Isaac was furious but I was not sure why. I had returned to slumber by the baron's side for the dawn and when I had stepped close to him he had seemed to sniff me and recoil. Now he stood, back against the wall, as distant from me as he could be, looking at me with fury in his golden eyes. "How could you? You've never even met him before! Does it mean nothing to you?" He groaned and let out a weak, mocking laugh. "You're a Malkavian of course, you probably don't even understand, they all warned me..."

"I know I'm the crazy one but you're not making sense even to me," I said gently.

His gaze grew sharp and somehow angrier as he glowered at me. "You stink of my ghoul," he snapped. Ah so he was sensitive to smells.

"Don't you like the odour?" I queried innocently.

"Don't I..." He paused, seeming to splutter with disbelief. "Ignorant neonate!" he snapped. That word, that horrid word he reserved for all newcomers except for me until now. He seemed to compose himself, though a thin lipped frown remained on his face. "You need to go," he said stiffly, "you've angered Ash, and I don't know what you did to David Hatter but you've made V.V furious and now..." He sighed. "Well it doesn't matter. I should not have pandered to you; you're that baby faced prince's toy, go back to him."

"But I like it here," I whined with a scowl. "Why are you so upset? I didn't do anything to David Hatter, just helped him find some humour to get over his trauma, a little hysterics, that's all and Ash is happy when he's angry or depressed, and what's a little sex? Romero said he wasn't getting out much, I felt sorry for him, it's bad for humans to be deprived of certain things."

"Things?" Isaac growled. "A little sex? In Hollywood some of us have standards, perhaps that makes me a traditionalist but that's how I am."

"Standards? Really Isaac? You're just down the road from two strip joints, one of which you're beloved V.V runs," I pointed out with a smile. It did not help, he just seemed to frown harder and fresh rage blazed in his eyes.

"I should have known better than to think a Malkavian would understand," he complained haughtily. "You are best in Downtown with your own lowly kind, I'm sure your stuck-up prince doesn't care what you get up to so long as it doesn't thwart his goals. Mind you though, you've been here so long it's always possible he'll think you have turned traitor, he's always paranoid."

I shrugged. "His office has tiny mice in the walls and little fairies in the lights, they would make anyone paranoid."

He shook his head. "Well if you're not afraid of what he thinks go back to him then, it's time you did."

"Again with this? Isaac I don't want to leave, Hollywood is fun!" I protested.

"And fun is all it is to you then?" he queried savagely.

I gave a wide grin and nodded. "Well except when the elves steal my stuff," I admitted, "and when Ash throws me out of his club. I know those snakes are hypnotising people, he's just in denial about it."

Isaac gave another of his miserable sighs, Toreadors are always so dramatic. "You need to go," he repeated, "when the sun sets."

"Isaac," I whined, "I haven't even found the dwarves' treasure yet and I know there's something more than costumes in that theatre."

He looked at me suspiciously for a moment before replying. "That might be," he said carefully, "but it's not your concern. You're causing too much trouble here," he gave me a sad, almost pleading look, "and too much pain. You have to leave, if only for a while."

"For a while," I repeated moodily as I folded my arms and frowned. "Downtown's smelly though and Seb's probably still mad because I stole some curtains from his office to use as nets, although I did say that it was to catch the poltergeist in the Ventrue offices so he might be alright and then there was that thing with Strauss' sunglasses. I mean, why would a vampire need sunglasses unless he knows about the second sun too?" I looked at Isaac knowingly. "It's up there, waiting to burn us in the night."

"Of course," he said dismissively. "Well it's late now and I must retire."

"Alone?" I queried curiously. Well he might think it alone but I knew there was a white rabbit in his coffin, a strange one with compasses for eyes.

"Alone," he answered firmly before turning away from me and walking off.

"But I want your company," I protested.

He halted but did not look back. "Well you should have considered that before bedding my ghoul." He gave a shudder of disgust before finally leaving the room.

"Why?" I queried my other selves. "I was bored, what else was I meant to do?" I looked at the floor and then crouched down on it, moving around in a tight circle before finally lying down curled up against myself. Cats and dogs seemed to like sleeping this way and I so wanted to have some dreams about chasing sticks and running in parks. I drifted off easily.

When sunset came Isaac was up surprisingly early with me. He spoke little to me, just a brief farewell before he told me to get a taxi. With little else to say I obeyed, finding an all too familiar yellow cab parked on the other side of town. I had considered saying goodbye to Ash and Alex but then I remembered that the fairies would tell them, they liked to be helpful like that, and so I left without looking for them, though I was kind enough to chuck a few eggs at the Asp Hole en route. I knew Ash would appreciate the gesture.

I don't know how long the journey to Downtown L.A took; I was too occupied with making faces at the driver in the mirror. He was a strange shady eyed sort, I wanted to add his sunglasses to my modest collection, which included Strauss', but I was afraid to ask for them.

When we finally reached Downtown, parking outside Sebastian's less than humble Ventrue Tower, I was relieved to climb out of the taxi though I was not so happy to be back on Downtown's filthy, chewing gum and litter stained streets. It did not help that the prey here was disgusting too, consisting of sick hobos, STD filled club goers and the usual alcoholics and drug users, what they put in their system I could unfortunately taste. Downtown was a lit up, modern graveyard in more than one way, it was filled with tall, cement and glass mausoleums and crypts full of flashing neon lights and booming music. It was a wasteland that pretended to be full of life and energy, masquerading with clubs, posh hotels and fancy office blocks.

I had loved Downtown when I had first come to it, I had enjoyed the banter with the Anarchs, all those playful insults we had exchanged, I had had fun stealing Strauss' magic tomes and I had been happy spending time with the stern Sebastian, trying to make him smile. It had gotten boring though and I wanted Hollywood and its fallen stars back.

I stepped up to the Ventrue Tower figuring that Seb might not be happy if I did not announce my return. I gave the tall, thin, black statues my usual look of suspicion, I knew they came to life when no one was looking and stole people's hats off their heads. Hmm maybe they had taken my cowboy hat, maybe it wasn't the elves? Perhaps they had come to Hollywood and thieved it? "I know what you did," I assured them calmly before I pushed open one of the glass doors and stepped in.

There in a large, cold room of gleaming black marble sat the wonderful, round and squishy Chunk at the desk, trying to seem important when he was as much use as the doughnuts he was so fond of. In front of him sat the two computer screens he was usually pretending to study and behind him in neon turquoise glowed the proud name of LaCroix. Smug bastard my darling prince.

"Greetings and salutations Chunk my darling dinky twinkie," I greeted brightly as I waltzed up to him.

"Greetings pumpkin," he retorted with a grin of joy. Poor man, he got so little action even a mad woman turned him on. "Are you here to see the boss?"

"Sadly," I confessed, "I wish I could just speak with you but then Sebby would get upset."

"Er...well my shift finishes soon," he remarked hopefully, "maybe we could grab a coffee?"

"Oh I wish but I have some business regarding a griffin," I said woefully.

"Griffin...right." He gave a nervous laugh. "Well go on ahead then, I'll buzz you up."

I walked to the right of the desk, up the steps and through the security gates, which as far as I could tell never seemed to be on. So far I had managed to bring in a shotgun, a pistol, a sword, and an axe without question. I had considered that maybe the hobgoblins living in the walls had helped me but now I just thought it was a case of very lax security. The lift binged and I stepped into and pushed the PH button, only just resisting an urge to run my fingers down all the wonderful numbers.

Up and up to the penthouse and then the lift binged again. I skipped into the large, glorious, golden office humming as I did, taking care to glance out the tall windows carefully for signs of the griffin. He was a cunning creature, always just out of sight but I thought tonight might be the night I caught him.

Sebastian stood up from his ivory desk with the gold leaved legs and frowned at me. I knew inside he was jumping for joy to see me, he just couldn't show it in front of his creepy Sherriff.

I paused before the desk and glanced up at the towering Sherriff. "Texas Chainsaw Massacre?" I guessed. He grunted. I knew he had been in at least one horror movie, I knew it but I still hadn't guessed which one. I had tried in vain to find him on the Hollywood computer database and then I had looked at some dvds in the Sin Bin when Alex had advised I go there for movies but all I had found was some rather disturbing one involving a llama. "Oh! Oh!" I snapped my fingers and jumped up and down excitedly. "I've got it, you're Frankenstein's Monster!"

"Enough," Sebastian snapped moodily. "Where have you been? I spare your life, I help you find a home, I provide you with money and you just disappear," he snarled. I had to wonder if he had rolled on a hedgehog in his coffin or something he was in such a bad mood.

"I would like to disappear," I murmured excitedly as I turned to him, "but I'm not very good at Obfuscating."

"No?" he queried sarcastically. "You know I wouldn't waste my time if I were you," he warned. Ah always the general, he had to sound tough, had to keep up airs of appearance and all that but I knew deep down he wasn't really mad with me, well maybe not entirely.

"I missed you Mr. Crow," I said sincerely, "quite a lot."

"It's LaCroix," he snarled with a furious glower.

"Right, I know it's been a while but I was busy, researching for you." Sometimes a lie went down better than the truth.

"Researching what?" he growled. "I sent you to Hollywood to find out if Nines was conspiring with Isaac and where that treacherous Gary is hiding, did you do that?"

"Oh yes um...Nines and Isaac have big plans, yes they want to steal a prince," I glanced at the Sheriff out of the corner of my eye, "who's guarded by a big scary monster and there was something about mushrooms."

"What?" Sebastian gave me an incredulous look. "They want to what?" He did not look like he was buying my story.

"Oh and Gary does have those missing Ventrue!" That was right, two Ventrue had gone missing whilst in Hollywood, I was meant to find them but I had gotten so distracted with movies, cuddling up with Isaac and annoying Ash that all of my minds had forgotten that little detail.

"He does? Are you sure?" LaCroix grew further suspicious but this time he looked like he might be buying it. "If he does this could mean war or a Blood Hunt at the very least." Blood Hunt always sounded like such a tasty thing but it never seemed to be.

"Well, I didn't see them, it's a rumour really," I admitted, "people said things about vampires matching their descriptions wandering through town and then there was talk of people disappearing underground, two attractive blondes going down an alleyway, then screams following and no one's seen them since. I tried to look but the sewers are clogged up and tunnels have collapsed, I couldn't find them." I was quite proud of my lie now, it sounded like a good story to me. In truth I did not recall hearing anything about any Ventrue, which was probably unusual in itself since Ash and Isaac were both happy to continuously gripe about Ventrue and the Camarilla.

Sebastian sighed and touched his brow wearily, so like Toreadors with their feigned human gestures these Ventrue. "You have to be sure; you were there for weeks how can you not be sure?" He glared at me with those beautiful, piercing, grey eyes.

"Well Isaac doesn't really like to talk about the Camarilla," I admitted, "and neither does anyone else, or the Nosferatu, they're too gross for the Toreadors." I quite liked them, I always wondered if the lumps on their skin would burst and if hundreds of mini Nosferatu would come spilling out of them.

"But he talked to or about Nines?"

Ah back to the number man again, hmm if I said too much here the Anarchs of The Last Round bar wouldn't be too pleased. "Well he mentioned six, seven and eight too but nine came up in conversation, briefly. I didn't see him there though, I think they were on the phone, vampires still use the phone right?"

"Of course we do!" Sebastian snapped. "Look if they are planning a coup against me I need to know!" Touchy tonight, why was everyone so touchy?

"Isaac kept quiet about things like that around me, wasn't too sharing, I did my best but for some reason he didn't trust me." I beamed innocently at Sebastian. "I wouldn't let you down, I want to get you a crown, remember? And I like your shiny tower and your authority." I smiled. "It's nice to see people in control."

"Good," he said, relaxing a little at last. "I suppose you can't be faulted for your mad state, annoying as it is, still it makes you unreliable, I need hard evidence before I can take action. If I tried to defend my position now they would just accuse me of being paranoid and ruthless, no, it's not good enough," he muttered. "Still, you were there for so long, what were you doing in all that time?"

"The Baron had me doing errands," I blurted out, "said it was custom for visitors to show him some sort of token, personally I think he took advantage of me," I grinned again, "quite a bit of advantage but he's the bad baron, can't argue with that."

Sebastian frowned slightly. "I see, so when you were meant to be helping me you were helping him instead, is that it?" Uh oh.

"Not quite," I said hurriedly, "just that I was in his territory, trying to get close to him for you, but it wasn't happening unless I did him favours. It didn't really work in the end because he still didn't trust me though, remember that?"

"Right." Again that careful look of suspicion, time to pull my mad face to fool him. I crossed my eyes and let my tongue loll limply out of my mouth. "Children of Malkav," he grumbled, "such insight really is wasted on all of you, you could know so much." Fooled. "Right, well now that you have returned maybe you would like to do something to get you back into my good books as it were."

"Oh yes," I purred and leaned up against him, prompting a grunt from the Sheriff, "I would love to be in your good books Mr. LaCroix."

He recoiled with a slightly nervous fluster that almost made me laugh. "Right." He made a point of fixing his black tie back into place. "Well Nines is in town and since you mentioned he might be plotting with Isaac to overthrow me, naturally I would like some confirmation on that. Check out The Last Round bar and see what you hear from him and the other Anarchs, they might be willing to share with you."

"Okie doke general!" I saluted him and turned and marched out of the office.

Outside I spotted some men in biohazard gear standing by a corner muttering incoherently to each other. I had once had great fun chasing one of them down an alleyway, he hadn't been able to run too fast in such a heavy suit, nor had the rubber done much to save his neck from my fangs. So there was still some sort of plague in town then, Strauss had alluded to it before I had stolen his sunglasses.

My thirst was starting again, it was harmless for the moment, just a low almost unnoticeable growl but it would grow and grow until it forced me to answer it. I glanced about the streets for a worthy victim but there was none, the streets were quiet, the plague and growing crime kept them that way, people huddled together at Club Confession, hoping to be saved by unity, the need to escape their lives was too strong for them to resist, they had to escape their prison homes and their dead end jobs by partying, drinking hard and doing drugs, even if it meant risking death in other ways.

I headed to The Last Round and wondered if I would be attacked on sight or if the violent prone Anarchs might be interested in talking for a change. Hot-blooded Brujah most of them, a tough, punk styled clan, rebels who had not let go of their teenaged styled desires for freedom and justice. They were all about fighting the power, communists really, not that they liked that comparison. It was amusing really that Isaac was an Anarch, he seemed so structured, calm and intelligent compared to these barflies, and he was a man of control and power whilst Nines, the hailed leader of the Downtown Anarchs shunned power, it made him uncomfortable, nervous even.

The Last Round looked as hostile and unwelcoming as ever, there were bars on all the windows, the sign was aged, in need of redoing and the green door was filthy and firmly shut. Rusting shutters hung on either side of the window, open only because they were so rusted they were no longer capable of closing, music boomed out through the thin panes of dirty glass and through the cracks in the door. It was so more impenetrable than the Anarchs themselves.

I pushed open the door and entered to the booming music, the place stank of alcohol; a few punk styled humans lingered at the bar whilst others played pool. This place did welcome mortal patrons; the fat barman was a mortal after all, it was a way of both making business and concealing its real purpose as a meeting place for the rebels. After all LaCroix and his minions had to obey the Masquerade just like everyone else, they could not come in here and attack the Anarchs without risking vampire exposure to the mortal patrons, it just would not do.

I walked past the bar and there in her usual spot, lurking in the shadows just before the stairs was fiery eyed, army dressed Damsel, a redheaded sharp tongued bitch who I had to adore. She immediately glared at me with her eerie clear, yellow tinged eyes and snarled, "oh look who's back, if it isn't LaCroix's bootlicker."

"And look who still has a period even in death," I retorted brightly with a smirk.

She scowled, clenched her fists and immediately swore. "Whatda want Cammy?" she demanded moodily.

"You're too cute to be fierce," I informed her sincerely. It was true; Damsel was small, skinny and as adorable as a puppy in a Santa hat. Her green beret, her t-shirt with a soldier within an orange rectangle in the centre and her green cargo pants, made it look like she playing dress-up rebel as opposed to making her actually look like a genuine one. "Do you want to play skipping or hopscotch later?"

"Beat it fucking Cammy whore!" she snapped angrily.

I looked hurt. "No one ever wants to play with me," I grumbled before turning to the wooden stairs and heading up to where Nines hopefully was. Upstairs amongst some chairs and round red tables that had seen better days the three amigos lurked, standing against the walls at different points, hunched over and looking like stereotype tough guys.

Skelter, tall, black and buff, Jack, beardy and biker like and Nines, clean shaven, half-punk half-ex office boy. "Did you miss me?" I asked them all loudly and brightly.

Skelter stood upright, made a fist with one hand and punched it into his other palm. "You," he snarled, "do you want me to show your ashes to the door?"

"Well it would be rude if no one did," I retorted truthfully.

Skelter played it typical brass, tough and none too bright, a front for people who only understood fists, they I envied, I've always wanted to talk to my feet, to understand why they won't co-ordinate sometimes. Inside Skelter was smart, he knew our history and our curse better than most, he understood that the blood whispered to us, called to us and commanded us; he was one of the few other beings I had met who knew and understood that.

"You know you might have been gone for a while but none of us have forgotten the flyers you stuck all over here," he snarled.

Ah the joys of Obfuscate, helping vampires sneak around other people's domains to cause mischief since the dawn of vampirism. "Me? I did nothing," I protested innocently. "It was a set-up, a fix, I'm being controlled!"

He looked at me with a heavy scowl, his amber eyes fierce and cold. "Uh huh, so someone else stuck up posters saying 'Kiss LaCroix's Shiny Boots'?" he queried sardonically.

"I would say so, so," I retorted brightly. "I don't even think he wears boots, they're shoes, definitely shoes, yes they talk to me sometimes, they're nice shoes, I wouldn't insult them by calling them boots."

"Shit your mind is a mess," he said stonily before shaking his head.

"Really because I just did the dusting and sweeping yesterday," I retorted forlornly. Sometimes it was just so damn hard to keep it clean.

"Alright kid, what do you want already?" This weary question came from Nines, who had just walked up to us.

"Some spoons, a new bed, maybe a new jacket," I answered as I pondered my wish list, "Oh and a unicorn, definitely a unicorn. Or would that be, an unicorn? I've always hated grammar; make it two unicorns, grammar solved." I grinned happily at Nines and he frowned back.

"I don't know if you intentionally piss people off or if you really can't help it because you're mad," he muttered.

"Maybe I work for LaCroix because I'm mad," I suggested tentatively.

He cocked a dark eyebrow up at that suggestion and seemed to contemplate it. "Maybe. So are you here on his business, that it?"

"Do you know the Baron?" I queried suddenly with an eager look. "I came from the Baron."

"The Baron? Do you mean Isaac?"

I nodded. "We're close," I assured.

"You and Isaac?" He regarded me in disbelief as Jack let out a sudden, loud snicker. "Somehow I doubt that, can't see Isaac hanging out with someone like you."

I frowned. "That's rude and offensive. Besides, I can't lie; my nose will grow if I do."

He shook his head with a somewhat bemused smile. "Kid you really are crazy."

"Well alright I might have made Isaac a little mad," I confessed, "no big deal but he's grumpy, I thought if you knew him maybe you could tell him I'm sorry."

"You made him mad? Now that I'll believe but you're sorry? Just as sorry as you claimed to be about egging my car?" I liked to egg things, the yolk and white mixed together so prettily.

"I was sorry about that," I said solemnly. Sorry because they had been phoenix eggs, so the fairies had told me.

"My ass," he said so bluntly.

"I am sorry," I repeated with as much sincerity as I could muster, "could you please tell Isaac?"

He frowned at me and gave me his usual scrutiny. "I don't know kid, why should I help you?"

So he obviously did have contact with Isaac then, big surprise. This I could tell LaCroix without any real problem surely after all Isaac was the nearest most powerful Anarch there was, of course Nines would be in contact in them, everyone suspected that surely so what would be the big deal if I confirmed that for LaCroix? As for the conspiring to overthrow him? Well that I would maybe keep quiet about, perhaps best to focus on the vanished Venture instead.

"Because I've given you so much fun during my short undead life and for free!"

"Fun?" Skelter sneered sardonically.

"Kid if anything you owe us for your 'fun' not the other way round," Nines retorted.

I scowled everyone always seemed to want something; generosity just did not exist amongst the murderous bloodsuckers. "Well if I do something to you will you tell Isaac he's the crazy one and that his life isn't worth living er...dying? Hmm..." I paused trying to consider the correct term.

"Uh huh," Nines muttered impatiently with a roll of his pale blue eyes.

"Just tell him I'm sorry and that his life um undeadness will be boring without me and that I'm already bored without him."

"Right." Nines exchanged a look with Skelter who shook his head and waved his hands dismissively.

"She's LaCroix's bitch," he pointed out unhelpfully, "and her mind is a cobweb of madness," oh I liked that metaphor, "she might screw us over unintentionally."

Jack let out a loud laugh and at last came over to join our small party. Pity we had no balloons or cake, I missed the taste of cake, especially upside down cake but where's the fun if it's not upside down? Right side up is just so conformist. "Kid you are a handful," he barked at me with a smirk, "troublesome but entertaining alright." He gave Nines a glance. "I think you should give her a chance, you never know she could be useful, she has potential."

"And if she's not useful?" Nines queried calmly.

"Well then she'll probably get destroyed trying to help," Jack retorted followed by another mocking life.

"I'm not that bad," I grumbled.

"Nothing personal kiddo."

"I'm pretty sure I'm of age as well," I said pointedly, "at least I think, I couldn't find my ID and women so rarely know their age." I sighed. I was twenty something I knew that, I vaguely recalled Sarah; she looked twenty-two, twenty-three maybe... Well that was alright for Sarah but what about me? I was Ariadne now, wasn't I? Was Ariadne twenty-two, twenty-three or just simply without age? Ageless?

"Wonderful," Skelter remarked dryly. "You Malkavians are all the same, you would forget your own heads if it were possible."

I gave him an interested look, now there was a thought, how fun it would be to remove one's head, especially at Halloween and how interesting the night might be to go off without it or would it be dull since one would be subjected to only seeing the room one's head had been abandoned in? No wonder I had so many minds, just the one could not deal with all these thoughts, they were just too many and complex. I felt sorry for those who had only one poor mind to struggle with such a burden.

"Right," Nines said in his authoritarian way. He tried to be one of the plebs, easygoing, reluctant to be leader but there was definitely some part of him that was in control, the rebel that was tired of being under someone's heel and wanted to take back the power. "I will put in a good word to Isaac about you if you do something for me. Word is amongst everything else going wrong in this city that there's just a little too much talk of the supernatural going on amongst the Kine. They're getting a little too close to comfort to things they shouldn't be, specifically us. Now really you think the lofty Sebastian and his uptight followers might sort this mess out but it doesn't seem to be of concern to the Camarilla.

Go to Club Confession, most of the chatter seems to be going on there, and find out the source and silence them if you can. Be warned though, they've already drawn hunters to town, which is the last thing we need."

Why did I always seem to get chores? Spy on Nines, find the missing Ventrue, find out who was kidnapping and murdering people, steal the cocktail umbrellas from Vesuvius, find out who had stolen the cocktail umbrellas from Vesuvius, and now find out who was talking a little too much to Kine about vampires.

"Okay well for that you had better get Isaac to forgive me and welcome me back with open arms and I want three sparkly ribbons as well."

"What for?" Nines asked in a baffled manner.

Skelter frowned and shook his head. "Why do you ask?"

I grinned widely. "To lure the griffin, he likes shiny things."

"Why do I ask?" Nines muttered. "Right fine kid, you make the rumours about us stop and it's a deal."

"Yay!" I clapped my hands in a delight before turning from them and hurrying out of the club. I was thirsty now and I needed to satiate my growing thirst before it got out of control.