Apologies to everyone for this late update. I had exams, other stories to update, then got addicted to anime, AGAIN. SO SORRY! Anyway, I won't hold you up for long. I just want to thank my patient readers and those who favorited/followed this story. Thanks for your patience and I promise you a wonderful glimpse into Ash's past! ENJOY.

I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant.

Dream memory

Actual memory

"Reflection speaking"


Aislinn closed her eyes as a memory rippled over her.

Aislinn was so tired. Yawning, she rubbed her hand over her eyes, attempting to stay awake, only to nod off against A****'s shoulder. She managed to keep her eyes open for a while till they drooped, causing her to fall asleep. A soft chuckle awoke her from her nap though, and Aislinn opened her eyes, squeaking in surprise at a pair of familiar eyes that loomed close to her. "Daddy!" Aislinn scolded, "Stop scaring us!" Daddy merely laughed, only to yelp in surprise when the two girls tackled him and started tickling him in revenge.

Daddy couldn't help but giggle and then laugh as the twins tickled him mercilessly. "Please, stop! I surrender!" Daddy mock - begged through his laughter. A**** merely snorted.

"You aren't allowed to scare Lizzie! If you dare, I'll make you pay!" A**** threatened, only to squeak as another pair of arms lifted her and Aislinn away from their Daddy. Mommy's eyes were full of amusement as she regarded her twin daughters.

"Someone's still awake way past their bedtime." She commented amusedly, making the girls blush. Aislinn couldn't help but yawn then and droop in Mommy's grasp. Daddy merely chuckled then snagged Mommy around the waist.

"Is it time for my bedtime too?" Daddy asked cheekily. The twins immediately screwed their eyes shut, clapping both hands over their eyes with a squeak.

"DADDY! WE DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AND MOMMY SNOGGING!" The twins chorused in perfect unison. There was a significant pause as both parents absorbed what their daughters had said.

"Where did you learn that word?" Mommy asked suspiciously. Aislinn and A**** exchanged quick glances with a silent 'oops' mirrored on both their expressions. They didn't know whether they should confess to their parents that they had learned it from their brother after an innocent query about their parents' actions had made them curious and led to their brother blushing away.

"Aislinn, wake up."

"Well…" A**** started nervously.

"Seriously, Aislinn, wake up already! You're worrying me!" Aislinn blinked, and for a moment, the memory rippled, then everything changed.

Fire. There was fire everywhere. Aislinn ran through the burning carpeted hallways, huffing desperately as she tried to find Big Brother. So much smoke! She coughed, eyes watering even as she screamed for her brother. Where was she? Where was her twin?

Then she remembered. There had been a lot of blood, after HE came, and then Big Brother had taken her away, telling her that A**** was going to be all right, that she was ok. But Aislinn knew that Big Brother was lying since she had seen his eyes, which had been full of a familiar pain. She had seen it once before when her pet fish had died, and Big Brother had just hugged her and A**** close, murmuring that he was sorry for them. Now, she ran, only to stop short at an open door. She stepped in cautiously, only to freeze at the sight of so much blood touching her bare feet. She followed the blood trail with her eyes, only to start screaming as she saw a familiar face.

NOOOOO! NOTHER! NOT

A pair of pale hands covered her eyes. "Enough! You weren't supposed to remember that! You were never ever supposed to remember that!" A familiar voice snapped. Aislinn turned with a gasp, and saw her reflection. The other girl still wore the same dress as before, but there was a scowl on her features as she stared at Aislinn with a single left eye. Her right eye was covered by her dark bangs which the reflection didn't bother flipping away even as the scowl relaxed into a worried expression.

"You all right?" The reflection enquired. Aislinn nodded jerkily. A satisfied grin appeared on the reflection's face.

"Good. I was beginning to get worried when you wandered too far into the memory. You were supposed to only remember your Mommy and Daddy, not that night." The reflection said brusquely.

"Who are you?" Aislinn asked hesitantly. The reflection blinked at the question but replied.

"I'm your protector. That's all I remember so far." The reflection replied.

"What about your name? Do you remember it?" Aislinn asked. The reflection looked uncomfortable at this, opening her mouth as if to reply, only to groan then turn away, grabbing her hair by the roots. Alarmed, Aislinn tried to stop her, but the reflection had already stopped and turned back with a determined expression.

"I cannot tell you everything since some things are still unclear to me at this point, but I can tell you this. I am Cecilia. That is all you need to know. What else do you want to know?" Cecilia asked brusquely.

"Why do Joanne and Alexander look so familiar to me?" Aislinn asked bluntly. "Are they… My parents?" This was asked with a slight hesitant note. Cecilia groaned at this and paced angrily. It was then Aislinn noticed that they were in the same empty darkness as before from the first time they met.

"You weren't supposed to know the truth! You were supposed to lead a happy life without troubles and stay by Nic's side! But then those bloody vampires came and took you away, causing your magic to react, and starting all this madness! I was totally hoping that you wouldn't remember a thing so I led you here, but no, that goddamn mole and his blondie girlfriend took offense, mistook you for someone else and hurt you! The next time I see them I swear I'll rip them apart for hurting you!" Aislinn blinked at the rant, and tried to interrupt, but Cecilia wasn't finished. "And then that detective duo just had to stick nose into our business, and try to help you! I mean, can't they leave our memories alone?! Especially that China woman. Stupid bitch. I'll get her for making you go into this dream memory! She will pay for forcing you! Now, it's time for you to go back to where the other detective is waiting." With that, Cecilia pushed Aislinn roughly away, making Aislinn cry out in surprise even as she opened her eyes in shock. She blinked, and saw her surroundings sharpen into clarity as her eyes adjusted to the light. She struggled to rise, only to groan as her vision swam and a feeling of nausea came over her.

"Ash! You're awake! Are you all right?" Aislinn heard, and looked up to see Valkyrie's worried glance at her. The other girl helped Aislinn up as she leaned back onto a soft surface. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Aislinn willed away her nausea, and glanced at her surroundings. She was still in the room where China had shown her the photo album of whom Aislinn suspected were her parents. There was a small blanket on her, presumably to keep her warm.

"How long was I out?" Aislinn asked tiredly.

Valkyrie bit her lip at this before answering. "You were unconscious for close to four hours. Skulduggery came when I called about your fainting spell and he's currently here threatening death to China if you were hurt in any way." Aislinn shot up straight at this with a look of panic. She couldn't lose her only probable connection to her past! Valkyrie seemed to understand her panic, and gave Aislinn a reassuring glance.

"Don't worry, I told Skul that he wasn't allowed to threaten China since she's the closest thing to a clue to your past we have. Can you stand now?" Valkyrie questioned. Aislinn nodded, and rose unsteadily. Only Valkyrie's firm grip on her arm kept Aislinn from falling. The two girls made their way out where Skulduggery was glaring steadily at China while the older woman looked slightly guilty. Both looked up with relief at the entrance of the girls.

"Hey Aislinn, are you ok?" Skulduggery asked worriedly. Aislinn nodded, and looked at China.

"China, I wish to thank you for the photo you showed me and also clearing up the mystery of my seal." Aislinn began. "If there are any more pictures of Joanna and Alexander, please inform me for I wish to see them." China nodded at this.

"I will call Valkyrie if I find those pictures." China promised, making Aislinn smile in relief. With that said, Skulduggery led the way back to the car. Aislinn settled into the back seat while Valkyrie took the front passenger seat. It was only after Skulduggery started driving then did he reveal his news.

"I found Nicolas." Skulduggery said casually, immediately earning the attention of the two girls.

"You found my brother?!" Aislinn gasped in surprise, only to clutch at her head as another surge of memories took over her.

'My beautiful little sister…' A pair of golden eyes looked into her grey eyes affectionately while a pair of hands clutched her wrists and led her to a room full of toys. Then there was a single whisper.

"I will do anything, ANYTHING, to protect you and make sure you never suffer again the pain of loss. I'll get rid of all your pain, and be your shield from this cruel world. This is what I will do, I promise, my dear Elizabeth."

Another voice, another pair of shining eyes filled with determination and joy looked into her eyes. "I promise to be your knight! I promise to help Big Brother protect you, for you are our dearest little sister, and no one will dare hurt you because I am always with you, in your heart, and ready to defend you no matter what!"

She was screaming again, screaming away as she felt her right eye burn with an unfamiliar fire. It was growing inside of her, creating a connection to something, and she could barely make out her mother's bloody face gazing sadly at her. "I'm so sorry, my lovely Elizabeth, but someday you'll understand why I did this, and until then, I will gladly suffer any hatred you have for me." Aislinn gasped, barely aware of a pair of hands clutching on to her as she shrieked her agony and clutched at her right eye. She felt something warm trickling down her face, and could only scream in remembered agony at the blazing pain.

Then there was another voice, a pair of cool hands gripping her by the face and dragging her hands away. Aislinn whimpered and tried to protect her painful eye, but the hands were insistent, forcing her hands away even as she wept from remembered pain. A pair of warm arms encircled her, and hugged her gently in an attempt to soothe her. A pair of voices entered her hazy mind, alerting her to others. "It's all right now, Ash, its ok. Nothing is going to hurt you so you're all right now! Hush now…." The voices said even as she wept in remembered agony. The pain eventually faded away, allowing Aislinn to relax, and eventually slump forward in exhaustion. The toll of remembering all those fragments was starting to catch up to her, and she felt like she could sleep for a long time till her mind had adjusted to the new knowledge. She opened a single eye wearily, and saw Valkyrie's face worried face looming in front of her. With a weak smile, Aislinn reassured the elder girl that she was all right, making Valkyrie sigh in relief as Skulduggery drove on to Valkyrie's mansion.

"Ash, I want you to stay here at my mansion and get some rest all right? Skulduggery and I will go talk to this Nicolas guy and see if he really is who he says he is and knows anything about you. If he's telling the truth, we'll bring him here, so be sure to stay here in the meantime!" Valkyrie said sternly. Aislinn nodded her compliance, and watched Valkyrie and Skulduggery leave with a silent sigh. Turning around, she plodded to her room and flopped down with a tired sigh. She buried her face in the bed covers for a while, allowing her mind to rest before she flipped over once more to stare up at the ceiling. Closing her eyes briefly, Aislinn opened them again only to gasp in shock as bloodstains appeared on it. She shot up in shock and fear, screwing her eyes shut and scrubbing them fiercely as she did so. When she opened them once more, she gave way to a sigh of relief when there were no bloodstains to be seen. I was just dreaming, Aislinn thought to herself, before closing her eyes again, dropping into a troubled sleep.


Skulduggery and Valkyrie journeyed in silence to the old Necromancer temple, both lost in their thoughts as they contemplated what they knew so far about Aislinn's mysterious past. Even with the few scraps of information about Aislinn's possible parents, they still had not made any headway in finding out whom Aislinn truly was. The trip wasn't long, and the Bentley turned into a side road trip wasn't long, and the Bentley turned into a side road, and they set their eyes upon Nicolas Goldeyes for the first time.

He was dressed in a black coat which had silver buckles that glinted in the sunlight, a white dress shirt visible under it while black pants and a pair of motorcycle boots completed the outfit. A black fedora rested on his head, shadowing his face even as he tilted his head back, a stream of smoke gusting from his lips as he rolled a cigarette between his fingers. He leaned back against an equally black motorcycle, eyeing Skulduggery and Valkyrie with mild interest as they got out of the Bentley. "Are you Nicolas Goldeyes?" Skulduggery asked curtly. The man dropped his cigarette to the ground at this, and carefully grounded it out under his boot heel before responding.

"Depends on who's asking," was the wary reply.

"Solomon Wreath was the one who informed us that you were looking for a girl named Elise whom you rescued ten years ago. Apparently, she was kidnapped by vampires, and you have been searching for her ever since then." Skulduggery said. The mage stared at him for a while, before sighing and straightened, taking off his hat to reveal golden eyes as he walked calmly towards Skulduggery.

"I'm Nicolas Goldeyes, but you can call me Nic. I'm a former student of Solomon Wreath as you know, and I'm a Necromancer." He introduced himself as he stretched his hand for a handshake.

Skulduggery accepted it, and replied. "My name is Skulduggery Pleasant, and this is my partner Valkyrie Cain. We would like to know more about Ash's past." Nicolas nodded at this, and turned to greet Valkyrie, only to widen his eyes in shock and hope.

"Elizabeth?!" His tone was full of disbelief even as he rushed forward and grabbed Valkyrie's arms. Valkyrie stepped back in surprise, and spoke. "My name is Valkyrie Cain! NOT Elizabeth!" Nicolas seemed to deflate after he peered curiously at Valkyrie's face.

"Apologies, Miss Cain. It's just that… you look so much like my sweet little Elise…" Nicolas said heavily, disappointment clear in his body language. Valkyrie felt a pang of sympathy for him. After all, this guy had spent years searching for Aislinn when she was kidnapped, and upon seeing Valkyrie who looked a lot like her, had promptly mistaken her for Aislinn. It was understandable for him to be disappointed. Hell, if it was little Alice who had gone missing, Valkyrie would have done everything she could to search for her.

"It's all right. No harm done." Valkyrie reassured Nicolas. Nicolas smiled briefly at this.

"My profound thanks then, and may I add that it's a pleasure to meet you at last, Miss Valkyrie Cain? Master Wreath has spoken highly about you, but often laments the fact that you don't want to be a true Necromancer when you have quite the talent for it." Nicolas said, bowing to Valkyrie, taking her hand and brushed a kiss over it. Valkyrie blushed at this, and stammered a reply.

"R-r-really? I wasn't aware that Wreath actually praised me." She said with a blush. Nicolas smiled and straightened himself, seemingly ignorant of Skulduggery's glare at the back of his head. Valkyrie noticed though, and gave Skulduggery a sharp look in response that made the skeleton huff in annoyance and clear his throat to get Nicolas' attention.

"Mr Goldeyes, if you are quite finished flirting with my partner; I would like to talk to you." Skulduggery said, annoyance clear in his tone. Nicolas grinned apologetically at this, and stepped back to face Skulduggery. Now that Nicolas' attention was on Skulduggery, he continued speaking. "Elizabeth, or Aislinn Night as she calls herself nowadays, recently came to our attention after we heard strange rumours that my partner Valkyrie had been, strangely enough, spotted in the streets and accidentally turning innocents to stone, which had confused many since Valkyrie definitely hasn't that kind of magic, and there's no branch of magic known to us that can petrify a person. Therefore, we tracked down Valkyrie's doppelganger, and found Aislinn who confessed that she had no memories of her past or how she learned this kind of magic, only that you were the only one who knew more about her so we contacted you hoping that you know more about Aislinn's magic." Nicolas sighed gravely at this.

"I myself have no idea about this stone magic Elizabeth has. In fact, the reason why I took her is because her older brother was my best friend, and I made a promise to him that I would look after Elizabeth should anything happen to her." Nicolas replied. Seeing Valkyrie's curious expression and knowing that his response had raised more questions, Nicolas shook his head and continued curtly. "I refuse to say more till I see Elizabeth." Valkyrie and Skulduggery exchanged looks, then turned back to Nicolas and nodded their agreement.

"Very well. Why don't you get on your bike and follow us? We'll lead the way there." Skulduggery suggested. Nicolas smiled gratefully at this, and got on his bike while Valkyrie slipped into the car with Skulduggery, who immediately drove off, Nicolas following close behind.


The trip back to Gordon's mansion didn't take long, and they soon arrived, gravel crunching under the tires. Valkyrie was the first to get out, while Nicolas slowly got off his bike and stared apprehensively at the great wooden doors. Valkyrie moved close to Nicolas, and laid a comforting hand on his arm. Nicolas started at first, but relaxed when he saw it was Valkyrie. "Nervous?" She asked. Nicolas smiled sheepishly and shuffled his feet in response before speaking hesitantly.

"It's just… I've been searching for her for so long, and the knowledge that she's just beyond these doors is rather daunting to me." Nicolas said, huffing ruefully as he looked towards the doors again.

"Well, I think you should just stop being a coward and go to her now." Skulduggery suggested bluntly, ignoring Valkyrie's glare at his words. Nicolas smiled ruefully however, and, striding towards the doors, he slowly pushed them open.

Originally, I was going to be cruel and leave it here, but since I haven't updated in a while, here's more for you loyal fans and followers!

The doors opened to reveal the grand staircase, and Aislinn was seen stepping down from it. Aislinn had originally been bored after her short nap, and feeling hungry, decided to head down to the kitchen to see what was available, only to blink in surprise at the sight of a visitor who looked very familiar to her.

When Nicolas saw Aislinn, he felt his whole world stop, and his eyes locked onto the sight of Aislinn who had frozen upon seeing him. Both of them stared at each other, and then Aislinn was dashing down the stairs, squealing with joy. "NIC! NIC! YOU'RE HERE! YOU'RE ACTUALLY HERE!" Upon reaching the end of the stairs, she hugged him tightly even as Nicolas grabbed her around the waist and held her close to himself thanking whatever deities he believed in for the fact that he was reunited with his sister.

Both seemed to be on the verge of tears, and Valkyrie couldn't help but tear up a bit at the sight of the joyful reunion. The duo separated after a while, and held hands, still staring tearfully but happily at each other. Nicolas put a hand to Aislinn's cheek, his eyes full of affection, staring into Aislinn's whom reflected his joy.

Nothing would ever separate them again.


So yes, after a few years of plot bunnies, college education, lazy writing and Tumblr addiction, I'MMMM BAAAAAACCCCKKKKK!

AHEM.

Shameless promotion ahead

Follow me on Tumblr at raychdzeros

I'll be updating my profile soon on upcoming ideas and fandoms.

AND I SOLEMNLY SWEAR TO UPDATE EVERY STORY I HAVE NOW!

And now we have Sheila's opinion on the reunion.


Damn it.

They had found him.

Sheila laid back in the empty space, her expression thoughtful for once instead of maniacal. She had been prepared for this of course, but had not accounted for the detectives to be so fast. Now, because of the new arrival, she would have to be more careful in her movements for fear of gaining the attention of Nicolas.

Still, she yearned for revenge. He had left Aislinn alone and been the reason why Aislinn got kidnapped by those filthy leeches!

'I'LLKILLTHEMALLI'LLKILLTHEMALLI'LLKILLTHEMALLI'LLKILLTHEMALLI'LLKILLTHEMALLI'LLKILLTHEMALLI'LLKILLTHEMALLI'LLKILLTHEMALL I'LL MAKE THEM REGRET HURTING AISLINN THOSE F-KING UNDEAD LEECHES!'

It took a while before Sheila regained some sense of order in the empty space which had turned riotous at her murderous thoughts.

"Never mind," Sheila said aloud, "Those suckers aren't here yet, so might as well gain more strength from this place and those mages!"

Then, with a familiar maniacal grin, she straightened up, magic gathering at her fists. "After all, there's still those Elders that seem to have plenty of potential~!" Those last few words ended with a sing song tone.

"Now whom shall I hunt next?"

Yup. This is dark. I won't kid you. I may consider turning this up to M since this story is going to get darker before it all ends. Soooo…. This is the part where I shamelessly beg for reviews?