I feel fine
And I can smile
But I feel the anger coming
It's underneath

He could feel the shadows swirling around inside his clothes. How badly they wanted to come forward, how badly they wanted to mutilate the person in front of him. How they wanted to tear him to pieces. He knew how easy it would be to summon them. A single thought was all it took, then he would once again be encased in the armor that transformed him into Lord Vile.

Who did this man think he was that had set upon his partner? Did he really think he could win over him, Skulduggery Pleasant – the Skeleton Detective – whose wrath was talked about all over the magical world? Did he really think he had a chance against him? Didn't he know who he was? If he did, he would probably have changed his mind, because no one wanted his wrath turned on them unless they had a death wish.

Kill him. He deserves to die after what he did to Valkyrie. No one goes after her with impunity. No one who goes after her escapes with their lives. Let me loose, let me tear him to pieces!

It's a constant fight
Deep inside
And I want to forget it

That voice... It was always in his mind. After all, it was part of his subconscious and every time he let his guard down it tried to take over. He never got to fully lower the guard, because the few times that happened, Skulduggery Pleasant disappeared and Lord Vile arose. When that happened, no one was safe and it became harder each time to regain control. Vile was strong, maybe even stronger than Skulduggery…

How many times had Vile slipped out for seconds when Skulduggery was in a sticky situation and Valkyrie wasn't there to stop him? It was only when she was with him that he could control Vile, because he didn't want her to know how hard he was fighting to keep him at bay.

It was only because he wanted to prove himself strong to her and uphold the image he knew Valkyrie had of him that allowed Vile to be restrained when she was around him. He didn't hear his voice as clearly when she was around because he could concentrate on her voice instead of the one he otherwise constantly heard inside his skull when he was alone.

I confess
I'm always afraid
Always ashamed
Of what's inside me

He was afraid of losing control. He had let Vile take over him during the war against Mevolent and he had been in control for many years. In those years, all that had mattered was finding the next victim to dismember or torture to extract the information Mevolent needed to put a stop to his enemies.

If it happened again, if Skulduggery let Vile take control of him again, Skulduggery wouldn't be able to take it back, but Vile would mutilate everything until nothing was left. He would do what Darquesse had intended to do: destroy the Earth until nothing but himself remained.

Except possibly one person…

Valkyrie Cain, his partner, his soul mate. She was the only one Skulduggery managed to keep out of harm's way when Vile stuck his head out and went berserk. After all, he was part of Skulduggery and shared all of his memories and feelings. Valkyrie was the only one that was safe because she was the only one Skulduggery didn't want to kill, was the only one he couldn't kill.

In the past, before they got as close as they were now, Vile wouldn't have hesitated for a second and would have killed Valkyrie if given the chance, but now... Everything had changed between them and now Skulduggery wouldn't be able to live without Valkyrie, on the same way she couldn't live without him.

I'm on the edge
I don't know how
I can escape this nightmare

Skulduggery looked down at the man lying on his back in front of him. He could see out of the corner of his eye how shadows began to seep out of his jacket sleeves. He could see them whip around his body, eager to hear him give them the command to attack. They formed into sharp points that pointed down at the man who had now begun to shake with fear and terror beneath him.

One word, Skulduggery. Say the word and this man will soon be nothing but a pool of blood on the ground. He attacked Valkyrie, our partner and soul mate. He doesn't deserve to live. No one goes after Valkyrie and gets away with their lives. Think of all the others who have gotten away with hurting her in the past. Are you going to let this man become another one of these fugitives?

Images of Valkyrie wounded and dying flashed through him. How many times had she come close to dying because he wasn't strong enough to save her in time? A few names floated through his mind, Nye, Melancholia... These were just two of the many people who had wanted to kill his partner and had escaped with their lives or had died in other ways than by his hand.

I confess
I'm always afraid
Always ashamed
Of what's inside me

You know you want to let me out, Skulduggery. Just say the word and I'll take over. You don't have to think anything, you don't even have to do anything, because everything that happens will be my doing. You don't need to feel any shame, because it wasn't you who did it.

"Out of my head. I'm not going to listen to you." Skulduggery walked up to the man and kicked him in the face, causing his eyes to roll back into his head. He had passed out before his head touched the ground.

Skulduggery walked over to Valkyrie who was lying some distance away and lifted her up in his arms. She was unconscious but breathing and she had no serious injuries as far as Skulduggery could tell. Maybe some broken bones, but nothing life threatening.

"Valkyrie."

She moved in his arms and he let out a sigh of relief. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. She smiled and placed her hand on his cheekbone. "Skulduggery? Did we win?"

"Yes, Valkyrie."

"Good." She was about to say something more but stopped and looked at something behind him.

"Skulduggery..."

Skulduggery didn't have to turn his head to know what she saw.

Take this away
Help me escape
Take this away
I confess

You'll never get rid of me, Skulduggery. I will always be a part of you unless you can do what Valkyrie did with Darquesse and manage to separate me from you. But if you were to try to do that, a large part of your powers will disappear with me, just like they did for Valkyrie. Are you really willing to do that, I wonder? You depend on me and the power I possess.

"Skulduggery..." Valkyrie said again, grabbing his upper arm. "Vile... is behind you."

"I know."

"I thought you had him under control...?" Valkyrie said uncertainly. She didn't take her eyes off Vile for a second.

Skulduggery could tell that Valkyrie was terrified, although she did a good job of hiding it. An outsider wouldn't see it, but he could. He held her and buried his skull in her hair.

"He won't hurt you. He is a part of me and cannot do anything that I myself do not want. You are safe."

"But..." Valkyrie's voice trembled a little. "If he regains control..."

"Then everyone but him and you will die."

"That's right. So be on your guard, Valkyrie Cain. Because when you least expect it, it will be me holding you in my arms and not Skulduggery."

With those words, Vile disappeared back under Skulduggery's clothes, biding his time.

My first real attempt at writing a Vile fan-fic! I really hope you guys enjoyed it! The lyrics are from the song Confessions (What's inside my head) from the band RED. I really thought that the lyrics suited Vile and Skulduggery's realtionship and I wanted to write a story around this song.

Derek has never wrote about what's going on when Skulduggery wears the armour and becomes Vile, or if he can hear his voice like Valkyrie could with Darquesse. I think that he does, at least since he started to wear the armour with him at all times. But that's what I think! Please leave a review and tell me what you think and what you thought about this story :)