Chapter 9: The land of stars and wonders
"Where to?", cab man asks me, as I jump on the backseat. "Cab man, did you know, that one can earn money by dancing?", I counter-ask him, completely ignoring his question. "Yes." Ah, dammit. I wanted to tell him something he didn't know. "Cab man, you're truly knowledgeable and mysterious.", I praise him, though I feel disappointed. "So, where to?", cab man tries again. "Somewhere hot. Stupid Nines said, that the dancers would have to be hot, in order to actually earn money by dancing. Oh, I know! A volcano! Let's sail to a Volcano. I heard, that there is one in Holly's Woods.", I answer obediently.
"Anyway, have you tried earning money by dancing before, cab man?", I inquire. "No. And I prefer driving people towards their destination." Oh boy, here it comes: cab man's fiery passion for cab driving. "The nightly routine doesn't bore you? Ourselves are very weak to repeating routines."
"The people I drive are not the same, and their stories can be quite interesting. I am not bored yet, but maybe I will be someday. If that night comes, then I will naturally change my occupation." I see. Cab man might stop being a third-class superhero somewhere in the future. It's hard to picture him doing something else instead. What kind of occupation would he do, if he couldn't be cab man any longer? He didn't seem interested in dancing for some reason…
"If cab man couldn't be a superhero anymore… what would he do?", I ask him directly. I was never good in holding back my curiosity. "Who knows. Maybe become a villain?", he answers amused. "Villain, eh? Then you definitely need to practice your evil laughter! The evil laughter makes or breaks a villain. I still haven't figured out my signature evil laugh, it's really a difficult choice. It needs to be evil, recognizable and distinct after all.", I muse, while scratching my chin. "… I will keep it in mind."
Before I step on the hot lava to show off my amazing dance moves, I carefully observe the room. Only females seem to be dancing, while the males are only watching. Weird. But the females, who wear not much clothes, probably due to the lava, have money stuffed into their garments, so what Nines said must have been true.
I smooth down my blouse and take a deep (but unnecessary) breath, before I step on the lava stage. To be honest, I expected the lava to be more… fluid and hot.
I mean, my shoes aren't even melting! But now is not the time to be feeling disappointed, I should start dancing.
However, there are so many dance styles to choose from! I could do the Cossack dance, or the funky chicken dance. The other strippers all seem to prefer some weird belly dance or something, but I want to stand out after all. Though the ones dancing on the pole seem to have a lot of fun… Alright, to the pole it is!
I run towards the nearest pole and jump in the air, just before reaching it. I grab the pole with one hand, causing my body to spin around it in midair. The impulse was only enough for one round, but I grab the pole with my other hand as well and lift my body up in the air again with great difficulty, while straightening my body. Now if you tilt your head, wouldn't it look as if I would hold up a simple metal rod?
"Excuse me, Missy? You're not supposed to be up here. The manager wants to see you.", a cute blond girl tells me. Her innocent look seems strangely out of place here, I wonder why. I relax my body, thereby putting my feet back on the lava floor. "Alright.", I answer her with a smile, since she asked me nicely.
I obediently follow the blond angel towards the bar, where she instructs me to go upstairs.
Upstairs is another dancer waiting for me, with dazzling red hair. Like the other dancers, she is also wearing lingerie. I wonder what she wants from me?
Maybe my dancing was bad, so they decided to instruct me on how to dance properly? "Ah, what a cute little thing you are. I wanted to see you up close, as soon as you stepped into my club. Apart from that, I wanted to warn you, my club is infested with hunters, unfortunately. It would be wise, not to draw too much attention to yourself, while you're here. ", the red woman purrs.
Lovely food and friendly horror. The dish is in the oven, but it won't be to your taste.
"Hunters, it's always hunters this and hunters that. Here I got my hopes up, expecting a lovely conversation with the lovely doll, but no! It's hunters instead.", I pout. "Was that your wish? Your interest in my person flatters me. I'm sorry, that I brought your mood down, I would also like a long and deep talk with you, but the hunters are not to be messed with. A few years ago, we also had a lot of hunters here in L.A., especially in Hollywood. They nearly got me. I had to hide for some time and leave my club to my ghoul. I even had to dye my treasured red hair brown for some time to escape their field of vision. I managed to avoid being identified as a vampire, but not everyone was as lucky as I. And just when I wanted to return to the spotlight, the hunters came back."
Must be hard for a Toreador, to stop mingling with puny humans. I don't even know, if she really is a Toreador, but c'mon. She said 'spotlight'.
"Hunters hunt dancers? What do they have against dancers?", I ask her. "There aren't many jobs kindred like us can do, due to our time restrictions, so they naturally mostly observe clubs and bars. They won't simply attack people for working a night job, but if you catch their attention, they might identify you as kindred. And once you're on their list, escaping will be difficult.", she patiently explains to me.
The phoenix got his dearest, dreadful wish fulfilled.
"I see. But enough already of boring hunters, what about you?", I inquire, while looking into her beautiful grey eyes. "Ah, how rude of me. I'm Velvet Velour. You can call me Miss Velour. And you are? I haven't seen your face before." Velvet, Susan, Miss Velour, V.V., this Toreador also has lots of different names. This is something we have in common. Though I have way more names than her. "The name we usually give to others is 'Adeline Martell'. You can use that name to address all of me.", I return her self-introduction with a playful curtsey. "You seem young. Are you new to Hollywood?", she asks me. "I'm spick and span in Holly's Wood. The volcano is my first stop on my sightseeing tour.", I answer her. "Wait, you haven't visited Isaac yet? You need to announce your presence to the ruler of a domain first, before playing around.", she softly reprimands me. "Holly's Wood doesn't belong to the dolphin prince? What is an 'Isaac'?", I ask her, while tilting my head questioningly. "Isaac Abrams is the Baron of Hollywood. And he is someone, who I hold in high regards, so please don't cause him any trouble.", Velvet answers.
Her expression softens, as she talks about Isaac, she must really like him. "I see. Then I will go on a treasure hunt, to find the precious baron.", I promise her with a smile.
I set off to my new quest to quickly get done with it and return to Velvet. I like her voice, so I want to listen to it longer. Deb's voice is even better though… "Ey, haven't seen you here before, and if I ha-"
"Yes, yes, I'm on my way, sailing to treasure island, looking for that treasure chest. No need to draw me a map. I can find this 'Isaac', without your help.", I interrupt the bulky goon, who approached me. "… Down the street, the jewelry store.", he unnecessarily adds, before disappearing. Duh, where else to find such a treasured person?
"Good evening, treasure baron.", I greet the grey-haired man with a curtsey. "Welcome in my barony, kindred. And thank you for abiding by traditions and announcing your arrival in my domain. I'm Isaac Abrams, the baron of Hollywood.", treasure baron returns my greeting.
Father of regret and fallen stars.
"How may I address you?", he asks me politely. "Adeline Martell." "Ah, it's rare to meet a fledgling with such good manners. You see, I'm quite old-fashioned and appreciate politeness. I also like to hold onto traditions. Tradition dictates, that visitors not only announce their arrival, but also pay a token of respect to the ruler of the domain.", the treasure baron explains to me. He wants to play fetch with us, doesn't he? Why is everyone mistaking me for a dog?
It's not really strange, considering how you do whatever someone tells you to do.
Shut up.
Does the truth offend you?
No, but you start to annoy me.
Oh, so I'm the annoying one? Not the people you're serving, or you, who behaves like an obedient dog?
Shut your mouth, or I will shut it for you.
And how are you going to do that? I don't have a mouth after all, there is no way you could silence me?
Trust me, I will find a way to silence you, if I have to.
"Not too difficult a task, right?", treasure baron finishes his instruction. "…Yeah. Easy peasy. I totally know now, what I have to do.", I hastily reply. Treasure baron just stares at me in silence for a moment, but decides not to question me any further. That was close, he nearly noticed, that I didn't listen to him at all.
"Do you have any questions?", he asks me sternly. "Yes! What games does the treasure baron play with his blazing treasures?" "I don't quite understand your question. I'm not Malkavian." Duh, of course he is not Malkavian, he is way too boring to be part of our family. Though the fox lady is also just a boring old hag. "Treasure baron likes to collect stars, doesn't he? What does he do with them?", I rephrase my question. "I'm a producer, if that was your question. Most of the movies you've seen have probably been produced by me. I worked with many famous actors, like Robert De Niro, Scorsese or John Travolta. But enough with the Smalltalk, if you don't have any questions regarding your task, then you may leave.", he replies, emphasizing 'regarding your task'.
Frankly speaking, I don't get, why Velvet likes him so much. He's sitting on such a high horse. Maybe, it's because I'm not a horse person. I prefer hairbrushes as pets, they're also hairy, but less messy. "Well, Toodeloo!", I reply snappy and head out.
As I step outside, a small creature is blocking my way back to the main street. It has a fluffy head, resembling a pug with three big blue eyes, the chest on the other hand, resembles a bird, with its violet-blue feathers. The colors of its five fluffy-plumb legs are also blue and violet. "It's a puddlemudge!", I happily exclaim, while clapping my hands. The puddlemudge shrieks and hurries away, in the opposite direction of the main street, leaving small puddles, wherever its paws touch the ground. "Gotta catch them all!", I whisper in excitement, as I hastily follow it, while being careful not to touch the puddles.
Damn, this puddlemudge is fast! And apparently also good at jumping, as it easily managed to jump over the fence. It turns around from behind the fence and mocks me, by jumping up and down, while making a sound, which could be described as something between giggling and wheezing. My eyes narrow and I raise my finger to threaten it, "I will catch you!" As I leap upwards and start climbing the fence, the puddlemudge squeaks and runs away. The hunt continues through various small, dark alleys, but we finally reach a dead-end. The puddlemudge lifts its paw, touching the wall in front of it and winces, as it lets its paw down again.
It slowly turns around, and I nearly start to pity it, seeing it tremble so much. "Got ya.", I declare with a smile, as I take another step towards it.
Suddenly the trembling stops, and the puddlemudge giggles/wheezes again, with its tongue hanging out of its mouth. "Huh?" I look down on my feet. One of my feet is standing in one of the puddles, left behind by the puddlemudge. "Damn", is all what I can manage to say, before the puddle sucks my foot in, swallowing me whole.
My eyes flatter open, and I sit up, while groaning in pain. My headache is killing me! Ah, but I'm already dead, so no worries. I carefully inspect my surroundings. Yep.
I have no idea, where I am. I'm currently sitting on a fluffy, pink, cotton-like cloud. Beneath the cloud is some kind of green fog. What's beyond it, is out of my vision.
In the sky is a flower blooming, where usually the moon would be. What a strange place, and yet it has such a familiar feeling to it. Perhaps… this is my mind? Interesting. Though I'm a bit upset at how empty this place is. Well, maybe it is another dimension, or the mind of a different person. Yeah, that must be it.
Since I don't know how to return, I decide to explore this place for now. I carefully lower my feet to the ground. To my surprise, the green fog is actually the ground. Furthermore, the green fog is quite elastic, making it feel as I would walk on a gigantic trampoline. This is fun! I will travel like a rabbit for now, by bouncing forward. Maybe this is actually the Wonderland?
After hoping for a while, I encounter a flying blue serpent with sunglasses. "Yo, what's up?", the serpent greets me. "The sky is up.", I reply honestly. "Anyways, nice to meet you, I'm nameless.", I introduce myself. "Oh, what a coincidence, my name is 'nameless', too. So, how's it going for you, man? Lovely weather, isn't it?", the serpent replies. Damn, I hoped, that the serpent could help me, but it is obviously stupid. I mean, I'm obviously a woman, not a man.
"It's jumping. But I guess the weather is really nice. Ah, but I'm female, by the way." The flying serpent spins around in the air, embarrassed about its mistake.
"Ah, man, I'm sorry, you human-like creatures look all the same to me." Truly, an idiot. "Yeah, whatever, do you happen to know, where Holly's Wood reside? I'm a bit lost here." I must try my luck, even though the snake is an idiot. "Holly's Wood? No. But I know, where Tara's Wood is. You should check it out.", the snake replies.
I politely decline. "Well, thanks for nothing. See ya, nameless.", I bid it goodbye. "It was nothing. Good day to you, Miss nameless!", the flying serpent shouts, as I turn my back on it and continue on my journey.
Soon I reach a vast plain with countless small ponds. Various scenes are reflected in the ponds. Snow White secretly making out with a mirror. The dark father carefully tasting the dish of fate, before deciding to season it a bit more. Rambo softly singing a lullaby to a baby in his bulky arms. The phoenix fulfilling his dreadful wish in a moldy cave. What a stupid bird. The star of dawn, mingling with other stars. Oh, and some sleazy cashier on a red spot, selling sky medicine. Wait a minute, red!
The color of fate! I take a few steps back, before sprinting towards the pond and jump up, while aiming my feet at the red dot.
"-iss? Miss? Hello?!", I hear someone calling. Some fingers are waving around in front of my eyes. Funny fingers, what are you trying to do? The fingers disappear from my field of vision, as the cashier notices, that I have awoken from my daze. "You ok Miss? Man, must have been good stuff, you were standing here, for like, five minutes!", the cashier starts blabbing. "It was an interesting journey. Four out of three people would recommend.", I reply casually. "Yeah… Care to tell me, where you got that stuff? I'm dealing myself, you know?" What?! A prostitute? Who would buy him? No, seriously, who?! "Snitches get stitches.", I evade his question and immediately turn to leave. Time sure flies, when you're in wonderland.
"We're back! We were in wonderland. It was wonderful. And full of wonders.", I excitedly greet double V. She looks surprised. Maybe she is overwhelmed by my radiance once again? Can't blame her, I'm pretty bright for a night guy. "Since I've been to wonderland, I've been wondering about something. Something related to hunters, and since the pretty reflection in front of me likes to gossip so much about them, maybe she knows more of their secrets?", I ask her with upturned eyes.
"Is that your excuse for wanting to see me? Well, I'm flattered that you came back so soon. What's your question?", VV purrs seductively.
"Righteo. So, why do hunters of the day hunt hunters of the night, instead of hunting the prey? Are they suicidal? Are they addicted to the adrenaline they get from hunting something bigger than them?", I interrogate her. "You mean, why hunters hunt kindred? Since they are humans, they're naturally afraid of becoming prey themselves. But aside from that, they also do it for religious reasons. And for some reason, their beliefs are, what makes them so dangerous. The stronger a hunter's beliefs, the stronger he is at fighting us. No one knows, why that is the case, but it is something you should keep in mind, if you must deal with them. And unless you have to get involved with them, you should avoid them like the plague.", VV gently explains to me.
Hey, hey, do you know this one: What happens if you add Christianity to James Bond?
Uhm, a stupid action movie, that no one wants to watch?
You get a seven with a cross! HAHAHA!
I don't get it…
Give it some time.
Yeah, whatever.
"Aaaanyways, I can't get sick, so I should be fine. Oh, but I'm allergic to the sun, so I better leave. Toodeloo." Outside of the club, I spot cab-man not too far away. Yes, I always wanted to be saved by a superhero, even if the villain is just a puny, approaching sunrise.