Original Stories Fan Fiction / Angels Fan Fiction ❯ Angel and Demon Wars ❯ Chapter Twenty-One - Passed ( Chapter 21 )

Angel and Demon Wars

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Chapter Twenty-One

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© 2008 Ohne Sie

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“I'm tired,” Ichigo said, sighing.

 

“I think we're almost there,” Ami said comfortingly. “Maeko said it would only take like two days.”

 

“Actually…” Maeko grinned, pointing at a spot on the map. “We've only got a few hundred feet.”

 

“Are you serious?” Sadako said excitedly.

 

Maeko nodded. The girls looked at each other for a moment before they all broke into a run. They stopped at the base of a very large, very odd-looking tree.

 

“Wait…this is the tree, right?” Ichigo asked.

 

Maeko nodded. “The map ends here, so yeah.”

 

Ami frowned. “Is there anyone here?” she called, looking into the tree.

 

Somewhere in the middle of the tree, a tiny door opened and two tiny fairies flew out. They swooped down to the girls. The one with black hair perched on Ichigo's shoulder and the one with light purple hair sat on Sadako's head. “Hi!” the black-haired fairy said, clapping her hands. “Do you want to play a game?”

 

“Let's play a game!” The purple-haired fairy said, giggling.

 

“Actually, we're here for—“

 

“We know what you're here for!” The black-haired fairy said, cutting Ami off. “And I'm Hinata, and that's Hanako, and Hotaru is somewhere around. I don't know where he went, but anyway, we know why you're here.”

 

“And we know who you are!” Hanako added, giggling. “You're Ami, and Sadako, and Maeko, and Ichigo!”

 

“And you're here for the Chalice!”

 

“Are you psychic or something?” Maeko asked.

 

“No, we just watched and heard you climb up the mountain,” Hinata said. “And we decided to mess with you a little.”

 

Hanako laughed again. “Yeah, we moved the path so that you'd get lost.”

 

“But you guys were so smart! You didn't fall for it!”

 

“We thought you would.”

 

“We even made a bet on it. We thought you'd fall for it, but Hotaru said you'd figure it out.”

 

“Hotaru is very smart,” Hanako added.

 

“Um…okay, that's very good and all, but we're kind of in a hurry,” Maeko started, but she was cut off.

 

“Oh, yes! Of course! The tests!” Hanako said.

 

“You passed one already, so…”

 

“We did?” Ami asked.

 

“You did.” Another fairy flew down and rested on Maeko's shoulder. This one was a boy with blue hair. “The path mix-up was the first test. Maeko passed.”

 

“Oh. Sweet,” Maeko said.

 

“But as for the rest of you…” Hanako shook her head.

 

“You have other tests!”

 

“Actually,” Hotaru said, “Ichigo passed, too.”

 

“I did?”

 

“She did?” Hanako asked. “Oh, wait…”

 

“That's right, she did,” Hinata said, nodding. “Because of the knife!”

 

“The…diamond knife?” Ichigo asked. “How was that test?”

 

“Because you got it nonviolently, and you were willing to give the innkeeper all of your money in order to do it and save another person's life. So you saved two people's lives. That was your test,” Hotaru said.

 

“Okay, so that leaves me and Sadako,” Ami said.

 

“Well, Sadako passed hers, too,” Hotaru said.

 

“Was it the troll?” Sadako asked.

 

“Huh? No. It wasn't the troll,” Hotaru said. “It was all those times you remained loyal to your friend, even though other people were doubting her.”

 

“Are you serious? That was my test?” Sadako said.

 

“Yes,” Hinata and Hanako said simultaneously.

 

“That's dumb,” she said.

 

“Hey, we can't help what the tests ask of you,” Hotaru told her.

 

“I thought you created the tests,” Sadako said, frowning.

 

“No, we just administer them. The tests come to us from a higher power.”

 

“The gods?” Sadako asked.

 

“Higher.”

 

“Oooh…the Creator?”

 

Hotaru nodded. “Now would you please be quiet, so I can tell Ami that she passed, too?”

 

Hanako and Hinata giggled. “Ooh, burn,” Hinata said.

 

“I passed, too?” Ami asked, frowning.

 

“When you followed your heart and did what was right instead of what you were told to do,” Hotaru said.

 

Ami stared at him. “Wait, you mean…?”

 

“Yes, exactly,” he said. “When you told your friends about what was going to happen to everyone in Heaven and Hell, despite what Keisuke told you to do. Because you've always done what other people told you to do. This time, though, you did what you thought was right.”

 

“So…we all passed? We can have the Chalice?” Sadako asked.

 

Hanako shook her head. “Only one of you can have the Chalice.”

 

“Only one…?” Ichigo asked. “Then why did we all have to pass tests?”

 

“Because,” Hinata said, “You reached this place together. Now you have to choose who will use the Chalice, though.”

 

“How do we use it?” Maeko asked.

 

“Whoever you choose will drink from it and will have one wish come true. It can be anything at all and it will come true,” Hotaru said.

 

“But what if we wished for the destruction of the universe?” Sadako asked.

 

“Then it would happen. Although that would be a stupid wish,” Hinata said.

 

“Seriously,” Hanako mumbled.

 

“So anything we wish for will come true?” Ichigo asked.

 

“Anything,” Hotaru replied.

 

“I think we should take a vote,” Maeko said. “I nominate Ami.”

 

Sadako and Ichigo nodded in agreement. Ami frowned.

 

“Are you sure? But what if I wish for something and it goes wrong?”

 

“We trust you,” Ichigo said. Sadako nodded again.

 

“Okay, then…I guess…” Ami looked at the fairy on Maeko's shoulder. “I'll take it.”

 

The fairies flew into the air and spun around in circles several times. A golden cup appeared above them and gently fell into Ami's hands.

 

“What is this liquid in it?” Ami asked.

 

“It's just water,” Hotaru said.

 

“Holy water,” Hinata added.

 

“No, not really.” Hanako giggled.

 

“I should think about this, though. If I make the wrong wish…” Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “I'm ready.” She closed her eyes and drank from the Chalice. Once the water was gone, the cup vanished from her hands.

 

“Did you make a wish?” Ichigo asked.

 

Ami nodded.

 

“Did it work?” Maeko asked.

 

“I guess we'll see,” Ami said.

 

The fairies smiled. “It was a good wish. Don't worry.” Then, in a flash, the fairies flew into their tree.

 

A brilliant flash of light appeared before Ami's eyes and she found herself in a large building, surrounded by men and women dressed in robes. She frowned, looking around. Maeko, Ichigo, and Sadako stood around her, looking equally confused.

 

“Welcome to the Council,” a voice boomed. Ami's eyes widened and she whirled around to see who had spoken. “We have been expecting you.”