Well, I promised a oneshot series, and here it is. An AU fic in which the Faceless Ones... 'altered' Skulduggery slightly. This first one is set at the beginning of Dark Days.
So here are the changes:
- Skulduggery never lost his skull. There was another Isthmus Anchor that lead to the Faceless Ones' dimension. Don't ask what it is because I cannot be bothered to try coming up with something.
- A lot more time had passed between 'Playing with Fire' and 'The Faceless Ones'. As a result, Valkyrie is now 19 and living in Gordon's manor after having inherited it on her 18th birthday.
- Darquesse is not a problem, neither is she ever going to be so.
- Lord Vile may or may not be old news. I haven't decided yet.
- Valkyrie's parents are aware of magic after a sorcerer tried to attack them to get at Valkyrie. Val didn't have the heart to let the Sanctuary wipe their memories.
- Valkyrie is an Elemental and always will be.
- My OC, Clarity, from 'Who Said Life was Easy?' exists, but they disappeared not long after the war ended. No one knows where they are and they have not been sighted since.
- Up until after Dark Days, there was a fully operating Council of Elders being headed by Thurid Guild. Of course, the bomb (I can't remember what it's called) destroyed the two Elders, and we all know what happened with Guild if we've read the forth book.
- The reflection never turned rogue, and it never will.
Okay, I think I'm done there. Enjoy. Oh, and the only character I own here is Clove.
Valkyrie scowled up at the red sky, fighting the urge to yell in frustration lest she attract some beast from this dimension. She especially didn't want to draw the attention of a Faceless One with the sound of her voice. The portal back home had closed about half an hour ago, and she still hadn't found Skulduggery. She was pretty sure she didn't have long left until she had to go home and leave him here.
Stupid, stupid skeleton, she seethed inwardly. Why do you have to get lost in this bloody dimension? Couldn't you have simply stayed near the opening? I swear, I will burn your hat when I find you.
With a stormy expression on her face, Valkyrie carried on searching for the skeleton. She didn't find it. Instead, she found a skeletal, zombie-like being in a torn, bloodstained suit with empty black pits instead of eyes and a slashed mouth. A low, guttural groan escaped its ragged throat, and she screamed in response. Her shriek of horror only got louder when the creature reached out with a clawed, shaking hand.
"Valkyrie…" it rasped. "Valkyrie… they'll hear you."
Her scream petered out, and she fainted.
When she awoke, she was being carried bridal style by the man with hardly any face or flesh left as he pelted through the streets. Something dark was chasing them, its bloodcurdling screeches piercing her ears and heavy wingbeats sounding terrifyingly close.
"Skulduggery?" she ventured, turning her attention to the man who was carrying her. "Is that you? It had better be."
"Yes," Skulduggery replied, his voice barely a whisper. "Is the gateway in the same place as before?"
Valkyrie nodded. "Yes. And I'd appreciate it if you kept running."
Skulduggery didn't respond; instead continuing to run at full speed back to where Valkyrie had last seen the portal. He desperately picked up the pace when he saw the doorway splitting open and the volume of the screeches increased.
"Ní arís, ní arís," he began muttering nervously, over and over again. Valkyrie recognised the language as Irish, but not the words, however the mantra sounded well-practiced, as if Skulduggery had repeated it to himself many times before.
Moments later, she was overwhelmed by sudden dizziness as Skulduggery ran through the portal with her. She grunted as hard ground thudded into her (or rather, she was thrown onto it), but quickly got back up on her feet, only to see Skulduggery collapsed on the floor, curled in on himself and wheezing harshly. Blood was streaming from his partially reanimated form more freely now, and he seemed to be in a lot of pain.
"Skulduggery!" she shouted, rushing toward the detective, trying not to gag when the man suddenly keeled over and hacked up a large clot of blood and gunk that splattered his front and soaked the earth in front of him. He glared up at China, and Valkyrie could see the faint light of two lavender purple flames in his eye sockets.
"Do déithe…" he snarled contemptuously; bitter hate lacing his voice, "…they did this to me… Are you happy now?"
Ghastly was sweating as he shakily held the phone to his ear; desperately praying that his call would be answered.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up," he muttered nervously; beginning to pace.
Eventually, his prayers – or rather phone call – was answered.
"Ghastly!" came the cheerful male voice with the dangerously rich Irish accent from the other end of the line. "How are you? I know I said that I'd rather folks didn't call me for a while unless it was an emergency, but it's so nice to know that people remember I exist. I've been getting a little lonely here in Venice, truth be told."
"C-Clove," Ghastly managed to stutter out. Jesus Christ, how was he going to tell him that his charge had just fallen through a patch of thin ice? "Skulduggery's… in trouble. He needs your help."
There was silence on the other end for a moment. "What..?"
"I'll send a Teleporter; Fletcher Renn; over," Ghastly said quickly. "He knows your area, he'll be outside your house in a moment."
As Ghastly had predicted, Clove was in the hospital within minutes, and now that Valkyrie could finally meet the man properly, she was quite surprised by what she saw. She'd expected an old, decrepit mage wearing knitted wool sweaters, loafers and a braided beard; not this tall, muscular man in his mid-forties with a mane of thick, silver-blond hair; collected into small braids that were decorated with ornamental, multi-coloured beads. He had a slender, feminine jaw compared to his other more masculine features, and he was dressed surprisingly well in a jacket and boots that were clearly tailored by Ghastly, a white t-shirt and denim jeans.
"Where is he?" the newcomer demanded, a rabid worry shining in his gleaming silver eyes. All it took was a glance from Kenspeckle, and he was by the bedside upon which Skulduggery lay; barely holding onto the shreds of life he'd somehow gained by the skin of his teeth. Or at least whatever skin he had; there certainly wasn't any on his teeth. Harsh, laboured breaths rasped out of his barely functioning lungs, and the violet lights of his eyes were beginning to flicker dimly. "Nia… What've they done to you?"
"You do realise that saving him will hurt you, don't you?" Kenspeckle stated bluntly.
"It will hurt us both, but I'd rather be left exhausted than lose family," Clove said. "Everyone; out. I can't be distracted."
Surprisingly, no one argued, and Valkyrie silently followed a grim-faced Ghastly out of the room, leaving Clove and Skulduggery alone.
"C-Clove," the barely living detective choked. "I… I can't… can't breathe… can't think… it's… it's painful…"
"It's okay, young one," murmured the older mage in reassurance. "I'll make it better, but it'll just feel a little bit sore until everything's fixed."
"This will… hurt… a lot… won't it..? I know it will… You're talking to me as if… as if I'm a child…"
"Yes. I'm really sorry."
Skulduggery didn't answer; he was too busy trying to stay conscious. Gently, Clove held his bloodied hand in his own and focused on his charge and the energy that made up his being. His heart plummeted when he realised that everything was… was wrong; not the way it was meant to be. The energy wasn't quite his own any more, and he could no longer rebuild his young charge's living body from memory; the process was just too complex. Heck, even his skeleton had been altered.
He'd have to improvise, then. If he didn't, then Skulduggery wouldn't survive. Better to have him living as something else instead of human and truly dead with no way of coming back.
Mentally building a blueprint from what was in front of him already; Clove began to build Skulduggery's body. Energy collected around the detective, who rasped out a harsh whine of discomfort as a sudden heat surrounded him and his already blurred vision deteriorated further. If there had been any onlookers present, then they would have seen the air start to shimmer; much like when on a hot summer day, the tarmac on a road tends to reflect the heat back and cause things to look like they're underwater.
"I know, I know," Clove said. "You don't like it, but it'll be worth it in the end; I promise."
He started assembling (or in some cases; completing) the vital organs; lungs, brain, heart, etc.; but the he almost lost his concentration when Skulduggery let out a pitiful cry of pain. The heartbreakingly weak grip on his hand suddenly strengthened somewhat, and as Clove carried on, the faint whines increased in volume. Pouring more of his own energy into the healing process, it took Clove everything he had not to let Skulduggery's screams get to him and to simply pull on through.
"I'm sorry."
Skulduggery's body was glowing from the immense amounts of energy flowing in and around him, but that was the least of his worries. What really bothered – no, make that tortured – him was the pain – more like agony – that consumed his entire being; devouring him like a rabid beast. He'd never experienced anything like this before, not even when he'd been murdered at the hand of Serpine. Through all the torment, he could feel himself being rebuilt; the individual cells materialising and fitting into place, adapting to their roles; the complex pathways of his blood vessels being mapped along his form and filling with fresh red blood; and the way muscle and sinew roped together and attached to his bones.
Clove himself was beginning to feel the negative effects that his magic had on himself. A headache was beginning to throb behind his eyes and fatigue was threatening to eat at him. But he pressed on, knowing that if he stopped now, Skulduggery would likely die. Now, what did he have left to do? Oh, yeah. Hair, eyes and skin. He began constructing the eyes first, paying great attention to the colour. No one had eyes like Skulduggery's; the chromosomes were unique, and that was one of the key aspects of how his power worked: genetics. Now for the skin; something he'd healed countless times before. It took him a minute and two seconds exactly. All that was left was the hair. Normally he'd have just left it to grow out on its own, but knowing how fussy Skulduggery was, he was better off prompting it to grow at an accelerated rate and let him cut it the way he wanted later. By now, Skulduggery was screeching inhumanely with pure, unmeasurable agony, and Clove's head was beginning to feel fuzzy and he was on the verge of passing out.
Eventually, he was done, and Clove released his hold on everything. The glow of energy faded, Skulduggery's screams petered out into small, barely audible whimpers, and Clove promptly passed out, falling out of his chair and onto the floor.
Several seconds later, Clove awoke to a mind-numbing, throbbing sensation in his head. Sitting up, he raised his head to look at Skulduggery, who was curled in on his side and whining in discomfort. The bloodstained remains of his suit were clinging to his shaking form and he was gazing at nothing with glazed, unseeing eyes that were plagued with fear and the lingering remnants of pain.
"You poor thing," Clove murmured soothingly, standing up and running a gentle hand through Skulduggery's hair. "I'm sorry it hurt so much."
When the screaming finally stopped, Valkyrie stepped forward, intending to go into the ward and check on Skulduggery. She'd been told that the healing process would cause her friend pain, but those screeches had seemed… inhuman. Much to her outrage, Kenspeckle had held her back.
"Not yet," he said firmly. "Such an extensive healing will no doubt leave Skulduggery confused and in a somewhat regressed state of mind for a short while. It's happened before when Clove has healed someone. And due to their history, and Clove's… upbringing, he is extremely protective of Detective Pleasant. Chances are we won't be allowed to see Skulduggery until Clove is content that everything is okay."
Valkyrie opened her mouth to protest, but the look Kenspeckle gave him told her that there was no way she'd win this argument unless she wanted to get hurt. So she grudgingly kept quiet and waited.
Clove had a 'ritual' that he carried out every time one of his patients turned out as disoriented as Skulduggery was. Carefully helping him stand on shaky legs, Clove guided him into the bathroom, noting with worry how the detective seemed to be as weak and gullible as a lamb, and that the vacancy in his eyes wasn't going to be dissipating any time soon. Once in the bathroom, he turned on the taps, making sure the water was a decent temperature and waited for the bathtub to fill up before turning towards Skulduggery, who was staring at the steaming water blankly.
"Nia, I'm sorry," Clove crooned softly, cupping a hand over Skulduggery's cheek in a comforting manner. "I didn't mean for it to hurt so much. You know that, right?"
Skulduggery remained silent, but his unique eyes (they'd always been iconic) focused on him; a little less glassy than before; and he carefully rested a hand over Clove's, rubbing it fondly. A contented humming noise escaped him; signalling his understanding; and Clove allowed himself to smile at the rare display of affection.
"I'm glad you understand," he said, rubbing his forehead against Skulduggery's. It had been a long time since he'd been able to express his fondness for his favourite cub. "Now let's get you cleaned up, hmm? It might seem a little embarrassing, but just think of it as when you were a boy, okay?"
A flash of uncertainty crossed Skulduggery's otherwise dull eyes, but he nodded in consent; allowing Clove to help him out of the rags that he called his suit (Ghastly wasn't going to be too impressed at the garments' condition) and sat in the bathtub. He looked up at Clove expectantly, and the healer was immediately transported to when the detective was a child and needed bathing after playing outside in the rain. Of course, this time it was dried, crusted blood that covered him instead of mud. The contrast was horribly unpleasant. And that was not supposed to be a pun!
Clove made short work of the blood with the help of a flannel cloth and some soap, and once Skulduggery was out of the tub, he hastily draped a big, warm towel around the younger mage's shoulders to spare him any embarrassment that may ensue once he regained his senses completely. Then he emptied out the bath before helping Skulduggery dry himself and put on a flimsy, sea-foam green hospital gown that hung from his wiry frame and made him look as if he hadn't eaten in years. Which was technically true.
After guiding Skulduggery back to the hospital bed and sitting him down on it, Clove allowed him to huddle up to him and rest his head on his shoulder. The contact was readily welcomed by the healer, who pulled him closer and relished the warmth that his young charge had to offer.
"I've missed you, too," Clove murmured, ruffling his hair gently. "You don't visit often enough. Now get some sleep. Healing that much of you will have some nasty side effects if you don't."
It was well over an hour before Clove poked his head around the door to look at Valkyrie, Kenspeckle and Ghastly with a neutral expression on his face.
"Is he alright?" Ghastly asked worriedly.
"He's fine," Clove said. "Just… different."
Confused, Valkyrie and Ghastly followed him back into the room, where a tall, thin and wiry man just a few years shy of thirty lay on the hospital bed, dozing peacefully. Long, dark blonde hair framed his pale face and he was curled up with his head on his gangly arms. Much to Valkyrie's surprise, his fingers were tipped with sharp claws, and a thin coating of gold-brown fur covered his limbs.
"As much as I hate to put it this way, those Faceless Ones brought back a… a mongrel… as his father would put it," Clove explained. "I had to work with what they'd given me, so not all of him is the man you might so fondly remember. We'll all just have to adapt. Him especially."
"How much has changed?" Valkyrie enquired, apprehension rising in her chest. She didn't think she could ever get used to a different Skulduggery, no matter how long she had to do so.
"When it comes to physical characteristics; I don't think I need to point that out. A few things in his brain might be a little different; more unstable emotions, different attitude, but he's no doubt going to be as stubborn as ever. Silly cub never knows when to quit."
"I heard that," somebody grumbled quietly. Everyone looked in surprise at the man in the bed, who was awake and looking up at them with bleary, amethyst purple eyes. Onyx sclera surrounded the irises, giving his eyes a dark, mysterious look to compliment the animalistic tension that hid behind them. "And I'm not a cub."
"Go back to sleep, young cub," Clove said patronisingly, running a hand through Skulduggery's hair. The detective scowled up at him with those unusual eyes and pulled the bedsheets over his head; indicating that the conversation was over and he was going to sulk now.
A few days later, Clove returned to Venice, but not before completely mothering Skulduggery and making sure he knew how to take care of himself. Understandably, the detective did not take kindly to the baby treatment, but when the healer finally departed, he seemed upset about his absence, and acted rather agitated for the next few hours afterwards. Of course, it was soon forgotten about when a case concerning Scarab turned up.
All the while, Valkyrie was watching her friend cope with the changes and trying to adjust to them herself. It was so… strange to see a living, breathing man instead of the sarcastic, charismatic skeleton she'd grown so used to after all these years.
Still, she could handle it. And if Skulduggery ever needed help doing the same, the she would be right there. It was a promise she intended to keep.
Glargh! I don't like that ending! Oh, and to any Irish speakers out there; I am sorry if I butchered your language by using Google Translate.
Anyway; I'm off to write more crazy stuff! Bye-bye now!