Just then there was a knock on the door and I went to open the door and there was this girl in weird black clothes and she was kinda pretty I guess. She stared at me for a long time.

"What's your problem?", I huffed.

"You're just older than I thought.", she said.

"Excuse me?" I growld. Atnon steppd between us, and Erskine smiled. "Val, meet Dlylan. Dylan, meet Val."

"This is the girl my dad is marrying?", I asked.

"This is my new stepdaughter?", she said.

Then we looked at each other for a long time and I started laughing.

She got an uncomfortable look on her face. I laughed even harder.

"My dad really has crackd." I cried. "He's marrying you? You?"

Erskin put an hand on my shoulder. "Now, Dylan, Val's a god match for your dad..."

"yes she is.", said a deep voice from a man who entered the house and he was really thin and tall but when he took off his hat he was a skeleton! It was my dad!

"DAD!", I yelled, giving him a big hug and he picked me up and whirled me around.

Evryone laughed and I huggd him tight.

"You won't believ what I'v been through" I whispred into his chest. "Necromancers sergve worse food than you. That's just injustice."

"Oh my poor little girl.", he said, and he ruffled my hair. "You've met Valkyrie, now, haven't you?'

"Yes.", the girl with black hair said. "Make her like me, Skulduggery."

He tiltd his hed and I shook mine. "She's relly young." I said, upset. "That's weircd, dad."

"Yes, well, she can handle hersel." He said sternly.

"Yeah, buy mum was in her 30's when you married her." I argued.

"Valkyrie is not your mum."

"No." I agreed, looking at her. "She's not." She had blak hair, for start; my mum had had blonde hair. They had bot been pretty though, but my mum was kidn and cold kick my dad's a** whil this girl didn't look like she could.

"Why don't we have diner?" Dextr suggested. "It's been a long dfay for everybody. We'll probly all feel betr after a meal."

So we all st down for dinnr and at the tabl we all talkd with each other and Valkyrie wasn't that bad aftr all becuz we both read a lot of the same books though she said she'd take me out to show me something called 'manga'. She said I'd like it and i believed her because my dad was marrying her after all, but I still missed my mom.

It was pretty quiet at the diner table. Anton and Ghastly were discussing their plans for getting back at the Necromancrsss, China was more focusd on playing with her fod than eating it, Dextr and Saracn held each others hands and whisprd and dad was busy making Val laugh. If elt jealous, until ERskin leend over and whisperd "Want to see something funy?"

I noded, knowing that sinc it was Erskine, it would be funny.

He grind, then spoond up some mashed potato and flung it at Anton. It got all ovr his face and long pretty hair and he growled. Erskin laughed and then stopd when Anton threw pie into his fac.

It grew realy quiet then, and then Saracn yelld "FOOD FIGHT" and dad grabd Val's hand and tyogethr they flung macaroni sald and lemonade at Chian.

Chin rased an eyebrow at them and got all red becuz her clothes were ruined, but then she laughed, and Anton picked up a chair and threw it at Erskin. But then Erskin just ctached the chair and set it down and kissed Anton (SEE TAKE THAT DEREK) and Saracen said "Awwwwww" and they got embarassed.

And then Ghastl pickd me up and I kickd my leg at a pot that eent to us and it flew bak and hit Saracn in the face and Val was impresd.

"Good job Dlylna." She said. Ghastly set me down and I grind. "Not bad yourself."

Then we shook hands and we were actually friends.

Dad cam to stand by her and he restd his hed on hers. "Im glad you two ar finaly getign alogn." He sed. I noded.

Meanwhile, in the Temple...

"Is it recdy?" The blonde man's thin voic cam from under his hod and Teenbra slappd him upside the hed. "Of course it isnt'!" He snappdED. "Sirpen is lazy his spirit wil not come bak soon."

But Teenbrae whished it would. He lookled at his babe and shook his head sadly because he liked his babe and Sirpen looked pretty even in deth, even as a girl now because they could only find a girl body to suit him. He kind of was sad but he didn't mind becuz Tenbrae was bi.

Teenbrae just wantd to heer his belov deep voice again and see that evil, evil smile. He wasn't a losr with no frienz. He had his Sirpin soon again.

Solomon stuck his head in and shook it. "He's not gonna come back." He said meanly.

Then Teenbree sank down and cried but just as he startd cryin Sirpin's pretty girl body hugged him and chuckld. "Why are you so sad, babe?", he asked. "I would not leave you."

"Babe!", Tenebrae blubbered before they started kissing in a way that made even Solomon and Carven get a little emotional. Carven wanted his Nataniel.

Solomna took out his pgone and lookd at a picture of him and Chian and he sighed. Why didn't she love him anymore?

"Youre being girly again." Sirpen said, and looked around. "Something seems different..." Her eachhed up to touch his hcest and then he saw he had boobs and he gasped. "WHAT?"

"It was the only way, dearest stallion.", Tenebrae said sorrowfully.

Serpin considered it, then shrugged. "Whatever." He sed. "I like boobs so that works."