Watching a Soap opera (days of our lives) where a person died and the husband and mother have been arguing on the balcony for a week. Oi!

SEA CREATURES

GEPOV

They opened the door and found the whole hospital trashed. On a table was Vendetta's pager that beeped.

"That's Vendetta's pager, right?" Tanith asked with a horrified look to her face.

"I guess she was here before we were." Ghastly suggested, "Is it a clue?" Skulduggery walked over to and inspected it.

"It is." Skulduggery confirmed and placed it in his pocket, "The question now is that who or what did this?" Everyone looked around and something rustled behind the wall. Valkyrie placed her finger to her lips and opened the door. She screamed and fell back with glass to her uncovered arm.

Skulduggery took out his gun, "Get out!" He shouted. The rustles grew louder. Nye slithered into view with an unhealed demonic smile plastered to it's face.

Tanith slipped her sword out and Geoffrey hid, "C'mon ugly!". Ghastly ran over to protect Valkyrie.

"Leave! Vendetta is a traitor!" It hollered and sent it's tail flying at Tanith, who ducked.

"To whom?" Valkyrie asked as Ghastly helped her up.

"To everyone!" Tanith's sword severed it's leg and black blood gushed out. Nye cried out and shook everywhere.

"Why?" It cried, "How?"

"Did Oracle loose Nye?" Ghastly asked, "What did she want now?" He backed away from Valkyrie who couldn't decide to leave in the glass or take it out as she stood up.

"Can you fix yourself?" Geoffrey asked, sliding out from the desk.

"Yes!" It snapped, "Bring my leg to me!" Skulduggery holstered his gun and tossed the limb to it, "Thank you. Now, bring me some ice!" Tanith chucked a bag of ice from a nearby freezer, "Come here, let me fix your arm."

"OK…?" As Valkyrie walked over Nye put gauze around it's stub. It grabbed pliers and yanked out the shard and she didn't make a sound.

"Leave me." Everyone obeyed and closed the door.

"What was she doing to it?" Valkyrie asked as Tanith wrapped gauze around her arm.

"Finding clues?" Skulduggery suggested, "Where's all the staff?" Valkyrie thought for a moment and frowned. Ghastly opened the door to find Nye stuffing bodies in a room.

"You don't want to know." he said, "I just hope Clarabelle is OK."

"Can we get someone else to worry about this?" Valkyrie asked, "Rife and Vendetta are God knows where and Rife's the only one who's investigated her past."

"There is Gordon." Geoffrey added. Skulduggery headed for his car and Valkyrie scurried to catch up. In the Coupe Valkyrie laid her head against the window and looked at the midday sky.

"Are you alright?" Skulduggery asked.

Valkyrie snickered, "Do we all have dark alter egos?" She asked.

"I like to think so. Why?"

"I thought Vendetta's was the '43 case but now it's really this." She sighed loudly, "Her reaction today was intense. When I told you about Darquesse I didn't hide-"

"You hid it from me for three months"

"Yeah, well at least I didn't hide my secret for hundreds of years." She countered.

"Get back to your point please."

"I meant that I didn't runaway and hide once I told you." Valkyrie thought for a moment, "Some first date." She muttered.

"I'm sorry?"

"The dance, it was our first date."

"I have had better ones with Mimi." Valkyrie nudged him hard, "What? At least, until the last one, the good ones didn't end in a murder."

"Huh. I don't know how to take that… but can we redo it?"

"When?" Skulduggery asked with a smile in his voice, "Where?"

"After we get to the bottom of this and at Gordon's. A casual, simple date. OK?"

"Sounds good. What about Gordon?"

"We'll just lock him in the study for a while. Sounds like a plan?"

"Yes it does." Skulduggery gave a half laugh. They didn't talk much to each other for the rest of the way. Skulduggery got out first and opened Valkyrie's door too.

"Thanks…?"

"What?" He closed the door behind her.

"You never open the door for me" She found the house key and put it in the lock, "unless I'm dying."

"Sorry?" He replied and closed the door behind him.

"It's not that, I'm just not use to it. K?" Gordon over heard and clasped his hands.

"What is it now?" He asked.

"Did you collect anymore information on Vendetta Dare?" Skulduggery asked, "Anything besides the '43 case will do."

"I-I don't believe I have anything else on her." Gordon somewhat smile. Valkyrie kept walking into his study and grabbed his unfinished story, "Hey, why are you reading that?"

"To find something on her. Where's that book?" he pointed to an open paged book by his study, "Why is the book opened?"

"I may have recently uncovered something on her."

"Gordon, what did she do?" Skulduggery pressed.

"Sh-she didn't do anything, really." Gordon countered, "It's really what she was."

"What was she then?" Valkyrie pushed.

"I entirely don't know!" Gordon snapped back, "You tell me!" Valkyrie shot a glare and started reading the page.

"Adeptry, Necromancy, Elemental. There's nothing out of the ordinary, this is the Vendetta we know." Skulduggery peered over her and nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! Her reaction was interesting, it wasn't normal. There's details there that are microscopic, but they are still there. Find them."

"OK, since when did you become Yoda, all mysterious and smart?" She folded her arms in such way to prove her point. Gordon huffed and glared at her, "Right, sorry." Valkyrie read further more on the page and frowned, "Why hasn't she done it yet?" Gordon mirrored her expression and Skulduggery just lurched forward.

"Vendetta?" Gordon guessed.

"Oracle." Skulduggery stated, "What is it, Valkyrie?"

"Why hasn't she taken over the world yet?" Valkyrie implied, " Oracle knows everything, don't you think she would've done something by now?"

Skulduggery grabbed the book from her and flipped through pages, "What are you doing?" Gordon asked. Skulduggery ignored him and flipped through more, "What are you trying to find, Skulduggery?"

"There it is," He finally said, "Oracle Divulgence…"

"What's there?" Valkyrie asked and walked over.

"… she gets to her 'puppets' first." Skulduggery read, "Makes them crack in such a manner to join her… In the end; all die." Gordon was moments before dimming out, "How did you acquire this information?" He remarked.

"Like china, I suppose." Gordon alleged, "I have sources." He grinned "Is she using Rife turning against Vendetta to break her?" Gordon asked.

"Friendship is powerful but," Skulduggery shoots a quick glance at Valkyrie and continues, "secrets are basically immortal."

"Sometimes it's both." Valkyrie added with shrug to lessen the tension.

No one commented.

"OK, so there's the motive, the weapon?" Valkyrie put out there.

"Vendetta?" Gordon suggested.

"I would think so." Said Skulduggery.

"Chance?"

"Any areas that people gather to?" Gordon asked.

"There's always the mall, downtown the harbor-" Valkyrie froze, "Isn't water manipulation Vendetta's best element?" She knew the answer though.

"Alright, since we now know where it'll probably be. The question is; What is she?" Gordon went rigid and flipped to another page that read SEA CREATURES.

"Well OK." Valkyrie's finger traced along the names, "There's the Adaro, Bunyip, Cetus, Champ, Ecantado, and Drac. that's all that's in there."

"What are they?"

"Adaro; mostly known as an alien mer-man. Bunyip; basically an aquatic panther. Cetus; great fish. Champ; Nessie, sea serpent, etcetera. Ecantodo; enchanted one, human dolphin practically. And Drac; in acient folklore it is an invisible, shape-shifting dragon with a bull or lion head. Well?"

"One more time, Gordon, where did you get this?" Skulduggery joked.

"My sources were, I guess you can say, followed her for a while. Her actions lead to a sea monster, that's all. Those are the ones I narrowed down."

"Now what?" Valkyrie asked and crossed her arms.

"We know how she works, we'll catch her at the scene."

"So, we're just going to monitor what Vendetta's doing? How?"

"We'll keep a close eye on the harbor, that's all."

"We're just gonna lay low?"

"I guess relaxing is how you could put it." Skulduggery laid his arm on her shoulder and she smiled.

"OK." Valkyrie giggled and Gordon rolled his eyes as he dimmed-out, "So we're just going to send out interns or whatnot around the harbor and have them report back to us?"

"Simply? yes." Valkyrie tore out the page and Skulduggery's head tilted.

"What? He can get more. We might forget." He shrugged and they walked to the Coupe and strapped in. Clarabelle was resting against the door and fiddling with her thumbs.

"Good, she's alive." Valkyrie breathed as she got out.

"Clarabelle, what are you doing?" Skulduggery wondered.

"Doing a thumb war." Her focus was on her thumbs.

"By yourself."

"Yeah!" The right one hammered her left down and she laughed. "Cheater." Clarabelle huffed.

"Riiiiiight." Skulduggery joined up and stared at Clarabelle and walked inside. Ghastly and Tanith were talking to Vendetta's co-worker.

"We have a plan." Valkyrie stated. Her and Skulduggery took turns explaining their new plan, "Get it?" Ghastly smiled as Tanith made some arrangements for the harbor.

"We're good." Tanith said.