A/N: Hey people! Yeah, so I read Death Bringer (Thank you Hannah for lending it to me) and I can't wait for Kingdom of the Wicked. So I decided to try (try being the KEY word) to write my own version. Yes, I know, I am not Derek Landy, and may not have the same style of writing as him, but I DO enjoy writing. I am currently looking for a writer to Beta my story, so any suggestions? Also my other story, The Last Revenge, might not be updated for a while since I am working on this one. Ughh, sorry for the long note you probably stopped reading halfway through (I know I did). It's only for the first chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 1- An Unexpected Arrival

It had been four days.

Four days since she had last seen Skulduggery, slowly driving the Bentley away from China's flat. Four days since she had heard his voice gently teasing her, helping her forget the memories of the past day, where Darquesse had taken over, and she, Valkyrie, had lost all ties to humanity. Four days since she had received a single text message, note, or midnight call from him

It had been two days since Caelan had died, choking on the seawater while trying to end the lives of her and Fletcher. Two days, since Fletcher had gone to the Sanctuary, bleeding almost to death. Valkyrie had stayed with him the entire time as Nye patched him up, doing almost as good a job as to equal Kenspeckle.

Now, here Valkyrie was; holed up inside Skulduggery's house like a chipmunk in winter, meditating, waiting in silence for Skulduggery to come back. There were two places she knew he would eventually return to. Of those, she covered one, while Gordon covered the other, promising to call on his voice activated phone if Skulduggery returned.

She kept waiting to hear a call from Ghastly. It was almost inevitable in her mind that China wasn't going to die at Skulduggery's skeletal hands, or at least, at his gun. But the phone she had placed on the coffee table didn't ring once. Maybe they thought she wanted time alone, but... Valkyrie shrugged the thought away and continued meditating. Like a comforting friend, the silence had enveloped her in a hug for the past two days. She didn't move, didn't speak, didn't even eat; just let her thoughts consume her.

That was why, when the telephone rang for the first time, it was like the sound of a cannon going off in Valkyrie's ear, and she jumped in shock, almost toppling off the chair. Her hands fumbled clumsily for the phone, and her stiff muscles and joints groaned in protest of her sharp movements. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Valkyrie pressed the answer button. She took a deep breath, just to brace herself for the worst.

"Hello?" She whispered, voice hoarse and rough from non-use. She coughed and moistened her lips and tongue, then tried again. "Hello?"

The other end of the line was silent for a while, but Valkyrie could hear the person fidgeting softly, so she waited in the half-dreaded, half-expectant silence.

"Val." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Suddenly it seemed as if Valkyrie was 13 again, her worries being swept away by that clear confident, deep voice. She needed to tell him so many things, but she didn't, she just sat there hanging on to the phone, clenching it so hard, her knuckles turned white.

"I'm sorry," Skulduggery continued. "I left you there when you needed my support. I failed you." He left it at that, his words sounded hollow and tired, with more than a hint of sadness.

"Skul, I-I..." Valkyrie shook her head to clear it. "No one blames you, least of all me. We're partners, we save each other, and we don't judge. You're still my best friend, no matter what."

Skulduggery didn't answer.

"Listen to me Skulduggery Pleasant!" Valkyrie said, a little more than annoyed. "You had better come back. If you don't, I will find you and drag you back. Besides, I know you're going to have to come back sometime."

"How do you figure?" Skulduggery inquired, his voice a little more like his normal self.

"You only took one suit and one hat."

"Good point."

"Where are you?"

"Down the street. I was waiting for you to leave, but I got worried when you didn't eat or drink."

"So you've been close this whole time, and you didn't call? God Skulduggery, do you know how worried I was?" Valkyrie's relief at him being alive was starting to ebb away into annoyance.

"I needed to be alone for a while." This time the voice didn't come out of the phone's speakers, but from close behind her. Valkyrie craned her neck sharply behind her. There, Skulduggery stood, phone and hat in hand, soaking wet from the top of his skull to his shoes. At the back of her mind she realized it must be raining outside, but her main concentration was focused on that he was here.

"Skulduggery"

He opened his arms wide as she stood up slowly. A grin stretched across Valkyries face and she took a step forward, towards the open arms. Suddenly the floor seemed to shift and she was tumbling towards the wooden floor. The only thing that saved her from having her face smashed was Skulduggery's leap to grab her. He helped her sit down on his couch - dripping an enormous amount of water all over her - and was adamant about her not getting up.

"You're weak from lack of food. Stay sitting down." He ordered, kneeling next to her.

"But-" Valkyrie protested weakly.

"No buts, Val. Just listen to me, please." Skulduggery stood up, and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Valkyrie called after him in a worried tone.

Skulduggery paused and turned around, his eyeless sockets seeming to stare at her. "To get you some food. The only thing I have here are Brussels sprouts."

Valkyrie made a face. "Okay, but promise me you'll come back."

Skulduggery's voice was soft and pained. "Of course. Partners don't leave each other." He tapped the symbols carved into his collar bone and a façade stretched over his bones. It was a nice one, with ice blue eyes, and wavy black hair. He put on his hat and opened the front door. Valkyrie raised an eyebrow.

"Uhhh, Skul? You do realize you're still soaking wet, right"

He pause at where he was shutting the door behind him, and waved his right hand. All the water lifted off his suit and hat, and evaporated into the air. He gave her one last smile and left. Valkyrie sighed and closed her eyes. She hadn't slept for the past days, only meditated, and now exhaustion was taking its toll. She gave a big yawn and let her mind slowly drift off. Skulduggery was back and she knew it would be for good.

A/N: Soooo, was it good? I read that Derek Landy had finished his first draft of Kingdom of the Wicked, I flipped out. I love the series and absolutely cannot wait for its August/September release date. Thank God for Amazon Previews and release-day delivery! I know you get this all the time, I am guilty of not doing it either, but please review! The greatest joy of an author is to get reviews, good or bad, because it means people are reading (and hopefully enjoying) the story. Any questions? Oh yes, do you want Valduggery? Ghanith? Fletcherie (*ughhh*)? Shorter Author notes? Thanks!

-FFGurl