A/N: Hey! A new story! This is an AU Valduggery/Ghanith post everything that's happening in the series story. I'm still ready Death Bringer so bear with me...! but when Derek Landy adds in all this stuff for his other books, most of it will probably be irrelevant to this story... :) except, I have no idea what the big, final, epic battle thingy should be so I'm just saying "is IT all over?" etc. etc. sorry about the vagueness! But anyway! I hope you like the story!

Skulduggery Pleasant hated being kidnapped. It really dampened his mood. He hated it even more when people would tie him up...especially to chairs...because it meant he couldn't do any surprising magic and have a quick and heroic getaway. However, when he was forced into these situations with nobody to help him, he liked to think of good times. This wasn't easy, because most good times led to dark, depressing thoughts. For example, if Skulduggery thought about his wife and daughter, he was reminded that they were...well...dead. If he thought about his old friend Gordon, not only was he reminded that Gordon was dead, but Valkyrie Cain was also brought up. Valkyrie was not dead...Skulduggery hoped, at least. She was very much alive as far as he knew. Except...he had a feeling she hated him. But now, while sitting in a dark, dingy room, strapped to a chair and listening to Tanith Low complaining, Skulduggery thought about the last time he saw Valkyrie.

She was on all fours, gasping, her long, black hair falling over her face. She collapsed onto the ground, not strong enough to hold herself up.

'Valkyrie?' Skulduggery whispered. He scolded himself. When had he ever been afraid of her? His mind answered the question for him. When she's Darquesse. Skulduggery glanced over at Tanith. Ghastly was kneeling by her side. He looked up and met Skulduggery's eye, nodding. Skulduggery breathed out thankfully. 'Hey,' he said, helping Valkyrie up with his bony arm. 'Tanith's okay.'

'Seriously?' Valkyrie cried, joy lighting up her voice. She looked straight at Skulduggery. 'Is it all over?'

Skulduggery saw the sun rising above the hills. Valkyrie had controlled Darquesse. She hadn't destroyed the world. They'd managed to rid Tanith of remnant. All the dark that had accumulated in Ireland over the past year had been banished. Skulduggery smiled. 'Yeah. It's all over.'

They'd spent the rest of the night partying and getting completely drunk...well, except for Skulduggery of course, who just watched, amused. He drove Valkyrie home, wished her goodnight and laughed as she stumbled back to her house. When he arrived back, Skulduggery was surprised to see Tanith and Ghastly sitting in the shop, very sober. Skulduggery folded his arms. 'Okay. What happened?'

Tanith held up a small bottle. 'Potion,' she said in explanation. She looked weary - and maybe even upset. 'Skul, you know what we have to do.'

'I will once you tell me,' Skulduggery said slowly, shutting the door behind him. Tanith sighed. 'We needed Valkyrie during this war. She was a strong fighter and a good sorceress. But now, maybe we should let her lock the reflection up for a while.'

'She'll never stop asking us for training,' Skulduggery interrupted. Tanith shook her head. 'Skul, we've got to leave. She needs to be an ordinary seventeen year old, looking after her baby sister, going to college and getting a boyfriend who is not a teleporter or a psychotic vampire...or a skeleton...'

Skulduggery's clenched fist did not go unnoticed.

'...We've got to leave Ireland,' Tanith finished. 'We could go to England, America, just anywhere away from here.'

Ghastly looked up at his friend. 'You know it's the right thing to do.'

'I suppose,' Skulduggery said doubtfully. 'What's the plan?'

'You grab anything you need from your house,' Ghastly said. 'I pack up shop and we all meet in Dublin in an hour. The first place Valkyrie will look when she realises we're gone is the Sanctuary. We have to move it. As an Elder, I can probably influence the decision. Skulduggery nodded and the three of them parted ways.

As he made another attempt to rip himself off the chair, Skulduggery remember how worried he was about Valkyrie. He'd asked Fletcher to check up on her. She'd looked everywhere. Skulduggery had started to regret teaching her everything he knew - she'd almost caught them a few times. She looked for the Sanctuary, she broke into Skulduggery's house and Ghastly's shop, she tracked down anyone they'd contacted in the last five years but thankfully, Tanith had spoken to noone. After a year, Valkyrie gave up.

It tore Skulduggery, Tanith and Ghastly apart to see her as withdrawn and depressed as she was for the first year and a half. However, Alice grew older and Valkyrie seemed to be finding happiness in looking after her. Fletcher went off to college in Australia so Skulduggery took matters into his own hands. Tanith, Ghastly and even Valkyrie were oblivious to his annual visits to Haggard. Valkyrie would occasionally summon her reflection - not to take her place but to talk to. Not only that, Valkyrie soon discovered Alice's magical ability and began training her. Skulduggery was pleased with Valkyrie's decisions. When the surge arrived, not long after Tanith, Ghastly and Skulduggery left, Valkyrie chose elemental magic. She also decided to, although discontinuing her magical training, continue teaching herself martial arts and combats.

'Skul?' Ghastly spoke up, breaking Skulduggery out of his thoughts.

'Yeah?' Skulduggery responded.

'I think Scapegrace is coming back.'

'Pray, tell me,' Tanith said bitterly, 'how in the name of hell did Scapegrace manage to kidnap us?'

Well...it was Skulduggery's fault to be honest.

They'd all been living in an apartment in central London. Tanith and Ghastly had both retired to bed and Skulduggery took watch. It was a a routinely practice now. Skulduggery switched on the TV and people who knew his skeletal expressions would've been able to tell that he was raising one eyebrow. Cartoons? Nearing midnight? English television needed to sort out time zones. There was a loud crash from outside the apartment and Skulduggery muted the television, cautiously getting to his feet and raising his hands. Another crash...and then the door flew open, Scapegrace standing in the doorway. 'Now, Detective Pleasant. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.'

'Are you really saying that to me?' Skulduggery said incredulously. 'Oh, and it's Mr. Pleasant now. I no longer work as a Detective.'

'Unimportant trivia,' Scapegrace growled. He took out a complicated looking device from his pocket. A large red button was on the top and Scapegrace hovered his thumb over the top of it. 'Let's reevaluate, shall we? You either come with me peacefully, or I press this button and ten, fifteen, maybe twenty other zombies will charge into your old friend, Valkyrie Cain's house.'

Skulduggery froze. He knew Valkyrie would definitely be able to protect herself. So would Alice. But their parents were home. And Valkyrie hadn't done any real fighting in years. What's more, Alice hadn't done any real fighting, well...ever. Skulduggery raised one hand in surrender. 'Okay. Take us.' Inside, he was thinking, It doesn't matter. This is Scapegrace. We'll kick him into the previous century and just run to America.

But they didn't. Scapegrace kind of...tied them to chairs.

A/N: Whattaya think? Valkyrie will most definitely appear properly soon and so will Alice. :) Read and review! :D