Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!

Valkyrie needs to be rescued, but will Ravel, Rue and Renn get back in time...?

Skulduggery, Ghastly and Dexter were furiously scanning through the various files they had stolen- ahem, liberated- from the Sanctuary, in a desperate effort to find details on Sanguine's residence in Texas. They knew it was a long shot- what were the chances of details of his home being amongst the stolen papers? But Skulduggery was convinced that since they had papers on his contract, they'd have some information on his home.

"Found it!" Dexter suddenly yelled, and Ghastly and Skulduggery hurried over to where he was sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa. He stood up, with a slightly torn piece of paper in his hand. He passed it to Skulduggery.

Skulduggery quickly read the details. "He's in Dallas, the address is here, now we just need to figure out transport."

"A plane from here to Dallas will take over nine hours," Ghastly said. "Plus we'll have to make our way from here to the airport, and then from Dallas airport to his house."

"We'll have to use Fletcher, then," Dexter said. "But when will he be back?"

"Damn, we can't call him or they'll trace it," Skulduggery growled. "We're going to have to just wait for them to get back."

"They could be days," Ghastly said.

"No, they're capable enough. They'll be back here soon, you'll see," Dexter said optimistically.

Skulduggery and Ghastly just looked at him without speaking.

"Where the hell can this crystal be?" Saracen wondered aloud. They had been searching all day, from six in the morning to now, six in the evening (not accounting for any time differences). They had only stopped twice, and that was for ten minutes while they had lunch, and then a quick snack later on. Whilst the view was breathtaking, and the view of the surrounding mountains was exhilarating, let alone the picturesque lake a great distance below them, it still wasn't enough to accentuate the tired feeling Saracen was suffering from.

He was no longer a fit young man. He was a bit on the overweight side, and now it was all coming back to bite him in the bum as they hiked across the rocky terrain.

He looked across at Erskine. He was doing... okay, and aside from the fact that he was walking backwards, he seemed to be looking intently for any sign of a crystal.

Saracen turned and looked out at Fletcher. Well, at least he's walking in the right direction, he thought. He squinted. From here, it looked like Fletcher was nearing the edge of the mountain. What the hell was he doing?

Saracen was about to shout out a warning, but it was too late. Fletcher walked right off the edge of the mountain.

Oh yeah, my hair is looking good today, Fletcher thought as he put a bit of swag into his step. He looked down at his shoes. And I'm wearing my awesome new sneakers. Oh yeah, baby, you're looking-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled as he shot off the edge. He rolled and bumped along the steep grassy slope, before it disappeared completely and he was free-falling eighteen hundred metres towards the concrete below.

He turned in mid-air, and saw a large ledge shoot past him as he fell. Concentrating, he visualised that ledge, and within the blink of an eye, he had teleported there. He slumped onto the grass growing out of the ledge.

He was no longer falling. He was alive. His brain wasn't splattered on the ground. His hair was still awesome. His shoes were still on his feet. He was okay.

He stood up, and leaned against the rocky wall of the mountain next to the ledge, getting his breath back. Suddenly, the wall caved in slightly, and Fletcher fell right through, rocks and rubble falling on either side of him. He stood, and gasped.

He had fallen through the wall and made a hole, which led to a small cavern full of crystals.

Heilender Crystals.

He laughed with triumph, and did a little dance. I've found them! I've actually found them! I mean sure, I found them accidentally, but who cares? I am a hero! A genius! A-

He stopped celebrating, and listened closely. He could hear someone calling in the distance. It sounded like Saracen. Fletcher grinned. Time to rub it in their faces.

He focused, and a split-second later, he was standing beside Saracen, who was calling his name, whilst peering down the edge of the mountain.

"Saracen-" he began, and Saracen shrieked.

"Oh my God, Fletcher, what the hell? I thought you were falling!"

"Yeah, I was, but-"

"Do not jump out at me! I hate it when people jump out at me!" he wailed.

"Saracen! I found them! I found the crystals!" Fletcher grinned excitedly.

Saracen raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yup."

"You?"

"Oi."

"You found them?"

"Affirmative."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah."

"But you're..."

"I know. I'm a genius. Now come on, we haven't got all day!" Fletcher teleported to where Erskine was a short distance away, grabbed him, and came back to Saracen. He let go of Erskine, who continued walking backwards.

"Uh," said Saracen.

"Um," said Fletcher.

Erskine looked up. "How did you get here?" he asked, dumbfounded. What an appropriate word, Saracen thought. Dumbfounded. Dumbfounded. Dumb. It's like someone, at some point in history, predicted that Erskine would one day come along, and created that word especially for him.

Fletcher snapped him out of his trance, by grabbing his arm with one hand, and grabbing Erskine's again with the other.

"Hey!" Erskine protested, but a second later he was standing in the cavern where the crystals were.

"So you found them, then," he muttered.

Saracen walked up to where one was embedded in the wall. He grabbed hold of it and pulled with all of his might. The crystal came away easily, and he staggered back slightly with the extra momentum. He took it to Fletcher and Erskine, the latter of which was still gazing around the cavern, awe-struck. Saracen didn't know what all the fuss was about. It wasn't that impressive. It was just a little rock room, with crystals growing out of the walls.

He took a moment to examine the Heilender Crystal. It was a beautiful aquamarine-blue in colour, transparent at the tips, translucent in the middle, and completely opaque at the base. Tiny fragments of smaller minerals were dotted about, scattered, inside the prismatic jewel, making the light catch certain areas, and reflect off and through it in dazzling streaks. It was heavenly. It was mistifying. It was needed as soon as possible.

"Guys! Come on, let's get ready to go!" he called, and immediately Fletcher and Erskine prepared to teleport. Fletcher put one hand on Erskine's shoulder, and the other on Saracen's. They teleported to the living room in the warehouse.

Immediately, they saw that something was wrong. Ghastly, Dexter and Skulduggery were sitting on the sofas, and a remorseful atmosphere hung in the air. They looked up at their arrival. Saracen frowned.

"What happened? Is Anton ok?"

Dexter nodded, then paused, and shook his head. "Well, he's still dying, but he's not dead yet, if that's what you mean."

"Do you have the crystal?" Ghastly asked. The three nodded, and Saracen handed it over to him. Skulduggery and Dexter came over for a better look.

"It's amazing," Dexter breathed.

"Come on, get something to crush it with," Skulduggery ordered. Erskine ran into the kitchen, and came back a few seconds later with a massive butcher's knife. Saracen frowned.

"Since when did we bring that with us?"

"It looked nice," Erskine shrugged. He passed it over to Skulduggery, who put the crystal on the table. He took the knife and used it to scrape small fragments off of the sides and end of the crystal. Once he had collected a small pile of delicate shavings, he put the knife down.

"What was the next bit?" Fletcher asked.

"Dissolve it in water, and then heat it slightly," Erskine said. He ran into the kitchen again, and came back with a glass bowl. Ghastly used the air to gather all the tiny fragments of crystal, and placed them in the bowl, while Skulduggery gathered moisture from the air and created a small ball of water.

Once Ghastly had placed the fragments in, Skulduggery put the water in on top. The crystal began to dissolve.

"How long will this take?" Dexter asked.

"Judging by the current rate it's going at," Ghastly said, "I predict that it will take no longer than another two minutes." He sat on a sofa, while Skulduggery resumed his place in the armchair. Dexter sat on his sofa once again, and Fletcher and Erskine joined him.

Saracen looked at them, and took a seat himself. Something was wrong. He looked around, and instantly knew what was missing.

"Where's Valkyrie?" he asked.

"Sanguine took her," Dexter said. Erskine and Fletcher looked up sharply.

"W-what?" Fletcher said.

"Sanguine snuck in here and kidnapped her. He's taken her to Texas," Ghastly said.

"How the hell did you guys allow her to be taken?" Fletcher growled.

Everyone remained silent, but Skulduggery ever-so-slightly inclined his head towards Dexter.

Saracen sighed. "Do we know whereabouts in Texas?"

"Yeah," Dexter said. "He's taken her to his ranch, and we've got the address. Fletcher, have you ever been to Texas?"

Fletcher nodded. "Yeah, but Texas is a large place. Where's his ranch?"

"Texas," Erskine said. Fletcher frowned at him.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that bit out," he muttered.

"Dallas," Skulduggery said. "Been there?"

"No," Fletcher said. "I've been to Amarillo."

"Oh! Wasn't that a song?" asked Erskine.

Fletcher thought for a moment. "Oh yeah!"

"How did it go again...?"

"Is this the way to Amarillo," Fletcher sang. Saracen punched his arm.

"Concentrate," he muttered.

"Guys..." Dexter said, trying to get their attention. He had noticed something- the crystal had finished dissolving.

"Why did you punch me?" Fletcher asked Saracen sulkily.

"Uh, guys-" Dexter tried again.

"Because you deserved it," Saracen said simply.

"Oh my god, will you-"

"I did not deserve it!" Fletcher exclaimed, and opened his mouth to resume singing, but was cut off by an annoyed Dexter.

"GUYS! THE CRYSTAL'S DISSOLVED!" he yelled.

Quickly, Skulduggery picked up the bowl in one hand, and clicked his fingers and generated a spark with the other. He held the flame under the bowl, allowing it to heat up gently. A few seconds later, he extinguished the flame and placed the bowl of now warm Heilender crystal-water in Ghastly's hand.

Ghastly motioned with his free hand for someone to sit Anton up, and Saracen and Erskine came forward to do so. Ghastly moved Anton's long hair out of the way, and gently held the bowl of liquid to his mouth, and tilted it so it was going down his throat. He paused every so often to allow it to go down safely.

He stepped back once done, and waited for something to happen. Nothing did.

Skulduggery came forward and peered at Anton, looking for signs of improvement. The others also stepped forward, and crowded around his body.

Then Anton Shudder opened his eyes.

Did anyone spot the LSODM quote?