I Hate Doctors

I went to the doctor today. I was having an off day as it was and I felt the very intense need to punch at least three of my teachers multiple times today and I was totally antisocial. Well, more than usual at least. Anyhow, I have a crappy day at school and then I have to go to the doctor to get my booster shots. I hate booster shots and right now my left arm is burning a little. I can feel it every time I move it. I also had to have a TB test done (when they insert a little bubble of fluid into the layers of your skin) and that stung so bad. Want to know what the worst part is? I have to go back on Thursday again. Yeah, so my day sucked. Comment and tell me how yours was.

Book 6: Chapter 20 (My version)

This is the last chapter. I finally finished. You're all very glad that it's over by now. Anyway, maybe I'll write more.

Chapter 20

It was two days before Valkyrie woke up and another twelve hours before Jay did. The two girls were a mess. All of Valkyrie’s friends now knew who Darquesse was and to her surprise, none of them had even cared. They had wanted to help. They discussed what was going to happen afterwards with Fletcher’s funeral and everything. Jay had been quiet, not saying anything at all.

Finally, Skulduggery said, “Well, it was nice to meet you Jay. I hope you have a good life.”

Jay’s eyes widened in surprise and then her expression melted into a soft, warm smile.

“Wait! You’re sending her away? She saved the world last night. She saved me. What are you doing?”

Jay laughed.

“No, he’s not sending me away. He’s just very observant. He realizes that I’m leaving.”

“Leaving? Why?”

“Because I was not made for this. I wasn’t made to fight battles and save the world and really the only reason I stayed was for Fletcher. He’s my brother but I barely know him. Now he’s dead and I don’t think I can stay. I already booked my plane ticket. I’ll be leaving tonight.”

“But what if Darquesse comes back? What do I do then?”

“Fight her off yourself. You are strong enough and even if I was here, I honestly don’t think that I could push her out again. It’s really hard.”

Suddenly, Valkyrie burst into tears. Everything that she had held in since Fletcher’s death came flowing out and in a matter of seconds Jay was in tears too, trying really hard to stop sobbing. No one had cried for Fletcher yet, but now the floodgates were open and there was no closing them until there was nothing left. Tanith walked in took one look at them and burst into tears as well. Ghastly and Skulduggery put up a good fight but in the end, the only one without tears in his eyes was the Detective, probably because he had no eyes. Later, they said goodbye to China. There were no tears there either but China did seem a little sad that Jay was leaving. Or maybe that was because Tanith was back. Skulduggery drove Jay and Valkyrie to the airport. The last thing they saw were her green eyes as she rounded the corner, glittering with what might have been tears or excitement.

“I’m going to miss her,” Valkyrie decided.

Book 6: Chapter 19 (My version)

Oh No!!! Fletcher!!!! This chapter is the one before last. I'm almost done here. Chapter 19

Jay screamed. She threw a wave of energy at the Hollow Men that disintegrated fifty of them on the spot and then she turned to Vile. She flung wave after wave of blue and white energy at him, forcing him back. A few shots of light got through, piercing his armor and he roared but after a few seconds she fell to her knees and Skulduggery jumped in front of her to defend from Vile’s attacks. Valkyrie saw all this but didn’t understand, just like she didn’t understand why Fletcher wouldn’t get up. He was just lying there, not even moving at all and there was blood everywhere. She found herself running to him. She fell to her knees at his side. His hair was a mess and there were holes in his jacket. She touched his face and when she drew back there was blood on her fingers. His blood. She saw Skulduggery get thrown past her and hit the ground and roll. She looked at Fletcher’s face and started to look for the one person who could help her. Darquesse welcomed her with open arms and together they started to attack. They sent wave after wave of darkness slamming into Vile, each one hitting him hard and sending him backward. They never gave him a chance to fight, never gave him a chance to pull his shadows forward, they waited for him to drop his shield and when he did, they sharpened the shadows and threw them at him. They pieced his armor over and over. Vile didn’t scream, didn’t call out, didn’t even whimper. He was quiet as he died. Even after he died they pushed and pushed more and more shadows into him. “Valkyrie, he’s dead! Stop!” Skulduggery yelled at her, but Valkyrie wasn’t there anymore. Darquesse was in charge. She grinned at the skeleton. He’d been so kind to her. And now she would thank him. The shadows shot out at him but before they hit, Darquesse felt a burning. It hurt so bad, and she dropped. She tried to lash out but she couldn’t move. Valkyrie stirred in her and she recognized the feeling. Ah, it hurt so much. Finally, Valkyrie was strong enough and she pushed through taking back her body. Valkyrie gasped. The burning was gone, replaced by pleasing warmth coming from her back. She knew what it was and said, “Thanks Jay.” The warmth was gone all too suddenly and she looked back to see Jay, lying passed out on the ground, her red hair splayed across the ground like a halo. Valkyrie, reached to touch her but saw blood on her fingers. It wasn’t her blood. She recoiled. Then she felt herself falling back and then only blackness.

Book 6: Chapter 18 (My version)

Okay there is actually some action in this chapter. We are almost done. Keep on reading.
Chapter 18

That night, they went to Vile’s lair. Another cemetery.

“You Necromancers are a creative lot aren’t you?” Jay said to Valkyrie who proceeded to glare at her.

Something between a giggle and a whimper escaped from Fletcher’s throat. Both girls looked at him.

“Nervous Fletch?” Jay asked, raising her eyebrows teasingly.

“How can you be so calm about this? Does everyone notice that we are going up against the biggest, baddest bad guys of all time? I mean, seriously, we’re going to die.”

Jay laughed, her voice ringing out in the quiet night.

“Fletch, I have full faith in Valkyrie and Skulduggery and honestly, how bad can it be that we are going to die. It’s can’t be worse than being alive.”

Skulduggery tilted his head to the left and stared at Jay.

“You’re an interesting girl, you know that?”

Jay grinned. Eleven Cleavers pulled up silently behind them.

“Okay, time to go in.”

So they did. The entrance was a large tomb that a rich family had probably commissioned. Inside, there was a single coffin that lay raised on a pedestal in the center of the room. Right behind it, so that was impossible to see unless you walked all the way around the coffin, was a trapdoor. Skulduggery gestured to the trap door and Jay stepped forward. She put her hand on the rotting wood and started to feel around. Last time, she hadn’t felt the magic so now she was going to look at it. She sent a pulse of blue magic through the wood. It lit up everywhere; there were no pockets where the magic had been absorbed. She nodded and lifted the door, sending another pulse through the ground on the steps. A few places had not blue light. She pointed to one and shook her head. Everyone understood and started to walk down, avoiding the dark spots at all cost. She did it three more times as they walked down a long corridor.

“Where’s Vile?” Valkyrie asked and Jay pointed straight ahead so they continued to walk.

The corridor had few more traps and a couple warning sigils that Jay was able to bypass by muffling them with her magic. The corridor was long and by the time they made it to the end, she was looking quite pale and had started to lean, ever so slightly, on one of the Cleavers. She pointed through the door.

“He’s there,” she whispered. Everyone nodded.

“You stay here,” Skulduggery said but Jay shook her head and stood up tall.

“I can still fight, not with magic but that was never the plan. I’m going in.”

Skulduggery looked at her for a very long time and then shrugged. Then, doing what he did best, Skulduggery broke down the door and dove into the room. His hands were blazing as he released two continuous streams of pure fire at a slightly startled Vile. He recovered quickly, though and had a shield of darkness up before either of the jet streams could hit him. Jay saw a tendril of darkness snake over to the wall and before she could stop it, it pressed a symbol there. “Blah, Blah, Blah” by Kesha started to play and a few Hollow Men burst into the room, followed by about a hundred more. The room was actually quite spacious, with only one thing in it; the chair that Vile had been sitting on. That was almost immediately used as a weapon by one of the Cleavers who threw it a Vile. Vile tore it apart with the shadows and it showered Cleavers with splinters. One got a relatively big piece on the head but it didn’t even seem to notice. They were attacking in wave after wave and though no one had died yet, nobody had gotten a good strike at him either. Tanith, slashed at the shadows that flew at her and ran up the wall, dodging attacks there and hacking away at the top of Vile’s head. Jay was spending more time focusing on the Hollow Men. She had managed to push them back to the door so that she would only have to fight two or three at a time but she couldn’t hold them off forever. She actually doubted that she would be able to hold them off for much longer without help but everyone else was preoccupied with Vile. Fletcher was teleporting around the room like crazy, firing bullet after bullet at Vile, all of which were immediately absorbed by the armor and spit back at him but Fletcher was already across the room firing from there. Finally, Vile got annoyed and ignored the rest of the attacks, focusing on Fletcher alone. He shot twenty arrows of darkness at him and they all hit him right before he teleported. Across the room, Fletcher fell into a heap on the floor, blood pooling around him.

Book 6: Chapter 17 (My version)

Okay, so not that much action in this one either but things are getting interesting. It's called suspense and also I wasn't quite sure where the story was going. Now I think I know but I still have to write it.

Chapter 17

Tanith looked guilty. They were standing over Jay, who still hadn’t woken up after twenty four hours. Ghastly was doing his Elder stuff and Skulduggery and Valkyrie were collecting information on Vile. They had scoped out the bottom of the church, this time with an army of Cleavers and Tanith, Ghastly, Fletcher, and Valkyrie, and they had found it completely empty. The only sign that they had been there in the first place were the bodies of the three Hollow Men that Jay had killed. They had no way of finding Vile until Jay woke up to do her tracking spell thing. Fletcher sat across from Tanith as she looked down at Jay.

“It’s not your fault, you know. I mean she was only helping you because you were taken over by the Remnant and that’s not your fault.”

Tanith didn’t look up.

“I know but still, she risked so much for me and she didn’t even know if it would work. When will she wake up?”

“Last time she passed out, she hadn’t used as much magic, I don’t think. I mean she was able to stay awake for a little longer. She was out for two days. You should have seen her eat after that. She ate three servings of pasta.”

Tanith shook her head. Suddenly, Valkyrie burst into the door.

“We have to wake her up!”

“What? How? Why?”

“Because, we found Vile and we have to attack before he realizes that we’ve found him.”

“Ah, and we need her because…”

“Because she would want to be there and she would be a good ally, fighting the Hollow Men.”

“Well, how do we wake her up?” Tanith yelled.

Everyone drew back in surprise. Tanith was not happy.

“Mmmmh.”

Everyone looked at the bed where Jay was stirring. She sat up slowly, her eyes still, closed. She stretched and yawned. Then she opened her eyes… and jumped, yelling.

“Ahhhh! What are you doing in my room? Why is everyone in my room?”

“You seem to have a lot of energy.”

Jay nodded and jumped out of bed, shooing them away. They stood outside of her door for a few minutes. She walked out dressed in her regular leather jacket and jeans. She did a double take when she saw them all there and sighed.

“What do you want?”

“Well, we found Vile and so we wondered if you wanted to fight. Also, why are you so awake? Last time it took you two days to wake up and even then you were drowsy and boring.”

Jay laughed.

“Yes, well, you see last time, I used my magic, which is what made me faint. This time, I took your magic so that wasn’t why I fainted. The reason I fainted was heat stroke. Holding that much energy in me warmed me up, inside so I fainted. As soon as I cooled down I was fine. I’m hungry. Is there food?”

“Pasta?” Fletcher asked and Jay hit him on the arm.

“So is there a plan for getting Vile?”

Jay asked over some breakfast of toast and jam.

“Yes, Valkyrie, Skulduggery, Tanith and maybe ten Cleavers all attack Vile, while Fletcher and you as well as anyone else who wants to come along attack any Hollow Men or other minions that are hanging around. Considering that it’s Vile, we have to expect zombies, and vampires at least and probably also some evil demons. We’ll find out there.”

Jay nodded brightly, responding to Skulduggery’s tone.

“So we go in, kick some evil butt and then leave, unscathed as heroes.”

“That’s the plan, of course things will go terrible, horrible wrong so I suggest preparing to, I don’t know, mourn or die possibly.”

Jay laughed and took a bite of her toast.

“I think her magic fried her brain,” Fletcher observed.

Book 6: Chapter 16 (My version)

Yay!! Good things happen. Action coming soon. Sorry.
Chapter 16

Tanith was confused. Her head hurt and she felt feverish. Everything hurt. There were lots of noises around her. People talking. She heard a familiar tear-filled voice near her and a hand holding hers. Valkyrie. What was going on? Okay, Tanith, time to open your eyes. Let’s go. Open them. You can do it. Remember those things called muscles and that thing called a brain. Use them. After a few more minutes of teaching herself how to move, she opened her eyes. Everything was too bright. She closed them. After a few seconds she allowed herself to look again. This time she blinked a few times before opening them for real. She could see Valkyrie hovering over her. She looked older, more beautiful. Her arms were strong. Tanith turned her head. To her left, she saw Skulduggery and Fletcher checking up on a girl who also seemed to be unconscious. How many unconscious people do they have hanging around? Tanith tried to sit up but felt a wave of dizziness take over and she fell back. The stone floor was warm where she’d been lying before. She didn’t recognize the room but she recognized most of the people there. Erksine Ravel, Skulduggery Pleasant, Valkyrie Cain, Fletcher Renn, and… Ghastly Bespoke. Tanith forced herself up again. The dizziness this time was fleeting.

“Are you okay?” Valkyrie asked.

She looked so worried. And so much older.

“What happened?”

Valkyrie hesitated.

Now Tanith was worried. Valkyrie was nothing if not blunt. That was what made some people love her and others hate her.

“Val, what happened?”

“Hey, you’re alive.”

Fletcher was suddenly in front of her. He held out his hand to her and she grabbed it, pulling herself up. She swayed but Valkyrie’s strong arm held her up. When had she become the strong one? Tanith shook her head.

“Is she alive?” Ghastly asked behind her.

“Duh, she’s standing up.”

“Not her, Fletcher. Jay.”

Again Tanith had to shake her head to clear all the thoughts that were pushing up against each other. Jay?

“I think she’d okay. She just has to sleep it off. I mean she just created a miracle. I think she deserves to sleep in a real bed.”

Ghastly gestured to a Cleaver and spoke to him quickly. The Cleaver nodded and carefully bent over to lift the unconscious red-headed girl. Ghastly turned to the other mages in the room.

“Thank you for coming. Now I’d like to give Miss Low some space, so, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to clear out. Thank you.”

Ghastly had changed. He was stronger and calmer. He spoke easily and with authority. It was nice except Tanith had a problem with authority. She shook her head. This was Ghastly. She loved him. He seemed to be looking at anyone but her and it irritated her. Her body had cooled down a little but she still felt warm on the inside, like she’d just eaten a lot of warm soup. She started to stretch. It felt nice but she found that she had become considerably less bendy. She felt at her waist for her sword but it wasn’t there.

“Um, we had to take your sword.”

Everyone seemed to be looking at her except Ghastly, who seemed to be watching everyone else look at her. Tanith sat down cross-legged on the floor.

“Okay, so tell me. What happened and why am I being treated like a criminal?”

Valkyrie sighed.

“What’s the last thing that you remember.”

“I remember driving to the valley. After that only flashes. I remember you killing some people. You really hurt them. You were Darquesse.”

Tears came to Valkyrie’s eyes.

“I was controlled by a Remnant. I don’t remember that. What I do remember is trying to force the Remnant that took you over out of your throat but I was too late.”

Tanith shook her head.

“I was taken over by a Remnant? It’s been more than four days. You look a lot older, at least three months.”

Valkyrie didn’t say anything so Skulduggery took over in explaining what the red head had done for her.

“Okay, tell me the truth, no lies. What did I do as a Remnant?”

No one answered. Nobody would even look at her.

“Guys, you have to tell me. I can’t walk around not knowing. I’ll think that I murdered Val’s mom or something. Tell me, what did I do.”

“You didn’t kill my mom, or, as far as we know, anyone at all.”

“Okay so what’s the big deal.”

“You dated Sanguine,” Ghastly said in a rough voice.

Tanith looked up at him. His face was screwed up in pain. Bile rose to her throat when what Ghastly said registered in her mind. She forced herself to relax and in the calmest voice she could manage, she said,

“I did what?”

Suddenly everyone was talking all at the same time.

“We know it wasn’t you at all. We don’t mind at all.”(This was Skulduggery)

“Hey, relax. I mean he is good looking.” (Valkyrie, not very helpful)

“It was kind of gross but we got used to it. I mean, you were meant for each other. I mean Remnant you.” (Even less helpful Fletcher)

“I love you. I know you don’t love him. That’s all that matters.”

Tanith looked up at Ghastly and, in one fluid movement, she put her arm around him and hugged him. Ghastly blinked and then hugged her back. Suddenly, behind her Valkyrie started to laugh.

“Damn it, I’m crying. Why the hell am I crying?”

Tanith hugged her and all of a sudden she was crying as well, which, naturally, made her laugh. Fletcher stared at them.

“Wha – Why are you crying? What’s going on?”

This had both Valkyrie and Tanith laughing and they stopped crying. For the rest of the afternoon, Valkyrie, Fletcher and Skulduggery took turns filling her in on what had happened in her absence. Ghastly was quiet, just holding her against his chest. She squealed and hugged him when Valkyrie told her that he was an Elder. Ghastly looked pleased and a little self-conscious. Finally, seeing that Tanith looked ready to drop, they went to eat and sleep. Ghastly set her up in a room at the Sanctuary and slept on a small couch. Tanith felt bad for him but was glad that he was there. She fell asleep listening to his breathing.

Book 6: Chapter 15 (My version)

Yay!!! Something happens!!! This is also a very subtle message to Derek Landy. Very subtle. BRING HER BACK DEREK!!!!!

Chapter 15

The next two days were uneventful for everyone except Jay. They were used to training in fighting and magic. Jay, who had lived a relatively normal existence up till then was suddenly thrown into fighting lessons with the best fighters in the Sanctuary. Skulduggery and Valkyrie taught her various martial arts. In return, Jay taught them how to fight with knives. Valkyrie was a natural but Skulduggery said that he preferred his gun. Skulduggery taught her magical theory, though she wasn’t able to put any of her lessons into practice as she prepared to save Tanith. Slowly, Jay learned the way that things worked in the Irish Sanctuary. When she woke up on the third day after having brought Tanith to the Sanctuary in her small bedroom, she felt fully rested.

“Today?” Ghastly asked.

At least today Jay was able to give him a positive answer.

“Yes.”

Ghastly’s face lit up and he practically laughed out loud.

“When do we start? Now?”

Jay laughed.

“You sound like a little kid, Ghastly. I want to eat breakfast first and then we can get Skulduggery, Fletcher, and Valkyrie here. Anyone else who can help will be appreciated.”

Ghastly nodded excitedly.

“I’ll see who I can get.”

Then he practically ran off.

Chuckling to herself, she made her way to the eating area where she had a very unappetizing breakfast and then walked to Tanith’s cell. Skulduggery was already there helping to keep her subdued as they carried her into an empty room where they were going to do it. They lay Tanith down on the floor, with Cleavers pinning her down by the arms and legs. It was barely enough but it worked. They had a Soul Catcher ready for when and if the Remnant came out. Ghastly had somehow convinced twenty mages to get together to help with the process. Most of them had curious expressions on their faces as they leaned forward to see history in the making.

“Ready?” Valkyrie asked.

She, Skulduggery, and all the other mages helping were sitting in a circle around Tanith. Jay nodded and placed her hands on Tanith’s stomach. She could feel her strong muscles coiling as the Remnant fought against her bonds. She forced herself to relax, allowing magical energy to build up in her hands. She saw them start to glow. In a few seconds she began to feel weak and she felt for the other mages’ magic. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander a little. She saw light, a soft, dim light where each of the mages sat. Each was a slightly different color. Fletcher was blue, Skulduggery and Ghastly and presumably all the other Elementals in the room were a reddish color. Valkyrie’s red was mixed in with black and shadows. The Cleavers were gray as they had no magic of their own and were only magical themselves. She felt Tanith in front of her. Her magic was yellow but the light was dimmer than that of the others and it seemed to flicker a little. Jay allowed her mind to reach out and go into the lights, and then she pulled some of it out with her. She her small gasps as she did this but ignored them. She could feel the magic building up in her hand and they started to feel heavy and hot. After a few minutes they were burning painfully so she let the magic go into Tanith’s body. Tanith started to struggle even harder. Jay’s eyes flew open as the Cleavers lost their hold on her for a second. Three mages jumped forward and helped pin her again. Tanith’s skin was glowing, pulsing with a soft, white light. As soon as she was on the ground again, Jay started pushing more magic in, building it up and letting it go. After the third blast of magic, Tanith started to gag. Her body heaved and her eyes and lips turned black. Valkyrie was crying at her place in the circle, and Fletcher had his arm around her, trying to keep her calm, but he seemed on the verge of tears himself. Finally, they saw a black ghost start to rise out of her throat. It squirmed and struggled to get out as Jay’s magic weakened it. Finally, when Tanith started to turn blue, it shot out straight into the soul catcher. Jay stopped pushing the magic into Tanith’s body. Black spots filled her vision. She fainted to the sound of applause.

Book 6: Chapter 14 (My version)

Okay, this chapter is another random one where nothing really happens and is only vaguely important. Please put up with me. I swear things get a little more interesting.

Chapter 14

They appeared in the main hall of the Sanctuary and several people jumped at their sudden arrival. One man tripped over a briefcase and fell into two other men who shouted and fell as well. Three Cleavers ran in to inspect the commotion. What they found was, three men lying on the floor looking outraged and two teenage girls laughing so hard, tears ran down their faces. After Jay and Valkyrie calmed down, they went to Ghastly’s office. Ghastly was filling out some forms. His office was filled with mannequins and pieces of cloth, making it look more like a tailor’s shop than an Elder’s office. He looked up and his face split into a grin as he saw Jay and Valkyrie come in. Then it fell as Skulduggery and Fletcher walked in, supporting Tanith.

“You found her.”

He looked as if he wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad that they had captured Tanith.

“Yes and we have a plan to bring her back. But it’ll take a few days to set up. I need somewhere to keep her.”

Ghastly jumped up, sending his chair and various mannequins tumbling backward.

“You what?”

Skulduggery was about to answer when an ugly sound stopped him. Tanith, who apparently had only been pretending to be unconscious, had started to laugh.

“Save me? It’s impossible.”

Ghastly flinched and paled, throwing his scars into even further relief.

“Okay, time to get you out of here,” Skulduggery said brightly and steered Tanith out of the room.

Valkyrie heard him say, “The holding cells Fletcher,” before the door swung closed.

“You can save her?”

Ghastly’s voice had become thin and weak. His eyes were wide and pleading.

“Um, well,” Jay began and spent the next hour trying to explain what they were going to do. Ghastly was very quiet. At first, as she explained the dangers his face seemed to sink farther and farther down, but as she continued speaking his expression changed more to one of wonder.

“So, you think it will work?”

“Were you not listening to anything I said? I think there is a chance that it might work but there are many possibilities that it won’t.”

“So you think it might work?”

“Yes, emphasis on the might.”

“Can I have a percentage?”

Jay sighed exasperatedly.

“No. You can’t. Deal with it.”

“Sorry,” Ghastly said sheepishly, “This really means a lot to me.”

Jay nodded but said nothing.

“Okay, she’s locked up.”

Skulduggery appeared with Fletcher at Jay’s shoulder making her jump. They watched as she took a few minutes to calm down.

When she was breathing normally again, Skulduggery said, “I think that you also want to keep her safe as well because if she has to defend herself with magic she won’t be able to save Tanith until later.”

Ghastly nodded.

“She can stay in one of the empty rooms here. She’ll be surrounded by Cleavers and magicians. No one will hurt her. That okay with you Jay?”

Jay looked up and nodded.

“Cool, now that that’s all settled what do you say we get a pizza and watch Star Wars,” Valkyrie said.

“Again?” Fletcher complained.

Book 6: Chapter 13 (My version)

So this chapter is kind of weird and it has a lot of coincidences and it really isn't that realistic all of which bothers but I don't want to rewrite it so here you go.
Chapter 13

Suddenly, Tanith burst into the room. No, not Tanith, the Remnant, not Tanith. Valkyrie repeated this over and over in her mind like a chant but she couldn’t make herself believe it. It looked, talked and moved like Tanith and Valkyrie missed her friend too much to completely count her out. We have a plan. Don’t forget. Catch her and get that thing out. The Remnant/Tanith had her sword in hand and a blazing look in her eyes. She was mad. This had happened twice before, whenever Valkyrie caused trouble or made a huge mess. Valkyrie jumped from her chair with flames already in her hands. Fletcher disappeared and reappeared with a gun in his hand. He had been taking lessons from Skulduggery. Jay was sitting on the couch, seeming incredibly bored with the situation.

“So, this is the new girl. She doesn’t seem like much.”

Tanith’s sneer hurt Valkyrie almost physically. Tanith never sneered like that, only the Remnant did. Valkyrie caught Fletcher’s eye and hoped he would read what she was trying to stay. For all his small amount of brain capacity, Fletcher was actually very good at reading people and caught on immediately. He disappeared. Tanith eyed the room cautiously, preparing to fight whatever came at her. Out of the window, Valkyrie saw Fletcher reappear with Skulduggery with him. Then, Fletcher appeared behind the sofa that Jay was sitting on.

“You’re Remnant girl, right?” Jay asked.

“Yep, that’s me.”

Jay nodded.

“Cool. So how’s life, as a Remnant, you know.”

“It’s great really. I just go around wreaking havoc and attacking innocents. It’s fun.”

Jay nodded. Both their voices were nice and calm but Tanith hadn’t lowered her sword and Jay had one hand behind her back. Valkyrie couldn’t tell what she was doing but was sure that it wasn’t because that was the most comfortable position for her hand to be in. Suddenly, the window to Valkyrie’s left shattered and Skulduggery flew in. Jay stood up, throwing her knife at Tanith at the same time that both Fletcher and Skulduggery fired and Valkyrie threw her fire. Tanith deflected the bullets with her sword and dodged one of the fireballs but the other one hit her in the foot and Jay’s knife imbedded itself into her shoulder. Valkyrie shot shadows at the Tanith/Remnant and managed to pin it to the floor. It struggled but couldn’t break free from the shadow’s strong hold.

“Can you do it?” Valkyrie yelled at Jay.

Jay shook her head and calmly said, “No, I can’t. I still am weak from fighting Vile. I can barely feel the magic around me.”

“So what do I do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I can’t just keep her here forever.”

“That’s not my problem.”

Skulduggery graciously stepped in between the arguing girls.

“How about we take her to the Sanctuary? They can keep here there for a little while.”

“What about Ghastly? He kind of owns the place and he has to find out at some point that his ex-girlfriend is hanging in there.”

“Yes, well I’m starting to think that telling him won’t be such a bad idea. It would help us use his resources to help her. I’m going to tell him today, when we drop her off.”

“Why is it that when I suggested that two days ago, you decided that I was being completely irrational?”

“Because it sounds a lot more convincing when it comes from a trusted source.”

Valkyrie glared at his back as he knelt by Tanith. He cuffed her hands and dragged her to her feet. She stumbled a little because of her wounds in her legs but Skulduggery forced her to stand. He tried to half carry, half drag her to the car but when she started kicking, he signaled to Fletcher.

“To the Sanctuary, if you please Mr. Renn.”

Fletcher grabbed Tanith’s other arm and then waited for Jay and Valkyrie to get to them and then he teleported.

Book 6: Chapter 12 (My version)

I think this chapter is kind of random. Nothing really happens. So I'm posting it with the last one. Also because Blogger was being annoying yesterday.

Chapter 12

It was a day and a half later, when she finally woke up. Fletcher had been getting worried, because she had been passed out for thirty-six hours. She lay on the large couch in Skulduggery’s house with a blanket strewn over her. When she started to stir, he leapt up and grabbed her hand. Valkyrie felt a pang of annoyance and jealousy but dispelled it.

“She’s his sister, you idiot. Plus, two days ago you were ready to beat him up.”

She turned to Jay.

“You’re awake!! We were so worried. Except Fletcher, he was more annoyed that whatever magic you did messed up his hair.”

Fletcher shot a hand up to his head.

“My hair is messed up?”

He pulled a small mirror out of his pocket and glared as the two girls broke into laughter.

“You – you carry a – a mirror in your – your pocket?” Jay managed to say in between bouts of laughter.

Fletcher frowned indignantly and then stormed out of the room. Valkyrie and Jay continued laughing for a few minutes and as their laughter slowly subsided to short giggles, Fletcher walked back in trying to keep what he probably thought was an indifferent expression on his face. The girls took one look at him and dissolved into laughter again. Fletcher tried glaring at them for a few seconds but in the end he had to laugh as well. The three of them laughed till their sides hurt and tears streamed down her face.

“So, why did you pass out?” Fletcher asked as Valkyrie leaned into him.

They were sitting on the floor, leaning against an armchair so that they could face Jay.

She squirmed a little uncomfortably and stayed silent for so long, Valkyrie thought she wouldn’t answer but then she said,

“My magic is a little different from yours. You can never at any point in time use more than you are ready for. If your body can’t handle, say teleporting to Australia, you won’t be able to. For me everything is dumped on me immediately and if I use more magic than I can handle I pass out or get really tired. Pushing Vile’s magic away so that you could teleport was more than I could manage.”

“Well, I’m grateful, and I was worried about you, not just my hair.”

His face was so, falsely indignant that they all fell back into a bout of laughter. Skulduggery burst into the room.

“What’s going on?”

His bewilderment at only finding a regular teenage scene in his home mad everyone laugh even harder until they had to bury their hands into their faces to avoid seeing each other trying not to laugh.

“Hey, Skulduggery. Why didn’t you tell Ghastly about our plan to save Tanith?” Fletcher asked as he calmed down.

This sobered everyone up.

“Because, we don’t even know if it will work and I don’t want to break his heart all over again.”

“Well, if Ghastly is an Elder, we could use his influence to find her,” Valkyrie said.

She didn’t want to break Ghastly’s heart but they needed to find Tanith all the same.

“You’re right – “

“Of course.”

“Which is why I’ve already called Erksine to help us out. He already has people looking. I think they’ll find her before the week is done.”

Skluduggery, looking very proud of himself indeed, marched off to the newly built kitchen. He had found that with Valkyrie and Fletcher staying over more and more, he would need some new things in his house. Now he had two bedrooms and a kitchen as well as a bathroom with a shower that Fletcher and Valkyrie found themselves arguing about a lot.

“What do you need to do it?” Fletcher asked Jay.

She sighed.

“Not much. I need to save my magic and also during the process, I need to borrow magic from you guys, as much as possible. Other than that, nothing, really.”

“Will it hurt?”

Valkyrie and Jay stared at Fletcher.

“I don’t care if hurts as long as it brings Tanith back.”

Jay shook her head.

“Nah, it won’t hurt. You’ll probably feel a little weak afterwards but it won’t hurt.”

“Okay, all I have to do is bring her back,” Valkyrie thought, “All I have to do is give some magic.”

So why did she feel so uneasy?

Book 6: Chapter 11 (My version)

Hey guys. There is a little action in this one but not enough. I'm not good at fight scenes so I make them short. Sorry.

Chapter 11

There were five.

"I’ll deal with them,” Jay said and drew a thin, long knife out of her jacket.

It was incredibly bright and sharp. She loved it. Since her parents couldn’t teach her magic, her father taught her how to handle knives. This one was the one he’d given to her for her last birthday and she carried it with her everywhere. She dove at the first Hollow Man and slashed him across the chest, ducking under the swing of a second one and slashed up cutting his arm away. The other three were smarter and came at her at the same time. She kicked the first one, while cutting the second one through the head. The third one got a hard kick into her stomach and she was thrown back onto the floor. She used the momentum that his kick gave her to drag the knife through his knee and he started to deflate. The one that she had kicked came back at her and she rolled up onto one knee. She threw her knife at him and it shot straight through his chest.

“That’s all of them but I think more are coming. You know, you would have thought that he would have used better henchmen.”

Skulduggery nodded absentmindedly and then pushed the air one more time and the remains of the wall crumbled.

“Oh, hello.”

China was shackled to the floor. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were torn in several places and yet she managed to look completely calm and collected.

“So you came to save me. It’s so terrible here.”

“Jay,” Skulduggery said, gesturing to the shackles that bound China’s legs.

She put her hands on them.

“Nothing. Just a regular binding charm.”

Skulduggery nodded and leaned over them for a few minutes. Jay felt restless.

“Vile isn’t an idiot. I think he thought that we would find or at least suspect the trap on the door. There is another trap. I just don’t know where.”

Fletcher squirmed at the words.

“Well, it won’t matter. As soon as we have China, I’ll teleport and everything will be fine.”

A realization hit Jay like a truck.

“No!!” Jay shouted. “Teleporting right now would be bad. I know why I didn’t feel any magic before. He drained it all so that Fletcher teleporting would be the only magic that he felt. You probably can’t even teleport.”

“Wait, wait. Wouldn’t he have felt my magic first? I mean, I used it to destroy the wall and you used yours to feel for traps.”

Jay shook her head quickly, “Yes, but I think he can only feel magic in general, not specifically, like I can, you know? He probably primed the whole building so that if anyone tried to teleport they wouldn’t be able to. The backlash of a failed attempt at magic can be huge. When he feels that strong lash he’ll probably run down and kill us.”

Fletcher felt the color drain from his face. If they were caught it would be his fault.

“Why couldn’t you feel it?”

“Because it absorbed my magic. It feels the same way when there is nothing there. It’s like echolocation. When the sound bounces back you know something’s there. It never bounced back so I supposed nothing was there.”

“Ah, right, so no teleporting okay?” Skulduggery said and he received glares from Jay and the newly freed China.

“Okay, so we just walk back up?”

Indecision flickered across Jay’s face before she nodded uncertainly.

“You sure?”

“Nope,” she said nodding happily.

They started to make their way across the room, through the hole and then up to steps. As soon as Skulduggery’s foot touched the bottom step, shadows spread across the floor.

“So, not good?” he said, stepping backwards.

“Get up the steps,” Jay yelled, grabbing China and Fletcher’s wrists and yanking them up with her.

Skulduggery followed as quickly as he could.

“All the way up!!!”

They kept on running.

“Still no teleporting?”

Jay just shook her head. He probably wouldn’t be able to. They were going up the last flight of stairs when they saw the shadow looming over them. They faltered.

“Hello, Skulduggery, China, and others.”

“Hey!! I’m not others. I have a name you know!” said Fletcher, obviously under the impression that yelling at people ready to kill you was a good idea.

“Ah, yes, Mr. Renn. It was so nice of you to show up. And you are…”

Jay didn’t say anything, apparently having decided that glaring was good enough.

“Alright. Suit yourself. I’ll find out anyway. After I kill you of course.”

“Well seeing as I’m already dead, killing me won’t be necessary. Right?” Skulduggery asked.

“Sorry, I’ll have to kill you. You still have a soul, which essentially is what life is so I’ll have to drain that. I hope past favors will make up for it.”

“Well, undoing past favors kind of makes them pointless so if you kill me there will be no past favor only past insults. Even if I did consider past favors, they are greatly outnumbered by past insults so it wouldn’t make a difference and I feel like I’m rambling. Am I rambling?”

“Uh-huh,” Jay said nodding.

“Oh, okay then.”

Jay grabbed China’s hand and then Fletcher’s. She saw him reach out and grab Skulduggery’s coat. Maybe Jay could counter the spell and Fletcher could teleport. Jay started to work her magic, carefully, pumping magic to her feet so that in a second she could release it. Once she had a good amount of magic there she told it to dispel all the other enchantments and allow Fletcher to teleport.

“I just recognized that I was on the losing side and ran away to fought another day.”

“No, you disappeared and gave up. I, on the other hand, never give up. I even died and I didn’t give up. So we have all agreed, I’m better than you.”

Vile sighed.

Suddenly the floor at their feet started to glow a bright white instead of black and Fletcher felt Jay’s hand squeeze again. She wasn’t sure if it would work at all or if she would just make Vile mad but suddenly, they appeared in front of Skulduggery’s house. She sighed with relief and then felt a dark cloud go over her eyes and felt herself falling. Then, nothing.

Book 6: Chapter 10 (My version)

Book 6 isn't out yet so I am going to post my own version of the things that might happen. I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant. Derek Landy does. Sorry if I destroy your favorite characters. I'm not that great of a writer. What happens here is what I think should happen, to some degree. Kind of.

Chapter 10

Fletcher teleported them right into a puddle of mud. There was lot of that where they were. The ground was soft with moss and most of it was covered with water or mud. The rain had slightly flooded the graveyard that Lord Vile was using as a hideout.

“This is a very charming little place he’s got here. Maybe I’ll buy it off him at some point. I would just love to grow up here with my family and –”

“You ramble sarcastically when you get scared right?”

Jay’s green eyes turned to fire as she glared at Skulduggery.

“I’m not scared. Just a tad nervous and I keep on wondering if we have thought this all the way through.”

“Oh, we have not thought this all the way through but if we take any longer to think bad things may happen so we are doing things before they do. Okay?”

Jay nodded and they walked in silence.

“Can you feel if he’s here?” Fletcher whispered to Jay.

She closed her eyes.

“Yes, I think so. On the lower levels of the basement beneath the church.”

“And China?”

“Two levels above him. She does symbols magic right?”

“Yeah.”

Jay opened her eyes and then blinked like a cat that has just woken up.

“Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah, I think.”

Her face was slightly confused and Fletcher became slightly worried.

“I can take you back…” He trailed off under Jay’s glare.

It was almost as scary as Val’s was.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, “Let’s go.”

And so they did. They went into the church and down the trapdoor behind the altar.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Fletcher asked in a very quiet whisper.

“No, I’m not. At this point all I know is go down and stay away from Vile.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Shut up before something hears us and gets us. Can you feel any magical energies Jay?”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again.

“No. Nothing. Am I the only one who feels like this is too easy?”

Skulduggery shook his head and pressed farther down into the tunnel. Jay murmured something behind him but Fletcher didn’t catch it.

“I know what’s wrong.”

She seemed scared. In the dim light of the torches that lined the halls under the church her eyes seemed to turn black.

“What?” Fletcher seemed confused.

“Ever since we got down here something was bothering me. I can’t feel any magic.”

“Isn’t that a good thing.”

“No, no, not just magic traps. I can’t feel any magic at all. As in nothing. Only his necromancer magic and China’s magic.”

“Okay, and?”

“Well... I don’t know but it bothers me for some reason.”

Her face was screwed up into a very confused expression. Skulduggery shook his head and they continued walking. They came to a staircase and walked down three floors.

“One more down.”

Jay looked ready to sleep. Her cat eyes were narrowed to slits and her movements were sluggish. They got to China’s level and walked across the bottom to the room where she was being held. Skulduggery took out his gun and prepared to shoot. He held out his palm to blast the door open.

“Don’t!!” Jay practically yelled.

She thrust her hands out and a wave of light appeared before Skulduggery, absorbing the air as he displaced it. Her eyes were wide and she put her hand on the door. A flash of light appeared from her hand and traveled through the door and then faded except an area above the lock.

“It’s a trick. There is no way into the room without triggering whatever that does.”

“What do you think it does?”

“I don’t know!!”

“So what do we do?”

“We could blow up the wall,” Fletcher suggested.

They both stared at him until he had to blush.

“Just a suggestion.”

“That might actually work, if we do it very carefully and quietly.”

Jay nodded and Skulduggery proceeded to carefully hit an area on the wall over and over with the air so that each time a little more rocks fell away. Then Fletcher saw something at the end of the corridor where they had just come from.

“Hollow Men.”