Goodbyes are never easy, but some are so hard. These words are some of many amazing lines written in Finch's journal. How he ever became a painter was a wander to me because he could've been such an incredibly writer. He, just like Tokyo, was taken much too soon. At least he died quickly.

          Vampires can die in few ways; Exposure to sunlight/being set on fire, catching disease, being impaled with silver or wooden stakes, and being beheaded. Obviously death by fire or disease would be agonizing and slow. Beheading someone is a little violent and disturbing. Leaving the unfortunate best option for euthanizing to be a stake through the heart. It was gut wrenching to even think about.

          Obviously these creatures are not God's children. In fact, they would rather die than believe in something so idiotic. So, they would never dare call someone a child's Godfather or Godmother. However, they do believe in a similar practice at which they appoint a guardian to their kids. A guardian not only takes care of the child if something happens to the parents, but they also act almost as a third parent.

          As the evening progressed, I found out Chris is/was London and Tokyo's guardians. That explains why he was taking this so much harder than the others. His heart, as strong and as kind as it can be, can't take much more. Being his mate, I wanted desperately to help him. I just couldn't find the right way. The most I could do for now was be at his side.

          He sat in the arm chair in the living room. I was propped up on the arm of it. His arm wrapped around me, resting just below the metal workings on my wings. Everyone else was sat around, not knowing what to say. There was nothing left to speak, in my opinion. Chris quietly stood up. He kissed my forehead, then hesitantly headed to the back bedroom. I just let him go. Something told me he wanted to go alone.

          "He'll never stop blaming himself." Kuza muttered.

          My head snapped up to look at him. He was sat on the floor across from me. There really wasn't much left for a place to sit. His arms rested over his bent knees lazily. He sighed and let his head fall against the old cabinet behind him. When you think about it, it's an odd thing for him to say. He's never going to let go of what he did to me or what he did to Chris. Though Kuza hasn't admitted it, I do think he eventually got back the memories of what happened. I can't imagine how hard to would be to live with that image in your head.

          Moments later, Ryan and Josh walked back inside. They wore the sorrow on their faces without even trying to hide it. This wasn't going to be easy in the slightest. It was so sudden too. I knew Tokyo wasn't well but I didn't expect him to go downhill this quickly. No one did. Maybe he was simply fate that he ended up back home in his final days.

          Ryan walked around the backside of me, gently feeling along my wings. "Tell me if I hurt you at all." He said. There was a little discomfort but it wasn't deep pain like before. "Nothing?"

          "Nothing. They feel fine." I responded.

          "Do you think you could fly if I took the cast off?" He asked.

          "Yeah," I glanced over my shoulder him, "Why?"

          Ryan moved over to the cabinet that Kuza was leaned against. He opened a drawer, pulling a tool out. "I figure it would be best if we had an angel gracing the sky tonight." He replied.

          I'm not an angel anymore but I guess I'm the closest they had. They all agreed to bring Tokyo to the foot of the mountains. There's a creek there and wildflowers. It's rather peaceful. If I were knowingly going to die, I would want the last thing I saw to be the ones I loved and the night sky. The stars here sparkled so brightly. I can only hope he too will appreciate their beauty.

          As Ryan took the last of the casting off, I felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Technically one had been. That fucking thing was heavy. I stood up and stretched my wings out the best I could in this small space. The bones cracked a little from adjustment but it didn't hurt.

          Just as I sat back down, Chris came back down the hall. He stopped in the entrance to the living room. He looked almost sick to his stomach. His hands grasped the wall for support. "He's starting to slip again." He murmured, "It's time."

          We knew that this moment was coming yet we wanted to deny it once it did. I headed in first to sedate him. With heads hung, the guys followed me. I wasn't going to completely knock him out but I wanted to numb his pain until we got to the mountain's base. Ricky and Felix both stayed propped against the wall. Ghost rested beside Tokyo on the bed. He was obviously handling this the worst out of anyone. That was his baby. It was obvious to anyone, even someone that barely knew them like me.

          "Have you all had your goodbyes?" I asked softly.

          Tonight, I wasn't just Chris' mate. I was a doctor once again and I was trying my best to have respect for the family. Whenever there were deaths at the hospital, I was always the one that was called to deal with it. I suppose I must have a way with people that I can be a comforter in hard times.

          Ricky nodded, "Yeah. Go ahead."

          I offered him a sympathetic smile. Then I coated my hands in angel dust. This was much more than a small pinch. Tokyo was beginning to get restless again. He was squirming a bit, kicking around. Ghost wasn't scared in the least bit. The only reason he moved back was to give me some space. He quickly scurried into his husband's arms.

          "Shhh," I whispered to the restless spirit in front of me, "Just sleep now. Relax. It's okay."

          Tokyo listened to my words and let his eyes shut. I ran angel dust over his entire body to let him relax. The majority of it I focused on his head to get him to release his mind. Once he was just barely awake and completely calm, I backed up. Ricky softly kissed Ghost's cheek. He parted away from him and approached the bed. Gently, he took Tokyo's body into his arms.

          The others followed him out as he carried his son outside. I'm not sure Ricky was strong enough to make the entire journey himself. It was a bit of a ways to the edge of the mountains. The others are more than willing to carry him at some point. That doesn't mean Ricky will let them. Felix and Ghost walked beside him. The others followed behind with lanterns in hand.

          I placed my hand on Chris' chest. He turned to me, his glassy eyes looking down to me. I delicately kissed him with my hands wrapped around his neck comfortingly. He sighed upon our parting, squeezing my hip. We didn't need to say what we already knew. I took a few steps away from him before taking off into the air.

          From up here, it was a much different view to watch. Seeing things from a bird's eye view can sometimes change the way we see a situation. It almost looked like a death march from up here. The light of the lanterns guided me, since it was almost too dark for me to see their bodies well. I decided to fly a little higher to clear my head.

          My wings weren't bothering me at all. I continued to fault myself as to not get too far ahead of those walking below me. It felt nice to stretch them out and have the wind rush over my face. The heaviness of the night was preventing me from enjoying it. All I could do was continually pity Tokyo's poor soul and curse myself for not having a better solution. We all have a time to go, I suppose.

          The river ran between two of the highest mountains. I flew ahead of everyone as we got close and split down the narrow valley. Bringing myself in a loop, I swooped down until I was so close to the ground, I could run my hand through the water. There was nothing like this in Heaven. I wonder why humans romanticize it so much. Earth can be very beautiful if you ask me.

          I slowed myself down as I reached the ground. Slowly, I gracefully landed in the field of wild flowers. Not too far from me was the grave Ryan and Josh had dug up earlier in the night. I didn't want Tokyo to see it. No one should ever see their own grave. I continued to walk forward to make sure they stopped before they reached it.

          Ricky seemed to know when the right time and place was to stop. He knelt down in the thick brush and laid his son down. Felix dropped to his knees on the opposite side of Tokyo's numb body. Ghost, being the most broken about this, was left to lay his son's head in his lap. Ryan and Chris stood behind Ricky, both setting a hand on either of his shoulders for comfort. Everyone else stood behind either Felix or Ghost, myself included.

          In the time it took for us to reach this point, the angel dust sedating him was finally wearing off. Ghost's tears falling down to Tokyo's pale face seemed to also bring him around. He reached his hand up to where Ghost's rested on his face.

          "My spirit has been in chains since I lost London," He murmured, "I can't fight anymore."

          "You don't have to anymore, Baby." Ghost whispered, the pain staining his gentle voice. He leaned over further until his face was nuzzled against Tokyo's shoulder.

          Ryan handed the lantern in his hand to me to hold. Then, Ryan-Ashley slowly handed him an oak box she had been carrying. It was so quiet in the brush. Only a few crickets touched the air. The sound of the box creaking open seemed to make me shiver. I held the lantern up in one hand, wrapping my opposite arm across my chest.

          Under the moon's light, the silver stake shined. Ryan handled it with such care. You would've thought it was a loaded gun. To them, it was. He closed the case, giving it back to Ryan-Ashley to hold. Kneeling down with one hand on Ricky's shoulder, he offered him the stake wordlessly. Ricky regarded it with the same cautious grasp.

          Everything stood still in that moment. The only movement was everyone's chests rising and falling with breath. I swear, even the stars about took a moment to pause. The silence was gnawing. Ghost's tear filled voice whispered one last "I love you" to his baby. For a moment, I considered looking away. I wasn't sure if I could even bare to watch.

          Ricky raised his hand, pausing just long enough for the night sky to reflect off of the silver stake. He swiftly plunged it deep into Tokyo's heart. Tokyo barely made a gasp as death was served to him quickly. I watched as his aura finally was freed from his body. The white energy that once was so trapped floated up into the sky. It twisted about like smoke, dissipating into dust that would join the stars.

          Chris leaned over and placed his hand on top of Ricky's. The emotion had finally capsized for Ricky and he had just frozen. As much as I knew my love didn't want to have to become the strong one, he knew he needed to. He helped Ricky to pull the stake from Tokyo's chest. It was rather narrow but the blood still covered it. Ryan-Ashley reopened the case for him. Blood and all, Chris set the silver weapon back inside the velvet lined wooden box.

          Felix stood slowly. He walked towards Ghost, kissing the side of his head and whispering to him. Hesitantly, Ghost stood to his feet. The tears coated his beautiful face. Felix comforted him the best he could. This entire thing had fucking broken Ricky. Ryan helped him to his feet. Ricky took several steps back, away from the group. He crossed his arms over his chest and we left him to soak in his own sorrow. Only time can heal a broken heart.

          Obviously being such short notice, we didn't have time to get a coffin. Despite what movies would like you to believe, vampires are rarely buried in them anyways. They do not want humans to discover their bodies. So, they prefer for them to decompose naturally with the earth. Bones tend to not go away as easily as flesh. Teeth are bones, meaning they did have to do something about a body's fangs. The last thing they need is some quack finding those sharp teeth and creating some scientific discovery out of it.

          Chris led Felix and Ghost over to where Ricky had wandered off to. It was enough they had to watch their son die and to be the one to deliver the final blow. They shouldn't have to watch as Ryan defanged him. He used a small silver tool to pull the sharp fangs from his gums. His four teeth were placed in the same box as the stake.

          "Chris," Ryan called for him, "It's done."

          He glanced back and nodded. Then he said some more words to the others. Ghost seemed to agree with whatever it was he said. They made the painful walk back over here. Chris gave Kuza a little gesture. He seemed to understand whatever it was. The two picked up Tokyo's limp body and walked over to the grave. It's not exactly easy to gracefully drop a body into a six feet deep hole. They did try their best though.

          The rest of us joined in to help bury the body. Vinny, Felix, Ryan-Ashley and I held the lanterns for Chris, Kuza, Ryan, and Josh as they shoveled dirt into the hole. Ricky held Ghost in his arms as they stood at the foot of the grave, watching their youngest child be covered slowly.

          "Chris?" Ricky spoke just above a whisper, "Will you sing? It calms Dev."

          His gorgeous voice could calm anyone. He looked up at me with numbness written in his honey eyes. Felix handed him the lantern in my hand, trading it for the shovel. Chris stepped over towards me. He wrapped his arm around my waist as he sung a sweet lullaby.

          "Come on over. Come unglued. It's not easy, to see all of you. Help yourselves. Help is on the way. Well there's nothing to lose. So now, I have something to say.

          Maybe we can all recognize a moment of sadness. Maybe we can finally agree on the same point of view. A long time ago we believed that we were united. So the last thing on Earth I am ready to do is say, goodbye.

          A long time ago we discovered that nothing could stop us. This hasn't torn us apart, so nothing ever will. How can we know where we are if the sun is beyond us? But this moment will show us the rest of our lives, no one is going to save us this time. No one can know what we're feeling, in that I may trust."

https://youtu.be/XEl3HyXOpsI