F.T.D

Chapter 17

The night had taken on a sombre mood after the arrival of Patience and her paramount declaration of news. Skulduggery was the person Ghastly turned to when faced with the decision to either move in on Mevolent at the castle; knowing that he had possible reinforcements in the Warlock's who could bombard them at any time. Or try and take out Charivari first leaving Mevolent alone to face them.

It was a subject they had been discussing for some time, and it had sunken their previous plan in a matter of seconds, most felt disappointed that it was too reckless to storm in without all the information. Eventually Ghastly suggested sending another group to the castle as well as Roarhaven to discreetly gather the details of the situation, but no one was to go near the shield that surrounded the town. Their first canvas of the castle's surroundings had not reported a shield similar but that didn't mean it wasn't present. All precautions had to be taken.

"I would appreciate the opportunity to be in the group to survey Roarhaven." Patience pitched in at the mention of it. "I have already seen the boundaries and I would be the best person to guide others around it." Nikoli watched his sister step up and volunteer herself like she always did, he felt for her and could see the hurt at what she had to witness; despite the confidence written all over her round, adorable face. She was the one who could compartmentalize better between the two of them, he didn't like the gory scenes or enjoy the suspense that kept you on edge; she was always the one wanted to tell scary stories at night before they went to bed. She would drag Nikoli out of bed so he would tell them with her, though he protested refutably every time and every time he was plagued with nightmares for days. Nikoli had grown accustomed to the feelings once they had gotten older and entered the war era, he had no other choice but to get over it or he wouldn't have survived.

"We will go with her," Gracious piped in, earning himself a flock of amused looks.

"We will?" Donegan muttered in question, squinting at his partner as he searched him to clarify his eagerness.

"We have a lot of experience when it comes to obscure monsters," Gracious bragged through slightly gritted teeth to his partner. "And we've also been to Roarhaven so we won't be holding anyone back." Gracious continued aiming his contribution at the Grand Mage.

"Ok," Ghastly said. "Thank you for volunteering O'Callaghan. You three go with Nikoli, be careful all of you and come back alive please. We will need your intel before we can move forward." Patience and the Monster Hunters nodded at his instructions, hoping they wouldn't let him down. "Oh, and maybe talk to Scapegrace, he... She used to live there, she may know a secret entrance that will bypass the boundaries of the force field." Ghastly concluded with a final nod, trying not to make eye contact with Tanith. Especially after his little display in front of her earlier at the mention of Scapegrace.

"I'm skilfully slick in the field." Gracious bragged again leaning over in Patience's direction. "You will enjoy the show I'm sure." He tried to smoulder her with an intense expression; his best friend and victim of the smoulder could only stare at him. The former on the verge of laughing at the tacky words that had shot out of his partner's mouth, and the latter wasn't sure if he was flirting or if he was in pain, if his scrunched-up expression was anything to go by.

"Do you need to go to the toilet?" Patience asked him before walking away, leaving Donegan to laugh as Gracious bowed his head in defeat.

"That was probably your worst chat up line," Donegan chuckled patting him on the shoulder. "How come you are the only person I know who gets worse with practice?"

Nikoli shrugged his shoulders sympathetically as he walked past the dishevelled Monster Hunter, following his sister out to prepare.

"Come on pal, let's go play with Salvador for a few minutes. That will cheer you up." Donegan steered Gracious out of the door taking a glance at the amused faces all around the room and mirroring them. A few laughs flowed through the room until Skulduggery brought up the subject still at hand.

"Finding out everything we can about Charivari is crucial now. We must be able to neutralize him and his followers if we stand a chance against Mevolent."

"I received word from the team who went to the castle," Ghastly spoke bringing his information to the forefront of his mind. "It does indeed look like someone is occupying the interior, a mortal wouldn't be able to tell from the outside but there were definitive signs of magical activity."

Dexter stood forward from the poker table he was leaning against, "I can go back to the castle, see if I can scope out any defences. We'll need to know before storming the place."

"I'll go with you, in case you meet any unfriendly faces." Saracen joined as he rose from his seat and came to stand next to Dexter. The fair-haired man flicked his eyes down to the shorter as he made his gesture. Saracen caught his eye for a second before turning to Ghastly.

"This is a good start. Let's keep it up fellas." Ghastly exclaimed.

"I think you have had enough drink for one night." Tanith quipped raising herself to Ghastly's arm. "Let's get you a cup of coffee, sober you up."

"I'm fine, Tanith really." Ghastly complained not wanting to skirt on his duties.

"It will do you good," Said Skulduggery. "You need to keep a fresh mind and with the change in circumstances, I have an appointment with an informant I need to bring forward. We can talk more when I return."

Most people departed to go their separate ways, Dexter hung back a little so when Saracen finally said his goodnights and caught up to him, they were finally alone.

"Fancy a night cap while we plan?" Dexter asked glancing at Saracen as he spoke.

"Why not, I'm not nearly as drunk as Ghastly and you know how easily my mind flows with red wine around." Saracen replied happily as they walked.

"My room?" He suggested catching Saracen's eye.

Upon entering Dexter's quarters, he immediately went to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of red wine whilst Saracen closed the door behind them. Dexter placed the bottle on the table then collected two glasses from the top of the fridge before setting them down next to the bottle. He then rummaged through a duffle bag he had stashed under the neatly made bed and pulled out some dusty, aging books and dumped them on the table. Once he emptied the bag he moved back to the table and filled the glasses up. Dexter sat himself down apparently oblivious to Saracen still stood idly by the door.

"Do you plan on standing there all night? It's going to make this rather difficult."

Saracen frowned as Dexter didn't even look up whilst he spoke. He still didn't move when Saracen sheepishly sat in the chair next to him. He watched Dexter sorting through the books with one hand and taking a sip of his wine with the other. His straight-ish blonde hair had grown longer over the past few weeks, a style Saracen hadn't seen Dexter take on since the eighties.

"Do you want to tell me why you are acting strangely around me?" Dexter inquired.

"I'm not acting strangely at all." Saracen denied immediately quickly taking his own glass of wine and sloshing a large amount down his throat.

"You have been acting skittish ever since we came back from Poland. Did you regret what happened there between us?" Dexter finally made eye contact with Saracen. During their time waiting for the Midnight Hotel they had sex; something they hadn't done for quite a while, though they had done it plenty of times in the past. Dexter had got the impression that Saracen was happy it had happened again, but since their return to this Sanctuary and everything with Mevolent started kicking off Saracen had become a tad distant. He would perfectly understand if he was seeing a woman, what more concerned Dexter was that he would hide it from him. They had always been open about their partners and no judgment was ever taken.

"No, I don't regret it at all." Saracen fretted flinging a book open in front of him to act as a distraction. He flicked through the rusting pages detailed with information about magical defences and force fields, not really taking any of it in.

"Then what?" Dexter urged. "If you are seeing someone else, you know I don't mind." Saracen glanced at him briefly, saw the genuine affection for him in Dexter's soft eyes. A thought occurred to Dexter that maybe he wanted to see this other person exclusively and Saracen wasn't sure how to tell him. "Or if you want me to back off, there's no problem in that. You know if you want to solely be with this other person-"

Saracen stood abruptly knocking his chair backwards before leaning over a surprised Dexter and crashing their lips together. Saracen had the element of surprise and was easily able to guide a dumbfounded Dexter now, his hands slid to either side of Dexter's head so he could kiss him deeper; easing his mouth open before Dexter had time to gather his thoughts.

Saracen was enjoying leading the kiss, he could feel and hear Dexter becoming breathless as their lips repeatedly came together smacking loudly as he ground against him more fiercely; until large, warm hands grasped Saracen's waist and clutched at him bringing him down to straddle Dexter's hips.

A slight gasp left Saracen as he feared his trousers would split; they were slightly too tight now, but once he opened his legs and settled on Dexter's lap their hips connected and he felt his solid mass through all their clothing. Groaning at the feel of him, the heat, Saracen rocked on his hips creating a momentum so he could kiss Dexter harder. His fingers curled into his blonde hair as he reciprocated with equal ferocity.

"Bed." Dexter groaned, breathing into Saracen's lips refusing to break contact. "Now."

The Palace was loud and bustling with the news of the former general's capture. Valkyrie and Lord Vile had to be stealthy to avoid all the commotion as they landed not too far from their destination. Vile kept her tucked behind him as they ducked and dived their way to the gaol.

Once inside the noise disappeared and it was silent. Vile took the lead as her guide and they set off to find Hopeless in the maze of bricked cells with rusty bars blocking each entrance. She remembered Vile taking her here the first time she shunted, aspects she wanted to remember, others she wanted to forget. Like him throwing her around, trapping her, hurting her. Her eyes fell on one of the cells and her feet slowed as the images passed through mind, Vile noticed and seemed to know what she was thinking. He halted and pressed his hand lightly on her back to draw her attention away from the dark hole it was going down.

"They are this way." Vile walked with her the rest of the way. This level of the gaol was empty but for two cells. Coming around the corner Valkyrie could see the arms of Hopeless and Serpine hanging through the bars. Their own appearance had gone unnoticed until Valkyrie rushed to Hopeless' cell. He seemed surprised yet relieved to see her.

"Valkyrie," he exclaimed. "Are you ok?"

"Ssh." Valkyrie hushed as she stood before him and grabbed his hands, he held on to her with equal ferocity.

"Of course, are you?" He nodded quickly. "Fine, fine. We got off lightly really, sent here without too much of a beating. I think Mevolent's trying to make up his mind as what to do with us. He seemed to get pretty excited at seeing him." He gestured to the cell across from him housing Serpine.

"That's because I was one of his generals," Serpine interjected from his cell. "He only sees my betrayal and has branded me a traitor." Serpine seemed miffed and bored if his tone was anything to go by. Neither of them looked hurt so it seemed Hopeless was probably right. Mevolent was struggling to make up his mind about which torture measure would give him the most satisfaction. She couldn't give a shit about Serpine but she wasn't going to allow Hopeless to become subject to that.

"You did betray him. You are betraying him now." She quipped, happy to see Serpine so dishevelled in his bitterness and spite. He did that curling thing with his lip again, showing his distaste at her comment. It gave her urge to punch him and she couldn't help grinding her teeth every time she saw it. "You deserve nothing less."

"You wouldn't be standing there all high and mighty if it wasn't for me you little bitch." Serpine seethed, preparing to snarl at the girl who looked equally defiant. His knuckles went white as he gripped the bars until he shook and his back arched as if he was a cat preparing to go berserk. "You should be fucking grateful, I saved your life."

"If it wasn't for you my life wouldn't have been in danger. You led them straight to me, all to save yourself. Look where it got you." Valkyrie retaliated venomously swinging her arms gesturing at the bars Serpine was now jailed behind. "If you hadn't of gone for the gun I would never have been forced to run and the second dragon wouldn't have appeared." Annoyed she had even risen to his level she cursed herself for letting him get to her. She abruptly turned away from him hoping to effectively cut their conversation short; she needed to calm down before she said or did something stupid. Serpine really wasn't worth it.

"Now let's get you out of here," she said to Hopeless then motioned for Vile to open the lock. With a wave of his arm the bars containing Hopeless opened making loud grunting noises as they did so.

"Let me out now." Serpine demanded in a condescending tone, becoming suspiciously restless. Valkyrie didn't make a move to open the gate and nor did she instruct Vile to do it. The three currently not locked up stared at the one prisoner. The prisoner glared back in a mixture of disbelief and utter rage; focused in on Valkyrie he was near enough forming at the mouth with the sight of her.

"Don't make me hurt you when I get out of here," his cheerful and calm façade was strained as he gritted his teeth together, locking his jaw in place and speaking through a fixed leer. Attempting to appeal to his fellow general, Serpine's beady eyes fell on Lord Vile. "What are you waiting for?" He spat. "Let me out!"

Lord Vile appeared not to hear him, he didn't make a move from his position at Valkyrie's flank. It seemed the shadow warrior had taken up a new master.

"You are a disgrace; do you know that?" Serpine pinned his focus on Vile, ignoring Valkyrie's calm demeanour that showed a hint of slipping as he switched targets for his venomous words. "Following the orders of a wench like her. Look at her pretending to understand grown up things when she couldn't be more clueless. This is a man's game love, and though you try and walk around like one; kind of look like one too, you are not. It's time you disappeared girly, because if you are still around when he lets me out," gesturing with his head at Vile. "Nothing will stop me from cutting you open and smearing your insides over the dirt where you belong."

"Can I let you in on something you are clearly unable to comprehend?" Allowing his insults to fly right over her head Valkyrie spoke strongly, the glaze of indifference draping over her. She was sick of the sight of Serpine and she was no longer willing to work with him. "Your words would carry more weight if anyone thought anything of you. The truth is you have sunk so low sorcerers would hold mortals in higher regard. I'm not afraid of you, and when the time comes to stab you with a poisoned dagger and burn your body whilst you are still alive, I won't hesitate to do that."

She spun on her heel without another word to the man she was rapidly accumulating a deep hatred for, "We are leaving him behind." She stated.

"What?" He protested gripping the bars and staring at her back menacingly. She looked at Vile to see if he would protest but when he stayed silent as he peered back at her, she took that as acceptance.

"You can't leave me here." The former general growled itching to get his hands on her. The walkway was only narrow, all she had to do was move back a bit further and he could grab her. She ignored his rant as he grew more furious, his skin boiling under the surface as he heaved in his despise for her.

Valkyrie moved to accommodate Hopeless' exit from his cell, with her back still turned on the seething pile of waste behind her. Stepping backwards she felt a rush of air behind her and flung around to see Serpine's arm reaching through the bars inches from her head but stationary. Confused for a second she realized holding onto his wrist was the deep dark armour of Vile's glove.

Valkyrie met his eye, piercing into her own. He wanted to kill her, it was written all over his contorted face. She allowed herself to smirk smugly at him knowing it would provoke him. He hissed and fought to release himself from Vile's grip, it was futile as Vile had no trouble keeping Serpine cemented to the spot. "I will kill you, you filthy whor-" Serpine's words were lost in his throat as he convulsed. Vile had suddenly gripped his arm tighter and crushed the bones. Forced splutters changed to pained screams and then formed into gurgles at the back of his throat when Vile twisted the shattered bones for good measure.

They left Serpine crumpled on the floor of his cell, light whimpers escaping the pathetic man's mouth. No one wanted to comment on the handling of him, Vengeous wasn't going to be happy about them leaving him, but he was injured and didn't have a say whilst he was elsewhere.

"Where are we going?" Asked Hopeless as he followed behind Valkyrie and Vile as they walked side by side. The corridors seemed quiet for now, and he could finally stretch his legs and feel the freedom he had longed for.

"Mevolent's armoury," Valkyrie answered glancing over her shoulder at him and smiling. She was so glad to have him back and not have to worry about him rotting in another prison, or worse being murdered in one. "Vile thinks if we steal the weapons he is most dependent on when it comes to the fight he will be severely weakened."

"How many guards are we talking?" Hopeless responded rubbing his hands together preparing for a fight.

"None." Vile told him without looking back. "No one is authorised to know the location of his private armoury."

"Convenient," he shrugged to himself. "So, what sort of weapons are we talking about?"

Valkyrie left it to Vile to answer that question too.

"Firstly, we must gain his Neutralizer."

"Neutralizer?" Hopeless questioned raising his eyebrow, trying awfully hard to keep his amusement from the others.

Valkyrie looked over her shoulder at him again and said "Magic sucker," with a cheeky grin.

"Got it." Hopeless responded with a slight chuckle much to Vile's dismay.

"May I continue?" Vile asked over the chuckles Valkyrie had now added to the mix.

"Sorry," she said coughing out the last of her laughter. "Carry on."

"The Neutralizer temporarily steals a sorcerer's magic, if you are hit by its beam you will become utterly defenceless; it's vital we remove it from Mevolent's possession before he can use it on us."

"Well it wouldn't matter if he did use it on me." Valkyrie remarked. "Not like I have anything to steal."

"Speaking of that," Hopeless piped up, closing the gap between him and Valkyrie so she didn't have to twist around to hear him. "How on earth did you do that back there?"

Valkyrie slowed down so she was walking beside Hopeless with Vile leading the way.

"I swear I saw you shout at two stone dragons and what did they do? Eat you? Claw you to death? Stomp on you? No, no, no... They listened to you. Oh, yes that's right, murderous dragons are known for that. Aren't they?"

She could tell Hopeless was both amused and impressed with the exchange of broadening smiles. She couldn't exactly tell him how she did it because she just didn't know.

"I don't know what to tell you, probably has something to do with me being a descendant of the Ancients."

"Really?" Hopeless inquired curiously. "That's rare, Valkyrie."

"That is exactly why she should not advertise it." Vile interrupted.

"I'm not telling just anyone, you know. I trust Hopeless." Valkyrie counted. "Like I trust you, so don't worry about him telling anyone." Vile didn't reply, he seemed to accept her logic.

"You trust him?" Hopeless asked, "Insane." He sang, nudging her in a clear, jokey kind of way. Vile stopped in front of them, both almost barging into his back before he twisted his head to stare at Hopeless for the comment.

"No more talking," Vile warned them before moving off leaving them to trail behind him. He veered off to the left and ushered them through a wooden door. Once through Valkyrie clicked her fingers; having replaced her gloves before they entered the palace, and lit a flame large enough for them to see a few meters in front of them. Or down to be more accurate. They were stood at the top of a set of stone steps that weren't far from being vertical, after about seven the rest were swallowed out of sight.

"Woah," she gasped, the steps were incredible narrow and she had to hold on to Vile's shoulder so she wouldn't just slip right down to the bottom. There were so many steps that after a few minutes of walking down Valkyrie began counting. She hit one hundred then gave up and it was still another few minutes before they reached level ground.

"Could we get any deeper underground?" Valkyrie groaned, getting used to the downward force of gravity no longer pulling on her as they came to the end and landed on level ground. "There is no way I am walking back up all of those stairs carrying a load of weapons." She continued to grumble as she caught back up to Vile.

"Here." He said stopping outside a door and handing Valkyrie a battered, folded up piece of cloth. "Only take the items depicted on that cloth, put them in this." He gave her a royal purple material bag, around the size of her palms. She had a feeling the bag was more magical than it looked and could probably carry more weight than it seemed possible. "I will come back for you. Stay alert and don't leave this room."

"Wait are you not staying with us?" Valkyrie asked quickly inching towards him.

"I have to check that Mevolent is still occupied. I won't be gone long."

"What if someone finds us?"

"This is Mevolent's private armoury, two members of his inner circle know of its location. I am one of those people, the other one has no business here so you are quite safe." Reluctantly she accepted his reasoning and with the hint of it Vile disappeared in a swirl of shadows.

Inside they were greeted with an immaculately organized armoury. Glass cabinets displayed the multitude of mystical weapons, neatly arranged around the jagged and jutting shaped room. The walls didn't look glamorous which only enhanced the intrigue of the weapons. Both Valkyrie and Hopeless wondered the room, dazzled by the combination of modernization and age of the tools. Valkyrie knew this dimension was a lot more advanced than her own when it came to magic and inventions; unhindered by mortal's sorcerers were free to thrive and experiment out in the open. She couldn't possibly imagine how awful it must be for the mortals here, the entire populations of people living as slaves.

It made her want to help fiercely; bringing down Mevolent would set this dimension on a much more even ground and possibly make strides towards a peaceful world.

Opening the cloth in her hands she revealed the first drawing on the material, Hopeless came to her side to look also.

"We are looking for something that looks like a revolver?" Valkyrie queried. Underneath the sketch the revolver was labelled as the Neutralizer. It was odd to think that a weapon; which according to Vile was so powerful Mevolent had to be relieved of it imminently, would be based on a weapon designed by mortals. Given it did have qualities that made it appear anything other than man made.

"Couldn't they have come up with a design that's a bit more imaginative?" Hopeless scoffed unimpressed and went in search of the next weapon on the cloth, taking the bag with him.

Valkyrie walked lazily through the shelves and spotted the gun on the top shelf of a glass cabinet tucked away on the corner. She quickly opened it and raised on her tiptoes to get a better view. The weapon was quite beautiful. Full silver, elegant and sleek with symbols carefully carved into every inch.

She took it from its display rack and rolled it over with her fingers, softly stroking it as she felt all its grooves and bumps. She stared at it as she took in the detail of the craftsmanship. "I like it." She commented walking back to the centre of the room.

"You do?" Hopeless broke his muttered complaints about how every weapon was in a completely opposite corner to where he had just been to reply to her.

"Yeah, it reminds me of my Skulduggery. His revolver was like his baby; that and the Bentley. He would treat them with such care, they were really special to him."

"Why do you say my Skulduggery?" Hopeless asked coming to her with the bag stocked with goods. He had already collected everything whilst Valkyrie had wasted time ogling the Neutralizer. "As if there is another one of him running around. Skulduggery Pleasant died a long time ago in this dimension."

Knowing her mistake instantly, Valkyrie started to panic. Of course, Skulduggery in this world died in the war at the hands of Serpine. He didn't come back like he did in her world. But she knew they were all wrong. He did come back and had been around the whole time, just under a different name. It wasn't her place to say anything; the last thing they needed was for Hopeless to take the news in a bad way and blow their cover.

"I know sorry, it's just what I call him; habit I suppose." Valkyrie stuttered unconvincingly. Hopeless stared at her and then at the revolver, he placed it in the bag with the other weapons.

"I think it's more than that."

"Quit analysing me."

"Do you know something about him?"

"No. How could I? Like you said he's been dead for ages.""

"Here, yes. But in your reality."

She didn't answer. Hopeless appeared to let it go but it wasn't the end of it, she could tell.

"All that is left to do is wait for Lord Vile." Valkyrie said almost cheerfully. She could tell Hopeless was monitoring her and it was starting to get annoying. To distract herself she ending up getting acquainted with a lot of sick weapons. Clearly hiding them down here was to prevent anyone stumbling upon them accidentally, nevertheless she thought Mevolent would at least put a more secure protection detail around them. Maybe he was just arrogant and didn't anticipate theft in his own palace.

Coming across a slightly familiar item, she stopped at what was a replica of some form of the Sceptre of the Ancients. There was no crystal powering it, whether it didn't have one in it at the time or of it was never designed to be powered by one she couldn't tell. The Sceptre was the same size as the original but shimmered with a metallic silver; a recurring theme for this guy apparently. The framing curved round in an erratic direction and veins of red coursed through the solid grey. It wasn't on the list but Valkyrie felt tempted to take it, if it was in Mevolent's hidden secret armoury then it must be deadly.

"Valkyrie," Hopeless stirred her and she jumped at the sound of her name. Turning to him she could see he had gone serious, not stern but whatever question he was about to ask her, he wanted an answer to. "I have seen a lot of faces in my lifetime, I have been a lot of faces too so I think I am quite the expert at reading them by now."

Valkyrie subdued herself, Hopeless had a right to know; he was after all risking his life. Surely, he should know who's hands he was putting his life into, even though it could spin things into a downward spiral.

"I have never been wrong about a person, whether they are good or bad for lack of better terms." Hopeless continued, choosing his words carefully. Valkyrie wanted to show him that she wasn't going to flip out if she didn't like what he said, she was a mature person and could handle criticism or similar like an adult. Exploding into a rage she reserved for people like Serpine, truly disgusting folk of the worst kind of evil. Selfish and reckless. Those types of people she could fight all day.

"I know you Valkyrie, I can see everything you stand for in your eyes. You do good, you aim to help us; sure, you have flaws without them none of us would be alive. I see you want to do good, I see you trusting people who are good."

She had been watching him as he spoke, emotion swirling at his heartfelt words. He caught her eye and held it.

"You trust him." He didn't need to expand. She knew exactly who he meant. "Anyone can see that, and so quickly. You told me this was your first time in a different dimension and I completely believe you but... You two seemed to be on the same wavelength very swiftly. Vile wouldn't just work with anyone, he was a force to be reckoned with in the war and that hasn't changed. Yet he quickly accepted you and told you details of his plan that's been top secret for so long. Why would he trust you with that? Why would you trust him?" You seem drawn to him in a way I can't describe or understand, there is a connection there; I've never even heard of Lord Vile functioning with sorcerers, let alone defend them except for Mevolent. Their relationship is simply, Mevolent orders - Vile does. I cannot work out what your relationship with him is."

Trapped by his words there was no way she could fob him off without jeopardizing their safety. Hopeless was a decent and loyal person otherwise he would never have become part of the Dead Men. Skulduggery and Ghastly and the others trusted Hopeless with their lives and it was wrong of her not to do the same, considering she knew these facts she just didn't have first-hand experience of them.

"I should know, Valkyrie." Hopeless spoke a lot more softly. She slowly nodded knowing she couldn't keep it a secret anymore.

"You're right. You should know the reason I am drawn to him. It concerns Vile's identity."

"Identity?" Hopeless looked puzzled.

"Yes. Shortly before the war ended Vile appeared and changed the tides. Before that he was already fighting in the war but for the other side; he went by a different name back then."

"Who? Who is he Valkyrie?"

She hesitated, it was hard for her to say.

"Lord Vile's first taken name was... Skulduggery Pleasant."

Clanking thuds drew attention to Vile's arrival and the doors to Mevolent's war room opened allowing him entrance. Mevolent himself was pacing around the room erratically as if he was excited, unusual but not odd when he was convinced he was going to gain an advantage.

"Vile," Mevolent acknowledged the appearance of his second in command. "You're back. I've had more excellent news in your absence."

Vile clocked another of Mevolent's underlings: The young man was never seen out of his smart clothes and rejected any motion to wear protective body armour, being a teleporter he was arrogant and full of himself. He only allowed people to use his first name, Blink. He said it made him more memorable, not that anyone cared when Mevolent was around.

"Master?" Vile ignored the presence of Blink; it always irritated him to no end.

"Ghastly Bespoke has been captured. Red-Hoods are escorting him here, they should arrive presently."

Vile remained silent awaiting his instructions.

"I will need a weapon. Go to my private armoury and fetch me... well you always have good taste. I'll allow you to decide."

"Master, I would be honoured at the chance to choose for my Lord." Blink jumped at the chance to impress Mevolent, it was in his nature to brown nose any authority figure, he just so happened to have a power that was rare and invaluable to Mevolent. His gathering of the teleporters was instrumental in his victory over the Sanctuary during the war; afterwards Mevolent murdered all but a few he had already selected so that there was no chance of any of them betraying him. Blink's father had been one of those select few and worked side by side with Mevolent until Blink had his surge three years prior. Once his teleportation magic had cemented him, Mevolent cut Blink's father in two with his God-Killer sword and replaced him with Blink, where he had resided ever since.

"Don't speak again," Vile interrupted finally staring at Blink head on. He spoke definitively and with no argument from the teleporter; just a strained composure hiding his disapproval.

Mevolent watched the brief exchange with an amused grin, he revelled in his underlings fighting for his attention. Blink, he knew would do anything to please him, Lord Vile on the other hand understood him and his purpose. He did things the way that was expected of him and Vile had never let him down. Blink had been more than clumsy up until now, teleporting Mevolent out of the cavern before he was killed by stone dragons was about the only thing he had got right. But being his only surviving teleporter he had to make do with him.

"He still doesn't trust you." Mevolent chuckled at Blink and at his growing level of irritation with Lord Vile. "And I don't appreciate your interruptions." Mevolent quickly turned from Blink and looked to his favoured second in command. He in no way objected to Vile's violent actions towards him which just enforced his trust for the necromancer. Vile do we have any new information on the prisoners? Surely Serpine didn't come here with a one-person army."

"The Red-Hoods have searched the entire palace. No one else has been found."

"He was always so stupid. Never thinking a plan through before executing it and ultimately failing. I want to know how he found out about the Ancient Chambers. Vengeous knew; he must be here."

"I will instruct the Red-Hoods to dedicate a group in search of him. They will search every inch of the country if they have to."

"I aim to torture every single secret the resistance has out of Bespoke. I'm sure they won't get far before I have what I need. Lord Vile, fetch me a worthy weapon but nothing too valuable. I wouldn't want to waste resources."

"Of course, Master." Vile bowed to Mevolent before striding out not giving Blink a second thought.

Due to Mevolent's restriction on teleportation and similar magic within the palace Vile was forced to walk when he came near others. He had to keep up appearances. On passing the gaol a lone slither of blackness slipped from his armour and entered under the door finding its way to the occupied cell and unlocking the door. The snivelling ex general couldn't believe his luck.

"I can't believe you aren't freaking out more about this," Valkyrie commented watching Hopeless' disturbingly calm reaction.

"I have been isolated from civilisation for a substantial amount of time; I suppose things like this just don't surprise me anymore. In this world, anything can happen, it's silly to assume something is impossible. It saddens me that my friend couldn't resist the pull of the dark side though."

A tiny laughed escaped Valkyrie's lips too quickly for her to catch it, Hopeless cocked his eyebrow at her curiously. "What's funny?" he asked half amused at the cheek of her to laugh whilst he was expressing a heartfelt thought. He loved this adorable girl already, in the past days he had gotten to know her he could already understand why she and Skulduggery got along so well, and why she was so relentless in helping Vile in this reality. It all slotted into place for him, she saw something in him, a glimmer that no one else could because no one else knew his true identity.

"I'm sorry, it's just… you don't have Star Wars here by any chance?"

"No. What's that?"

"Oh, never mind I'll tell you about it if we survive all this. I'm sure you will love it."

Hopeless didn't press anymore and happily dropped the subject. "You don't need to worry about me Valkyrie, I will help you in this mission against Mevolent, alongside Vile. I cannot condone what he has done but I have no first-hand experience, I can only consider what I see before me. I see a man who wants to change and I hope to be a part of guiding my friend back to the light side."

She didn't even try to stop the heartier laugh that escaped this time, grabbing her stomach as her muscles flexed. It would hurt more if Vile hadn't done such a good job of stitching her up. "I'm sorry, I really need to get you to watch those films."

"What are films?" Hopeless asked.

"It doesn't matter." She waved her hand to brush the thoughts away for later. "It wasn't a laughing matter that turned Skulduggery." She said, her tone serious mixed with the heartache she knew Skulduggery felt. "I'm sure you figured that out after meeting Lord Vile." She was glad she had captured Hopeless' attention and that he was taking it as seriously as he needed to; listening to her and focusing on nothing else. "The day he became Lord Vile was the worst of his life. The most devastating thing a person can go through. His complete change in personality is kind of warranted, I don't know anyone who, going through that situation, could have coped better."

Hopeless nodded, he seemed to understand without her having to go into too much detail, when Vile swept through the door in an urgent manner. He waved his arm and shadows gathered inside the handle and locked the door behind him. He skipped straight to business.

"Mevolent has instructed me to return with a weapon; Ghastly Bespoke has been captured and is being brought to the palace."

Valkyrie rushed forward, "What?"

"He will be brought before Mevolent and he will torture him for everything he has got and then he will kill him. We were lucky I was dispatched because if Blink had his way, he would alert Mevolent to your presence once he noticed the missing weapons. You have to leave the palace now." Vile spoke his words clearly despite his urgency but the more he said the more Valkyrie's stomach dropped. Once he had finished she felt horrible for him because there was no chance she was leaving.

"I can't go if Mevolent is going to kill Ghastly, Skulduggery we have to save him."

Vile flinched at his name which put her on edge. The only reason it had slipped out was because she and Hopeless were just talking about him. She had always tried to avoid it in case he gave her the reaction he just had. "Don't call me that," he said firmly with a stinging hint of harshness behind it. Valkyrie was afraid to get any closer to him though there wasn't much of a gap between them anyway.

"It's your name, isn't it?" She spoke back quickly, a little childishly.

"No it is not. And you are no wiser of me because you know fragments of my past." Vile was starting to sound irritated and he made a slight point of increasing the distance between them.

"Oh I have a pretty good idea of who you are." She countered trying to get across that no matter which part of him was in control she would always know him.

"No you don't." He spat at her angrily suddenly focusing on her face. "I am a completely different man to the one you know, stop kidding yourself into thinking you know him so entirely that you could possibly comprehend who I am."

Valkyrie had felt Hopeless slowly approach to act as her back-up in case he made a move but Valkyrie wasn't afraid of him, she did however feel better once she felt him brush up next to her. The sight of them seemed to influence Vile, but when her tone came out just as vengeful as his, those walls she had broken down shot back up and reinforced.

"My knowledge of you doesn't change the fact that Ghastly doesn't deserve to die and we should go and stop it." She tried hard to keep her voice from wavering, she had to keep a level head and not let her emotions come before common sense.

"Do you realise what you are asking? Isn't one life worth sacrificing to save many. If Mevolent discovers my treachery, he will go on a rampage and nothing will stop his explosive violence. At the moment he is distracted but if his suspicions are raised in the slightest he will be relentless."

"I can't believe you're not willing to save him." Valkyrie wasn't angry at him, just disappointed. She moved backwards until she felt Hopeless at her shoulder; his gaze hadn't left Vile since he raised his voice. It clearly wasn't what Vile wanted to hear or see but before more could be said, Vile's head suddenly whipped to the door.

"Hide." He commanded. "Now!"

Hopeless grabbed Valkyrie's shoulders and steered her into a little nook between display cases he had discovered earlier. She had a tiny view of Vile through a gap and watched intently as he waited by the door, shadows were forming around him like the old Lord Vile again, agitated and frantic.

Valkyrie recognised the power the moment she saw it but she didn't recognise the man who had just teleported into the room. He spun around to face an even more rage induced Vile.

"Blink! What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I have come to your aid, since you are keeping our master waiting. Have you not yet found a weapon? Maybe I should choose instead after all."

Valkyrie didn't like the man already, he looked sleazy and smarmy much like Serpine, and like Serpine she wanted to kick him in the face. Partly for him speaking to Vile in that way and acting so smug making her hate him, but then a part of her wanted Vile to feel like shit like the way he had just made her feel. Then she felt guilty for wishing that upon him due to personal reasons. The one thing she had to accept now was that he wasn't Skulduggery and it wasn't her duty to help him, he was a grown man and could figure it out for himself. She still wasn't going to leave without trying to help Ghastly escape; with or without Vile's help.

"Leave now before I kill you." Vile threatened him in a voice she would never like to hear again, even Hopeless had tensed up beside her.

"Mevolent wouldn't like that, now would he?" Blink's efforts to hide his stammering were in vein. "I am the last teleporter, he would be angry with you if you robbed him of that advantage."

"Leave before I inform Mevolent of your activities in the dungeons."

Regardless of the distance even Valkyrie could see Blink visibly go pale. He immediately rushed past Vile and swung open the door, Vile conjured a weapon to his hand in shadows as well as the bag right out of Valkyrie's hand and left just after Blink closing and locking the door behind him, without even a glance in Valkyrie's direction.

Well shit.

A steady beeping and the odd cough was becoming somewhat of an annoyance after the one hour mark he had been awake for. Vengeous hadn't seen one nurse or doctor type enter the ward since he awoke, surprised he was in this almost empty ward in the first place. Straps of tubing were attached to his head and chest which he viciously yanked off before he lifted himself off the bed. He would have been able to exit sooner if his body had allowed him but he needed the extra time to gain his strength or he wouldn't have had a chance in hell in getting out alive.

Vengeous shuffled to the end of his bed, his clothes and possessions nowhere to be seen so he was left to wonder around in his grey hospital robe and bare footed. There was one other sorry soul in a bed opposite, the man's wispy white hair had thinned to only a few strands and his mouth gaped open while he slept. Vengeous considered helping him though he had no idea who he was but he would only hold him back.

Vengeous snuck to the end of the ward passing section after section of empty beds. Unless the entire hospital department was automated he couldn't see how they kept it running; there was nothing but beds and the monitors at their sides. His materialisation in the hospital ward was lost on him also, the last thing he remembered was getting blown away by those stupid gargoyles; the rest was a blur but someone had moved him and saved his life. He most certainly wanted to find out who that person was.

Vengeous was pleased he still retained a useful amount of knowledge on the layout of the Palace, and equally pleased that he found his belongings in a pile just beside the exit, he grabbed them and took off.

He could take the quieter passageways and down the levels to the gaol where he assumed the rest would be if they were not already dead. It must have been his lucky day or all the commotion was going on elsewhere because he met no obstacles on his way to the gaol and entered unseen.

Vengeous fully searched the gaol and was disappointed to find no one locked up, not Serpine or the girl. He was beginning to feel uneasy at how the palace seemed abandoned, and it was never a good sign when the enemy went silent.

If he couldn't find any of his allies he had to get out of the palace as quick as he could; there was nothing he could do alone and in this state. He would have to regroup and try again.

Suddenly his luck changed and his time of not bumping into anyone had come to an end. Harshly whispered mutterings were coming from around the corner, Vengeous had time to duck behind a door before he was seen. Maybe his luck hadn't abandoned him after all when he saw Serpine skittishly walking past with an angry and pained expression on his face, clutching his wrist to his chest.

Vengeous revealed himself and avoided the elbow swipe that came his way.

"It's me you idiot." He grunted flinging Serpine's arm away from him with force. His fellow ex general scowled at the action but seemed relieved to see him.

"Vengeous? Where have you been?" Serpine questioned harshly before getting a good look at the gown he was wearing, then a sudden smirk erupted on his face. "Why are you wearing that?"

"I've been swimming," Vengeous growled sarcastically. "Why do you think I am wearing this? I woke up in the hospital ward. Where are Vile and the girl?"

Vengeous roughly emptied his stuff onto the floor and changed into his generals uniform and attached his cutlass to his side.

"That girl needs to be taught a lesson, I swear the first opportunity I get I'm going to destroy the little bitch. She convinced the others to leave me rotting in jail while they gallivanted off. Look what she had that wretched necromancer do to me." Serpine thrust his mangled and contorted arm into Vengeous's face. It looked painful but nothing he wanted to bother himself with.

"Never mind that you whimp, you are free now. How did you escape if they left you behind?"

"Beats me. The door just opened by itself." Serpine shrugged, not too fussed on the how it happened but glad that it happened in the first place. Vengeous didn't question it, or bother to think more upon it. Now he wasn't alone they could continue. "So, what's the plan now?"

"We find Mevolent's armoury."

"Great, do you know where it is?"

Vengeous nodded, "This way."

Making their way down the many steps he knew led to the armoury, Vengeous was still astonished he hadn't come across anyone yet. No one was supposed to know the location of Mevolent's private stash so for now he knew they were safe.

"How do you know about this place?" Serpine asked, miffed again at another secret of the palace he was unaware of; he was just going to have to get used to it, not that he should care. He renounced his loyalty to Mevolent a long time ago, he didn't want to go back to being his general especially if the Resistance was successful in defeating Mevolent.

"Lord Vile slipped me the information, stealing these weapons in particular will deal a devastating blow to Mevolent. Their location is forbidden therefore we should not encounter any guards or alarm systems."

"Well, he is that arrogant to think he doesn't need any additional protection, especially not in his own back yard. His stupidity is our fortune. Please tell me we are coming to the end of these wretched steps."

Serpine's complaints were rewarded, they had been forced to walk down the many, many steps in total darkness and finally landed on flattened ground. They had to tread very carefully, Vengeous only making Serpine aware of how steep they were at the very last second before he plummeted over the edge. "Vengeous, I sincerely hope you have some form of light because if I have to stare into pitch black any longer I'm going to-"

"What? What are you going to do? Do you think I have a box of matches stashed somewhere in my uniform? This would have gone more smoothly with Valkyrie around."

"Don't talk to me about that girl!"

"Calm down, would you. It's not much further and I don't have time for your pettiness."

Serpine's bottom lip couldn't have stuck out more.

"Yep, we are definitely locked in." Hopeless huffed after giving the door another tough shove, confirming that it wasn't budging. He finally gave up. They had been trapped for nearly ten minutes and he had spent all that time tackling the door, he wasn't even sure how Vile had locked it. There was bound to be a magical padlock in place rather than an ordinary lock and key.

"He doesn't want us interfering which he is just going to have to get over, because once we get out of here, there is going to be some serious interfering happening." Valkyrie exclaimed. He noticed she was still sifting through the cabinets and drawers. He walked over to her and had a little nosy at the items she had brought together on a round oak table hidden away in the back. All a bit too big and bulky for her delicate frame, she had thoughtfully picked out some specifically for him.

"I was thinking, we could see if this works against the door and some of these we could use against any Red-Hoods or other nasties we come across. I have no idea what creatures Mevolent has at his disposal and I don't want to go up against anything without some back up."

Hopeless wasn't entirely sure what the items she had picked out did but he was itching to find out. It wasn't every day you got to sneak into the private armoury of the world's worst criminal against humanity.

Suddenly the door handle began to rattle. The pair froze for a second then in record time gathered up the rest of their trinkets and hid behind a collection of cabinets before the door opened slightly. Valkyrie waited for Mevolent or Vile or that creepy guy that was here a second ago to walk through.

Relief filled her when the pale face and grey hair of Vengeous poked his head a smidge through the gap incredibly slowly. He almost made Valkyrie laugh with how cautious he was being. Her happiness faded slightly when Serpine pushed him through the threshold and closed the door behind them. She scowled whilst wondering how he had escaped but she quickly realised she would have to put her own feelings aside- temporarily and just deal with him until she got back to her own reality.

"Why were you taking forever?" Complained Serpine as he waved his hands around like a graceless maniac. "You said yourself no one is allowed down here."

"Especially not prisoners." Valkyrie announced herself and came out from behind her shield. She was pleased that her appearance caused Serpine to jump and tensely swing his head around to her voice. She couldn't even be bothered to ask how he had got out of his cell, he would end up being smug that he wasn't in there for longer like she had wanted. Clearly Vengeous had set him free and now they were wasting precious seconds they needed to save Ghastly. Now that there was four of them their chances had significantly increased.

"I don't know if you have heard but Ghastly has been captured." Valkyrie told the two ex-generals. She felt Hopeless come up behind her. It was nice that he made her feel almost as safe as Skulduggery. They were clearly from the same breed.

"Ghastly Bespoke?" Vengeous asked, surprise apparent in his tone and the way he narrowed his focused eyes on Valkyrie.

"Yes. We need to rescue him."

"I agree." Vengeous replied without hesitation and ignored the shocked gestures of his fellow general.

Valkyrie wasn't expecting that.