Creatures from the Ocean (Sciles)

73: The Final Battle

Stiles POV

Me and my new force swim quietly and slowly towards the palace, almost everyone with weapons in hand. I was surprised by the amount of weapons that we had available in the tunnel. I swim near the front with Ben, Crystal, Max, Selena, Kara, Kira, Lydia, Malia, Isaac, Derek, Liam and Scott. I glance around at everyone's faces. They all look nervous, but determined. I guess they are all exactly like me then. I take a deep breath and keep pushing forward. Once we reach the front of the palace, I notice something strange. I come to a halt. "This seems too easy." I tell everyone.

"Why aren't there any guards?" I ask the large group. Everyone exchanges worried and confused looks. I swim over to Scott. "We are probably swimming right into a trap. She knows we are here." I whisper to him. Scott nods slowly.

"What do I do?" I ask worriedly as I bite my lip. I can't ask everyone to swim into a trap for me. Scott considers my question for a moment. "I think the only thing you can do is to keep moving forward." He replies.

"But it's a trap!" I hiss quietly.

"Well, I for one don't care. As I said, I will be right by your side the whole time. As for everyone else, they're here to fight for you, aren't they? I think they'll do anything to help you win back the kingdom." Scott reminds me.

"It will all turn out okay, I promise." Scott says as he squeezes my shoulder. I smile gratefully at my boyfriend.

"Thanks, Scotty. You always seem to know what to say." I reply. Scott shrugs in response.

"I try." He chuckles. The two of us then turn to everyone else.

"Look. This may be a trap. I can't ask you to swim in there and die for me. If any of you want to turn back now, it's okay." I state to the group. No one moves.

"I don't care if it's a trap. I don't care if I die trying to fight. I just want to get our home back." A merman comments from the middle of the group. There are multiple murmurs of agreement. "Alright then. Let's go." I say, turning around and leading the way again. We stop when we get to the huge palace doors. I grab the door handle and slowly twist it and push forwards. The door opens slowly. I peer into the hallway. No one is there. I swim into the hallway, everyone else following closely behind me. Once we are all in, I turn to my friends and the brave volunteers. "Alright, let's split up into two groups to cover more ground. It's a big palace, after all." I suggest. I then split the group in half. I let Ben and Max lead the other group while I lead the group in front of me. "Ben, Max. Check all the upstairs rooms." I tell them. My two friends nod and lead their group down the hallway. I turn to the others. Scott and the rest of the pack are with my group, of course. So are Selena and Crystal. "We are going to check the courtyard first." I tell them. I turn around and start slowly swimming down hallways and corridors. I let Scott swim by my side. The pack are in the middle of the group behind us.

Eventually, we make it to the courtyard, which is centred in the middle of the palace. We swim into the open. It seems darker out here. There seems to be many figures littering the shadowy parts. "Wait here." I tell the volunteers. Cautiously and curiously, I swim towards one of the shadowed parts of the courtyard. My heart beat starts picking up. I glance around to see the pack, Crystal and Selena swimming after me. "I thought I told you guys to wait." I comment.

"Yeah, like that was going to happen." Kara rolls her eyes. I chuckle quietly, secretly glad that my friends have my back. We swim towards the mysterious outlines of figures in the shadows. "It shouldn't be this dark here..." I mutter as I swim forwards. I notice that everyone else has stopped. "Stiles, get back. This isn't a good idea." Lydia suddenly warns me.

"I just need to see what this is." I reply. Once I reach the figure, I swim down and I place a hand on it. Huh. It's a stone statue. "Stiles, come back!" Selena says in warning, but I don't listen. After a moment, the area lights up more so I can clearly see what I'm looking at. My heart shatters and I drop to the floor. "No... No..." I whisper in a wobbly voice as my body starts to shake from my sobbing.