This is the final chapter of Triskelion Part 1 - Battles of Shadow

I have already published chapter 1 of Part 2 for an easy transition. You can find it on my profile like so: Drapine96 - published stories - "Triskelion 2: Vodun War"

That being said... My dearest readers, old and new, I want to thank you all for reading this first installment of my Skulduggery Pleasant fanfic. To create this trilogy has been a journey of growth for me - personally, as an English-speaker, and as a writer. Fanfiction or not, I pour my heart and soul into it every step of the way, and I'm honored by each and every reader that accompanies me along this journey. Thank you again to those who have stuck by me throughout my breaks and errors.

I look forward - no, I can't wait - to show you how Triskelion will continue. I hope that you're as curious about these characters' fates and secrets, as I am about your reactions to it all. But mostly, I hope that you've been enjoying the story thus far!

Please be so kind to leave a review and/or a like. Seeing my hard work acknowledged brings me great joy.

Cheers, loves!

You're still hiding in the park. You look so happy when you're down, down, down... Under the trees, where you won't be found

And you're still dancing in the dark. It makes you happy when you're down, down, down... No one can see you spinning 'round and 'round

And your feet, they keep on moving. Even when the nights are cold. When you're old, will you still be dancing on, into the dawn of the light?

Hear the voices singing everywhere. Singing, love is coming down to those who care

- "Happy", Bukahara (2020)

Chapter 58: The Bell Paradox

Betty Baisemain wasn't one to stick around, when it came to her casual partners.

Once upon a time, she had appreciated the mornings after a fun night together. Oftentimes, they even came with breakfast in bed. Yet, she had learned that they also came with a whole new set of expectations.

Whenever Betty stuck around to have another meal, another chat, or another afternoon of binging movies together, it tended to send the wrong signals. And not wanting to hurt anybody's feelings over her personal dating preferences, Betty had soon understood that leaving early was the easiest way to go.

She had snuck away from the bed, had put on her clothes and washed her face, and had packed her bag with every single item she had brought with her. Now, Betty stood a couple of steps away from the bed, and smiled a silent good-bye at who she was leaving behind.

Fletcher was still fast asleep. As teleporters continued to be some of the rarest sorcerers on Earth, the demand for him was always high. He hadn't once stopped working since the raid on Carry's club, and was probably exhausted from staying awake with Betty all night long. She was glad to leave him to rest.

Fletcher was a nice guy, Betty had found. The type of nice guy that liked to be considerate for the sake of being respectful, and not for something he expected to receive in return. He also seemed to be quite comfortable with their arrangement and, although he likely didn't expect to wake up alone today, she felt relieved not to owe him an explanation. And at the same time, she felt incredibly guilty about this very explanation.

Fletcher owned many homes across the world, allowing him to stay and move around freely in dozens of countries. This flat in an older London City rental tower was the first place he had ever purchased, Fletcher had mentioned. He had awkwardly added that he had gotten it before meeting Valkyrie and Skulduggery, and the source of his income at the time had been questionable at best. Betty hadn't been surprised about this explanation. Based on all the clutter, and the boyish lack of any real decoration or storage system, the interior still read like the man-cave of a rebellious teenager.

Betty took the elevator to the ground floor and walked through the fancy but stuffy lobby, out into the cool and mucky London City air. It was early in the morning, and the streets were sparsely filled with sleep-deprived business people on their way to work. Most of them carried paper cups of coffee, numbly stared ahead, and barely avoided bumping into other pedestrians on the sidewalk.

Betty's tomato-red 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle was waiting down the road. She had been lucky to find a good parking spot after rush hour yesterday.

Keeping her eyes directed mostly towards the street below her feet, Betty rummaged around inside her bag until she located her car keys. She had gotten the Beetle's door locks updated several years ago, so that she could use the electronic unlocking function from afar. She heard the car beep nearby in response as she clicked the corresponding button on her key.

Then, Betty looked up, and stopped dead in her tracks.

Her big brother was standing there. He was casually leaning against the side of her car, thumbs hooked into the corners of his jeans' pockets.

Betty stared at him in shock and, for a moment, she felt like she was looking at a dangerous stranger. In the very next moment, all of the old notions returned at once; the nostalgia and familiarity, the affection and frustration, the instinctual sense of safety in his presence.

He was smirking confidently as usual, but whenever he smiled at her, she always thought to detect a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Hi, Bell."

Betty was thrown for a loop, as the whirlwind of mixed emotions in her gut was overpowered by a clear sense of anger and disgust.

"Unbelievable," she huffed. "You've got some nerve, showing your face here."

He raised a sassy brow at her. "Always nice to see you, too."

Betty scoffed and walked on forward, towards the door of the Beetle. "I've told you to stay away from me."

"Right. Anything else?"

"Yah! Stay away from my friends while you're at it!" As she had no intentions of indulging this conversation any further, Betty opened the car door. She didn't put all too much effort into it however, knowing that she wouldn't get away so easily.

She therefore wasn't at all surprised, when her brother walked closer, reached his hand past her head, and forced the door shut. "Come on, let's hear it. Get it out of your system. I know you've got lots to say to me."

Betty let go of the door handle and turned to face him, but only in order to narrow her eyes to a look of acidic distaste. "You aren't worth the air from my lungs."

One corner of his lips went up, but his eyes remained sad. "I see how it is."

Betty sneered. She couldn't remember a time in her life when she had sincerely sneered, but here she was; sneering at her brother with full conviction.

"Glad we're finally on the same page, then," she said and tried to open her door. "Goodbye, dad."

He glowered and shut the door again. "Don't call me that."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, whatever, dad."

His face grew even darker, and suddenly he was standing very close to her. His body pushed her against the metal of her car, his free hand roughly grasped her wrist and tore her hand off the door handle. "Stop it. I'm not your-"

"Apparently you are!" Betty sharply interrupted. She didn't flinch away, but she ripped her arm away from his grasp and met his stern gaze with equal determination. "Don't you get it? That's all this is. You're just a sappy dad who can't let go of his kid's childhood. Newsflash: I haven't been a kid for decades! I have my own life now, and I can make my own choices! It's about damn time for you to move on!"

His glare slowly transformed to a spiteful smirk. "Let me guess; a little piece of wisdom from your bestie Diamond?"

"You know what?" Betty spat, "yes it is! You're a cruel fucking asshole, and you've proven that I should trust her opinion a hell of a lot more than yours!"

The last part, especially, seemed to have stung a little. Some of the spite in her brother's eyes wavered for a soft look of hurt, and his hand slid off the car door as he backed up. "She's not your family, Bell. She doesn't even know your real name."

"She is, actually, and she doesn't care about my bullshit past. She respects that I've chosen a new name to get away from the likes of you!"

He shrugged. "If that's how you want to remember it. I still think that it's a waste of a good name. Yamabella suits you perfectly."

"Your name suits you perfectly, too," Betty snarked. "You've worked so hard, you've come so far... And still, you're nothing more than daddy's little henchman."

She expected him to lash out, but her brother merely mustered her in silence for a moment. Then, he feigned an innocent expression. "So, I'm gathering from this... You're not coming home with me?"

She laughed at him. "Go fuck yourself, Bax."

"No thanks, I've got Fire for that," he facetiously smiled. "But as I'm already on my way home, I'll make sure to let Charlie know how you feel. About your bullshit past, and your bullshit brothers."

Betty felt the sting of hurt that followed at the loaded statement but, most of all, she felt even angrier that he would dare to use their baby brother as leverage. "That would be perfectly in character for you then, to involve him in your delusions," she shot back.

Bax didn't react much to her continuous efforts of upsetting him. "He misses you, you know? We all do."

Betty didn't have a petty retort for this. "I know that," she murmured.

"And I'm never going to stop trying. You know that too, right?"

"Yah, I know," she said again, this time with significantly more spite, "you've made that pretty obvious."

"Good," Bax nodded. "I'll see you next time, then." He backed up more and gave her space to escape, but not before cheekily adding; "Baisemain."

Betty shot him a fake smile full of venom. "Next time we meet, Hench, it'll be through a set of bars."

He amusedly sniffed. "We'll see about that."

Betty finally got into her car, slammed the door shut, and quickly started up the engine. She didn't wait to buckle up, or for Bax to step out of the danger zone, before she hit the gas.

As Betty sped away, a whole new set of unwanted emotions flooded her. She kept on driving, but she had to actively stop her eyes from searching for his reflection in the rearview mirror. When she did dare to look, her big brother had disappeared without a trace.

To be continued...