Valkyrie was sorting through case files; this was the most boring part of her job, but still, it was important. She had taken over one of the lonely office rooms, locked the doors and closed the shades. She welcomed the silence; it had been too long since she had had peace and quiet. Although, she wasn't sure if peace and quiet could be used to define the torture case file she was reading- mortals were being used a guinea pigs and entertainment. A sadistic group of sorcerers using their magic as methods of torture. The file was large, with numerous pages detailing each victim, a timeline of events, missing persons reports, suspects, and evidence. The list went on. In the end, the case went cold, or at least, it was cold until recently..

Valkyrie leaned back in her chair and stretched out her body. Having been sitting in the same position for so long, her limbs felt stiff. She yawned and checked the time. It was one A.M, meaning she had been working for nearly five hours, yet she wasn't even half-way through the work. Exhausted, she decided to take a break- a short recess wouldn't hurt.

She heard knocking at the door, and Dexter peaked his head through the doorway, smiling. Valkyrie looked over in mild surprise. She raised her eyebrows, "How did you know I was here?"

"What," he grinned, a hint of mischief in his tone, one Valkyrie knew well, "No hello?"

"Hello! How did you know I was here?"

Dexter raised his hands, "I've been looking for you everywhere"

"What for?" Valkyrie asked.

Dexter raised two strawberry-flavored shakes, "I've been sent by Skulduggery."

"Oh, dear."

Dexter laughed, "Relax! It's not what you're thinking!"

"Then, what is it?"

"He's found a lead on that case of yours," he said, pulling out another file.

"Not another one!" Valkyrie cried.

Dexter laughed his very pretty laugh, again, "I'm afraid so." He placed it in front of her, but instead of sitting down, he started looking around the room. He leaned into the wall, a confused expression on his face.

Valkyrie looked over curiously, "What are you doing?"

He squinted, "Come over here. What is this?" Valkyrie stood up and walked over.

"I'm confused," she frowned, "What are you-" She was cut short by a blow to her knees, knocking her to the ground. She screamed, "Dexter!"

"Oops," Dexter sighed, "My hand slipped." Another blow ensued, smashing her legs. And again- he kept swinging something down on her. She looked down, panicking. Bone had torn through her skin, twisted in directions it should not be. Searing pain exploded inside her body. Her chest heaved, and she choked on the saliva that slipped down her throat. She screamed louder, knowing despite herself that the room was soundproof. No sound would come in, and no sound would go out. She tried to lift herself to her elbows, but Dexter smashed her against the wall. He slid his foot beneath her chest and turned her over, so she was lying on her back. She stared up at him, her eyebrows creased together, and sweat rolled down her forehead. Then, her eyes widened; Dexter's lips were turning black, and his veins were popping out disgustingly. He had been possessed by a remnant.

"How did you get in here?" Valkyrie asked cautiously.

The remnant laughed, "It's not just me. There are hundreds of us." A horrified expression washed over Valkyrie's face.

"What?" she gasped, "There's no way. How did you get into the sanctuary?"

"Well, if you really want to know, we've got one very powerful sorcerer on our side."

"One? That's all?"

The remnant shrugged, "Possess one, possess them all."

"Who was it? Who did you possess?" Valkyrie asked- a demanding tone.

"My dear, you are not in the place to be asking so many questions, " the remnant said tauntingly, "Oh, but turn that frown upside down! You'll be dead soon, and these things don't matter when you're a dead girl." Valkyrie opened her mouth to rebuttal, but the remnant slammed his bat into her stomach. Blood and spit flew out of her mouth. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, making her vision blurry. She blinked the tears away.

One million thoughts were going through her mind right now, forming around one simple goal, to get out alive, but her legs were broken, and attempting to move them would only cause her pain. Do something, she willed herself, do anything! She reached out with her magic, electricity surrounding her body. The remnant stumbled back in shock, but immediately, his face became an amused one.

"Please, what are you going to do with that? Throw it at me?" he motioned towards Valkyrie's mangled arms. How had she not noticed?

Valkyrie was in shock; that was a good thing. It was alleviating the pain, which would otherwise have been unbearable. The remnant laughed again- proud of the pain he had caused her, and entertained by her twisted expression. She reached out to her magic again, searching for something- anything, to latch onto. She found Dexter's soul, and looking deeper, eventually found the remnant's soul. She pulled on it. It would be impossible to describe the sensation of pulling someone's soul apart. It had felt the same as when she had taken that pirate woman's soul.

"W-what the hell are you doing to me?" the remnant choked, doubling over. His hands tightly gripped Dexter's head. Valkyrie managed a smile, blood and drool still leaking from the corners of her mouth. She felt the remnant pulling back, desperately trying to claw its way deeper into Dexter's body. But Valkyrie wouldn't let him; she pulled harder. It was a game of tug of war, fighting for control of the dark remnant soul.

"Stop!" he shrieked, but Valkyrie did not stop. She pulled and pulled and… she was winning. The remnant's soul broke apart, falling out of Dexter's body; Dexter fell to the ground, gasping. It took a moment for him to compose himself. The feeling of taking a short trip out of your own body does not sound so pleasant. As he looked around, studying his surroundings, his hazy eyes met Valkyrie's. His eyes widened, because like all remnant victims, he remembered nothing. He ran to her, "What happened?!" he asked. Valkyrie coughed out the blood that had been trapped in her throat.

"You were possessed by a remnant," she managed. Dexter frowned, his brows furrowed, "I did this to you?"

Valkyrie nodded, "Yes. There are more remnants, though. Hundreds, apparently."

"How-?" Dexter started.

"I don't know. The remnant that possessed you had said, 'Possess one, possess them all."

Dexter nodded slowly, "They possessed someone with enough knowledge and power to let them in."

"It must have been China. Not only is she the grand mage, but she is personally in charge of all of the defensive measures."

"Makes sense. Sigils are her specialty. It would be hard to find someone good enough to disable them all."

Valkyrie exhaled, "I hope it's not permanent. Who knows how long she has been possessed?"

"Right now, we need to focus on ourselves."

"You're right, but we don't even know how bad it is out there," Valkyrie gestured towards the door, "I've been in here for hours."

Dexter's eyes narrowed towards the floor, his lips were downturned, calculating. "I guess we're going to have to figure that out for ourselves."

Valkyrie shook her head, "I can't walk- no, I can barely even move."

"Are you able to heal yourself?"

"I'm not- I can't. I need a healer to commandeer. Without them, I can't heal myself."

"I'll carry you, then, but it'll be difficult to defend ourselves."

"We can't just stay here!" Valkyrie exclaimed, remembering all of the people who were

in danger… Militsa and Ravel and Saracen and Skulduggery. She was the only one who could free them from the remnant. It was very early in the morning, though, and the sanctuary wouldn't be as busy as it was in the evening.

"That's not what I'm saying!" Dexter defended, "I just mean, we're going to have to be extra careful."

"Right," Valkyrie exhaled, "Sorry." Dexter picked Valkyrie up, carrying her on his back. If Valkyrie's arms weren't broken, she would throw her arms up and cry, "Piggy-back ride!"

Cautiously, Dexter moved to the doorway, but just as he opened the door, there was a man, pleading for his life in the middle of the hallway, though upon his desperate requests for mercy, he was hauled by his feet through the hallway. The life side of his head dragged across the floorboards, leaving a trail of blood behind him. His desperate, chilling screams echoed through the hall. Small slips of skin peeled off of his face and aggressively skidded against the floor. The remnant started swinging him up and down, slamming him against the floor and ceiling. Even as his screams stopped and his body went limp, he was smashed violently against the hallways. His bones cracked, and his limbs became disfigured, bending in every direction.

Valkyrie looked at the perpetrator, a remnant-possessed elemental, whom Valkyrie recognized. The remnant had used her air magic to drag the victim across the hall. Valkyrie reached out with her magic, pulling at the remnant. She was becoming overwhelmed with exhaustion, feeling the energy leaving her body. The remnant screamed, and Dexter, hearing this, wondered if the remnant was in pain. He hoped it was. Before the remnant had broken off from its host, it lifted the knife and stabbed the woman, its eyes filled with bitter determination. As the remnant flew out of her, the woman face-planted onto another corpse.

They finally had a chance to look around. Bodies were piled on top of one another. Limbs were scattered everywhere; Blood was splashed against the walls. There was no way to avoid stepping on the puddles of blood as they walked. As Dexter carried Valkyrie down the hall, she stared at the men and women and sorcerers, whose eyes were wide open in horror.

"Where are we going?" Valkyrie asked.

"The medical wing. You're in bad shape," Dexter said, almost guiltily. Valkyrie wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault, but decided instead to stay on topic. She said, "Most likely, the remnants have already taken over the medical wing."

"Yes, probably, but you won't be able to do anything with those injuries."

Valkyrie frowned, "I guess."

"And Val…" Dexter added, "I'm sorry…" Valkyrie tightened her arms around his neck, as much as she could without hurting herself.

She shook her head, "Don't be. You can't even remember."

"But-"

"Stop. I'm serious, Dex. It wasn't your fault."

"Thank you."

They walked in silence for a moment, until Valkyrie asked solemnly, "Do you think Militsa is okay?"

"I don't know," Dexter whispered, "I hope Saracen is okay, too."

"We'll find them. We have too," Valkyrie insisted. Dexter nodded in agreement.

"And then," Valkyrie continued, "We'll have to find China, whether she was the first remnant-possessed or not."

"Yes. She'll be able to trigger the defenses," said Dexter.

"And send word out to other sanctuaries," Valkyrie added.

Dexter stopped and looked up, "Wait, I don't think we need China to do that."

Valkyrie looked at him, her eyebrows raised, "What?"

"Somewhere around here is a Communications room. I believe. There, we can send global alerts out."

"Good, and after we tend to my wounds, we'll go there." Dexter nodded.

Valkyrie looked around, studying their surroundings. They were on the fourth floor, a decent way from the medical wings. Valkyrie turned her magic back on, searching for living sorcerers, though most of them were barely holding on, or fighting on one of the lower floors. She wondered how bad it was down there. Then, she searched for Militsa, but there was no sign of her. Valkyrie wasn't sure if this was a good or bad sign. Either Militsa was dead, possessed, or at home with complete obliviousness to what was happening in the sanctuary. Afterwards, she searched for Saracen. It was easy to find him; he was close. Very close.

"Dexter, Saracen's alive," she said hopefully. His head piqued up immediately, "How close is he?"

"Close," Valkyrie responded, "A few halls down."

"Is he okay?" Dexter was speaking quicker now, almost desperate. Valkyrie hesitated, "No, he's not okay."