Dear reader,
Thank you, for clicking on this story and joining me on, what has been now, a seven-year adventure. This Fanfiction was initially posted as an online-Fanfiction in German. This was after the release of the ninth and, back then, final "Skulduggery Pleasant" book (Dying of the Light). It works well as a parallel timeline for the second SP installment and has been slightly adjsted over time, to continously fit the SP wold building and stay as canon as possible. But the general concept has always been the same. Over the years, the quality of writing is bound to improve and so, for a couple of reasons, I have decided to translate and re-write this story. However, as English is my second language I apologize for any gramatical mistakes in advance. Also, please note that I speak American English in my daily life, which is why most of my writing is spelled that way. Though I try my best to adapt it, when I quote British English speaking characters.
This story will turn out to be three or four book-length parts.
1: Battles of Shadow
2: Vodun War
3: The Inbetween
Some of these have already been written and are being filled in, translated, or reviewed, as I post. I can't actually publish these as books, for obvious copyright reasons, which is why I am now sharing them with you. Thank you again, for reading. On that note; I love any kind of comments and feedback, whether positive or negative. You will also notice that I inserted song lyrics in the story, a handful of times. They are from many different genres, and do not only fit in terms of lyrics, but also in terms of mood, rythm, melody, and sometimes even in terms of acoustic effect. Which is why, I recommend listening to them, as well (with headphones ;)).
Finally, a Disclaimer:This fanfiction is rated M for violence and triggering subject matters. It does not contain explicit sex scenes / "smut"
And with this, I leave you to read my pride and joy, the Fanfiction that is "Triskelion" (Part One: Battles of Shadow). A, you could say, alternative development of Skulduggery Pleasant after Darquesse's defeat.
It starts like this: Once opon a time, two Dead Men went to two dead uncles' funerals...
"Triskelion - Battles of Shadow"
A Skulduggery Pleasant Fanfiction
Character Study
Healing, holy man, once upon a time.
He lived for his wife, up until the crime.
Hunting high and low, to seek revenge.
Brand new moral code got made reluctant renegade.
Leaving empty souls, when he avenged.
Evil spirits flowed.
He drank the blood like lemonade.
Cozy campfire crowd, with a case of wine.
I'm feeling fine.
Bounty hunter now and it crossed the line.
Cross that line.
Hunting high and low, to seek revenge.
Brand new moral code got made reluctant renegade.
Leaving empty souls, when he avenged.
Evil spirits flowed.
He drank the blood like lemonade.
In a border town, down in Mexico,
They let him go.
Law and order now, 'cause he runs the show.
So, now you know.
Hunting high and low, exerts revenge.
Brand new moral code got made reluctant renegade.
Leaving empty souls, when he avenged.
Evil spirits flowed.
He drank the blood like lemonade.
- "Blood Like Lemonade", Morcheeba (2010)
Chapter 1
Tapping her foot nervously, Diamond Irie stood by the side of the parking lot, in front of the arrival gate at Dublin Airport, waiting for her transport to Roarhaven. She stopped her foot and kept herself from looking at her watch. Instead, she made sure her blouse was tucked in safely into the waistband of her pants and pulled a hairband from her other wrist, to tie up her hair. Diamond grabbed some red, curly strands and wrapped them around each other and securing them in a bun.
Driving up fast and halting abruptly, a black Mercedes appeared. Quickly, Diamond got in and threw her bag onto the other back seat before closing the door behind herself.
"What's the status?" She asked the driver and buckled in, as he sped up the car again. He looked young, had dark brown, slicked-back hair and a mustache.
"Unclear, Ma'am," the driver replied, and they left the airport roads and entered onto the highway. "There is still a fight going on but we don't believe they will last much longer."
"Yeah, no surprise there..." Diamond tensely muttered. "They should have just sent me in there from the get-go."
"Which field are you in, Ma'am?" he asked.
"Personal Protection and First Aid," she replied. "English Sanctuary."
"Colin Credits from Transport," he introduced himself, "Irish Sanctuary."
She smiled at him through the rearview mirror. "Diamond Irie, nice to meet you."
A look outside told her they were heading in the direction of Roarhaven, but the quickly-passing time clicked a rhythm into her ear, that her heel wanted to tap along to. She checked on Credits and could see the anxiety that was edged into his forehead, hidden behind tense eyebrows.
"Do you have friends on the field?" She asked him.
"Yes, Ma'am," Credits nodded flatly, "but nowhere near the front line. Do you?"
Diamond nodded back. "Yes. Directly on the front line."
The thought made her chest rise involuntary, so she went with the movement and made herself to breathe in deeply, exhaling slowly.
Quiet fell over them, only covered by the sound of the car humming at high speed, the tires on the road, which became rougher with time. And neither of them felt like talking and so, their silence was only uncomfortable through the nervousness of getting through this ride; knowing that they would probably be too late to prevent any of the worst from happening.
When they finally arrived in Roarhaven, Diamond tightly wrapped her arms around herself and took in the passing view with large, incredulous eyes.
The city was in tatters. Burning rubble spewed aggressive sparks onto the streets, collapsed buildings scratched the skyline at a close distance. The bangs, and roars, and screeches of big fires covered the sounds of screams and yells like white-noise.
A look over at Credits told Diamond that quiet tears were running over his face, as he got them as close to the apocalyptic scene, as possible on wheels. There, they jumped out and she pulled her kit over her shoulders before falling into a jog next to him. They ventured deeper into the chaos, as the sounds of dying people grew stronger and more detailed. The first figures on the ground became visible, lying on, and between, and underneath rubble, unmoving, staring into nothingness; frozen startled expressions.
But even though there were still small detonations to be heard, there were no signs of a fight, no gunshots or similar battle noises. Diamonds stomach dropped into her legs, as she forced them to move on.
They were too late.
They turned a corner and the full extend of the disaster stretched out in front of them, like an expanding hallway. Small, and medium, and enormous pieces of rubble of glass and metal lined the torn battlefield and the cluttered, smoldering ground. Huge, swirling clouds of smoke pillared into the sky. Everywhere, dead and injured people lay, covered in pale dirt and blood.
Volunteers were moving rubble with magic and tried to find survivors, as first responders were walking around on the battlefield and crouching next to the injured, administrating First Aid and trying to comfort them in their fear and pain.
One of the volunteers passed them, headed towards the Sanctuary with purpose. Diamond turned, to call to him, as they jogged by. "What happened!?"
The man turned as well, moving backwards as he calling to them. "They got her!"
She sighed a breath of relief, which was shaken by running and incomplete shock, and she lifted a quick hand for a thank you. The stranger moved on to focus on his own task again. Diamond started looking around at the faces on the ground and tried to make out if anyone looked familiar. Yet, they hurried on, their steps became faster the closer they got to the center of the battlefield. And while the number of dead bodies grew to staggering heights, the amount of screaming and moaning injured faded.
There were moving figures at the center of the worst area. They seemed to be picking up and transporting bodies.
Diamond was looking around hectically now, searching for a man with blond hair, becoming more horrified with each look, yet she continued on. Her eyes flipped over the bodies, which were ripped open, and crushed, and taken apart, until they couldn't be defined as humans anymore. Dried organs and bones covered the ground, connecting puddles of blood between victims, like an abstruse group painting.
She did not find him, but she did find Saracen Rue.
Diamond heard herself cough in horror and tears immediately shooting up, as she sprinted to him, stumbling over other dead people and dropping to her knees by his side.
His limbs were turned and twisted in random angles, but most of all, crushed. His chest and part of his face had caved in and large pieces of rubble stretched out from him, like they had split over his body. His warm, widened eyes stared up at the sky, shocked, but empty.
Breathing out incomplete sobs, Diamond put a hand on a clean spot on Saracen's forehead. For a moment, she let her head hang, wanted to sink down and react to the terror of everything around her, but a burst of worry snapped her back into her senses, immediately. She pulled herself together and put her fingers on his lids, to close them carefully.
Diamond jumped up, left Saracen behind, and ran towards the people that were taking away the dead.
"Dexter Vex!" She yelled at them, as she neared; making some of them halt and turn to her. "I'm looking for Dexter Vex!"
"Hospital!" One of them yelled back.
Diamond spun on her heel and ran straight back, past Saracen, past Credits, who followed her, towards the Sanctuary building.
"I can't find my sister either!" Credits called over to her in running.
"That's probably a good sign!" She called back, to him as much as to herself.
They made their way to the Sanctuary, into the building, into the stuffed hallways. Even here, people were already scurrying around with medical equipment, pushing hospital beds. And through being welted in and echoed around by the walls of the building, the sound of suffering humans became overwhelming.
Again, Diamond looked over the now moving bodies, checking faces. This time, she took other glances at the medical staff, as they moved towards the hospital wing, and looked specifically for someone with a clipboard.
Suddenly, Credits gasped and moved quickly behind her. She turned, but he was already hurrying to a bed. There, a woman lay, looking similar to him; she even had the same haircut. The woman appeared responsive, because when Credits talked to her excitedly, she replied safely.
The driver looked back, at Diamond. "Good luck!" He called, and she raised her hand in thanks and hurried on.
When Diamond was closer to the emergency room, she stopped and turned slowly in a circle, as her gaze wandered over the rushing staff; trying to find a stationary one. It fell onto a blonde, petite Healer, who was flipping through a list on a clipboard.
Diamond hurried over as she did her best to stay out of the walking paths of other staff and relatives. She laid a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder and the Healer looked up from her notes. "Is Dexter Vex here?" She asked.
The Healer nodded. "He's in surgery."
She sagged and exhaled, but kept herself from relaxing too much yet. "What is he being treated for?"
The healer flipped through the papers again, finding him quickly. "Severe damage to the mouth and throat. Unfortunately, his chances aren't looking great."
Diamond closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose with both hands.
"I'm sorry, but I need to get back," said the healer sympathetically and hurried away to a screaming patient.
Diamond stood there for a bit; riding out the interchanging waves of relief, and panic, and shock. But then, Diamond took a deep breath and herself stand up straight. Out there were a lot more people that needed help, and she was helping no one by standing around.
She pushed her legs forward and walked back to the battlefield.
Diamond worked through the remaining day and night. She focused on the job, rather than the terror around her. When she felt herself become drowsy, she walked to Dexter's Roarhaven apartment.
The main door to the building had been left open and so, she walked to his door and teased the key out from underneath the little gap between the door and the ground below. She let herself in, took off her blood-soaked clothes, and threw them into the washing machine before moving to the bathroom. There, she took a shower and washed off the dirt and blood with hot water, which made it easier to force the images further into the back of her head. She would have time to think about that, once she knew he would be alright.
And so, it also was not hard to fall victim to her own exhaustion, when Diamond dropped onto the couch, managed to feebly drag a blanket over herself about half-way, and closed her eyes.
The sleep went by in a single second. The world turned black, and then grey, and then, the noise of her alarm shook her awake again.
Not feeling much more rested but less drowsy, Diamond sat up and rubbed her face, breathing deeply. She turned off the timer and made herself get up, to throw her pants in the dryer and pull over one of Dexter's t-shirts. As soon as she was washed-up, and her trousers were remotely dry, she pulled them on with significant effort, and hurried back out of the door. She closed it and returned the key to its hiding place.
Diamond walked down the hallway, through a back door, and down a set of stairs, into the communal basement, where she was hoping Dexter's bike was still stored. And it was so, she grabbed it and carried it up the stairs, to take it outside and climb on. It was too large for her and she had never ridden it, but she got a hang of it eventually, and made her way back to the Sanctuary in slightly uncertain driving patterns. Still, it was faster than walking and so, she soon arrived back in the destroyed part of town.
The survivors had done an impressive job, so far. Most of the big rubble, which had construed the pathways, had been moved aside or away entirely. Fires had been put out, which were only being paid homage to by black water puddles. Yet, the smell of burnt hair and ozone still hung in the heavy air, along with another smell that Diamond could not identify.
By the Sanctuary building, she hopped off the bike and leaned it against a wall. Quickly but calmly returning to the hospital wing, she took in the change from before. There were still some patients lined up against the wall but most of them looked stable. More and more of the hospital beds that were being pushed around had either dead people or anesthetized people on them, rather than screaming ones. Now, only the sound of many feet hurrying, of people quietly talking, and some patients moaning, filled the hallways.
She landed in the same wing as before and looked around, spotting the Healer from before. Diamond hoped the poor woman had taken a break as she approached her, but she doubted it.
"Hey," Diamond said and stepped around to her frontside.
The Healer pointed at her, almost immediately upon making eye contact. "Dexter Vex."
Diamond nodded.
"Is stable."
She exhaled relievedly and let her head hang.
"We have inserted an injectend tube, which is a simple breathing tube, but with symbols that emit secretes, which then heal the wounds," the Healer explained, "it can be removed in a week or two already, however, the recovery process will be fairly lengthy."
Diamond raised her head again, looking at her without expectation. "How lengthy?"
She thought for a moment. "Hm, I can't give you an exact time frame, of course. But with healing and speech recovery and physiotherapy, I would estimate… seven to twelve months?"
Diamond nodded understandingly. "What can I do, right now?"
"Well, he is stable enough to leave," replied the Healer. "Usually, we would keep him in for monitoring, but we are very stretched on beds and space. For now, all he really needs, is to come back for check-ups and the removal of the tube. So, if you could look after him for a while and bring him in for appointments, that would save both Mister Vex and us lots of trouble."
She nodded again. "Shouldn't be a problem."
"Perfect." The Healer pointed. "Room sixteen. Just call up a nurse, to help you move him."
"Thank you," Diamond smiled and turned to find room sixteen. She walked down the first hallway and mustered the numbers, then held her gaze on the doors on the right. Her chest felt heavy with every inhale and light with every exhale, still working off the anxiety of the past days.
When she found the room, she stepped in without hesitation and closed the door quietly behind herself. There were four beds in here, all separated from each other by large curtains. She glanced at the different, unconscious men around, and found Dexter in the left far corner.
They had cleaned his wounds and put him under a sheet, and he was sleeping, his chest moved flatly yet evenly. The end of a clear tube protruded from his mouth, fastened by a plastic ring and crossed strips of tape. The corners of his mouth had deep and wide, but short rips. His lips were severely cracked, and a surgical cut had been made all the way from underneath his chin, along his throat, to his chest, disappearing underneath the blanket. Otherwise, only the usual cuts and bruises of battle were scattering his body.
Diamond breathed out slowly and grabbed a stool, which rolled up easily to the bed. Quietly, she sat down and moved herself closer to Dexter. Keeping her arm away from anything near his throat, she laid a gentle hand on his head and mustered his sleeping face.
She did not actually expect him to wake up, so when his eyes opened, it did not immediately register with her. And Dexter seemed to have the same experience, since his gaze was blurry, and he had to look at her for a moment to focus his eyes on her face.
"Hey, pal," Diamond said, smiling softly.
Dexter appeared to recognize her now, and his eyes closed again but tightly this time; overwhelmed by useless relief. The tube kept him from making any noise, but his breath went flatter. She could tell that he had woken up before and had heard the news about Saracen, while his remaining friends were still busy, dealing with the aftermath of fighting Darquesse.
Diamond took his hand that was lying on the sheet closest to her, giving it a squeeze. "I'm going to take you home now, alright?"
Dexter squeezed back, holding on, and Diamond moved around to carefully lean her forehead against the side of his.
She waited for his breath to calm again. Then, she gently pulled back to click the button that called for a nurse, and got up to organize a car, somehow.