Hey guys. So, I'm a little – a lot upset because my cat had to be put down today. This chapter might be shorter than usual. I'm not in the mood for hate.

"Well it looks like we're in a bit of a predicament," Skulduggery said.

"No shit, Sherlock." Valkyrie mumbled. He whacked her. She took his hat, brandishing it in front of the skeleton's face. He took her stick.

"No fair!" she cried, lunging forwards. Skulduggery held the stick just out of her reach, and Valkyrie jumped for it like a little child. Someone coughed in the doorway.

"Detectives, if you please." Pleasant spun around, and Cain froze in position.

"Your highness," Skulduggery said confidently, "welcome back to the land of the sane." Bespoke waved something in the air, and Skulduggery sagged.

"Say please." Ghastly teased.

"Please." Skulduggery said. Ghastly raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty please?" Ghastly raised another eyebrow. "With a cherry on top." Skulduggery added as a quick afterthought.

"Skul," Valkyrie whispered, beckoning her partner closer. He obliged, bending his skull to hear what she whispered in his… the bit where his ear was supposed to be. Occasionally, the detective would murmur something in response, or nod his head. Finally, he straightened back up; handing Valkyrie back her stick and taking his hat back from her. Skulduggery placed his hands on his hips, and cleared his non-existent throat.

"Elder Bespoke," he started, "please may I…" he faltered, and turned back to Val. "What was the next bit?" she hissed something unintelligible to the rest of the room, and came to stand beside him.

"Elder Bespoke, please may I have… my… gun back?" he asked, listening intently to Valkyrie who was whispering the words into his ear.

"You may." Ghastly said, and tossed the gun over. Skulduggery grabbed it easily, and turned to Slender and his proxies.

"So, before we go on a wild goose chase, who are you?"

"My apologies," Slender said, stepping forwards. "This is-"

"I can introduce myself!" the boy dressed as Link whined.

"OK then." Slender huffed, turning away and crossing his tentacles.

"WELL." The boy yelled. He turned to the boy in the yellow jacket. "What do I say?" he whispered. Slender sighed, raising a tentacle to his non-existent face.

"This," he began again, "is Ben."

"The Link wannabe." The boy in the blood-stained hoodie scoffed.

"That's Jeff, Masky," Slender gestured to the boy in the yellow coat before a fight could break out amongst the exchanged glares, "E.J," the boy in the dark blue, "and Smile Dog." The dog wagged his tail. "L.J normally dresses as a black-and-white clown, and Hoodie in a… well, orange hoodie. And a mask similar to Masky's, so… yeah. That's about it." The three mages nodded, and Skulduggery did their side of the introductions.

"Well, I am the extremely charming, witty, amazi-" Valkyrie punched him square in the face. "Ow." He muttered.

"That's Skulduggery." She said dryly. "I am the strong, selfless, beauti-" Ghastly cleared his throat. "Sorry. My name's Valkyrie, Valkyrie Cain. That's Ghastly Bespoke, and our other friends are as follows. Tanith Low, the blonde woman in brown leathers, carries a sword and is deadly with it so be careful around her. Saracen Rue, a bit overweight, but he knows things. Lots of things. Dexter Vex, the dirty blonde, you'll recognise him from his muscles." She stopped and stared into space dreamily for a moment, before continuing. "Anton Shudder, the funeral director, and Erskine Ravel… he's… he's an idiot." Just as she finished, someone stumbled through the door, looking a bit bewildered. His hair was ruffled, making him look that bit sexier to Valkyrie.

"What the hell happened?" Dexter Vex asked.