#fun fact: the shot right before des says ''ambrosia shall be mine'' where he's lit up and has his cape billowing in the wind--

[gible-love-nibles-archive]

Eternal Diva Fic (Part 9)

Funny mask man time aka my favorite part of the movie. We're already getting to the best part and we still have. 5 parts left. How am I gonna split up the time? You'll see :]

Trigger warnings for kidnapping, mentions of death, and heights and risk of falling from a great height (no one falls)

Word Count: 1.5k / Previous / Next

Before anyone had a chance to recover, Descole rushed the group, scooped up Melina in his arms, and ran back.  No one could run to get Melina back because Descole’s wolves promptly circled them all.  He gently set Melina down next to him.

“What are you doing?  Descole!” Layton called up to him.

“I’m afraid I need this young lady’s voice if I’m to accomplish my real goal here.”

“What are you planning?”

He threw an arm out of his cape and pointed up. “To bring Ambrosia back to life!”

The opened roof revealed another higher roof with a drawing of the Ambrosian seal at the very top.

“The legend of Ambrosia was famous,” the masked man began to explain. “But it was I who discovered the complete seal.  Layton, do you know what the lines around that symbol mean?”

I knew what those were… I think.  “Music, right?  A song?”

Descole seemed surprised for a moment, but then he smiled as he looked at me.  “Very astute, Clare; that is correct.  Ambrosian music.  That seal is the first key to unlocking Ambrosia.  It is ‘A Song of the Stars’.” He opened a little book on the Detragan’s tray.  It was a two page spread of doodles, notes and sheet music. “The second key… is you Melina.”

“What?  How can I be a key?” She asked.

“The Ambrosian Seal hides not one key, but two of them.  Two songs that resonate in perfect harmony.  A song of the stars and the sea…”

The music on Melina’s piano’s tray.  That was called a Song of the Sea.  Now everything was coming into focus.

Descole grabbed Janice’s hand, even as she resisted. “When the two songs are played together here, Ambrosia will rise once more!”

Mr. Whistler growled. “How could I not see it…?  All he ever wanted was the Ambrosia Kingdom!”

“But just as I cracked the code, the one person who knew A Song of the Sea-- the other key I needed-- could no longer sing it.  But her memories remained.”

“That was the real point of the Detragan then,” I muttered.

“Precisely.  All I needed was someone to bring those memories alive!”

Descole flipped a switch on the machine, and the ground suddenly let out a cloud of steam.  There were giant rumbles and cracking sounds.  I ran forward to try and help Melina, but soon found no ground to stand on.  I hit something metal right on my chest which knocked the wind out of me.

Once the smoke cleared, it revealed that Descole had built the platform to extend out of the castle.  I had landed right on the beam that extended it out… and found myself hanging right over the woods below.

I yelled and scrambled to fix my position on the beam.  Now I had a good hold on it thankfully.

Still wanting to help Melina, I started to climb up the giant iron tower.  Thankfully, I was pretty close to the platform already, so it didn’t take very long.  But with all the running I already did and barely any food to keep me going, it was a struggle.

“This… is your farewell performance,” I heard Descole say.

“Not if… I have… anything… to say about it!” I shouted as I pumped myself up and then jumped up to grab the rim of the platform.  Luckily, I gripped it pretty well.

…Now the trouble came in how to get up.

“Clare!!” Melina’s head popped over the edge, and she gasped upon seeing my precarious situation.  She tried to help me climb up, but she was only very strong in her lungs.  She struggled to lift me, and I was worried I was going to plummet right down into the forest below.

Suddenly (and thankfully), I got pulled right up by my arms.

“Are you alright?” Descole asked simply, worry etched in his voice.

“Fine, fine, I’m fine,” I said, avoiding his puppy-dog gaze.

“When I heard you underneath us, I…” He suddenly seemed to remember Melina was here and that he was supposed to be doing evil things. “Well dear, I was tickled.  You climbed all the way up here just to see me?” The speed at which his tone changed astonished me.  He was good at putting on masks. “You needed only to ask to come along, you know.  But you’re here now, and that’s what matters.” He set me down.

“Do you two… know each other?” Melina asked.

“I was there with Layton and Luke at Misthallery.  He used a giant digging machine to try and destroy a whole town, just to get some treasure.”

“Oh please dear, you’re making it sound so much more uncouth than it actually was.” I glared at him, trying to look past his new mask.  He smiled back, not letting anything slip.  Janice stood in the middle, perplexed. “As much as I enjoy talking with you dear, I have some business to take care of.  Then I’ll do whatever you wish.”

“Stop this right now!”

“I’m anxious to spend time with you too, but I said after my plans were done.  Besides, you’re about to see history in the making.”

He turned back to the Detragan and started to play a few notes.  A familiar song began to float into the sky: A Song of the Stars.

“Sing Melina!  Sing A Song of the Sea!  Sing, Melina!” Descole commanded.  Janice looked down, and I followed her gaze.  To my horror, I saw everyone surrounded by Descole’s wolves.

Melina eventually complied, and began to sing A Song of the Sea.  In perfect harmony, they were chillingly beautiful together.  But something… didn’t feel right.  Or more accurately, sounded right.

Apparently it didn’t matter too much as the ground began to shake.  No, it wasn’t the ground.  It was the sea.  Where the castle had already cracked from losing a wall, it started to collapse even more.  Thankfully, that seemed to be the distraction everyone needed to get away from the wolves.

Descole spun around in delight to the edge of our platform, pulling me over with him, almost like a little impromptu dance. “Ambrosia… will rise again!” He shouted to the air, triumphant and sinisterly gleeful.  He turned to me with a wide grin, holding me by the arms. “You should feel extremely fortunate, dear Clare.  Not everyone can say they’ve witnessed an ancient kingdom rise from the depths of the ocean.  And not from such a spectacular view!”

He laughed, holding me tight at his side… but then the shaking at our feet stopped.  We all looked out confused.

Besides what happened to the castle… nothing had changed.  The night was now calm and eerily quiet.

“Huh?” I gaped.

“What?” Melina asked.

Descole growled and let me go.  He walked back on himself, and I could see his hands tighten into fists. “Why… Why won't it rise?!” He pointed at Melina without looking at her. “Again!  Sing it!  Sing!” Clearly, he was too mad to form coherent sentences.  He walked back to the Detragan as I joined Melina’s side.

“Why didn't it work?” Melina asked me quietly.

“... I don’t know,” I replied.  …There was something missing here clearly.  But what?

Descole started to play again, and Melina followed right behind.  There wasn't even a rumble from the ground.

Descole suddenly slammed down his hands on the keys, making a loud disjointed sound.  “Why… Why…  Why…” He breathed out in rage.

I shielded Melina by putting her behind me.

Then… Descole started to laugh.  A humourless, cold, cruel laugh. “Well, if the door to Ambrosia will not open by this music… I WILL TEAR IT DOWN!” 

He threw his hands down on the keys again, but this time hidden compartments in the Detragan sprung out and all sorts of levers flipped up ready to be pulled.  He threw his cape behind him and started pressing buttons, turning dials, flipping levers-- all at the speed of an expert inventor.  

The Detragan was suddenly cast in an eerie blue-white glow.  The platform lit up below us with patterned lines.  Melina gripped my arm behind me and I swallowed hard.  Looking over the edge, other parts of the castle were glowing just the same.

Then the castle began to deteriorate even more.  Bricks fell away to reveal iron mechanisms hidden underneath.  Wires started snaking their way up to our platform to connect everything together.

Then… we began to move with giant metal steps.

Melina and I both stumbled and nearly fell with all the shifting around, but we held each other steady.

“Wh-What is he doing?!” Melina yelled to attempt being heard over all the noise.

“Doing what he does best: doing the absolutely most extra thing he can to get his way, because apparently he can’t be bothered to USE A SHOVEL!!”

The blue-white glow started to rise up the whole contraption, making the wind whip around us.  Descole’s cape billowed dramatically behind him.  He grinned wickedly.

“Ambrosia… shall be mine!!”