This is my first FanFiction, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Thanks to MidnightForest037 for beta'ing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant, although the OC's are mine.

My heart pounded in my chest. My legs felt like jelly, and my breath was short and raspy. I could pass out at any second.

But I couldn't quit.

Quitting would mean bad things for me. Imprisonment, if I was lucky, or most likely certain death.

I watched the thick layers of forest blur past me. I had no idea where I was going, or when I would stop.

My time was running out; I couldn't run forever.

The darkness started creeping into the edges of my vision, making it hard to see where I was going.

I could hear the men gaining behind me. I risked a glance back and could just make out the biggest one a few metres behind me. I grinned, which only seemed to antagonise him further. Oops. These men were mortals, part of a local gang. I had been given the assignment of killing their leader and they were a bit annoyed at me for killing their boss. The problem was, since they were not sorcerers, I wasn't meant to use magic in front of them. Even if that was a rule established by the Sanctuaries, and I worked against them.

A tree loomed up in front of me and instead of going around, I made the split decision to jump up into the branches. I could hear the cries of the men wondering where I had just disappeared to. There was a faint pop behind me, and I smiled.

"Sullen Token. I thought you had abandoned me back there."

"Phoenix. So nice to see you again." Sullen, living up to his name, glared at me. He put his hand on my shoulder and I barely had time to blink before I was back in the warehouse. Token stalked off, probably to go yell at puppies, or pick up another agent, or whatever he did in his free time. I turned and walked towards the back of the warehouse.

I came to the far wall, and making sure no one was around, I slid open a hidden panel. A small camera appeared and after completing a retina scan, a small light flashed, and the camera disappeared. There was a short pause as my entry was authorised before part of the wall slid away, revealing and elevator. I stepped into it, and it immediately started descending into the ground. I picked up a jacket that was hanging on the wall, slipping it on just as the elevator started to slow.

When the doors opened, I was met with my dispatcher.

"Phoenix", he greeted. I nodded before following him down the corridor. As we walked, some other agents glanced at my jacket before looking away, as if I was going to kill or seriously main them if they looked a moment longer. My call sign was infamous, and I did wear it on my jacket while I was on base. It was a red phoenix under a black claw, the phoenix my codename and callsign and the claw to show that I was a fully-fledged agent/assassin.

The organisation I worked for was called the Black Claw. It was an organisation working out of the shadows, dedicated to bringing down the Sanctuaries. We believed they corrupted the sorcerers, and although they kept mortals from knowing about the 'other world', there were better ways to do that. Our organisation operated out of London, but I was sent on missions all around the globe. The English Sanctuary had been trying to track as down and take us apart for decades, without success.

My dispatcher stopped outside an office, motioning for me to step inside. I was mildly surprised to see Brett Ward sitting at the desk, reading some files. "The job's done?" He asked. I nodded. "Yes. I ran into a bit of trouble at the end, but Token got there in time." He nodded, then handed me an envelope along with two files. "Your next mission."

I sat down. "What exactly would this job entail?"

"Going to Ireland. Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are becoming a major threat. I need them to be eliminated." I started to smile. Ireland. I would finally have a chance to get revenge on my former teammates. And on the very soil they abandoned me on.

Valkyrie stood at the pier, watching the waves crash over the rocks as she waited for Skulduggery. When the Bentley drove up, she got in. Skulduggery didn't say anything, simply started driving. After a minute of this, Valkyrie turned towards him. "Ok, what's up? You're never this quiet." Skulduggery kept his eyes on the road. "There was a strange murder last night. Eric Sullivan. He was a sorcerer living in Dublin. His wife doesn't know about magic. She goes to her mother's house on the weekend, leaving Eric alone. When she returns, Eric is lying on the floor with his throat slit."

Valkyrie frowned. "So? She would have called the mortal police, and they would have taken care of it."

"There were scorch marks on the walls. Geoffrey Scrutinous was there earlier, convincing the Guard that there was nothing fishy about this, but he claimed the scorch marks were consistent with that of an energy thrower."

Valkyrie shrugged. "So why are you mentioning this? Shouldn't we be talking about how we can find that man who set the Jitter Girls on us?" They passed a sign for Dublin. "Where are we going, by the way?"

I stood in China Sorrows' library, waiting. Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain were bound to come in soon for information. I had read their files. Valkyrie Cain was an interesting girl. Found out about the world of magic at 12 when her uncle was murdered. Since then she had been trained by Skulduggery and some of the best fighters in the world. Not someone to underestimate.

I took a cloaking sphere out of my pocket and twisted it, then started walking to the door As I headed towards China's apartment, Skulduggery Pleasant entered the library. I froze, hoping that as an elemental he wouldn't notice my disturbance in the air. Luckily, he didn't.

As I moved to stand outside China's apartment, I heard voices coming from inside. China and Valkyrie. I could just make out what they were saying.

"How long have you been going out with Fletcher?"

"A year and a half, maybe." Valkyrie responded. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Once, China Sorrows had led the Diablerie. She was a fearsome woman on the battlefield, someone you did not want to cross. And now, she spent her days sitting around, talking about love lives.

"If you care for him, and I know you care for him, you won't want to hurt him. But time passes and feelings deepen. And that's when the real hurt will set in. Are you taking him to the Ball?"

"The what?" Valkyrie sounded confused.

"The Requiem Ball, dear."

Of course. The Requiem Ball. Held every ten years to commemorate the end of the war with Mevolent. A perfect chance to get more information on their allies while I waited for them to take the bait. As I travelled outside, I pressed the button on my com system to pass on the information to headquarters. "This is Phoenix. I have more information on the targets. I repeat, I have more information. Base, come in."

The com system crackled with static as I entered my car and started driving. "Well done, Agent Skye."