Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Phoenix wright since they belong to Capcom. I don't own the Professor Layton characters either since they belong to Level 5 games. I do own the idea, though, since nobody else had put an idea on fanfiction yet.

Carols of the bells in Labyrinthia.

The bitter cold was the very first thing that greeted the group as they made their ways outside the bakery with excitement and enthusiasm plainly written across each and every single one of their faces, low winds left a high-pitched whistle in their ears and they could each feel the ice bite their exposed skin and threaten to leave them completely numb.

They were all dressed in their winter wear with scarves and thick winter coats and even a pair of gloves -they were each very well-equipped for heading out into the chilling snowy wintry paradise that unknowingly awaited them, and they all noticed the change the second they all walked out the front door: the group of Eve the cat, Constantine, Phoenix, Professor Layton, Luke, Maya, Espella, Eve, Barnham and Mrs. Eclair all noticed instantly that the village had been decorated with flashing lights and handmade tinsel and not just that but it seemed that there was someone whom had been anticipating their venture outside.

Mayor Cantabella, with his owl, Hoot, perched proudly atop his left shoulder with a somewhat proud gleam in his huge eyes, was smiling the utmost warmest of smiles at the unusual group and could hardly resist the urge to stroll right up towards them and almost immediately embraced Espella whom couldn't help but return the loving sign of affection from her father.

The Mayor lovingly kissed his daughter on the forehead, twirling her long blonde hair against his slender fingers, as he soaked in this precious embrace with his baby girl.

"Merry Christmas, Espella..."

Espella couldn't help but sigh contentedly as she closed her eyes and melted in her daddy's loving yet strong arms that were rather worn due to old age yet she cared little for that detail.

"Merry Christmas, daddy..."

It felt as though a whole eternity passed until they parted and the mayor of Labyrinthia glanced at the rest of the group whom each had a look of silent adoration for having witnessed such a lovely moment because since during all the time they had spent in Labyrinthia they hadn't once seen such a heart-warming display (or any positive emotion for that matter) come from Arthur Cantabella. Seeing such a moment was so warm that it may as well have made the ice melt.

Mr. Cantabella exhumed a slight sigh, his breath a stream of mist, and then raised a closed fist to cover his mouth while he cleared his throat and just decided to move on to a different subject, only if it would preserve some of the remaining dignity he had left. "Ahem. There's some new faces to Labyrinthia whom have wished to spend the holidays with us...perhaps you know them?"

With that said, the ex-Storyteller took a few steps aside to reveal that two people were stood behind him this whole time.

It was a couple, a man and a woman.

They each carried a stack of neatly-wrapped gifts that were nicely tied with a ribbon and they both had red noses that had been left reddened due to the cold that nipped at the tips and they wore pretty heavy wintertime clothing yet their faces were pretty identifiable. The man had a dirty blonde beard that had somewhat sharpened points but he had rather seriously widened eyes and a familiar smile that was both authoritative and quite inviting, while the woman had soft-looking brownish green hair which had curled down by her shoulders and had familiar onyx eyes and she had a familiar round-shaped head.

Phoenix and Maya looked to one another in confusion.

Just who were these two?

They both glanced to the Professor but were stunned when they saw a silent smile spread on his lips as he stared at the scene with knowing eyes. When Phoenix opened his mouth to inquire what was going on and why he was smiling like he was right now, the British gentleman silently put a finger to his very own lips and then pointed right down at Luke, shushing the lawyer and Maya in order to prevent either of them from speaking a word and just let the scene speak for itself.

Time stood still for Luke as he stared up at the two adults with eyes as wide as dinner plates and his jaw had practically dropped to the ankle-deep blanket of snow below to leave his mouth hanging wide open and quivering as he tried his best to contain the sobs and sniffles that threatened to escape as he tried so hard to convince himself that what he was seeing was real.

This couldn't be real...could it?

"M-Mum...?" Luke asked with his voice quaking just as much as his body was whilst he glanced between the two adults stood in front of him. "D-Dad...?"

Everyone except the Professor were stunned into the purest form of silence when they heard those words leave the boy's mouth, surely their ears must have misheard due to how cold it was...! Was that really Luke's parents? Were these the same parents whom had abandoned Luke with the Professor for the holidays? We're these really the same people who made Luke have a major emotional meltdown several days before due to how much they left and wounded him by not spending Christmas with him.

The woman's eyes swelled with tears and she nodded her head down at the boy.

"Yes, darling," She confirmed his silent suspicions, "We're he-"

Before she could finish that sentence, she was immediately cut off by her son whom had lost every single shred of self control. Luke lunged at the two adults and somehow managed to wrap each arm around their necks and nuzzling his tear-stained face in between their faces. He had been rendered a sobbing yet snivelling mess and his face had become so reddened due to the emotions he'd been forced to restrain for the sake of being a gentleman this Christmas time.

"MUM, DAD!" He cried.

The two startled parents hesitated for a millisecond before they closed their eyes and each wrapped their arms around their son to return his snuggle.

While the Professor watched this heart-warming scene with a rather big grin plastering against his face, the attorney in blue and Maya's brains were reeling with so many questions about what on earth was happening right now; why did Luke's parents show up on Christmas Day? How come they didn't come with him to Labyrinthia to begin with? Why have they been putting the poor lad through so much pain lately by not spending as much time as they should've? Why did they seemingly neglect Luke by working so much at all? And why NOW?

"Wh-Why...? What are you doing here? I thought you had to work..."

Everyone noticed a hint of bitter resentment making itself known at the last part of that sentence, it sounded like Luke was still (and sort of justifiably) miffed that his parents had just left him with the Professor to spend the holidays. He loosened his death grip on them, lowering himself to the ground whilst he let go of their necks and then glanced away from the both of them and folded his arms across his chest with a hint of betrayal in the dark scowl he wore.

The Professor had noticed that his apprentice had a facial expression that was most ungentlemanly yet he decided against intervening since this had to be a chat between both Brenda and Clark and their son.

The young apprentice gentleman's scowl softened just a tad when he saw as his mother and father lower themselves to stand on their knees to be at eye level and felt as the former gently placed her hand under his chin and guided his attention back to her face and he felt a slight pang of guilt hit him in the heart when he saw the hurt on his beloved mother's face and the tears welling inside the onyx eyes that he'd inherited from her.

"Luke...I am so, so sorry. We were selfish to pick our jobs over you and we should've been steadfast in our decision to spend the holidays with you instead of just dropping you off with the Professor like always," Brenda spared a small glare to a rather ashamedly sheepish Clark when she said this, "But we are here now and I want us to spend this time as a family because I believe that's what the Christmas holidays are all about..."

Luke looked at his father and his scowl deepened just slightly, he wanted to hear an apology from him mostly because he felt that his father was really the one who picked his job over spending time with him. Especially back in Misthallery...

Clark sighed deeply and started to speak in a low tone while looked the boy dead in the eye and wore the most serious look he could muster, trying his hardest to nonverbally convey how sorry he felt to have let his boy harbour so much pain during their stay in Misthallery when he first became the Professor's apprentice.

"Luke...I want you to know that I am sincere when I tell you that I'm not going to run away from my responsibilities as your father anymore, back in Misthallery I hurt you even though I had good intentions and I should've talked to you instead of just letting you hide away in your room. Your mother's right, though, Christmas is all about spending time together and I really want to spend time with you."

Luke was silent for several moments as he pondered over what he'd just been told. He did want to forgive his father yet he wasn't even sure whether he'd be able to after everything that had happened yet it was after sparing a single glance to Espella and her father and he knew that maybe he could find it in his heart to forgive his own father because it was Christmas. He nodded reluctantly and Clark smiled softly in return as his eyes hardened with determination.

"Thank you, Luke! I promise I'll try and do better."

Luke couldn't hold back a smile of his own and nodded with much more affirmation then the one he gave a moment ago. He felt a bit better now that he'd started forgiving his dad for his past misgivings and his soul felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of it and he felt much better about it.

"Me too."

Everybody smiled, happy to see that the Triton family were now on better terms and were now to join in on the festivities. They knew that Luke had been bothered by all of these emotional burdens throughout this whole holiday season and now he had been freed from them, it felt good to see that!

Then Mr. Canterbella decided to speak up and interrupt the moment, a rather sly smile making itself known on his face and making his ivory moustache bristle. "Now that we have those out of the way, I would like the lot of you to accompany me if you'd please."

Phoenix, the Professor, Luke and Maya all looked at one another in confusion since none of them could help but wonder was going on now? They decided to do as the mayor of Labyrinthia had asked of them and accompany him yet they couldn't help but take notice of the rather evil smiles that had formed on Eve, Barnham, Mrs. Eclaire's and even Espella's faces as they started to accompany the small group and follow them closely.

Whatever was about to happen, they were quite obviously in on it.

The townsfolk and Mayor Canterbella led the heroes down the street and had flocked them like a herd of sheep. They all murmured to each other in hushed tones excitedly while the Professor nor Phoenix could help but start feeling a rather overwhelming urge of excitement and fear burst through them. Even though the evil grins that Barnham, Eve and Espella were wearing were quite discomforting, they couldn't help but wonder if they were about to get some sort of huge surprise.

They were.

It was upon reaching the town square where Mayor Cantabella had escorted the lawyer, the spirit medium, the gentleman and his apprentice and the rest of the town to show them a rather huge circular structure that had been built into the ground but other than that...there was really nothing there and Phoenix, Professor Layton and the others couldn't help but feel just a tad disappointed in just being brought all the way across the town just for such a saddening turnout.

"...That's it? Ow!" Maya asked sniffly, but she flinched when she received a sharp jab in the ribs by Phoenix's hard elbow.

Mayor Cantabella couldn't help but smirk smugly as he stepped to the front of the crowd, chuckling to himself at how ignorant his visitors had become since their first and previous visit.

"Heh, have you lot honestly forgotten what this town used to be known for?"

The Professor nodded, not getting the point as he tilted his head to one side in utter confusion. He decided to answer the question directed at them all and he tried his best to not give himself a headache from all these surprises and confusion. "Labyrinthia was a town built on illusions but what does that have to-"

The mayor snapped his fingers and, within an instant, a large group of the town's people had raced to the left side of the circular structure and had started to grab curiously at thin air and tug as hard as they could at it. The group started to notice something golden seemed to come out from beneath an invisible covering and it turned out that there was a huge invisible cloak that was hiding what had been concealing beneath it, making it appear invisible when it wasn't.

It turned out that the real surprise was built on the top of the circular structure that was on the ground!

Phoenix and the Professor stared up at the object in awe and wonder, mouthes agape.

"Woooow..."

"Goodness me..."

It was a golden statue of the both of them stood back-to-back, each of them pointing dramatically in an "Objection" pose with serious facial expressions sculpted expertly on to their faces and the likeness was so uncanny- the fact that the statue was golden was more amazing! They had supposed that Labyrinthia appeared to have an unlimited supply of gold so it really shouldn't have come as such a shock that they'd make a statue made of it...but it was shocking beyond belief that it was a statue of them!

Eve turned to face the English gentleman, the American attorney and their companions with a rather smug smile tugging at the corners of her lips whence she gestured a golden claw to the magnificent statue. "The townspeople of Labyrinthia crafted this statue to commemorate the fact that you both saved us from a dark fate, and also decided to make it as -what you would call- a 'Christmas present' from all of us."

Maya's eyes watered at the sight and she clasped her hands together and bobbed her head in an enthusiastic manner. She had never seen Nick look so good in gold and she couldn't keep from feeling proud of him, she had to wonder if her sister would be proud too? The spirit medium's heart swelled and she smiled up at the giant gold statue.

"It's awesome, guys!" She exclaimed, "Can you make a statue of Luke and me next?"

"You mean "A statue of Luke and I", Maya?" Phoenix corrected.

Maya glowered at the lawyer in blue for being so pedantic, yet at the same time she couldn't help but grin as she just couldn't stay mad at the goofball of an Ace attorney -not on Christmas anyway. She reached over and gave him a playful slap across his shoulder even if it was weakened due to how sick she was, and Phoenix smiled back at her with a good natured smile making itself known on his facial features.

Eve shrugged her shoulders whilst still smiling. "Perhaps if we've got enough gold left..."

Maya pumped her fist as she just decided to take the answer as a "yes".

Meanwhile, the Professor gave everybody a sincere smile as he held his arms behind his back and gave a gentlemanly bow while he said as loudly as he could so everybody could hear him. "Thank you so much for this fabulous gift, we appreciate the gesture of all of you..." He reached a hand up and scratched the back of his head whilst trying his best trying to hide the fact that his cheeks was blushing bright red, muttering to himself. "...Although it is a tad embarrassing."

Then Luke trotted right up to the Professor and everybody turned their lines of focus on him to see what the boy wanted, because they watched as he reached up and gripped Professor Layton's coat sleeve and smiled up at him hopefully. His little onyx eyes were filled with hope as they were like bright lights aglow in the dark. He asked with a tone overflowing with unwavering cheerfulness.

"Professor? I know that we have been doing this a lot during these past couple of days but I was wondering if we could please sing one last song? With the whole entire town?"

The Professor looked back down at Luke's adorable little face and found that he was unable to deny the boy anything when he made such an endearing expression on his round little face, and he couldn't deny that his proposition was a great one and he took a survey, glancing around at everybody whom all smiled right back at him in support of his brilliant apprentice's idea. He looked back down at Luke and smiled warmly, his dot-like eyes agleam with pride.

"That's a brilliant idea, my boy."

Everyone nodded in agreement and watched as Luke grabbed a violin out of nowhere and rested the lower part of the wooden instrument against his shoulder, then he started to stream the bow across the strings with an expert and very gentle hand. He provided a seamlessly, beautifully-performed melody from the musical instrument and started a forward March that everyone started to follow.

Phoenix, Maya, Professor Layton and Luke all took the lead in their march as the Professor started to sing with a rich baritone voice that flowed through the air.

"Lanterns lighting up the town,
Peace on earth is all around,
Everything is calm on Christmas Eve."

The group carried on marching with Espella with her cat nestled comfortably in her arms, Barnham and Eve, Arthur Cantabella, Luke's parents, Mrs. Eclaire, and a good portion of the town following right behind them as they waited for a good opportunity to join in the merry melody that their heroes were singing with such grandeur.

The Professor gripped his hat with two fingers and closed his eyes as he felt the cold wind brush against his face and leave a high-pitched whistle in his ears.

"There's goodwill in the air tonight,
Angels sing by candle light,
their voices carried on the wiiiind."

He opened his eyes and narrowed them determinedly as he grabbed a nearby pole from a stand they were passing and twirled it in his fingers expertly when he took an opportunity to race ahead of the slow-marching group and started to use his newly-acquired pole as a baton while he led the townsfolk behind him while they formed a proper parade while they grabbed random instruments and started to add some percussion.

"When carol singers gather round,
When I hear that festive sound,
I wanna join with them and sing!"

The Professor cast a glance to Phoenix still marching a little ways behind, the attorney shooting him an uncertain yet nervous smirk in return, and he felt a bit of pity because while the gentleman was just too much into the festivities to care about things like this, he should've guessed that spontaneously breaking out into song was a little unorthodox for someone as serious as Mr. Wright. He was very much obliged to make a quick dash back towards him and wrapped an arm of encouragement around him as he continued to sing, a look of patience on his rectangular face.

"They sing a merry song and we all sing along,
A festive melody that tells us Christmas time is here.
See the stars tonight; they're shining bright,"

Nobody had quite noticed that they had moved on from the village on to the marketplace, where there was a stall being minded by Rogue whom was selling wooden goblets of very-slightly-alcoholic-cider that had a slight scent of peppermint. She was being assisted by Cutter, whom had become her business partner after the whole deal with Labyrinthia.

"Because it's Christmas time and it's my favourite time of year."

Rogue happily handed Phoenix, Maya, the Professor and quite a few other citizens each a class of specially-made festive cider that had been brewed at the tavern where she'd catered for all who lived in this town -drunk or otherwise. She was especially happy to help the heroes of the town as they passed by in their special musical moment.

Phoenix felt quite nervous yet he started to sing while the Professor passed him the pole/baton. He couldn't keep himself from trembling and he almost felt a cold sweat trickle down his face, despite it being so frigid cold and wintry.

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Give me mistletoe; it's the season to be jolly,
Wrapping presents, writing cards,
helping decorate the tree,
But there's one thing that makes it all for me."

Phoenix gripped hard on to the baton and, encouraged by all the warm glanced everybody was giving him, started to sing louder and his voice had less of a noticeable tremble as he started to make an attempt at whirling the pole in his fingers...even if it had ended up whacking him hard on his spiky head. He grimaced in pain and his head ducked in between his shoulders when he felt the metal strike his poor head, he was sure it would leave a nasty lump on his head...

"Ow!" He gave a slight hiss through clenched teeth.

He quickly recovered when he knew that he had to continue singing, he spun on his feet and started to bop his head in time with the music playing while he made his voice work.

"When carol singers gather round,
Angel voices fill the town,
It's like the world is joining in...!"

The ace attorney raised his head, closed his eyes and sung from the bottom of his lungs when he started to gain some more bravery. He didn't spin the baton this time but he did toss it high in the air and snatched it by closing his fingers around it in his tight grip and held it high into the air with quite an expert grasp. He noticed when he glanced over his shoulder that the whole town started to sing along with him and sing their hearts out, too.

It gave him even more courage!

"They sing a merry song and we all sing along,
A festive melody that tells us Christmas time is here.
See the stars tonight; they're shining bright,
'Cause it's Christmas time and it's my favourite time of year."

The Labyrinthian townspeople took over the song from the defender in blue and sang in a loud choir, their voices harmonising with Luke's expert violin playing as he danced around the other three with his own two feet marching in the snow.

"Christmas Eve,
Still believe,
So excited,
Can't sleep,"

The whole parade of people started to dance and sing, yet not as loud as Phoenix and Maya and the Professor and Luke as their powerful voices carried through the snowy atmosphere and it was so grand that it filled the very air with this magic that overflowed throughout every heart in Labyrinthia.

"When the morning comes,
Church bells ring,
And he's beeeeeeeen..."

Phoenix reached down and hoisted Luke off the ground and put him on his shoulders to give him a piggy back ride, while the Professor wrapped an arm of encouragement around a sickly but jolly Maya whom smiled back at him with a sniffle. They raised their heads and everybody broke into a loud chorus as they sang along, marching along behind the heroic group of six with huge smiles on their faces and eyes filled with total glee for having a fun festive time.

"They sing a merry song and we all sing along,
A festive melody that tells us Christmas time is here.
See the stars tonight; they're shining bright,
'Cause it's Christmas time and it's my favourite time of year."

Eve reached over and gave Barnham a kiss on the cheek and made him blush bright red and he could feel his heart pound hard in his chest while he mustered the courage to wrap both his arms around the purple-haired beauty.

Espella smiled at the scene and then glanced back at her dearest friends whom had rescued both her town and had made her life infinitely better with their mere presence and had defended her until the very end. She knew that she'd forever be thankful and indebted to them for rescuing her in her biggest time of need. She looked at the group marching in front of her with eyes filled with warmth and joy to know such people.

"And it's my favourite time of year..."

The song endedwith everybody smiling and feeling a great joy in their hearts. Was this what Christmas was like? Filled with joy and cheer? Nobody could hold back a huge amount of ebullience within each of their hearts thudding within their chests, some of the people even found themselves bounding up and down out of joy.

Christmas was truly a good time.

Luke, proudly sat on top of Phoenix's strong shoulders while still holding his violin in one hand, exclaimed aloud as he spread both arms out in a grand gesture whilst closing his eyes and smiling the biggest smile he could manage until it made his facial muscles ache in protest.

"Merry Christmas to one and all!"

A/N: That's the end of "Carols of the bells in Labyrinthia" and while I'm glad I finally got this chapter out in time for Christmas, I'll miss writing this. I sincerely hope that this finale was good enough for all of you and I made it with as much Holiday spirit as I possibly could.

The song was "My favourite time of year" by the Florin street band.

I LOVE IT!

Anyways, I wish you all a happy Christmas and a happy new year!

-Chloemcg