, hoping to confirm his suspicion.

Finally, he found what he was looking for. He compared the band to the book, matching the ruins up.

A perfect match.

"So, that's what this means. 'Spirit,' huh?" he muttered to himself, before realizing something.

He'd just discovered a Venrin artifact. And it had to do with spirits. That meant the band was a lot more important then some random piece of Venrin jewelry.

"So, I'll just study it in my down time, figure out what it means, then tell Dr. Shiner and Eric. After all, they're so busy with the tablet, and this is just so interesting!" Luke muttered to himself, rewrapping the band and placing it back in his satchel before leaving the tent. He packed his gloves and headlamp away as he walked out of the park, heading first to a convenience store, then back to the hotel he was staying at with Clark and Greg.

He was almost halfway there when the Magatama against his chest grew warm. "Hm?" He looked down, seeing a faint, green glow through his shirt.

"Squeak, squeak!"

Luke's head snapped up, recognizing a cry for help. The Magatama grew warmer still, and a fluffy gray mouse, chased by a glowing green cat, shot out of an ally next to him.

Luke immediately dove into action, springing forward and scooping the mouse up. The mouse gave a started cry, before realizing he was being saved and clinging to Luke. The cat skidded to a stop and hissed at Luke, his fur fluffing up.

"Scram!" Luke told the cat, who only hissed again. Luke took a step closer, stomping his foot in front of the cat in an effort to scare it off. He realized he couldn't understand it, meaning this was no ordinary cat (the glow didn't help). The stomp, or maybe the flash of green from beneath Luke's shirt, did the trick though, because the cat suddenly turned tail and ran. Luke looked down at his new friend.

"You okay?"

"Sq-squeak!"

"A ghost cat?"

"Squeak…"

"Well, don't worry. That nasty ol' ghost cat won't bother you again," Luke said with a smile. "I'm Luke. What's your name?"

"Squeak."

"It's… Squeak?" Luke asked, the look on his face clearly showing that he thought that to be an unoriginal name. Squeak the mouse nodded proudly, and Luke smiled, carefully putting him down. "Okay. Well, I have to go now, Squeak. Be careful, okay?"

"Squeak! Sq-squeak squeak squeak squeak!" the mouse jumped back onto Luke's foot and quickly climbed up his pant leg. Luke caught him.

"Whoa, what? You want to come with me?"

"Squeak… squeak squeak."

"Well, if you really feel safer with me, who am I to deny you? Alright, come on, Squeak. I have to send a letter first, then back to the hotel," he said with a smile, making his way to a convenience store for paper and an envelope. Squeak squeaked contently, making himself at home in Luke's jacket pocket.

…

A/N: And here's the first chapter! I'm trying to go for longer chapters with this story.

What do you all think of Eric? For Kingdom Hearts fans, I'm trying for a Sora/Riku friendship between Luke and Eric, with Luke as Sora, except… Eric wont go evil, and they don't like the same girl.

But competing wise, they're like Sora and Riku!

And what do you think of Squeak? I know, unoriginal name. I built that into this with Luke's reaction, haha.

Oh, the fluffiness at the beginning of this. It's just so cute!

Okay, I'll stop now… heh…