Professor Layton had only known Travis for over six months, but this is not the first time that he had to 'diffuse' him... Every time that Travis would lose his temper, Professor Layton would usually tell him not to act like an animal. Since Travis was literally an intelligent animal and hated being treated like no better than a circus attraction, this would actually work.

Emmy gathered the pieces of her camera in her hands, "Well, so much for my scoop...", and she was still angry about her camera, "Professor? Please tell me that animal isn't your newest assistant!"

The professor could tolerate angered individuals to an extent, "I am aware that Travis is not as 'optimistic' as any good assistant would be, but do not let his appearance deceive you. I have seen his knowledge of the supernatural firsthand, and this mystery may indeed involve the supernatural. He may prove to be very helpful to our investigation despite his... shall I say... differences in handling certain situations."

Emmy finished gathering the pieces of her camera and put them in a bag, "Is that a nice way of saying that this 'Travis' belongs in a cage?"

As said before, Travis did not take kindly to being treated like a monster, "I'm not a psychopath! I just don't like it when humans go out of their way to piss me off!"

The professor did a better job explaining how Travis was unique, "As Travis is literally a bear, he may become quite vicious when angered. He may be quite intelligent for a bear, but that does not change his natural instincts. In other words, please do not go out of your way to anger him."

Emmy gave a stern look at Travis again, "Oh, I can handle myself. I'll have you know I didn't get to be Head Photographer at the World Times for nothing! And don't you dare use such horrible language with me or call me 'fragile' ever again or you'll get a good taste of my roundhouse kick!"

Travis nearly burst out laughing, "Seriously?! Do you know how horribly impractical trying to kick someone in the face is?"

Emmy obviously thought otherwise, "A roundhouse kick is one of the many forms of martial arts that I can use to knock a thug out cold!"

Travis wasn't even close to impressed, "I'm guessing that these 'thugs' that you speak of just stand around holding their arms out and acting like they're tough while you take the time to wind up a kick... You are human, right?"

Emmy responded like anyone who was asked a stupid question, "I am. So what?"

Travis had a deadpan response, "In that case, almost any other animal in existence would consider you fragile as hell..."

Emmy looked like she was ready to kick Travis in the face, "And just why is that?"

The professor was understandably annoyed at the childish bickering, "My word... Is this truly necessary?"

"Do you still believe that bringing him with you was a fine idea?"

The professor had his reasons for bringing Travis along, "Since this puzzle may involve the undead, Travis's unique skills may greatly improve Cattleya's and the town's chances for survival... assuming they do not find one of the hundreds of ways to anger him first..."

"So you plan to simply to leave things to chance? I must say that as an English gentleman, this is a trifle low for your standards, Hershel."

"We have only just arrived in town last night and have barely learned anything of the situation. I need more information before I can form a proper solution. In the meantime, we must take the time to learn all we can. Though, I admit that this brief detour is pointless, but I suppose if this little battle of wits remains with just wits, then there is ultimately no harm done."

"Fair enough. Oh, and I've almost forgotten! Since you've met her before, I've taken the time to adjust your eyes again. You'll perceive Emmy's aura as a yellow color."

Travis actually several reasons as to why he thought humans were fragile compared to him, "You've asked for it... As any human, your skin has absolutely no resistance to harsh weather or natural buffering to physical blows whatsoever..."

Emmy didn't really care about that one, "I don't need thick fur to protect me. I have my good old martial arts skills!"

Travis still wasn't impressed, "Uh-huh... And as any human, your bones can break and your muscles can tear by something as flimsy as a crowbar..."

Emmy didn't really care about that one either, "Again, I can just avoid getting hit. Besides, I bet you've never took a blow from a crowbar!"

Travis rebuked that claim, "Actually, I have. Many times... And I suffered no lasting damage against a crowbar, or a sledgehammer, or a kick in the groin, or even a few low caliber bullets in my head...

Emmy found that a little hard to believe, "Now you're just making up fantasies."

Travis rebuked that claim as well, "You only think it's fantasy because you can't realistically fathom the idea of resistance to actual pain. As any human, your entire body has so many nerves inside it, so you basically have no tolerance to actual pain whatsoever..."

Now Emmy really couldn't believe Travis's claims, "You say it like you can't get hurt at all! Sure, I can feel pain, but broken bones can be mended and wounds can be healed. My leg was broken only a week ago and look at me now!"

Travis still wasn't impressed (even though recovering from a broken leg in only a week is remarkable in of itself), "And I recovered from getting my left eye plucked out in only a day..."

Emmy noticed the large scar over Travis's left eye, "Your eye..?"

Travis poked it with his paw nail, "It's a prosthetic."

Now Emmy was actually surprised, "Well then... That's... uh..."

Travis continued giving out more reasons for him not being threatened by her or any other human, "And as any human, I'm sure you have certain phobias over something completely stupid which can cause you a mental blow just by you simply looking at it..."

Emmy blurted this out loud, "Arachnophobia is not stupid! Many people go through their whole lives having a fear of spiders and live their lives just fine."

Travis was getting bored now, "No, many humans have that... By the way, I didn't actually suggest 'spiders'. I meant things like blood or mutilated corpses."

Like most humans, Emmy really detested the idea of blood, "Well, of course I wouldn't be comfortable around such a gory sight! You're saying that wouldn't scare you either?"

Travis shook his head, "Actually, it really wouldn't. I've spent my cub years accustomed to the gore and savagery of the wilderness. I learned how not to give a damn. Finally, as any human, I'm sure your so-called 'status' as the dominant species has rendered you arrogant enough to be completely incapable of having a practical counter for any of these weaknesses at this very moment... Am I right so far?"

Emmy wanted to make a snide comeback, but all that came out was, "A-arrogant?! You know what... Just shut it."

Travis silently rolled his eye like he made his point.

The professor interrupted the squabble (again), "Well, it was very nice to see you again, Emmy. Forgive me for interrupting your little battle of wits, but we shouldn't keep the Aurics waiting for answers for longer than necessary."

Emmy calmed down nearly instantly, "I suppose you're right, Professor. It was nice meeting you all again.", and then reverted to her anger with Travis before leaving, "This isn't over, you hear me..."

Travis acted like he was about to fall asleep, "Yea, whatever..."

Brenda didn't enjoy the petty squabble very much, "Well, that was unnecessary."

Travis felt the same way, "No kidding... This had nothing to do with the Aurics or the undead, so let's just pretend that little detour never happened."

Luke told Travis what she really meant, "My mum was talking about you."

Flora felt the same way, "All she wanted to do was take a few pictures. You didn't have to act like that!"

Travis already knew that actually, "I already told her... First it's just pictures, then the internet, then it leads to events that annoy me and drop the town's average IQ. I just went over that."

The professor interrupted the bickering for a third time now, "Enough. Now then, the only consistent information we have to work with is that the hauntings supposedly occurred about a couple of weeks ago and have been persistent since. Travis? Do you have any suggestions?"

Travis took a moment to think about this, "Well, if it's only one soul, then it probably isn't an outbreak, so there shouldn't be any otherworldly dimensions this time around. Maybe someone died a cruel or unusual death in town recently?"

The professor had his own question for that, "But what would that have to do with Cattleya Auric?"

Travis just shrugged his arms, "I don't know..."

The professor knew the first place to start, "In that case, the best place to begin is the local police department. If there is anyone that has evidence of someone who may have died roughly two weeks ago, it would be them. Since I have Baron Auric's approval, we should simply be given access to autopsy records."

Brenda decided to return back to the hotel for now, since she was only going to be there for a vacation anyway, "Well, I would best be heading back now. Remember Luke, don't ever put yourself at risk. When the professor tells you to remain safe, you do exactly what he says."

Luke wasn't fond of being coddled from his mother anymore, "I know, mum... I'm fourteen..."

Brenda hugged Luke for leaving, "Oh, I know that... It's just... you're the only family I have left."

Luke had to straighten his hat after being hugged, "I'll be safe, mum. I promise!"

The professor reassured her as well, "Brenda, we will be sure to check back regularly."

The rest of the group readied themselves for a quick trip to the police station, and getting in the police station was the easy part, despite the fact that the sign wasn't in English. The hard part came after getting in the police station. Normally, you would expect police to be professional and dedicated and for the most part, this is true. However, in most of Layton's adventures, the higher-ranked members of the police force usually have quirky features about them that make them stand out and this police chief was no exception...

She appeared to be about eighty to ninety years old, but was quite fit and agile for her age. Her white hair was short, but her eyebrows and nose were very long and exaggerated. She almost looked like a caricature in an artist's drawing, "Ah! Fresh meat!"

The entire group was immediately feeling disturbed...

The professor was the first to ask, "Yes, well... I am Professor Hershel Layton. Baron Auric has given me the task of solving a mystery involving a possible paranormal haunting affecting the heir to the Auric throne. A consistent possibility is that this may be caused by someone who was died roughly two weeks ago. May I have access to your autopsy records?"

Obviously, a police chief wouldn't just give free access to someone she personally never met, "Sorry, but I can't allow that. You may have the fine figure of a gentleman, but I can't just let anyone go messing with our records. Besides, there hasn't been a single death in town for a couple of months now."

After she just said that, all of the colors of everything from the professor's point of view have inverted with the exception of the elderly police chief herself until she was surrounded in pitch black darkness. Then, what appeared to be several chains coming from nowhere came in between the professor and the police chief followed by what appeared to be a red lock, "What in the world..?"

It doesn't seem like anyone else noticed any physical changes since Luke wondered why the professor was acting so strange, "Professah? Are you all right?"

The professor didn't hear Luke right now. All that the professor could perceive is the police chief, his own thoughts, and the other soul inhabiting his body...

"This certainly came sooner than I expected. That little red lock you see over the police chief is called a 'Psychelock'. Psychelocks are used as a metaphysical barrier to withhold information."

"Psychelocks..? I've heard that term used somewhere before... Ah! Of course! I traveled with an eccentric lawyer named Phoenix Wright at one point. He would perceive these psychelocks whenever someone he questioned was directly lying to him with the aid of a spiritual matagama."

"But, you do not possess any matagama and yet you can perceive this psychelock right now. It must be my own presence within your body that allows you to see it."

"I am aware that Mr. Wright's matagama originates from a family of spirit mediums known as the Fey Clan. Perhaps the use of the matagama and Truesight is similar to one another..."

"If that is the case, then this police chief is lying to you."

"That would seem to be the case, but for what purpose? I have only just begun my investigation. I have no evidence that could link anyone, let alone a police chief, to any suspicious activities."

"Psychelocks can appear in a number of one to five locks. The difficulty of breaking these locks and hearing the truth is determined by the number of locks. Since there is only one lock present, then that could mean that the police chief's reason for withholding information may not necessarily be corrupt or personal. You may not even need real evidence here... Simple coercion should suffice for breaking single locks."

"I understand. Let's see what I can learn from her..."

Luke, Flora, and Travis were all awkwardly staring at the professor and the police chief basically staring at each other for over five minutes without saying a word...

And with that, I reintroduced an old mechanic: psychelocks. For those that do not know, psychelocks do not originate from the Professor Layton series. They actually appear in the Phoenix Wright series and since Professor Layton has had a crossover game with Phoenix Wright, I figured that there should be no reason why he shouldn't be able to use it himself. As always, feel free to review!