Original Stories Fan Fiction / Angels Fan Fiction ❯ Angel and Demon Wars ❯ Chapter Sixteen - Stowaways ( Chapter 16 )

Angel and Demon Wars

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Chapter Sixteen

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© 2008 Ohne Sie

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It was midnight when Ami led the other girls out of the inn. She had finally figured out what Keisuke meant when he told her that she already knew what they had to do. At least, she hoped that she knew what he meant. Just to be sure, the girls quietly sneaked out of the inn and into the stables, where the unicorns were being kept.

 

Emiko and Ryu transformed into humans as the girl approached. “What's going on?” Emiko asked.

 

“We're leaving,” Ami whispered. The other girls looked at her, bewildered.

 

“How?” Sadako asked, rubbing her eyes. “The ship won't come for a few days.”

 

Ami looked at Ryu. “You said that you could sneak us on a ship,” she said. “Well, the cargo ship that's leaving in the morning is docked right now. Get us on it, please.”

 

“I thought you wouldn't want to do this,” Maeko said, frowning.

 

“We don't have a choice,” Ami said. “I'll explain later. Right now, though, we need your help, Ryu.” She looked at the sorcerer. “Will you help us?”

 

Emiko, Ami, Sadako, Maeko, and Ichigo looked at Ryu. He sighed. “Yes, I can get you on. But only the four of you.” He nodded toward Emiko and the other unicorns. “It would be too difficult for the rest of us to sneak on board.”

 

Emiko nodded. “You're right. We should get back to the herd, anyway.” She looked at Ami. “We'll meet again, though.”

 

Ami nodded back. “I'm sure we will.” She quietly freed the other unicorns from the stables. “You're all free now. We don't have much time before a guard comes by to check on the ship. Ryu, we have to get on it now.”

 

Ryu nodded and the angels and demons followed him to the ship. Ryu waved his staff, which Sadako had remembered to tie to his back earlier, casting a spell to make the girls invisible. “It'll wear off in about fifteen hours,” he said. “But by then you should be at sea, and you should have found a place to hide. Sorry I can't do better, but I'm not that skilled yet.” He looked at the spot where the girls had been and had suddenly vanished. “Good luck. Let us know as soon as you finish your quest, whatever it is.” With a wave, he ran off to join the other unicorns.

 

Ami nodded to the other girls. She could still see them, even though they were invisible. She assumed that it had something to do with the spell Ryu had cast, and not that he had screwed up somehow. “Come on,” she whispered.

 

“This seems like a really bad idea,” Ichigo whispered back. “What if we're caught?”

 

“It's the only choice we have,” Ami told her. She ran behind a large crate. The other girls followed.

 

“Are we supposed to hide here?” Sadako asked.

 

Ami didn't answer. She gestured toward Maeko, who walked toward her. Together they pried the crate open and the four girls crawled inside.

 

“It's kind of roomy,” Sadako said. “For a crate, I mean. Are we going to be able to breathe?”

 

“We left it open a crack,” Maeko said. “We should be fine.” She sighed. “Although I don't understand why we couldn't have slept a few hours first.

 

Ami shook her head. “Because it was during a shift change. I was watching the guards all night and I listened to their conversations. They work for eight hours at a time and there was a shift change at midnight. That means that there was no guard on duty for approximately five minutes. The guard that began work at midnight is apparently always at least five minutes late.”

 

“You learned this by listening to the guards talk?” Ichigo asked.

 

“Well, mostly,” Ami said. “I also kind of read their minds.” Sadako looked appalled. “It was an emergency,” she said. “We have to cross the ocean, now.”

 

Sadako shrugged. “Okay, but you're not allowed to be offended by anything I do in the future, now. That was a complete invasion of privacy.”

 

Ami ignored her comment. “You guys can sleep now. We won't be discovered for at least fifteen hours.”

 

The girls took her advice and sat on the floor of the crate. They fell asleep, leaning on each other.

 

Approximately ten hours later, they awoke after a night of restless sleep. The ship jolted and the crate was thrown with a great force against something. The girls fell out. They looked around, rubbing their heads, and panicked when they realized what had happened.

 

The ship's crew was panicking, as well. They jumped into the lifeboats as the ship began to sink. Ami wondered what had hit the ship, but the minds of the crew were too jumbled with fear to form any coherent thoughts.

 

“What are we going to do?” Sadako asked, her eyes wide. Ichigo's and Maeko's expressions were similar. Ami was silent.

 

“Where's Keisuke when you need him?” Maeko asked. “You'd think he'd be here to save our lives, when we need it!”

 

Ami's eyes scanned the area. What can we do? She wondered, biting her lip. “The map!” she cried suddenly, reaching into her pocket. She pulled it out, searching it desperately for some kind of clue.

 

“There's a red dot,” Maeko said. “What does that mean?”

 

“Important people,” Ami replied. “There's an important person nearby.”

 

“On the ship?” Ichigo asked. “Maybe they can get us in a life boat!”

 

“Only they can't see us,” Sadako said.

 

“No, not on the boat,” Ami said. “A little further out. In the water.” She frowned.

 

“We have to jump ship, then,” Maeko said. “So that we can find this person.”

 

“They won't be able to see us!” Sadako repeated. “We'd drown before they'd notice us at all!”

 

“It's the only choice we have,” Ami said. “We've got to jump.”

 

Because there really was no other choice, the girls jumped into the ocean, fully expecting to drown. Instead, however, as they sunk, a strange girl swam toward them.

 

Hello, she said, speaking into the girls' minds. I suppose you'll be needing to be rescued. She swam closer, and Ami realized that the girl's bottom half consisted of a fish's tail. The girl blew air from her mouth and the girls were surrounded by a bubble. Breathe, she told them. They obeyed and discovered, to their amazement, that they were not drowning. The girl swam behind the bubble and pushed it forward.

 

“Where are you taking us?” Ichigo asked.

 

To my home, the mermaid said. She said nothing else as she led them to a large underwater castle. Inside, there was a room completely devoid of water. The mermaid puched the bubble into the room and it popped, dropping the girls onto solid land. The mermaid remained outside the room. A wall of water separated the rooms. Sadako walked toward the wall, placing her hand on it.

 

“Strange,” she mumbled.

 

“Um, excuse me, but…how are we supposed to get out of here?” Maeko said. “It was nice of you to rescue us, but we really need to leave and continue on our way.”

 

The mermaid frowned, shaking her head. Leave? You can't leave. No, you have to stay here. You're my pets. She smiled, waving at them Have fun in your new home. I'll be back at meal time.