The ruins were large on the inside, with a single walkway.
"Good grief! I never would have imagined this. I think these ruins are... responding to the girl." Desmond looked around the large dome.
"So they, too, must be..." Layton let out a hum.
"Azran!" Katie piped up. "It looks absolutely gorgeous."
"Wow. So your theory was correct, Professor Sycamore!" Emmy said, eyes wide.
"It would seem so. An ancient Azran structure with a powerful magnetic field that disrupts passing aircrafts." Desmond turned to them. "Of course, that is just an unfortunate side effect. I should really like to know what the true purpose of this place."
"Professor! I see her!" Luke called, pointing at the end of the walkway. The girl continued chanting, a blue light surrounding her. Glowing blue marks lit up on the walls of the dome. The girl turned to them.
"How on earth did you do that?" Layton asked, bewildered.
"I am the emissary of the Azran people, Aurora." The girl, now identified as Aurora, spoke. She sounded Irish.
"I see."
"The time has come for the power of my people to be passed on." Aurora said. Desmond let out a quiet gasp. Aurora took a step forward. "Our legacy to the world left behind. If you wish to know our secrets and your motives are pure, then all will be revealed. This dome will show you the way, find the locations of the Azran keys. Prove you are worthy of our power." The glow surrounding Aurora disappeared as she fainted. Layton quickly caught her. Her eyes opened.
"I... What? Where am I?" She questioned, looking around in confusion.
"So you were not aware?" Layton questioned. Aurora looked at him.
"You called yourself Aurora. Is that your name?" Emmy asked. Aurora shrugged.
"Aurora? I-I don't know..." She looked down at the floor. Desmond decided to speak up.
"Do you remember being trapped in the ice?" He asked. Her eyes widened.
"Me? Trapped in... ice?"
"You claimed to be the emissary of the Azran. Is it possible that you were sent by the Azran people as their messenger?" Layton said to her. Aurora looked around.
"Messenger? No... I-I don't know!" She exclaimed, confused. Katie placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Perhaps your role as a messenger operates only on a subconscious level." Layton suggested.
"The Azran have sent us their greatest puzzle yet in the shape of this girl." Desmond glanced at the Azran girl. "It is up to us to rise to the challenge." Layton nodded.
"I suppose your right. But what could it all mean?"
"Aurora, I understand you're very confused." Katie said to Aurora. "I'm going to try and help you get through this." She smiled comfortingly, hugging her folder closer.
"Why do you have that folder with you, Katie?" Erin asked. Katie looked at her.
"Well, I gotta practice for my next lesson."
"Lesson? What kind of lesson?" Desmond questioned, looking at Katie. Katie blushed slightly.
"Singing lessons."
"You should sing for us sometime." Emmy suggested. Katie laughed.
"Ahahaha no." She shook her head. "Well, maybe. If you really want, I guess..." Desmond chuckled.
"As the girl - I mean, Aurora, said, the symbols on the walls of this dome are a guide." He said.
"Yes, they must represent something." Layton tapped his chin.
"The Azran people yearned for the skies, to go even higher and always further. The most prominent characters in their myths were the Great Riders of the Sky." Desmond said. "It is a fair bet that th symbols on these walls refer to them."
"... Garza upon her raven-feathered steed. In her hand, a black-bladed sword, sharpened on the edge of time, and in her heart-" Layton started. Desmond finished it.
"The courage of an entire kingdom." Desmond smiled. "Very good. You're familiar with Rutledge's "ancient histories" then. It is the only mainstream work that discusses Azran myths."
"There... there's a story about "Riders of the Sky" on the walls. Do you... want me to read it for you?" Aurora asked.
"Ah! Please do!" Layton insisted.
"At the dawn of time, the world was one big continent, and the Celestial king sheltered all the lands beneath his ample wings. All living things served him. The king had five children, the Great riders of the Sky, but they were proud and coveted their fathers throne. The constant warning of the Riders exhausted the people and tainted the land. Roused at last to anger, the king drew his sword and made four strokes, slicing the land into ten continents. His children, he banished them to live on earth. The king sealed the sacred gates to the skies and scattered the five keys on earth, that his children might one day find them. Ever since that day, the king's children have gazed up at the skies, longing to fly again one day."
"Aha!" Desmond exclaimed. "Now I see it. The patterns on the walls must represent earth! If we were to gather the five keys, we could unlock the gates to the skies - or in other words, the power of the Azran."
"Incredible..." Layton mumbled.
"Erin and I would like to solve this puzzle." Katie spoke up.
"By all means, girls." Layton nodded. The two checked it over before smiling.
"The five keys must lie at the points where the king's sword strokes meet." Erin said. Then she pouted. "Never again am I going to sound smart."
"It's a metaphor. The Celestial King in the story represents the Azran civilisation. Which means the King's children, who were banished to earth, are... us. The distant heirs to their legacy." Desmond said with a smile. Katie clasped her hands together.
"Oh, I thought I was the only one who thought that!" She laughed softly.
"Professor, have you seen these five oval symbols, like this one here?" Layton pointed at one of the shapes. "Could they represent the five keys?"
"I believe so. They look rather like the artefacts Rutledge descriptively referred to as 'eggs'." Desmond nodded. "Scholars have been pondering their function for years, but not one guessed that they might in fact be keys."
"They are aura stones. Vessels capable of channelling the power of the Azran." Aurora informed.
"Aura stones, did you say? Did seeing the symbol trigger this recollection?" Layton looked at Aurora. "Perhaps if we found these Azran relics, it would bring yet more back to you. You may in time filly regain your memory."
"We will certainly need your help decrypting this puzzle. That is why Targent want you too, no doubt." Desmond pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Most certainly. There is no sense in staying here any longer. We must leave this town before they find us."
"Aurora, are you hungry?" Katie looked at Aurora, who nodded. Katie handed her the half of uneaten bread as they all got out of the dome.
"Travelling to each of the locations indicated by the dome's walls will be quite an undertaking. All five sites appear to be in remote parts of the world. It would be wise to do a little research before we rush into things. It may also be prudent to ensure that the Bostonius is fully stocked." Desmond suggested.
"I agree. So, to London?" Katie tilted her head.
"Excellent. That will also give us the opportunity to do more extensive repairs on the Bostonius. Good! It'decided. I shall go straight back to the ship and prepare for our flight to London. Professor, I leave Aurora in your care." Desmond nodded.
"I'll go with you, Desmond. I also want to take this chance to pick at your brain and see what information you can give me on the Azran. I don't know much." Katie smiled. Desmond nodded and the two headed off.
"I think there's something going on between those two~" Erin whispered to Luke, laughing quietly.
"I agree." Luke chuckled. Erin then frowned.
"Yeah, but there are problems with that. Ah, who knows what'll happen?" Erin shrugged.
"So, Katie, mind if I see your folder?" Desmond asked the young female. Katie nodded, handing him her blue folder. Desmond opened it up, looking over the sheets of words and notes. He hummed in thought before stopping at one of the songs. "This song, do you have someone to sing it with?" Desmond asked, pointing at the song. Katie looked at it and shook her head.
"No. Only my teacher does the male parts for Baby It's Cold Outside while I do the female parts. The problem is, she's also female." Katie sighed. "All the guys I know don't want to sing with me."
"I'll sing it with you sometime." Desmond smiled kindly at her. Katie blinked at him.
"Really?" Katie smiled back. "Wow, thanks! That would be great!" Desmond handed the folder back and they continued walking. "So, what do you think we should get while in London? I was thinking for dinner, maybe we could all have noodles with some chicken and vegetables. If not chicken, then prawns or pork, maybe. It's a recipe my mother taught me. I think it was a Thai recipe." Katie tapped her chin. "For dessert, maybe dango or maybe I could carve a fruit and serve it as dessert? I think the fruit one sounds better. I'll make dango for Erin, though. How does that sound?"
"I think that sounds wonderful." They both then went silent, unsure on what to say next. They reached the Bostonius, greeted by Raymond.
"Hi, Raymond!" Katie waved cheerfully at the man. He bowed towards her.
"Hello, Miss Thorn." He replied. Katie sat on the comfy cushions, purring softly. Desmond joined her, smiling at the content look on her face. Katie glanced at Desmond.
"So, I'm curious about this... Descole character you were talking about earlier." The brown-haired man said. Raymond looked at him in surprise but said nothing.
"Well, where to start? He first appeared when Erin, Emmy and I were going on our first adventure with the Professor in a little town. He tried to destroy the town for some reason. He got riled up quite a bit. First impression I got from him was that he was going to be an annoying, sinister guy." Katie admitted. "It changed the second time he appeared. He kidnapped me and I was so damned stubborn. I guess I bugged him. Then, we found something to talk about and, really, we're sort of similar in things we like. I didn't find him as irritating as I thought I would. That time was when we found Ambrosia. I had quite the heart attack when he fell of his Detragon monster machine. I thought that was the last time I'd see Descole but I was wrong."
"Really? Do go on."
"Believe it or not, Descole dressed up as a woman." Katie giggled softly. "He actually fooled me. It was so clever and, really, I don't know how he did it, but he nailed it. If you exclude all the kidnappings and parts where he kind of tries to kill my friends, he's a sweet guy." She looked ahead of her. "I'm kind of expecting him to pop up soon. I hope so. Oh, would it annoy him if I talk to him, though?
"I don't think so. I believe he enjoys your company." Desmond smiled. "You speak very fondly of him, despite everything he's put you through."
"I forgive him. I doubt I could ever hate Descole."
Desmond's eyes went wide and silence filled the room.
"I'll be right back." Katie placed her folder on the seat before getting up and walking out, towards the bathroom.
"Well, master, didn't expect that." Raymond chuckled. Desmond shook his head, laughing nervously.
"No, I did not."
()
Me: WTF IS THIS. WTF WAS THAT. WTF IS THIS CHAPTER. I SENSE THERE IS A LOT OF TYPOS SO IF THERE IS I APOLOGISE. WHY AM I CAPS LOCKING EVERYTHING? OH MY GOD. WHUT IS WRONG WITH ME? XD I'm too lazy to go read it over to find the typos so, once again, I apologise but hopefully, you can still understand it.