Hello! I am here to destroy more tension! I think I will update twice today! Because I am the almighty Queen of Cliffhangers! But I also hate cliffhangers so I'm not sure if I'm proud of the title yet or not...

(*This is what was happening with Skulduggery when Valkyrie and Banal were fighting on the roof. It starts with Skulduggery telling Valkyrie to uphold her promise she made! Enjoy!)

(*This is from a new characters perspective!)

Chapter 8

"Valkyrie, no!" The skeleton shouted, "Get out!"

"But-" the girl tried.

"Get out! You promised, remember? Do it!"

She hesitated for only a second, and then turned on her heel and ran out of the door, a gunshot missing her head by centimetres. Banal, far too smug, sauntered over to Skeleton's cage and said, calmly, "I hope they were meaningful last words," and turned around towards the door, and said over his shoulder, like he was just pointing out the weather, "Because I'm about to kill her. She won't last five seconds," Banal said with a smile in his voice, and walked out the room, leaving the lights on and door open a crack.

The skeleton, on his behalf, didn't even reply, probably knowing it was useless. Not a whole lot you can do, when you're in a cage of iron and magic.

Suddenly, the well-dressed skeleton turned and kicked a bowl so hard it ricocheted back and landed exactly where it had been at the start, but upside down. That made him laugh hysterically.

The skeletons head snapped in his direction. "I'm sorry, but I really fail to see what's so funny about this situation."

He kept chuckling. "It's that bowl, that's what's funny." His voice really rather croaky, from not being used in a long while. He could hear footsteps running up the stairs, and a pair of slower feet going, a bit further back.

"Yes, hilarious."

"I know."

The Skeleton looked at him for a moment, and then said, "Good God, you're not exactly too bright are you?" he said dryly. He'd insulted him.

"You just insulted me, you did" he said, frowning and no longer laughing.

"Oh, you don't say." He didn't reply.

The running had stopped now. They had reached the roof. Nothing moved, and no one said anything. There wasn't any gunshots, but he didn't say it, in case he tabooed it.

"What's at the top?" The Skeleton suddenly whispered, listening out for any sounds.

He shrugged his thin shoulders, making the chains that hold his arms above his head rattle. "Haven't a clue. I was brought into this house, dragged into the cage, and haven't been out of the room since. He sometimes does something on that pad of his, and he can torture me with magic, but I'm still unable to use it myself, and I have no chance of defence."

There was suddenly a gunshot. A few seconds went by, then a scream, by the girl. He looked at the Skeleton, and saw that his hands were fists, and his head was bowed slightly. Then a shout. He couldn't hear the words, but knew it was by Banal. The girl had obviously not given him his answer straight away. Banal hated being kept waiting.

"Who are you?" the Skeleton asked an edge in his voice.

"You don't need to know my name. I'm just another person that's missing, assumed dead. There are hundreds like me," he said sadness in his voice. "I call myself C whenever someone asks. Which isn't often," he asked with a small smile. "Yours?"

"Skulduggery Pleasant. Detective, by order of the Sanctuary of Ireland," Skulduggery the Skeleton said formally.

Neither said anything for a moment and then there was another gunshot. Nothing else was heard for a while.

"Who is that girl of yours, hu?" C asked Skulduggery.

He hesitated for a moment and then, "Her name is Valkyrie Cain. She's my partner in crime. I trained her to be a detective and she is still learning is every other aspect every day. She does a lot of martial arts training and some other things which I can't tell you about." Skulduggery Pleasant seemed occupied, and trying to in get angry.

"Very nice," he murmured in approval.

There was another gunshot. Neither the Detective nor C moved or spoke. There was no sounds or anything else, and it stayed like that for another minute, before another bang came from the gun. Nothing happened for a moment. Another moment went by. And another. After about five minutes of nothing he sighed.

"I'm sorry mate," C said.

"She isn't dead," Skulduggery said like he was insulted.

"You heard the gu-" he was cut off by a sudden scream followed seconds later by a bang.

"Well, you may have been right before," he said. "But I'm not so convinced. If she was or wasn't before, there's no denying she must be now."

"Like you know."

"I do know. She's gone now. He'd have killed her. I'm just surprised it took him so long. Anyone he wants to keep to torture, just for the hell of it, like me, are normally brought down here faster than that," C said. "And anyone else, the ones he wishes to kill, are usually dead quicker than that. He doesn't play with his food, like."

"Shut. Up." Skulduggery said.

"Now that's not very nice," he said, scowling. "You may be angry, but don't take it out on me. I didn't kill the girl. Banal killed her. I can't kill anyone, I'm stuck-"

"I said," he interrupted, in a scary voice, "SHUT THE HELL UP!" He shouted at him, in one of the scariest voices C had ever heard.

C was quiet for a moment and then, "I'm sorry. I really am. But Abattoir Banal never loses," Skulduggery tried to interrupt, but C talked over him, "Everyone dies. You need to accept that she's dead."

The Detective was very quiet for a few moments, and it would have been overly uncomfortable for anyone other than a man who had been chained to a wall for many years.

"I don't care what you say," Skulduggery said, and C became aware of footsteps slowly descending the stairs, as if afraid to make too much noise. "If Valkyrie is dead, then Banal will be next." He said it with his head slightly lowered and his hands clenched. His voice was deathly serious, only just audible.

"I don't-" but, once again, he was interrupted.

"AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! SHE MAY OR MAY NOT BE DEAD, AND EITHER WAY I WILL KILL BANAL," he shouted at him, in pure rage. "Just shut up, will you. You know nothing."

C decided there was no use in replying. He just looked away, to the same spot he looked at every time he had nothing to do. Which happened to be often. The Skeleton's only move was to look down completely, but didn't move his body that was facing the back wall of his cell. The footsteps had sped up now, had gained more confidence.

A few moments past, and Banal made his way to the door. C couldn't see a shadow, but knew he was there. He'd stopped outside the room.

Then a hand came around the door frame, long thin fingers and short nails. Then came a body dressed of black trousers, boots and jacket. There was a phone in the other hand. Then C moved his eyes to the face, and saw Valkyrie Cain's.

"You're surprise is insulting," she said, glancing at him.

HeHeHe! Hope you liked! Please, try guess the ending! I know roughly what I'm doing so your hardly ruining it for me! =