Raina stood before the kneeling skeleton detective, her eyes welling up with tears. She felt the cool metal of Skulduggery's Smith & Wesson revolver in her hand, but it wasn't a comforting feeling this time. The rest of the group, which consisted of Valkyrie Cain, Tanith Low, Saracen Rue, and Fletcher Renn, were still sitting motionless on the ground, bound and gagged, watching helplessly. Skulduggery Pleasant was on his knees in front of her, his suit torn and ragged, his hat missing, and his hands and feet bound in a tight zip-tie.

"Raina," Skulduggery said softly. "Raina, don't do this."

"Don't talk to me!" Raina cried, her voice breaking with sobs.

"Raina, you don't have to do this. Just put the gun down."

"I can't do that. I...I just can't. I need to do this…" Raina raised the barrel on the gun, pointing it straight at his chest. The bullets within contained a material that would kill Skulduggery six times over, once for each bullet. Raina cried, but her grip didn't waver. She held the gun firmly in her hand.

"What about Valkyrie?" Skulduggery tried.

Raina looked at the dark-haired mage. Valkyrie was crying behind her gag, trying to speak. She gazed at Raina with desperate, pleading eyes.

Raina tore her gaze away, looked at Skulduggery, and pulled the hammer back on the revolver. Skulduggery twitched.

"Raina...please…" he tried again.

"I said don't talk to me!" Raina screamed, her index finger on the trigger.

Skulduggery looked her in the eyes, unmoving. He was afraid. Skulduggery Pleasant was afraid. Nobody else could tell he was afraid, but the way he looked at her, with his palms flat on the ground, his shoulders sagging, his voice tinged with sadness and defeat, she knew he was terrified that she was going to kill him. But he had accepted that. He had accepted that he could die.

Raina still had her finger on the trigger, the barrel still aimed at Skulduggery's chest. She knew she had to do it, or billions of people would die. What was one life compared to the lives of the world, she wondered.

Her mind swam with the memories they shared. The good times, the bad ones, and the wonderful things he had shown her and Val. She knew she was going to hate herself for this, but it had to be done.

Raina smiled sadly as she looked at the skeleton detective.

"I'm sorry, Skulduggery."

BANG!

Six hours earlier...

Raina awoke to the sound of gunfire. She picked up her sword, the blade she had possessed as the Blond Assassin, and rushed out of her tent. They had been ambushed. "Damn..." she muttered as she sprang into the battle. Already several lay dead. The Remnants had already terrorized her camp before, but now they were going for an all-out slaughter. Ever since the destruction of Darquesse, they just started destroying everything. She lost every chance she had of ever going on a date with Dexter Vex again after his body had been inhabited by one of those disgusting creatures.

Unsheathing her gleaming blade, she put Tanith's training to some use. She swung, blocked, parried, and dodged. Remnants came at her from all sides, but she effectively held them off. She didn't want to kill any of them, but there was no chance of ever getting them back. So, uttering silent apologies to them, she cut them down one by one until only five of her remaining teammates remained standing among a pile of bodies. All of them were male.

"Are you guys okay?" Raina asked.

They all had their backs to her, motionless and silent.

"Guys?" she tried again.

One of them, a short, thin man named Eerie, turned to face her. She saw the black veins protruding from his arms, his face, his chest, saw his black lips spread into a wide smile.

"Someone wants to see you," he said.

Then another man turned. He was named Severe, and he was tall and muscular and covered in tattoos. He was in the same state as Eerie. "So he sent us to come fetch you. Isn't that sweet?" Severe said.

The others turned around, and they all advanced toward her. Raina backed away, her sword out in front of her. They quickly surrounded her, and she took the Soul Catcher from her jacket. But before she could use it, Eerie lunged and knocked it from her hand. It shattered to the ground. She hadn't caught a single Remnant in it, so she wasn't too upset to see it break. All the same, it was her only option, and now it's gone.

"Now, we can't have that," a gaunt man named Dismal said. They all lunged at once. Raina was hit over the head, which made her dizzy and disoriented. Then an elbow crunched into her back, and she crumbled. They kicked her until she was just barely conscious, then Severe picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. She groaned in pain but didn't resist. They chatted among themselves as they walked, but Raina couldn't understand a word of what they said. Eventually, her injuries caused her to pass out.


When she came to, Raina was in a brightly lit living room. The air smelled faintly of lavender, the scent coming from a few scented candles scattered about the room. She was tied to a wooden chair with thick rope, her hands and ankles had been zip tied, and her mouth had been gagged. Other than the dead body on the floor with a bullet in his head, the room looked okay.

There was a door in front of her. It opened, and Dexter Vex stepped into the room. She knew he was possessed by a Remnant, but he still looked wonderful. The black veins had receded, and his lips were their normal pink hue.

"Raina, my dearest," he sighed, his face brightening when he laid eyes on her. He smiled, but instead of melting her insides the way it used to do, the smile made her stomach feel like she'd swallowed stones.

"Mmm mmfph mph." Raina attempted to speak, but her words were muffled.

Dexter walked over and removed the gag from her mouth. "What was that?" he asked.

"Let me go," she repeated, her words now clear and audible.

Dexter winked. "Actually, I rather like seeing you all tied up like this."

Raina set her jaw before speaking. "You don't know what you're doing."

Dexter's smile widened and he ran his fingers over her cheek. "Oh Raina," he sighed wistfully. "You always were such a beautiful woman in my eyes."

Raina gritted her teeth. "Don't touch me!" she snapped.

Dexter frowned at her and stroked her hair gently. "Why so hostile, my sweet? It's me."

"You are not my Dexter," she growled.

Dexter sighed and took his hand away. "No, I'm not. But I could be if you'd let me."

She said nothing.

He stood up and untied the thick ropes around her body and cut the zip tie around her ankles, but kept her hands bound. He gripped her elbow and led her outside.

"Oh, you might need this," Dexter said, putting a gun in Raina's hands. She couldn't tell what gun it was.

"Why would I need it if I can't use it?" she asked.

"Oh, you'll be released momentarily. Once I tell you my plan." He opened the door and pushed Raina through it.

Outside, she saw Valkyrie, Tanith, Fletcher, and Saracen. They were all bound and gagged similarly to how Raina was, except they didn't have the thick ropes that she had. They all looked tired and beaten. There were other Remnants surrounding them.

But that's not the only thing that made Raina stiffen.

Sitting on his knees in front of her was Skulduggery Pleasant. His hands and ankles had been zip-tied tight.

Raina felt Dexter undo her last zip-tie, and she looked at the gun in her hand.

It was Skulduggery's Smith & Wesson.

"Here's the plan," Dexter said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "That gun is loaded with a material that will be able to completely destroy the skeleton detective six times over. It's a compound that I had a few scientists work on. On impact, they will not only burst apart his skeletal body, but the bones will disintegrate. He'll be nothing more than dust with a wandering spirit by that time.

"What I want you to do is, well, kill him," Dexter shrugged.

Raina immediately shook her head. "Go to hell," she breathed angrily.

Dexter gripped her face in his hand and turned it sharply to face him. "Let me rephrase that," he said calmly. "If you don't kill him, we, meaning us Remnants, will go out and kill every mage and mortal we see."

Raina's breath hitched. Those words rang over and over in her head. Every mage and mortal... She thought about Valkyrie's family, with her baby sister, Alice. She thought about all the innocent men, women, and children in the world who would never understand why they were being killed.

"But, of course, we'll kill you last. We'll make you watch us slaughter all of your friends, and then we'll come get you once all the mortals are killed and the Sanctuaries destroyed."

Raina stood before the kneeling skeleton detective, her eyes welling up with tears. She felt the cool metal of Skulduggery's revolver in her hand, but it wasn't a comforting feeling this time. The rest of the group was still sitting motionless on the ground, bound and gagged, watching helplessly. Skulduggery's suit was torn and ragged, and his hat was missing.

"Raina," Skulduggery said softly. "Raina, don't do this."

"Don't talk to me!" Raina cried, her voice breaking with sobs.

"Raina, you don't have to do this. Just put the gun down."

"I can't do that. I...I just can't. I need to do this…" Raina raised the barrel on the gun, pointing it straight at his chest. Raina cried, but her grip didn't waver. She held the gun firmly in her hand.

"What about Valkyrie?" Skulduggery tried.

Raina looked at the dark-haired mage. Valkyrie was crying behind her gag, trying to speak. She gazed at Raina with desperate, pleading eyes.

Raina tore her gaze away, looked at Skulduggery, and pulled the hammer back on the revolver. Skulduggery twitched.

"Raina...please…" he tried again.

"I said don't talk to me!" Raina screamed, her index finger on the trigger.

Skulduggery looked her in the eyes, unmoving. He was afraid. Nobody else could tell he was afraid, but the way he looked at her, with his palms flat on the ground, his shoulders sagging, his voice tinged with sadness and defeat, she knew he was terrified that she was going to kill him. But he also seemed to have accepted that.

Raina still had her finger on the trigger, the barrel still aimed at Skulduggery's chest. She knew she had to do it, or billions of people would die. What was one life compared to the lives of the world, she wondered.

Her mind swam with the memories they shared. The good times, the bad ones, and the wonderful things he had shown her and Val. She knew she was going to hate herself for this, but it had to be done.

Raina smiled sadly as she looked at the skeleton detective.

"I'm sorry, Skulduggery."

BANG!

A shot rang out behind her, and one of the Remnants fell dead. Everyone turned to see China Sorrows striding forth, a small group of Cleavers and other mages behind her, holding scythes and guns and other weapons.

All at once, panic rang out among the Remnants. Elementals threw fireballs, Cleavers swung their scythes, and others fired their guns at the Remnants. The scene was chaotic, and Raina got lost in it. She gave Skulduggery's gun back to him, then took a blade from a fallen mage and joined the fight. She slashed and stabbed and jabbed and parried, blocking and dodging effectively.

An elbow came to her face. She sliced at it, severing the arm and drawing out a scream.

A knee caught her gut. She returned with a palm to the nose.

She saw Dexter surge towards her, running at full speed. He went to swing low, but just before the blow connected, he went high and caught her chin with his fist. Her head snapped back and she nearly crumbled, but he grabbed her by the hair and hauled her to her feet. She had dropped the blade, so she started flailing with her arms and legs.

Her struggling stopped when she felt a blade press into her throat hard.

"NOBODY MOVE!" Dexter shouted.

China Sorrows took her fingertips away from the sigils she was about to tap on her neck, Valkyrie straightened, and Skulduggery pointed his gun at Dexter but didn't move. All movement was hushed like someone had pressed pause on the world.

"Let her go, now," Skulduggery warned.

Dexter cackled loudly. Raina winced. "I won't be doing that, Skulduggery," he said. "I need her. I want her." He kissed her cheek, and she whimpered.

"Let her go, now," Skulduggery repeated, with a little more force. He thumbed the hammer back on his revolver.

"You shoot me, you risk killing her, too," Dexter said. "And I thought she was important to you. Just as important as Valkyrie."

Skulduggery didn't move. Raina was too afraid to breathe.

"Now, we're leaving." Dexter slowly backed away, taking Raina with him. "And if anyone follows, I will kill Raina too."

Raina looked to the group, hoping someone, anyone, would help her. Seeing no response, she decided not to struggle.

Instead, she punched Dexter where the sun did not shine.

Dexter released his grip on her with a loud wheeze and she turned. She socked him in the nose, snapping his head back. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"Sorry," she muttered.

Skulduggery had the others released and sent to the Sanctuary's infirmary. Raina stood with him while Valkyrie had a broken arm mended.

"I'm sorry," she told him for the twentieth time already.

"It's alright. There were no other ways," he replied.

"Stop blaming yourself, Raina," Valkyrie said.


Raina walked outside the Sanctuary and took a walk. She needed the fresh air. She wanted to clear her head.

The last thing she heard was a loud BANG! and she fell to the floor.


SSkulduggery paced. He always paced when he got upset or angry. They found the man who shot Raina, but that wasn't enough. Valkyrie knew he had to know if Raina was alive.

Doctor Synecdoche walked out, looking somber. "Skulduggery, I'm sorry. The bullet struck her brain. She's gone."

Valkyrie stood. "No."

The doctor nods.

Skulduggery had stopped pacing. He was still, like a statue.

Valkyrie pushed past Synecdoche and saw Raina lying on the bed, her eyes closed. The bullet wound was gone, so she looked like she was asleep.

Valkyrie stood there a moment. Her eyes stung with tears. They spilled down her cheeks in hot rivulets. Her friend was dead. She couldn't believe it.

Skulduggery walked into the room and stood at Raina's bedside. He was still very quiet. He lifted his hand and set it on Raina's forehead.

"Wait a minute," he muttered.

"What?" Valkyrie asked.

"She's still warm."

At that moment, Valkyrie saw Raina's lip twitch.

Her eyes widened. "Raina?"

Raina slowly opened her eyes. She was alive!

"April Fool's," she whispered, a grin spreading across her face.

"How did you...you weren't even breathing!"

Raina nods. "I know. It's a trick I learned from being an assassin."

Skulduggery shook his head. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

"I thought it was funny," she shrugged.


A week later, Raina was released from the hospital. She went about her life. Business as usual. She missed Vex. Unfortunately, he'd be spending his life in a cell, still a Remnant. But other than that and a few more lost friends, her life returned to normal.