The Rage of Mr Pleasant, unleashed on one particular Miss Sorrows. Not good is the only way to describe it. Read on as before Skulduggery even found out about her involvement with his families death, China gets rid of some-one Skulduggery loved just as much as his wife, but didn't realise until she was gone. This is a Valduggery series. Will continue for a while. Set near the end of the Faceless ones when Skulduggery is getting sucked through the portal.

Spider-man, slush puppies with extra ice and stinging nettles ~ Lucilia Venom

"No!" Valkyrie had screamed, and dived at Skulduggery, knocking him out of the way of the tentacle that erupted from the portal before it managed to close. He went flying through the air, away from the tentacle. It retreated, thinking Skulduggery had seemingly vanished.

Suddenly, Valkyries shrill scream echoed through the air, every-one realised that she was being pulled in by another tentacle, but the only one fast enough to react was China. She stepped forward and grasped Valkyries hand then leant down and whispered something in her ear. Valkyries eyes widened, China gave a beautiful yet tight smile and, before any-one could react, she let go of Valkyrie with one hand and roughly pushed her towards the portal with the other.

"Valkyrie!" Skulduggery had yelled running and diving at the portal a second too late. He stared at the ground where Valkyrie had just been.

China walked forward and stopped so that she was next to him. She let out a beautiful laugh, but to Skulduggery it sounded like a witches cackling as she was making a spell.

"Finally. Finally we can be together, now that she's out the way. She always was in the way of me and you being together. Sidling closer to you, closer than any-one else has ever been. But what surprised me is that you let her. When she flirted with you, you did it straight back. At one point I thought you loved her more than me, but then I came around to my senses. What is there to love about her, when you've got me? Answer me that Skulduggery. How is she better than me? What good qualities does she have that I don't?" China said, while looking at where Valkyrie had been.

"Well," Skulduggery started, his voice filled with love, not for China, but Valkyrie. "She is kind, caring, sharing. She doesn't ask for much, but gives and offers a lot. She is funny, sarcastic and witty. Then, of course, there is the fact she cares about people and would never hurt their loved ones for her own selfish needs. She is everything you aren't China, and that's why I love her."

He then turned to her and lifted his hand. China found herself unable to breathe, as Skulduggery was suffocating her. As soon as her body went limp, Skulduggery let the air bubble that was keeping her upright dissipate and she fell, unconscious, to the floor. After that Skulduggery summoned a fireball and held it close to her face, melting the skin, letting dribble slightly down her clothes. Next he made a spear of water and fire, churning it about in the air until it became stone, and stabbed her in the chest, piercing her heart. China Sorrows took one last breath, before her soul left her body.

Skulduggery sat up with tear streaks on his face. (A/N Necromacers turned him human, some-how) He'd had the same dream ever since he became human. At least now, Valkyrie was back. Ghastly and Tanith had stood where the portal had last opened on the same day that the Grotesquery had summoned the faceless ones. In their hand they held a few Isthmus Anchors. These were;

A lock of Valkyries hair,

Valkyries tooth that was lost while fighting Sanguine and,

A plain t-shirt with her DNA and blood on.

At exactly 12 'o' clock the portal opened, Tanith ran in and found Valkyrie lying in a cave, with only one leg, a broken left arm, cracked ribs and two black and purple eyes. The damage was much worse mentally, of course. She kept muttering: "He'll never be with her. He'll never be with her! I miss him. Not her. Her got me here. Not her. Miss him. Love him. Hate her. Hate her." then started muttering all over again. Everyone knew she was talking about Skulduggery as him and China as her.

Kenspeckle had said that Skulduggery would be able to see her tomorrow, so he couldn't wait. Her physical health had improved greatly. She had both legs, fixed ribs, an unbroken arm and no black eyes. Her medical health wasn't improving at all, that's why Kenspeckle had asked Skulduggery to come and see her. Something started beeping and Skulduggery fumbled around his bedside cabinet, he had bought when he became human, looking for his phone. After a lot of cursing he found it. He flicked it open and realised that Kenspeckle was calling him. Thinking that there was something wrong with Valkyrie he pressed the receive button and had to hold the phone away from his ear the voice was so loud.

"SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT!" A joyous, happy voice squealed through the phone.

"Val?" He asked quizzically, confused. It sounded so much like her.

"Yep!" She replied, popping the p. "Please can you come to see me. This hospital bed is boring and all Kenspeckle gave me to eat is dry muesli. Ugh, it's horrible."

He chuckled at her virtual antics. Imagining Valkyrie in a hospital bed, shovelling dry muesli into her mouth was so darn funny.

"Yes I'll come to see you." He replied and hung up, got out of bed, showered, got dressed and literally flew away to the Hibernian Cinema.