Undead - Regulars AU

Chapter 6 - Sapphire

Trigger warning = perhaps mild suspense >:)

Sapphire POV

"How the fuc-," Vesper's voice echoed through the room, but was muffled by Churro slamming his hand against her mouth. "For the last time, language," he said. She looked at him and he pulled his hand off. "She bit me," he complained to Pancake, but no one was listening to him.

"What- how-," Sapphire stuttered. "It seems there's more than one God, one for each species. My God let me come back, as a ghost of course. They felt that I needed a second chance." Echo padded over to the group. They sat down by Swift, eyeing her with a look of... Regret? Sadness? Sapphire couldn't tell. She squinted at the shimmery, semi-transparent Pravum, assessing their status.

They looked completely fine. No cuts or broken bones, nothing like what her friends had described when she had asked about them. The only thing off about the Pravum was the fact that Sapphire could see right through them, even though they seemed solid enough to be still alive.

"Oh Echo," Swift said, "I'm so sorry. I never should have tied my wings. I shouldn't have even challenged you to climb that cliff. This is all my fault." "It's not your fault Swift," Echo said gently, "If anything, it's mine, or the world's fault. I shouldn't have agreed to do it, but I did. Don't feel bad for me. It was my recklessness."

Echo looked down at themselves, their paws shimmering against the dusty floor. "It's not so bad, you know, being dead and all." They gave a weak smile.

"Oh Swift I'm sorry," Sapphire burst out, "I almost killed you and Vesper and I didn't mean it." "I forgive you Sapphire," Swift smiled tiredly, wiping water off her snout, "And I know Vesper does too." She gestured to the red dragon, who nodded. Churro was wrapping her leg in a bandage as she drank from a canteen similar to Swift's.

"Speaking of second chances at life," Echo said suddenly, startling the group from their apologies, "I've made a few friends here, and I think you'd all like to meet them." The Pravum smirked, eyeing Vesper in particular. "There are other ghosts here?" Vesper perked up considerably. "Oh yeah," Echo grinned. "There are a lot of us here actually. Apparently this place was a sort of insane asylum for hybrids back in the day when they didn't know what to do with them."

Sapphire's eyes widened slightly. Vesper looked really excited, she was practically shaking. "Good lord Vesper," Churro laughed, "You good?" "I'm not good Churro," Vesper almost yelled, "I've met a ghost, and we're about to meet more. This is the best day of my life!" "No offense Echo," she added, looking worried.

Echo let out a snicker. "You're fine. We'll meet them at the guest rooms. They seem rather attached to the place where they died." They started up the stairs, beckoning them as they went. They all followed, trooping through the endless maze of hallways and doors. Ghosts began flickering in and out as they walked. Vesper asked so many questions that Echo finally told her to shut up, because they weren't going to spoil the surprise. They all chatted, Echo telling them about their life as a ghost, and catching up on everything they missed.

The further they walked, the more ghosts they could see, and the bigger the building became. "It looked so much smaller on the outside," Sapphire mumbled. Echo started introducing them to their friends. "Hi Flare," the Pravum called to a particularly sexy looking wolfbrid. "Hello yourself," He responded, looking down at the others. "What are you doing with the living, eh?" Echo whispered something in his ear and he nodded. "Ah, them. Have fun with that." He sauntered away, a few other girl hybrids following him.

"Wowwwww, another fancy door," Churro snarked as they reached an ornately carved door, "How much did this one cost you." Echo shot him a look. "I've told you five times now," they snorted, "Ghosts can't touch solid materials. They go through them, it's the way of life. Besides, this house is more than a hundred years old." Churro let out a laugh.

"ANYways, this is the hallway they used for guests. Come on." They walked through the door, Vesper pushing it open for the rest of them. "We still need to find a way to allow ghosts to open doors," Echo mumbled from inside. Everyone entered, looking around. The corridor had about ten doors on each side. Artwork and tapestries decked the walls on all sides, obscuring the dull wallpaper.

Echo paused about halfway down the corridor, an unseen wind ruffling their fur. "Everyone pick a door I guess," they said. "They'll find you no matter what door so I don't know if it matters." Sapphire moved towards a door on her left, but was cut off by the ghost. "Except for Sapphire. I don't recognize you and I thought it would be fun to teach you a little bit of our backstory." The cat hybrid nodded as everyone picked a room. Swift and Vesper picked the same door, and Churro and Pancake picked the other.

"Are you sure you're ok," Pancake called to Swift, who was leaning onto the wall for support. "If the rockslide didn't kill me, getting smashed by a chandelier won't either," Swift reassured her, but her voice wavered.

Echo cocked their head as if they were listening to something. "You can go in now, they're ready," Echo stated, "Sapphire, come with me."

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A/N: Time for frantic uploads before school gets out. I've actually been thinking of a sequel, so I'm trying to finish up with 10 or more chapters and I'll start on book 2 sometime over the summer. I also want to work on other books of different fandom's so I'm not boring. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!

Word count: 974