Valkyrie stood still, her mouth falling slowly open. He was so young and unfamiliar. Anger began to boil up inside her. Damn it Gordon. Why did you have to do that? "Stephanie," she said firmly but nothing happened. The red headed boy turned around and left as Skulduggery turned on his heel as well. "Stephanie," she repeated. Why wasn't she being transported back? Fear bubbled up within her. She must have doe something wrong with the spell and now she was trapped.

She suddenly heard a sound as if there was paper ripping. She turned around to see the street being torn up behind her, rising to the sky in a mass of black. Panicking, she ran. Up the street and around the corner. She fazed through a pair of lovers and an elderly man. She saw the fifteen year old Skulduggery walking up ahead. Looking back, she noticed that the street pausing in its destruction as Skulduggery stopped briefly. Oh I get it. I need to be with Skulduggery the whole time since it s his memory.

His momentary pause gave her enough time to catch back up to him. Skulduggery quickened his pace rounding around a corner and another till he came upon a house in an urban setting. He went up the stairs by twos and entered. His house? Walking through the front door, she gazed in awe at the interior of obvious luxury. She heard quick footsteps to her right.

"Master Dominic! Master Dominic!" She saw a old woman in a maids outfit run up to the bottom of the stairs, staring up at the ascending Skulduggery who was pushing off vases as he went. "Master Dominic! I don't think your parents would approve your actions!"

He looked down at her with hatred in his eyes. "My parents are dead!"

"If they were still here they would be very disappointed in you!"

He turned away and entered a room on his left. Valkyrie moved around to have a better look of the scene.

"Don't go into Master Pleasant's study!"

He came back out holding something in his hands. "Your master is dead." Lifting the revolver, his revolver that she had grown so familiar of, he pointed it down at the maid and pulled the trigger.

Valkyrie flinched as if she herself had been shot. The maids body fell limply to the floor, blood oozing out the center of her head. She ran up to her and suddenly Skulduggery was there. Right next to her. A killer.

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SkulPoint of View ------ Dublin, Ireland --- Present Day

Skulduggery entered the front door with an air of achievement. "Valkyrie, love, I have some great news." He took out the Tame and slipped off his coat, draping it over the back of the couch. He opened the Tame and untucked his shirt and unbuttoned a couple buttons. "Valkyrie, love?" he called again. Maybe she's in the bathroom... or sleeping. He had been gone for a while. He smiled to himself imagining her sleeping. Taking the Tame, he walked over to what he now referred to as "their" bedroom.

A huge grin spread across his face as he rounded the corner and leaned in the bedroom doorway. His smile quicky faded when he didn't see Valkyrie but... "Gordon?"

Gordon stood there with his arms crossed and a smug look across his face. "Oh its been awhile, Skulduggery and might I say congratulations on your flesh."

Skulduggery blinked, having not moved his position. "You're dead."

"And so are you. Now that we got that clarified, say Valkyrie was standing in here, what were you planning on doing after standing in [i]that position?"

Skulduggery immediately straightened his posture. "You're an echo," he stated.

"And you re a child molester."

Skulduggery was taken aback. "What did you just call me?" he said with as much venom as he could muster.

"You are raping my niece so I decided to see if she really loves you or if you are just using her for sex now that you're human."

"What the hell are you saying? Where is she?"

"She is where she needs to be right now. In your memories."

"What did you do?!" he yelled. Skulduggery ran forward and dived for Gordon. He went right through him. He knelled on the ground and gripped the edge of the bed frame, bringing his hands to his eyes.

"She needed to see."

"No she didn't! You ruined me! It was hard enough telling her that I killed people now she's going to see it!"

"And she won't come back till it's through." He smiled. "I made sure of that. I asked it specifically to show her everything you didn't want her to know."

"Monster!" Skulduggery choked.

"I'm the monster here? No, I'm your friend telling you this is the wrong thing to be doing."

"You are no friend of mine." he said firmly. When Gordon didn't answer to that he continued, "My friend would have not even considered the idea. He would not make me endure so much pain. The real Gordon would have been happy for us." He turned around to see that Echo Gordon had returned to the stone. He yelled out in fury. How did that echo stone get there anyway. Valkyrie must have found it and was planning on showing it to him when he returned. He crawled over to the mirror and stared at the scene depicting Valkyrie next to his fifteen year old self. He placed a hand to his eyes again. He was doomed. It was over. She'll never see him the same again...

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ValPoint of View - - - - December 31, 1921 - - - - Dublin, Ireland

Skulduggery had knelled down beside her and reached his hand outward. She made to shove his hand away from the woman but she went right through him. Tears filling her eyes, she watched as Skulduggery reached out to touch the wound on the maids head, dipping his fingers in her blood. He then moved those same fingers across her open eyes, closing them coated with her own blood. He began to say a prayer looking up to the heavens. He asked for forgiveness of what he had done and what he was about to do.

After a few minutes, Skulduggery stood up once more, grabbing the gun, and walked through the front door. Valkyrie followed him quickly. She didn't want to know what would happen to her if she was left behind. She didn't notice it before but Skulduggery had grabbed a coat on the way out. He used it to hide his blood stained left hand. He rudely bumped through crowds and received a bunch of dirty words but he still kept on.

Valkyrie didn't like what she was seeing one bit. She couldn't blame Skulduggery for keeping his past a secret but before she really did want to know. Skulduggery turned into a dark alleyway and into a old hotel building. She followed him as he trekked up the stairs and out onto the roof. It was a cool and windy night. The first thing Valkyrie saw when she made it to the top was a man about six feet in height wearing a old fashioned top hat. He was strongly built but his face was very soft.

"Skulduggery," the man said, "How nice of you to join me."

"Gregous, we need to talk," Skulduggery stated.

"Look listen Do -"

"No you listen!" Skulduggery exclaimed, "All I ever wanted was a family. I turned to you and you stabbed me in the back! Was it really worth it, Kane? Was it really worth it?!"

"You don't understand what you're talking about. You will never be able to comprehend my reasons for doing what I did."

"What is there to understand when you killed my mother! You heartless son of a bitch! I let you train me and this is what I get?!"

Valkyrie gasped, unable to hold the tears from her eyes.

Skulduggery stomped up to Gregous and stood face to face with him. Kane was absolutely still. "You deserve to die traitor," Skulduggery hissed. With the blink of her eye, Skulduggery suddenly had his gun out and pointed at Gregous's head.

Valkyrie held her breath as Kane stared at Skulduggery with sad and compassionate eyes. As if he knew his apology will never fulfill the sorrow in Skulduggery's heart.

Valkyrie screamed out when her lover pulled the trigger, Kane falling limply at his feet.

Confused? All questions about Kane and Skulduggery's family will be cleared up due in time. Suspenseful isn't it? Please Comment and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!