Disclaimer: I own none of the Skulduggery Pleasant series, characters or whatnot, none at all. IF I did, do you really think that Ghastly Bespoke would be a statue now?

Drabble the First

I couldn't believe I was doing this. It was Valkyrie here, for God's sake! Or more accurately, it was Valkyrie's reflection. Come on, you're tearing up a photograph. Just pull the trigger and be done with it! I looked over at the Torment. Jeez, why did we even need his help? I'm sure my scathingly brilliant combination of wit and intelligence could find out what he knew, without killing the reflection. But that's all it is, a voice inside his head sounded. A reflection. But it's Valkyrie.

"Dead man. Kill the wench and be done." The Torment sounded impatient. "Your time is running out, skeleton. Kill her."

I swallowed and thumbed back the hammer. I'm so sorry, I thought. Forgive me. I pulled the trigger and shot my best friend. The crack exploded into the silence. The Torment turned to me.

Drabble the Second

The stinger darted out and caught Tanith in the side. She stumbled and fell, sword clattering to the side. Then darkness overcame her and she knew little else.

I'd fought against darkness before, when I fought the White Cleaver last year. He knocked me for six aswell. Something answered my unspoken question, deep inside the recesses of the dark abyss I had fallen head-first into. You keep getting caught by surprise, it murmured, because funnily enough, you are mortal. Mortals get caught by surprise. It happens. I fumed, my thoughts ashes smouldering in a magma chamber. Like it or not, I supposed, we all have to fall down sometime. Even Skulduggery. Remember Ghastly? Mentally, she took a sharp breath. We all fall. One way or another. Yes, she thought, we do. Just not today.

She opened her eyes, and looked up at Kenspeckle who was examining her critically. Just not today.

Drabble the Third

China looked around the flat. Vengeous had broken at least half her furniture into smithereens, including her favourite chest of drawers. Damnations, she thought wildly, the Grotesquery? Honestly, that man had no flair in his skill whatsoever. She couldn't stand evil at the best of times, but bringing back a half-god hybrid thing was simply too much. At least it was Vengeous. With a lot of help, they could just about defeat Vengeous. If it had been Vile, they wouldn't have stood a chance. Vile was very powerful, but he was careful with his power; he didn't let his ambition for it rule him. Hmm. Now all she had left was a wardrobe, her favourite elegance stool and her two-seater minimalist sofa. China quickly changed into a black long-sleeved top, black trousers and black low-heeled shoes. Just to add a bit of glamour, she quickly tied on a white leather waistcoat. Admiring herself in her bathroom mirror, she mopped up the cut on her forehead and applied make-up. She didn't care if she was fighting a god, no-one would say that China Sorrows turned up to a battle looking bad. Even if she had just fought a crazy, power-mad zealot. China smiled, and tapped the last remaining tattoo, on the inside of her elbow. A circle contracted around her in the carpet before she was whizzed down the side of her building. Time to fight a god.