(A/N) This is a One-Shot, but if asked to, I may do a "Morning After" chap... ;D
I had to, Etheran, you know I did xD
*Disclaimer*: I own Holly Swift, Rosette By-Gone, Samantha Incident, Colourless Darling, Underling Hero, Sebastian Wing, Gemma Runway and Farliah Greenstem. Etheran Claw owns Etheran Claw xD Sabrina Sparrow owns herself (hope you don't mind I added you, Brina! It just felt weird not having you there! xD) Anything you recognise from SkulPles, doesn't belong to me! I don't own Daleks, or Dr. Who. Any songs mentioned I don't own (unless I state otherwise).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ETHERAN CLAW! (A/N)
It was Saturday night, and Etheran Claw turned the key in the lock, opening the front door. He was tired, and very much annoyed. Holly Swift had kept him busy all day with clues leading from one random thing to the next, and it was never ending! Anytime he solved one, he'd get a text from Holly saying she discovered another clue. Etheran would have to go to where she was, find out she had already gone, discover what the clue meant, then repeat it all! Right now, he was at a warehouse in Skerries, and Holly had said the final clue was here. He sighed in annoyance. Why couldn't someone else do this? Even more, it was his birthday and he never even had time to get home to relax! Even on Holly's birthday, the Sanctuary had given them all a day off, why couldn't they do that for him? He sighed as he walked down the dark hall.
Odd, he thought, I was told the lights would be on... He slowed to stop and listened carefully. A slight rustling could be heard from behind the doors ahead of him. Someone was in there. Instantly, he went into stealth mode. Taking the twin blades from the scabbards on his back, he clutched them tightly in his hands. Slowly, he tip-toed to the double door and gently nudged it. Naturally, it was shut with Withstand. Etheran held his hand up to the shield, and it shattered. He tapped a sword to the covered window, and the rustling stopped. This is getting really weird, he thought, and brought a foot up. In a flash, he kicked opened the doors and held both swords out in front of him.
He expected someone to be robbing the place, or someone like Sanguine to be lurking around. What he wasn't expecting, was a hall full of his closest friends, all Mage, to be there, in shock. There was a giant blue and green banner hanging over a stage that read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ETHERAN!" in yellow. There was a curtain hanging behind the stage. Tables and chairs were scattered around, and a DJ set was to the left of the stage. Decorations covered the walls and streamers hung from the rafters. Balloons were in bunches around the hall, some had gotten free and floated to the rafters. Candles were lit on each table, even though the lights were on. A bar was to the right of the stage, and a long table was beside it, holding platters of food.
"Er..." Etheran mumbled, "what's going on?"
"ETHERAN, YOU IDIOT!" Holly stormed to the front of the crowd, she was wearing a black dress that reached her knees, puffing out, with a dark blue ribbon around her waist. She, of course, was wearing her trademark huge black boots. "You were supposed to still be at Aranmore! Still working out the next bloody clue!" she sighed, "Well, now that you're here..." she grinned widely, and the group chorused, "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Etheran looked at who was there, and a smile spread across his face. Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Fletcher, Ghastly, (the non-remnant) Tanith, China (surprisingly), Philomena Random, Geoffrey Scrutinous, Kenspeckle, Echo-Gordon, Caelan (Valkyrie insisted), Finbar, Anton Shudder, Sabrina Sparrow, Rosette By-Gone, Samantha Incident, Colourless Darling, Underling Hero, Sebastian Wing, Gemma Runway, Farliah Greenstem and over a hundred more were all standing in the hall, dressed in formal attire.
"Holly, you didn't have to!" he smiled, and lowered the swords.
"Pssh," she huffed in response, "we all know you wanted something for your birthday, and what's better than a party? RIGHT GUYS?" she yelled to the crowd, and they replied with a chorused,
"YEAH!"
"Too right!" she grinned, and ran forward to hug him. She dropped her arms and smiled at him, "I got one for my birthday, Val got hers a few weeks ago. Now, it's your turn!" she laughed, and dragged him to a table at the other side of the room. Said table was covered in brightly wrapped presents, each varying in size. "Now," Holly began, "you can start with the presents, or just have fun for a bit!"
"I think I'll-"
"OR!" Holly yelled, cutting him off, "Or, you could go straight to the ca-ake?" she said "cake" in a sing-song voice, indicating that it would be the better choice.
"Uh, cake?" he smiled sheepishly.
"CAKE IT IS, THEN!" Holly yelled, and ran over to Sabrina, who was talking to Sebastian. Sabrina, too, was wearing a dress, though hers was midnight blue. It reached halfway down her shins, and had sequins running up the sides. Her blonde hair that usually sat in a ponytail was now hanging down her back, and a diamond clip in the shape of a butterfly was pinned in her hair. She turned and smiled at Holly, and Sebastian turned to strike up conversation with Underling and Colourless. Holly continued to talk with Sabrina, and Sabrina grinned widely at something Holly said. They high-fived and ran behind the curtain on the stage. A loud bang was heard, followed by a string of "bloody hell"s from Holly, and then the lights dimmed. Everyone turned to face the stage.
The curtain pulled back, and revealed Holly and Sabrina onstage, both holding microphones, with a VERY large box inbetween them.
"Right," Holly began, and she grinned, "We are all here for one thing. Well, some of us are just here for food," this gained a few laughs, "but still! We are here to celebrate the birthday of our dear Etheran Claw." The crowd applauded, and a few cheers and whistles could be heard.
"That we are," Sabrina said, "and we are also here, to congratulate him for not dying yet! Because we all know that in our line of work, you always nearly die." This, too, gained laughs, "So, here we are. Here's to you, Etheran, and here's hoping some villain doesn't crash the party and kidnap Holly again!"
"Why?" Holly mumbled, "Why must I always be the one who gets kidnapped?" everyone laughed again, including Sabrina and Holly. The latter sighed happily and continued talking, "So! Our dear Etheran decided to start with the cake!" cheers ran through the hall, and Holly shushed them, "Now tell me, m'dears..." she grinned, and yelled, "WHO WANTS CA-AKE?" Cheers erupted through the hall, and Sabrina and Holly lifted the box. Hidden inside was a three foot cake, in the shape of a yellow Dalek from Doctor Who.
"Wow," Etheran mumbled, and Holly laughed.
"I'm guessing you like the cake then? WELL GET YOUR ARSE UP HERE AND CUT IT!" she lifted a knife from behind the cake and tossed it to him. He caught it by the handle and jogged toward the stage. When he reached the edge, Etheran displaced the air around him and shot up onto the stage. He smiled as Holly and Sabrina stepped away, and he stepped forward to cut the Dalek. He leaned forward, knife at the ready, then-
-SPLAT-
Holly and Sabrina had snuck up behind him, and pushed his head forward into the cake. A shocked gasp rang around the hall, then everyone burst into a massive fits of giggles and laughter. Etheran lifted his head from the cake, most of which was smothering his face. He wiped it from his eyes and glared at the two mages bent over with laughter behind him. He held up an hand full of cake and threw it. It smacked Sabrina in the face. The crowd laughed louder as Holly gasped, and ran to the front of the stage giggling. When she reached the edge she jumped and displaced the air to insure a soft landing. She ran over and hid behind Valkyrie. Cake throwing and more laughter began, and someone started the music. The first song was Move Along by All American Rejects, Holly's favourite.
"OOOH!" she yelled, "I LOVE THIS SONG!" and she began singing, "Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking, when you fall everyone stands! Another day and you've had your fill of sinking, with the life held in your- Hands are shaking cold, these hands are meant to hold, SPEAK TO ME!" she sung the rest of the song in perfect tune, and many applauded her. She giggled and bowed as the next song played.
The rest of the night was a rounding success, to say the least. Everyone enjoyed the party, and many had gotten ever-so-slightly drunk. The food was tasty, including the cake. The music was brilliant, and there was even a bit of karaoke! Etheran couldn't believe that this was why Holly had him running all around Leinster for. In the end, he decided, it was definitely worth it.
And there we go! Happy birthday to the epic Etheran Claw! Here's to you, mate!
- Holly