The Descendants; The Return of the Unnamed

The great Valkyrie Cain was dead.

Many more were dead by nightfall. The Sanctuary's leading fighters were the Dragon squad, Darquesse, Vile and Stephanie. It had been eight and a half hours since anyone had last seen the skeleton detective and Valkyrie Cain. China Sorrows had ordered the evacuation of the civilians and it was this task that kept Fletcher Renn and Andena Deandria busy as the rest of the town either fought or rested restlessly.

"How many more groups to go?" Fletcher panted and gripped onto his girlfriend as he reappeared in the town square.

"That was the last of them. You should take a break and rest, Fletch. You'll be of no use to anyone if you burn out." Andena urged him.

"The faster we get these people out of here, the more lives we can save if something goes wrong. It won't be long before the Unnamed himself gets involved in the battle. In fact, I'm surprised he hasn't already." The blonde boy regained his breath.

"I think that we're all beneath him, you know? Like we aren't worth him killing us. He's saving himself for the worthy ones. He's waiting for Alice and Vivi to approach him. This is all just some fun for him, some preshow entertainment." She theorized.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks we're unworthy of being killed by him. He seems like a self-entitled asshole." Fletcher snorted and Andena gave a weak grin.

"I just would feel a lot better if Skulduggery and Valkyrie were here," Andena confessed.

"They should be back any minute now, and hopefully with some useful information." Fletcher agreed. "Let's get some of the injured soldiers to the medical wing."

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Valkyrie's legs pumped as she kept up with Skulduggery. He sped through the Sanctuary, going straight for the medical wing and not stopping to explain himself to anyone. He didn't even answer when the doctors asked him what he needed or who he wanted or tried to stop him. He drew back the curtain to Kenspeckle's station, ignoring the body on the bed that the old man had obviously been operating on.

"I'm in the middle of a surgery, can't you people do anything without my help?" Kenspeckle grumbled.

"Please, Kenspeckle, it's urgent." Valkyrie pleaded with him. He called over another doctor to take his place and they followed him to a private room.

"Whose limbs do I need to sew back on this time?" He asked.

"How long can a sorcerer be dead before they stay that way?" Valkyrie asked.

"That all depends on the sorcerer and the doctor reviving them." He answered.

"What if it's Skulduggery and I with you as the doctor?" Valkyrie questioned him.

"I don't know if Skulduggery can be killed. But for you, I'd say about ten minutes after the heart stops beating before the body shuts down completely, but with a starburst, we could scrape in eleven. Why?" he frowned in thought.

"We need to speak with a Goddess, the only way we can summon her is if we visit her realm. I share her blood and so it should call to the Enchantress. We need to hurry, this might be our only chance at winning this war." Valkyrie removed her protective jacket and laid down on one of the three hospital beds in the room. "What do you say, can you do it?"

"The real question, dear Valkyrie, is not can I do it, but will I do it? Or more importantly, will the Skeleton detective let me do it now that he knows he cannot come with you?"

Valkyrie glanced at Skulduggery's unreadable skull and even though he had no facial features to betray his emotions she knew exactly what he was feeling and thinking. "I'll be fine, Skulduggery. I can't be killed if I'm already dead. I can do this." She encouraged him.

"I have complete faith that Valkyrie can handle this herself." He nodded slightly.

"So, will you do it?" Cain asked with hopeful, brave eyes.

"I'll get to kill the one closest to the famous Skulduggery Pleasant right in front of his eyes, who would pass up that offer?" he grunted.

Kenspeckle got all the preparations ready and was about to start when Fletcher burst through the doorway with Andena right behind him.

"What are you doing?" he froze in his tracks when he saw Valkyrie lying down with the medical equipment surrounding her.

"I am stopping her heart to allow her soul to reach the realm of gods and communicate with one of the three Founders and try to find a way to push the Unnamed into a portal." The doctor replied calmly.

"What?" he paled. "But you'll be killing her."

"That's kind of the point, Fletcher." Valkyrie said.

"You're crazy. Valkyrie, if something goes wrong and you can't come back, our only chance at defeating the Unnamed and winning this is gone. Alice needs your power through the Mannim bond to be strong enough to face off against that insane god that's waiting to pound down our front door!"

"If they can't get the Unnamed in that portal, how are we expecting to beat him? They have to take this risk, or it will all be in vain! There is no other choice, Fletcher." Andena comforted her boyfriend and locked eyes with the dark-haired warrior. "Good luck."

Valkyrie nodded a thank you to her galaxy-haired friend, appreciative that this girl was treating Fletcher better than she ever could, because he deserved that.

"Whenever you're ready, Doctor." Skulduggery spoke up.

"Your heart will stop in three," Kenspeckle began the countdown and charged up the wires connected to the young woman.

"Two." They flared with electricity.

"One." The great Valkyrie Cain was dead.