Valkyrie slowly came to her senses. Out of habit, she slowed her breathing so that an observer would think her unconscious. She cast her attention to her surroundings while keeping her eyes closed. She could hear a beeping sound and a hushed conversation. It seemed to her that she was on a bed of some sort. She breathed in through her nose and smelled blood, and the clinical smell of a lab

No! she thought. She lunged off the bed she was on, startling the two people in her room. She ran for the door, twisted the handle and ran as fast as she can. She heard someone shout, and shifted into her feline form. Valkyrie ran blindly through the vaguely familiar corridors.

Maybe the Schools are all laid out the same, she thought absently. She couldn't hear anyone behind her, but she sped up anyway, desperate to get out. Finally, she burst through an open door that lead to the cool night air and backstreets of Dublin. Valkyrie shifted back to her human self and ran a couple of steps before snapping out her wings and taking to the skies.

"Valkyrie!" she heard a voice shout from below.

What? No-one but Cat calls me that. She looked down, but could see no-one on the ground. The call came again from the nearest building. Curiosity and fear battled through her. She glided over the building, trying to catch sight of whoever was calling her name. There was a young man staring at her from the top. Valkyrie glided to the other edge of the building, where the man wouldn't be able to see her, before turning back to where she had see the man. As she had thought, he'd run after her on the other end of the roof. She landed quietly and hid in the shadows. Her hands turned to claws when the young man returned. He was in his early twenties, with blond hair sticking out in all directions. The man was cursing, probably because he'd lost her. Valkyrie quietly crept behind him while shifting her throat and part of her head to that of her feline shape. The man didn't see even suspect her presence until she had her hands around his neck. Her left hand was at his throat, while her right one covered his mouth.

"Move and you're dead," she growled in her inhuman voice, "Who are you, who do you work for, and how do you know my name?" She removed her hand from his mouth and moved to his throat.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I don't work for anyone! Well, except maybe the Sanctuary, but that was years ago! "

"The…Sanctuary?" How could an Eraser (which he must be, for why else would he be in a lab?) know about the Sanctuary? "How do you know about the Sanctuary?"

"I just told you, I used to work for them! I quit after a friend of mine went missing! Could you please stop strangling me?!" He sounded… scared. Valkyrie couldn't remember the last time she heard an Eraser being scared. Either he was a very good actor (which was highly unlikely,) or he was telling the truth. Which would mean that he was a sorcerer! She loosened her grip on the man's neck a little at the revelation. The man immediately disappeared, leaving her clutching at air. Suddenly, she heard a whooshing sound. Valkyrie ducked the plank of wood that would have crashed into the back of her skull had she stayed in place. Her prisoner was wielding it, and promptly disappeared once more. Valkyrie shifted to her feline form and waited for him to reappear. She wasn't waiting for long. The man popped into existence at her side, this time holding a baseball bat, ready to swing. At the sight of the cat, he froze. Valkyrie jumped and pinned him to the ground. The man was sweating. Now that she was so close to him, he seemed familiar. She changed her head so that she could speak, but so that it would still hide her face.

"Now, you were going to tell me your name." She stated in an inhuman growl. She was surprised that the man understood her at all, yet he muttered:

"F-Fletcher Renn"

"You're lying," she growled.

"No, you saw me, didn't you? I teleported! Where else did I get a baseball bat"

"You could be another Teleporter using his name." The man frowned.

"Haven't you noticed? There hasn't been "another Teleporter" in years! I've been the last one since the Faceless Ones nearly invaded!"

"Prove it." She grunted.

"What?" asked the blond Teleporter.

"Prove it. I met Fletcher Renn. Prove to me that you're really him."

"Ok, great. How do I do that? I'm pretty sure I'd remember meeting a giant, talking, aggressive panther."

"You'd be surprised. Tell me what happened on the day where you met Skulduggery Pleasant, and I'll believe that you are who you say you are."

"Huh? Why Skulduggery?" At her growl, he hastily continued, "OK, OK, well, the Diablerie had been killing the Teleporters, and Skulduggery and his partner had come to put me in protective custody, and I was refusing them, when Sanguine showed up, offered me a job, and attacked the others when I declined. I then… uh…teleported myself away and Skulduggery and Valkyrie found me later."

"Where exactly did you teleport to?" asked the cat-girl.

"What does it matt… Ok,Ok, I teleported into the bathroom, all right! You should go see someone about your anger issues, you know!"

Paying no heed to his complaints, Valkyrie dragged the man toward a patch of light and studied his features as he struggled and shouted.

"Oh my God… You are Fletcher."

"Well yes, I've been saying that for the last twenty minutes."

Valkyrie shifted fully back to her human form and stepped back from him. Her lips formed a thin smile.

"It's good to see you again."

"V-Valkyrie?" he asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I threatened you with death earlier, but I didn't recognize you."

"Uhhh…that's ok. Just, don't sneak up on me like that again. Please."

"Sure. Can you get me to Haggard?"

"What!? But, you're injured! You can't go gallivanting around! Kenspeckle needs to check you out!" Valkyrie stiffened

"Fletcher, Sanguine's going after my sister and the only thing stopping him is a five-year old!"

"Skulduggery's going there too."

"He's driving, right? Do you really think he'll make it there in time?"

Fletcher's silence spoke for itself.

"Exactly. Can you please get me there? I'm fine, I've had way worse and I was fine."

"Ok, fine, I'll take you."

"And really? Gallivanting? You've been spending too much time with Skulduggery."

"Oh, shut up. Come on, let's go."