A/N: Hello everybody! :D This is my second fanfic for Skulduggery. I hope you guys like it.

This is set a year and a few months after KOTW, Darquesse has taken control over Valkyrie. Valkyries presence was weak but now is getting stronger and stronger. She has left Skulduggery, and he is determined he to get Valkyrie back. The world is in utter annihilation and there is war, with Skulduggery the leader of the Elementals and Adepts and Darquesse the leader of Necromancers. Mortals are also caught up in this battle of magic.

It will contain OC's. PM me or tell me if you want to be a character. Anyways, Review please! X

P.s- Tanith got the Remnant out of her somehow. So.. she's Remnant-free. Yay :)


She walks the dark hallways of the Temple, her servants following behind her. She walks towards the large hall where her army waits. "Solomon, fetch me a coffee." Darquesse says casually, her voice echoing slightly. Despite being an evil sorceress, she still enjoyed the taste of hot coffee running down her throat. "Yes Mistress." He leaves her side to get her the drink.

She enters the hall and everyone inside goes quiet. "Today we shall strike the Elementals and Adepts again, just as we did three days ago. We will bring terror and their numbers down even further. Our numbers are low, but you have something they do not, something they will never have. You know this. The other side have someone that could defeat us but he dares not do this, for he fears he will not be able stop himself from harming the ones he loves." Everyone cheers and some of the people cry tears of happiness.

"Fools." she whispers, as Solomon returns with her coffee.

"You are an inspiration to them Darquesse, they know that with you on our side, we can win this war." he tells her. "Also, Mr. Bespoke has your new clothes ready."

Darquesse nods and walks out of the hall. She walks down long, winding stairs and dark corridors, heading deep into the Temple, where she keeps all her prisoners.

She walks to the cleanest and most well-lit cell, where a man with scars all over his head sits on the floor. "Ghastly."

"Hello Valkyrie," Ghastly said. He has never called her Darquesse, even though she has captured him, tortured him and forced him to make his special clothes for her army. She talks to him a lot, maily beacuse he's the only other person worth talking to in the Temple. She tells him stories of the people she's killed after she returns from battle and it fills him with sadness. "Your clothes are over there." he points to a pile of black clothes, folded on a table.

"Thank you Ghastly. It's good you finished them today; I'm going to another fight, this one is more important than all the rest. Can you guess why?"

He nods, "Skulduggery's going to be there isn't he?" she smiles in delight. "He misses you you know. He cares for you. The minute after you left us all he said to me 'I will get her back'."

She stared at him. He never talks about Skulduggery anymore, he used to tell her how much it would mean to Skulduggery if she gave Valkyrie back. She looked away and picked up the clothes. "Thank you." She gets walks out of the cell and locks it up. Just before she gets out of earshot she hears him say, "You're welcome Valkyrie."

For the first time in over a year, Darquesse feels a pull in her heart and hears a voice in her head. Let me out! Please. Darquesse shakes her head, getting rid of the voice and scowls as she goes to her room. Could she be softening up? Impossible. Darquesse was in control and Valkyrie could do nothing. Even though these past few months, Darquesse had realized she wasn't as ruthless and destructive as she had been.

"Solomon, tell everyone to get ready. I'll be out soon." she doen't even wait for his reply, she just goes in her room and closes the door.


"Skulduggery? Are you awake or are you still meditating?" Tanith's voice calls out to him. She was dressed in her usual leather attire, with the exception of a black coat made by Ghastly and her sword in her hand.

"I'm awake. Is it almost time?" he asks.

"Yes. The ar- everyone, is ready."

"Okay, I will be out in a minute."

She nods and leaves. He gets up and paces around the room. "Why am I nervous? The only difference is that you're seeing her. Valkyrie." He falls to the floor and puts his head in his hands. He hadn't seen her in over a year. He missed her. He missed Valkyrie. In the whole year and a half the world had been in battle, he had only seen her twice. Once in the first attack, he went up against her. It pained him to do so. The second time was only a month after that, she was walking alone, to the pier. All she did was stand at the pier, he had watched her stand there until she left to go back to the Temple.

His friends said she appeared in every battle, but he never wanted to see her. He made up excuses not to go like 'I can help the wounded' or 'I need to protect our headquarters.' But he had heard news, news that Valkyrie was slipping through and Darquesse was getting weaker. That was why he wanted to fight today. Also to try and get Ghastly back. She captured Ghastly to make the special, magic-resistant clothes. He pulled his jacket on and cocked his hat to the ususal angle, then left the room.

Tanith walked next to him and could feel his unease. "Skulduggery, it's going to be ok. I've seen her, the last fight we were in, three days ago? I saw her slip through, we were standing there, she had her own sword and I had mine, I told her that you missed her. I told her that we all missed her, but you the most and she actually put her sword down and I could see in her eyes that it was Valkyrie. But then Darquesse regained control and we were fighting again. Darquesse is getting weaker, with you out there today, Valkyrie will fight harder to take control."

Skulduggery stopped walking and looked at her, "Thank you Tanith." then he pulled her into a hug.

He let go of her and nodded. "Lets go."


A/N: I hope you guys like it! :3 Review... X