About five hours later, I arrived at the Nocturne Theater just before 1:00. My Sire sighed with relief as I sat beside her. She wrapped her arm around mine and I almost melted. Despite her touch, I couldn't help but look around the room. Alex was right; there were some prime players here: Nines Rodriguez and his crew, Maximillian Strauss, Therese Voerman, Velvet Velour (Jesus wept), Isaac, and even a few Nosferatu were poking out their ugly heads.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Alex.

"I didn't get any details, but-"

She was interrupted by Prince Lacroix's entrance. Around him stood two vampires carrying two others, both staked, and his Sheriff. I silently snarled at the big gorilla, my Beast straining at his chains; he gave my clan a bad rep, being Lacroix's fucking lackey.

Alex sensed my discomfort and held my closer. She laid her head on my shoulder, and I inhaled the scent from her hair. It did the trick; my Beast slumbered.

"Thanks."

"I know he pisses you off, Gabe, but I can't tell you how quickly you'd be ash if you let yourself go in here."

"I know, I know; I'm just a little hungry."

"Sorry, sugar. I know I rushed you here."

"S'okay. I'll hunt after this is over; the night's still young."

Lacroix cleared his throat as the two staked vampires were eased to the floor. The stakes were removed and the Prince began speaking:

"Good evening. My fellow Kindred, my apologies for disrupting any business or interfering with any prior engagements you may have had this evening. It's unfortunate that the affair that gathers us together tonight is a troubling one. We are here because the laws that bind our society, the laws that are the fabric of our existence, have been broken. As Prince, I am within my rights to grant or deny the Kindred of this city, the privilege of Siring. Many of you have come to me seeking permission, and I have endorsed some of these requests. However," he said waving his hand towards a male vampire held down by a tall Brujah, "The accused that sits before you tonight was not refused permission; indeed, my permission was never sought at all. They were caught shortly after the Embrace of this Childe." He pointed to the second vampire.

"It pains me to announce the sentence, as, up till tonight, I considered the accused a loyal and upstanding member of our organization. But as some of you may know, the penalty of this transgression…is death. Know that I am no more a judicator than I am a servant to the law that governs us all. Let tonight's proceedings serve as a reminder to our community that we must adhere to the code that binds our society, lest we endanger all of our blood."

He bent low to the male vampire and said, "Forgive me. Let the penalty commence."

Lacoix nodded his head to the Sheriff, who unslung his massive broadsword. He raised it high. I spotted Velvet turning away as the huge Gangrel decapitated the poor man, his body turning to ash. The kneeling woman groaned. LaCroix continued:

"Which leads to the fate of the ill-begotten prodigy. Without a Sire, most Childe are doomed to walk the Earth never knowing their place, their responsibility, and most importantly, their laws they must obey. Therefore, I have decided that-"

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!"

I turned sharply towards the interruption, my hand moving down to the knife on my belt entirely on instinct. It was Rodriguez, who was now standing on his feet, restrained by his companions. I heard Alex growl softly; it comforted me to know I wasn't the only one surprised by the Anarch's outburst.

Lacroix furrowed his brow at the resulting murmur of discontent that swept the crowd of Kindred.

"If Mr. Rodriguez would let me finish. I have decided to let this Kindred live. They shall be instructed in the ways of our kind, and be granted the same rights. Let no one say I am unsympathetic to the plights and causes of this community. I thank you all attending these proceedings, and I hope their significance is not lost…"

And with that, the Fledgling's shackles were cut, and the Kindred began to file out. Alex and I stood, both of us with expressions of disdain; politics…yeesh. Alex, bless her patience, was more tolerant than I on the subject, but even she looked disgusted at the event. She turned to me and said, "Let's roll. I want to get out of Camarilla territory as soon as possible. After all this shit, I got a feeling L.A. is going to be a madhouse."

I nodded in agreement, but I would've left this city at any excuse; way too much drama in Los Angeles for me.

Alex suddenly sighed. "Damn it. I forgot to talk to LaCroix about that Ghoul." She bit her lip. "Go on ahead and get us a cab, I'll meet you outside." She stood on her tiptoes and pecked my cheek while I tried to stay coherent. She giggled and walked off to where LaCroix was. I stood still for a moment, watching over her, until I spotted none other than the infamous Smilin' Jack himself. He lived up to his name as he walked over to me with that big grin on his face.

"Heeeeey, if it isn't my favorite animal! How ya doing, Gabe?"

I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my lips. Jack's grin spread like a fucking virus. "Not too bad, Jack. How bout you?" I said as my southern drawl slithered into my accent.

"Ah, you know; same ole' bullshit. Can you believe this crap LaCroix pulled? I swear only a Ventrue could pull off something like that," he said shaking his head.

"Hell, you know me and Alex, Jack. We couldn't give two shits." I pulled out a pack of cigarettes from my coat pocket and lit one with a cheap Bic lighter.

"Bah. Politics are good for the soul, man. It's one of the few things that can light up a Kindred's blood to almost room temperature."

I chuckled. "Well, I say fuck the whole damn mess; too much of a hassle for me."

"Heh, gotta say I wish I had that mentality. Guess it just comes with the blood, eh?"

"I suppose so. So what's gonna happen with the kid?"

Jack actually frowned. "You know what, I'm gonna check her out, see that she gets situated alright."

I took a deep drag. "You do that, Jack. Meanwhile, I need to get a cab." I threw him a little wave. "Try to stay alive."

"Ha! You too, bud."

We parted ways as I walked out the front door towards the street. I was one of the last ones out, but I still didn't see Alex anywhere. As I walked toward the street to hail a cab, I heard an explosion of gunfire back towards the theater. Instinctively, I burned a little of my dwindling reservoir of blood and activated my lowest level of Protean to enhance my senses. I smelled Sabaat blood in the air. I snarled and ran back behind the alleys where the scent was strongest. I spotted three of the shovel-heads sneaking around back. I roared and charged at them. They turned and fired at me, measly little .38s that did jack-shit to my body.

I caught one in the face and crushed it between my fingers. I turned and caught the second in the throat with my elbow, effectively crushing his windpipe. The third panicked and ran, but I grabbed my knife and hurled it at his back; fucker deserved it running like that. It caught him right between the shoulder blades and he fell like a ton of bricks. I ran towards his body and nabbed my knife. I kept running until I arrived at the main battlefield; dozens of Sabaat humans and Kindred fighting Anarchs and Camarilla. I tried to spot Alex, but she wasn't in sight. I decided to take out my frustrations on the Sabaat.

I unsheathed my second knife and jumped into the fray, shrugging off bullets and knife blows, and killing as many as I could. I spotted a lone Sabaat servant and I latched on to him. I ripped into his throat and sucked him dry, finally getting my evening meal. Using my newly acquired blood, I summoned a flock of blood bats that descending on several more Sabaat, ripping them apart and returning even more blood to me.

It was at this time the Sheriff himself appeared and I decided to haul it; the gorilla could clean up the mess by himself. I retreated back to the populated streets and tried to call Alex on my phone. It rang and rang and rang, but no answer. I cursed, and yanked out another cigarette. I lit it and puffed furiously. Finally, I spotted Damsel, one of Rodriguez's crew, walking my way.

"Pretty lady! Over here!" I yelled as I waved her over.

She saw me and scowled, but that was normal for Damsel. "What the hell do you want, Gabe?"

"Have you seen Alex? I lost her in the fight."

"Last I saw, she was talking to the asshole, LaCroix." She furrowed her brow. "You two aren't becoming Cammie bootlickers, are you?!"

"Jesus, take some Ritalin or something, just calm the fuck down."

"Yeah, yeah. Uh, they were still in the theater when I last saw them, before the Sabaat started shit."

I took another drag, smoke filling my dead lungs. "Damn it. Well, thanks anyway, darlin'."

"Whatever." She suddenly took on a cute, almost pouty expression, which is weird for Damsel. "Soooo…when are you two going to join up with the right side, huh?"

"The Anarchs? Heh, yeah right, sweetie. Politics ain't our game."

"Oh come on! Those fuckin' Cammies-"

"Nope. Not in mood for a Camarilla rant tonight, sweetheart. Call me if you see Alex."

She sighed in exasperation. "Yeah, sure."

I walked off, my head swimming with worry. I spotted a couple of Sabaat Kindred run out of an alley; they were really high-tailing it. One caught my eye and stared. I just bared my fangs and he took off with his friends. Too damn many Kine here to start anything. A growl vibrated though my throat. God, where is she? I tried her cell again, but got nothing. I hung around until morning, the sun forcing me to take refuge in one of the local havens in Santa Monica; an apartment above a local pawn shop. I walked up the stairs to the room and yawned as I opened the door…only to find out it was occupied by the Fledgling from the theater.

"Aw, hell," I muttered. She heard and turned towards me. Her eyes widened, but her hand moved to a .38 tucked in her pants.

"Hey, easy now, sweetie. I just need a place to hole up for the day, get it? I'm too damn tired to start anything."

She eyed me warily, but dropped her hand. I sighed with relief; I wasn't afraid of the peashooter, but it was loud. Cops would undoubtedly be on patrol all over Los Angeles. No attention is good attention.

"So what's your handle, sweetheart?"

"…Liz Martindale," she said almost unwillingly.

"I'm Gabe Black. You've met Jack, right?"

"Yeah." She paused, then said, "Cool guy."

"Damn straight. And he's one of the few Kindred out there who won't straight up bullshit ya. That's an honorable trait these days, darlin'."

"How so?"

"It's all politics, half-truths, and straight-out lies, hon. Any vampire you meet will try to fuck you in one way or another."

"So how about you?"

"Me?" I laughed. "Shit, darlin', after the sun goes down and I find my Sire, I'll be long gone. I get tired of the bullshit and politics."

"And how do I know that's not a lie, huh? How do I know you're not some Sabaat or the Prince's errand boy sent to finish the job?"

I frowned and slipped a cigarette from my pocket. I lit it and took a drag, blowing smoke out of my nose. I gave her a hard stare and said, "I'm Gangrel, sweetie-pie. If I wanted to kill you, trust me, you'd be ash right now. My clan is…direct."

"Bullshit."

She didn't see me move. She didn't see anything until I was right behind her with both my blades against her soft neck. She gasped. I moved my knives with her movements, as not to accidently nick her.

"I don't bluff, darlin'. Get that in your head right now, or else we're gonna have one hell of a day."

"Shit. Oh shit. Ok, ok," she said quickly.

"Excellent." I lowered my knifes, sheathed them, then plopped down on the bed.

"Whoa, hey. What are you doing?"

"Resting up. You should do the same; I imagine you've got a big night ahead of you tomorrow."

"But…you're in my bed."

"There's room for two, Lizzie-girl." I chuckled. "No need to worry about making a move on ya, hon. Male Kindred are forever impotent."

She didn't say anything, but slipped down beside me, not quite touching. She was tense, her muscles locked.

"By the way," I said. "What's your clan? Jack should've told you."

She didn't say anything for a while. Finally, she spoke. "The one you said."

"Hmm?"

"Gangrel."

"Huh. No shit, yeah?"

"Yeah. No shit."

"Interesting."

If she said anything after that, I didn't hear her. The sun was up and my body shut down for the day.

End of Part II