Chapter 18
No Longer an Angel

As soon as they had attacked, it was too late...they all were tied and sat in front of the vampires. There was a long silence as the vampires decided what to do with them. 'Let's show them how we make other spirits suffer,' the leader's wife told them telepathically and the first minion withdrew a two foot bladed knife from his sheath and handed it to the woman. The last two vampires pulled Sapphire up, remove the chord from her mouth. She didn't have to time to say anything when the leader raised the blade and sliced Sapphire's angel wings right off! Bright blood sprayed onto the rotting walls of the ship, and then the wings disappeared into thin air. Sapphire screamed with all her might, then fell to her knees as the minions let her go. The leader dropped the blade; they took her to the other side of the ship and started beating them all to pulps!

But the before she saw death again, someone had played her flute and time stopped for the vampires...but only for two minutes. They all helped untie one another, then Kurama and Yusuke untied Sapphire and helped her up, but she just fell. She wanted to speak, but her body hurt too much to even utter a soft cry. "Who played the flute?" Hiei asked them and Kuwbara stepped forward. "But....how Kuwbara?" Yusuke asked and Kuwbara grinned. "As soon as the vampires ambushed us, I took the flute and hid behind some storage until the right moment," he explained, and then his face turned serious. "Will she be okay?" Kurama looked down at her and saw that she was turning paler by the minute. "This wasn't apart of the vision was it?" Kittara asked Sapphire, and the angel nodded. "Kuwbara, changed...the whole vision...in a good and...bad way," she whispered, drifting in and out of consciousness fast. "Once an angel's wings are cut off by a vampire or any cruel spirit, they start to become human again. But angels can't survive in human form...so I'm truly fading away." She jerked her dark blind eyes open when Yusuke grabbed her shoulders and looked at her. "Will the priest protect you until we get back?" he asked, but Sapphire shook her head. "HE'S...DEAD DAMN IT! HE'S ONE...OF THEM...NOW!" she shot at him and Yusuke backed off, and she sighed. "I'm so sorry...Yusuke, this whole...thing is...tearing us apart by the day. Now as we speak, the entire world is suffering like I am...even in this city." They all stared at her and Kurama helped her stand up and held her for a long time. "Please don't leave...we need you Sapphire...I need you," he whispered quietly in her ear and pressed her closer. Her skin grew colder the longer he held her and she sighed in defeat. She turned to her friends and reached out to them. "Take the flute...play the song twice...it will take you to the...spirit world," she said weakly, failing by the second. She turned back to Kurama and touched his cheek in a whisper-like touch, tears falling down her heart broken face. He cupped her face in his hands, banished her tears away and spoke to her. "One of us will stay with you and the other bodies...just until we come back ok? I promised we'd never leave you...and I mean that," he whispered, and kissed her gently yet hard at the same time. She hugged him as if for dear life, deepening the kiss but then her legs shut down and she fell to the ground. The boys left them for a minute to talk the plan over.

"I'll stay with them until you all return," Kuwbara spoke first, but they rejected the idea. "We need you with them, I'll stay whether you all like it or not," Kurama said calmly and they just looked at him. "Ok, but where do we start once we get to Spirit World?" Hiei asked impatiently and they agreed but walked over to Sapphire and asked her. "Go to where Koenma's office is...their lair is there, deep in there. But don't believe anything you see...they can use...illusions," she explained, and took the flute from Kuwbara. The four except Kurama stood in a circle around Sapphire as she played the music. When she started playing it for the second time, the four started to fade away to other side. "Goodbye," she whispered and nearly collapsed but Kurama caught her and pulled her into his arms. "Please stay with me Sapphire," he whispered tenderly, cradling her body in his arms as he sat on the small bed. She moaned and entered his mind, using the last of her energy the priest had given her.

(Inside Kurama's mind)
'I don't have much time before I'm truly gone,' she explained, looking at him sadly. 'Once I'm gone, my soul will wander into the spirit world...and then it will all be over. If they get control over my soul, who knows what kind of power they can unlock through me.' His eyes searched hers, wishing it wasn't true and for the first time in his whole life...he was afraid. 'Can your flute help us in any way?' he asked and she realized that she still had it. 'The priest did say that the flute did have strange powers, but I do remember one song I heard on accident,' she began. 'When I was little, I heard my parents playing their flutes. It had a dark and mysterious tone to it, but I don't remember what happened after they played it.' He thought for a moment, then took her hands in his and looked down at her. 'Try to remember the song and see what happens,' he whispered and she nodded, smiling at him warmly. She took the flute, put it to her lips and tried to remember the song. It came to her instantly and the memory came back. 'This is the song of reserving,' she told herself and played the tune. The tune was somewhat dark and mysterious sounding but it was working! She felt herself begin to receive energy again. But it didn't last long, for she felt even weaker and started to fail faster. 'What's happening to you?' she heard Kurama ask her and then they heard a voice come out of nowhere. 'HAHA, YOU ACTUALLY THINK I'D LET YOU OFF THAT EASILY?' the woman asked and laughed. 'I MADE YOU REMEMBER THE SONG OF DEATH! I CAN CONTROL YOUR MIND AS EASILY AS I CAN CONTROL HOW YOU DIE!' her laughter enraged Kurama and he snapped. 'Stop this, you f@@@'@ excuse for a vampire!' he shot back, but the voice was silent for a moment, and then came back and laughed again. 'SAVE YOUR BREATH FOR HER FUNERAL BOY! YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING AS SHE FADES AWAY BY THE HOUR! JUST ACCEPT IT, YOU ARE ALONE AND ALWAYS WILL BE! BUT...I THINK I'LL ENTERTAIN YOU WHILE YOUR FRIENDS ARE OUT OF THE WAY!' she called and the visions came back, but only more brutal and disturbing. They both stood in horror as they watched the brutal and poisonous visions, holding each other as the visions started killing their souls and bodies! 'Please Yusuke, hurry up soon,' Kurama pleaded as he held Sapphire and tried to protect her from the one thing that destroyed her in the first place. Then, the part in the vision came when the woman revealed herself and it came at Kurama like a knife through the heart. He saw the identity of the woman and heard her name and he cried out his friends names as the visions ensnared their souls and bodies. Sapphire played the song her friend had taught her and it created a strong shield to hold off the vision. She looked at Kurama and pulled herself deeper into him and he tried to comfort her the best he could. 'This isn't the end, I promise,' he told her, tilting her chin up to face him. 'I love you.' She smiled, repeated the words and he kissed her with all the love he had for her. 'I won't let you go, my angel,' he whispered, kissing her again. The shield was slowly failing, but they held on to each other, for both their lives were in the hands of the others, especially Yusuke.

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Author: Hi hi it's me again with an all new suspenseful chappie! Me so so happy for the reviews I've received. Keep them coming and hope the word will spread about this story soon. Bye bye for now...I'll return with more soon!