Lil action scene set during The Dying of The Light, when all the fighting was commencing. Violence and probably swearing. Enjoy!

Ezra was running through the Sanctuary. Which wasn't all that surprising, as everyone was. She jumped down the steps, her heart racing. She knew that if hesitated she would miss the timing of it all which seemed to be very important. Or she would stop and, quite frankly, run away. She burst through the door and there the Engineer was.

"Ezra Bloom. Hello." Said the robot. Ezra ignored him, staring at the Accelerator. She took a deep breath and checked her watch. She had eight minutes. Ezra swung the door open and before the Robot could protest, she was in. She slammed the door shut. At first, nothing happened. She thought maybe the robot had switched it off, but then the outside started spinning. Lights flashed, sparks flew. Ezra was burning. She screamed, falling to her knees, clutching her head. This was such a bad idea. It felt like she was being ripped apart, and the heat was too much, she was burning up. And then the doors opened and she lurched herself out. Her hair and eyes were burning. Ezra ran.

Melancholia St Clair stood with Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant. Valkyrie had her invincibility bracelet on, and it would start in a minute. Then she had twenty minutes to try and take Darquesse down. About the same amount of time as Ezra had.

"What have you done?" Skulduggery gasped, staring at his little sister as she walked up. Her hair was glowing, hovering, even though there was no wind. Hey eyes burned like the sun. She had told Valkyrie what she was planning on doing. She had to tell someone and Ezra knew Valkyrie would understand... And that she wouldn't try to stop her.

"I did what had to be done." She said. Her voice sounded faraway, distant.

"You- you won't be the-" Skulduggery tried but didn't know what to say. In a way he understood. But she was his little sister, and she had put herself in far too much danger. As of yet, no good short term or long term effects had come out of the Accelerators. The cuff on Valkyrie's arm glowed.

"Showtime." She said uneasily. Ezra unsnapped her arnis, setting it alight. Skulduggery was unbuttoning his shirt, the tendrils of shadows already intertwining his rib cage. Melancholia's eyes turned black as shadows latched onto her. The four walked out, into the sun. Darquesse was savagely destroying the town. Dexter Vex by her side. His lips and eyes were black, black veins tracing his face. Ezra took a running jump onto a car, then into the air, where she grabbed hold of Darquesse and brought her down. The two women crashed into the ground, leaving a crater. Wherever Ezra touched, Darquesse' skin blistered and burned and bubbled. Darquesse laughed as Ezra wrapped thick wines around her, massive jagged thorns piercing her. Dexter Vex grabbed Ezra and threw her, and he ran after her, shadow in hand. Valkyrie didn't see them, but didn't have time to go after Ezra. Her and Lord Vile and Melancholia acted as one, Darquesse still on the ground. It seemed like a mass of thick black shadows to onlookers, with the occasional flash of lightning. But then everything exploded outwards.

Ezra's high was fading. She felt it. Her hair was back to normal, her blue eyes glassy. She was so tired, so weak. She was crouched down in a building. She didn't know which one, just that it was empty. Everyone had abandoned. Except her pursuer. He had sliced at her with shadows and Ezra was was badly hurt.

"Eeeeeezraaaaaa." Dexter sang. Ezra's heart pounded. She couldn't hurt Dexter. She knew it, the remnant knew it. He was playing with her. Ezra clutched her arnis as she heard his footsteps approaching. She couldn't fight even if she wanted to. The Accelerator had tapped into strength she didn't know she had, and now the effects were wearing off it seemed it was taking all of her strength with it. She didn't know if she could even stand. Dexter rounded the corner. Ezra tried to stand, but she fell forward. She tried again, this time using her arnis to hold her weight.

"I can hear him, you know. Your boyfriend. He's screaming, kicking, thrashing. Begging me not to harm a hair on your pretty little head." The remnant said. Ezra tried to summon vines, wrapping them around his ankles. But he looked down and laughed and took a step forward, the thin, weak vines snapping. Ezra pressed her back against the wall, still leaning on her arnis.

"Please don't hurt her. Please leave her alone, she doesn't deserve this. Please, please, please. Blah blah blah." Dexter grinned a black grin and sent a quick, sharp shadow. It pierced her shoulder, pinning her to the wall. Ezra writhed, moaning. Her shoulder went cold, then numb. Dexter laughed. Ezra gritted her teeth and lurched forward, the shadow passing through her shoulder. She cried out, but half fell, half lurched onto Dexter. She swung behind him, grabbing her arnis in both hands horizontally and pressing it to Dexter's neck. She just needed him unconscious. Dexter laughed at her weak attempt and grabbed her arm. He swung her over him, slamming her to the ground. Shadows wrapped around her arms, pinning her down, cold and numb and strong. Ezra swung her leg and swept Dexter off his feet, straddling him. Her shoulder throbbed.

"You won't get me out. I'm not leaving. I like him too much. When I was human, what, you think I don't remember? I was scrawny and awkward and lanky. But now look at me. I like this Dexter Vex." The remnant said, grinning. Ezra was crying as she grabbed the dagger from her waistband. She pressed it to his neck, shaking.

"Please Ezra, do it. Please it will kill you if don't, please I don't want to hurt you more, please Ezra, please!" Dexter begged, his green eyes wide with fear. His lips were soft and pink again. It was Dexter. Ezra gasped, lifting the dagger a fraction.

"Dexter?" She asked. But then his green eyes rolled back into his head, and then he closed his eyes and when he opened them again they were black. The remnant smirked, then threw Ezra off him, grabbing a wrist in each his hands.

"That's the last time you'll ever speak to him." The remnant said, his face so close to her's. Ezra was feebly struggling, and Dexter let go of one of wrists for moment to punch her, his hand immediately finding her wrist again. Her head whipped round and the room spun. Dexter shifted so his knee was on her chest and he put all his weight on her, and she couldn't get any air in. She tried to break free, so shake him off, anything. But nothing worked. He sent a jagged shadow into her leg. Ezra screamed a choked scream, it was hoarse and sore, her lungs were burning now, and the remnant was laughing an awful, manic laugh. He was cutting her with tiny pointed shadows now. Dexter Vex was going to kill her.

But then Darquesse appeared.

"I need you." She said simply, then grabbed the collar on Dexter's shirt and unceremoniously shoved her hand down his throat. Dexter gagged and gargled, but then Darquesse was holding a squirming shadow, which she ate, and Dexter collapsed. Then Darquesse left, without so much as a glance at Ezra. Ezra crawled over to where Dexter lay, slipping her arnis into it's strap as she did so.

"Dexter?" Ezra said softly. She shook him gently. He wasn't breathing, a thin trail of blood falling from his mouth.

"Shit, no, no, no." She closed her eyes and clutched him, trying to focus. Then they weren't alone. China, Valkyrie, Saracen, Skulduggery and Tanith were all bustling. Everyone stopped when Ezra and Dexter appeared. They were in the sanctuary.

"Oh god, what happened?" Valkyrie asked, but Ezra didn't say anything, instead she forced herself up and started rummaging. She grunted and panted, her body close to giving out, the pain threatening to take over, but she refused. No one knew what to say.

"Is he... Is Dexter...?" Saracen couldn't say the words. Ezra ignored him.

"Where the fuck is it?!" Ezra asked, her voice cracking.

"Where's what?" China asked.

"The sunburst!"

Valkyrie's eyes widened a fraction but she pulled it out of jacket pocket and passed it to Ezra. Skulduggery tilted his head, but Ezra didn't even notice. Ezra gave it Skulduggery, who put his magic into it. Then Saracen, then China, then Tanith, then Valkyrie. Ezra put the last bit she had left into it. Then she dropped next to Dexter and slammed in onto his chest. It pulsed once, twice, thrice. Then Dexter sat up, breathing heavily, eyes bewildered.