The Skull Trinity

Chapter 1: Mt. Ebott

The phone rang abruptly, causing Skulduggery Pleasant to jolt out of his "sleep".  He rose slowly out of his meditation armchair, put his hat back on, and hurried over to answer the call.

"Detective, I'm done; just done dealing with the mountain. I need someone to find out why Mount Ebott is so dangerous-- what happened to the hikers? The child? Why?" The caller sounded as if she was suppressing her anger.

Mount Ebott-- the name sounded familiar to Skulduggery. He'd heard a few scattered reports of hikers disappearing, the usual ominous tones; 'No one has ever climbed Mount Ebott and returned, etc.'

Skulduggery tilted his head. "How exactly did you get this number?"

The caller paused for a moment. "I...I just realized I didn't dial the right number. I'm sorry, I'll hang up now--"

"No, do continue," Skulduggery replied. "I happen to be, in fact, a detective."

"Oh? Good.You've heard of the Mount Ebott disappearances, then?"

"Bits and pieces."

"I had a cousin who disappeared up there years back-- Chara."

"The child you mentioned, I suppose?Was she the final disappearance?"

"Yes and yes." The caller sounded tense. "Nobody dares to even go near Mount Ebott, not after it took so many."

Skulduggery paused for a moment, turning the possibilities in his brain-- well, conscience.

"I'll do it," he confirmed. "I'll go to the mountain tomorrow."

The caller was relieved. "Thank you so much! I never caught your name, did I?"

"It's Detective Inspector Me."

"Me?"

"No, Me."

***
At noon the next day the black Bentley R-continental had set off on the long drive to Mount Ebott. Skulduggery drove silently, staring ahead. Valkyrie Cain sat in the passenger seat, looking bored.

Two hours later the Bentley was parked and the mountain loomed above Skulduggery and Valkyrie.

"You sure we should do this?" Valkyrie asked skeptically. "What if whatever is up there takes us too?"

Skulduggery locked the Bentley and turned back to Valkyrie. "I'm fairly certain it's nothing we can't deal with."

"Arrogant much?"

"Often, I could say the same to you."

She paused for a moment. "Touché."

Skulduggery strolled to the mountain, grabbed the edge if the nearest boulder, and started the climb.

Valkyrie called out to him from below. "Did we bring any climbing gear?!"

He turned backward and tilted his head. "We don't need any! The mountain isn't very steep."

Valkyrie shrugged and climbed up after him.

***

The climb hadn't taken very long-- they'd actually arrived at the summit a bit earlier than Skulduggery had predicted.

"Here we are," he said, staring into the large crater at the top. "The infamous Mount Ebott."

"What do you think's up here?" Valkyrie asked, moving to stand beside him.

"Best case scenario: they all tripped on these rocks. Worst case scenario: this is the home of very dangerous, very carnivorous monsters."

"Ew."

But at that moment, a strange force pushed with a lot of force against Skulduggery and Valkyrie-- Valkyrie quickly crouched down, keeping a firm hold on a nearby boulder.

Unfortunately for Skulduggery, there weren't any nearby boulders. He stumbled forward and tripped over a rock, falling into the deep, dark abyss.

The fall was a long one-- Skulduggery had fully expected to be a pile of crushed bones by now. His phone, which had miraculously stayed in his suit pocket, rang. Skulduggery glanced at the screen.

"Valkyrie," he muttered as he answered it.

"Did you just trip over a rock and fall into the pit?!" Valkyrie exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes, and I'm not proud of it. Did you expect me to get pushed in while fighting a giant cyborg laser shark?"

"Maybe. But Skulduggery-- can you survive that fall? I know you're a special, magic-infused skeleton-- but does that mean you can live after a fall from a very long distance?"

"I guess we'll see," was all Skulduggery said before the call abruptly ended itself.

Skulduggery hit the ground miraculously unharmed, landing in a patch of golden flowers. He stood up, dazed, and found himself in a dark room, containing only the flowers and a single door.

He stepped through the doorway, brushing dirt off of his pinstriped suit and hat. This new room contained another door and a single patch of grass, on top of which was a smiling golden flower.

"Howdy!" the flower greeted. "I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!"

Skulduggery stayed silent.

Flowey still grinned widely. "Hmm...you're new to the UNDERGROUND, arent'cha? Golly, you must be so confused."

"I've seen stranger things," Skulduggery replied shortly.

"Someone oughta teach you how things work around here!" Flowey continued. "I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!"

Skulduggery tilted his head.

Flowey somehow still kept his wide smile. Five white bullets erupted from the ground and hovered above Flowey. "Here...don't you want some..." he paused for a moment. "Friendliness pellets?"

Skulduggery had partly expected for Flowey to turn sinister. He drew his revolver, retorting with "Take my 'friendliness pellets!" He aimed and shot at Flowey, who dodged rapidly from side to side.

"Hey!" he shouted. His friendly smile contorted into a twisted, sinister grin. "DIE."

Flowey's bullets surrounded Skulduggery on all sides, then shot straight through him with no effect.

Flowey's face twisted back to normal, and he glanced awkwardly at Skulduggery. "I guess I didn't think that one through. You're human, but also..not. Your SOUL is human, but you aren't physically human. Interesting..." 

He sank back into the ground, and the door burst open.