One broken collarbone, arm, a couple of bruised ribs and a twisted ankle later and Kent Alan Ryan had finally been dragged off me, for his part he had suffered what I hoped was a broken leg and jaw and a swollen nose, always good to go for the face with the vain Toreadors. I was in a crumpled heap on the floor impatiently waiting for my body to finish healing itself whilst Kent was seated on a battered red barstool shooting me glowers.

"Kent," Skelter spoke up, "Patty was talking too much and too loudly, once you stopped showing up and she couldn't get her blood fix she turned desperate and far too curious. If the Malk says she was the blabbermouth she probably was." How charming the amber eyed rebel was defending innocent me.

I heard Nines let out an exaggerated sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl. "I did ask her to silence whoever it was," he confessed, "they were drawing too much unwanted attention and you did abandon her Kent. Did you not think a blood starved ghoul might be a problem?"

I looked to Kent; someone had been a bad boy! The Toreador looked unconcerned, and there I had been expecting a sad face and some feigned emotion they were so famous for. "I suppose it's my fault," his grey stare fell on me, "what can I do to make amends then?"

"You could help out with something actually," Nines injected before I could make a request for some tinsel coated bunnies, "the Malk here wants to get back into Isaac's good books, maybe you could put in a word?"

"Isaac?" Kent gave me a look of suspicion and doubt that I was long becoming used to. Was the Baron too good for me or something? How rude, I was the unanimously elected queen of the tooth fairies, the princess of the goblins and I could release the Kraken if I so wished, silly Anarchs had no idea how special I was!

"He fell out with me," I admitted, "silly misunderstanding over a zombie keeper."

"Romero," Kent commented dryly, "what did you do to him?"

I grinned. "Made his night, he was deprived poor guy."

"He must have been if he hooked up with you," Skelter grumbled sardonically.

"So you had sex with Isaac's ghoul then," Kent remarked, "but why would that piss him off?"

"Well..." As much I did like Romero I was starting to feel some guilt over the matter, I missed Isaac, more than any of my minds had thought I could, curling up with him was different to being with anyone else, I enjoyed how emotional and open he was when we were in private, save for the white rabbit and the nosy elves of course. "Isaac and I-"

"Wait what?" This loud interruption came from Nines who immediately came over to me. "You and Isaac? Now Malk there's lies and then there's outright bullshit."

I frowned up at him. "It's true, I swear by Odin! Isaac welcomed me, he said my thoughts were beautiful and that I had a strange but wonderful outlook on the world," I had mostly considered his praise Toreador prattle at the time but now I missed it, "we were close, he even trusted me." Yes trust, fragile as a crystal glass, I had considered our relationship open, our trust vague at best, now I was wondering if perhaps I had misinterpreted that. I recalled how we had parted; I had not even told him the Hatter's news. The rose, such a pretty flower, so deceiving too with those sharp thorns, I had never like flowers, they always seemed snobby to me, oh look at me I have numerous petals and I'm so damn colourful, what the Hell have you got? Arms, really that's it? Well I can walk flowers so fuck you!

"Trusted you?" Nines was looking at me incredulously. "Does he know you're his highness' pet?" he mocked.

"Really? Because he never walks me or gives me biscuits, not much of a master, "I lamented. "The Baron knows I came from the prince, sent to find some silly Ventrue, got lost, no one ever takes a map these days."

"Missing Ventrue?" Nines' blue gaze deepened and he cocked his head back at Kent.

Kent shrugged. "First I heard but I haven't been to Hollywood in a while, I was at Santa Monica."

Nines gaze turned back on me. "Does Isaac know about this?" he queried.

"Never mentioned them, no one has, not even the birds or dwarves, strange really. Too many other things in star town, too many missing, maybe they all fell into a portal and dropped down to Neverland."

"Nosferatu most likely," Kent grumbled with a shudder of disgust.

"Who else is missing?" Nines demanded. There was an alarm in his eyes, not a ringing red bell disappointingly, just standard shock. Funny to think he had a phobia of missing people.

"Kine," I said calmly, "but then they will vanish just like my boots. I was investigating," I sat up, healed now, and puffed out my chest proudly.

"Riight," the number man doubted me again. "This could be bad with Ventrue missing," he muttered, "that dick in the tower might use it as an excuse, I'll bet that's exactly his intentions and you kid, you'll just be his instigator if you're not careful. He wants you to find some evidence to suggest the Anarchs are involved, then he'll have a propaganda spin on the whole thing and we will be in for trouble."

"Spin, spin!" I cheered enthusiastically. "Round and round," I stood up and twirled round the floor until my vision blurred. I stopped and stumbled with a giggle.

"Those Ventrue will need found," Kent spoke up, "last thing we need is their snobby kind thinking we've something to do with it and starting a revenge campaign, worse, if that baby face can link you to it he'll call a Blood Hunt," he warned Nines. "I'll have to head back to Hollywood and tell Isaac." He gave me a wilting glance. "Assuming you haven't."

"No I got star struck," I giggled again, pleased with my pun, "and forgot about them but shush, mustn't tell Mr. Cross or he'll get cross!" I let out a louder laugh. "He thinks I was hunting for them the whole time," I patted my nose proudly with one finger, "I have him stalled with rumours."

"I dread to think what of," Skelter murmured in his deep voice.

I bounced over to Kent and grabbed both his gloved hands tightly in mine earning myself another look of displeasure. What a pity displeasure, disgust and scorn can't be stuck to a pin board otherwise I would have quite the collection of rewards to show off to people. "Take me back with you," I begged, "Downtown is boring, no one wants to play and I miss the prickly land and I miss the Baron."

Kent looked at me coldly. "Who the Hell sired you and cursed us with you anyway?" he pondered.

"Moon boy," Skelter grumbled, "unsurprisingly, he paid for it though, that dictator had him executed, said we can't turn people without his holy permission." I heard him spit on the ground in disgust.

Moon boy? "So it was the man in the moon!" I realised with delight.

"Er no kid," Nines ruined my fun without a moment's hesitation, "though the way he got on he probably thought so. He was just a run of the mill Malkavian, mad in the head like the rest of you."

Ah a miller then, how quaint and fun! I could picture him now by the water wheel except I couldn't, not really, none of my minds could remember him save for faint flashes. Thin, blonde hair that looked like it had been pulled out in places...

"You should take her with you Kent," Nines said, "let Isaac deal with her. If she's been lying about him he can get rid of her."

"I suppose," Kent grumbled, "I'll let him know what she claims and remind him that she was sent to Hollywood by LaCroix in case she happened to forget that detail."

"I didn't," I protested angrily, "I told Isaac straight away, I said 'hi, I'm an agent of LaCroix here to spy on you only I don't want to spy on you because I like you!'" I smiled in what I hoped was a convincing manner. So it was not quite the truth but it was close, I had not hidden the fact that LaCroix had sent me to the home of the stars, although I had kept quiet on the whole finding out about ties between Isaac and Nines. "I'll have to speak with the Prince before I leave," I murmured, "so he doesn't get annoyed again."

"And so he doesn't send someone else to sniff around," Skelter suggested.

"That's true," Nines agreed, "kid, you could have your uses after all, better you in Hollywood than some overly curious Ventrue, especially if two have already disappeared, wouldn't want another one vanishing."

"Exactly!" I cried out gleefully though I had no idea what the Hell either of them was trying to say. I leaned close to Kent and beamed up at him. "Take me back with you and tell Isaac how good I am, how useful and fun and how sorry, I am sorry you know, deeply."

"Oh I'm sure," Kent sneered.

"Kent just take her," Nines said, "once you're there just give her over to Isaac."

"Yes, wrapped in some shiny paper with a big bow," I suggested, "make me nice and pretty for him."

"You can come only if you agree to keep quiet for the entire journey," he retorted stonily as he finally shook my hands off his.

"Okay!" I would keep quiet but the other voices might not be so agreeable, best not to mention that however.

"Right, we will leave tomorrow night then," he decided, "and you had better keep in line." He poked me hard in the ribs. "If not I will make sure you won't be healing from my next attack, Patty might have been a blabbermouth but she was still my ghoul, I don't have a problem with ending you."

"Just make sure it's a good end please," I said happily, "and be sure to save it, wouldn't want it lost."

He muttered a curse and rolled his lovely grey eyes. "Get the fuck out of here, I will see you here at seven tomorrow."

"Seven, seven, lucky seven!" I chirped before turning and skipping for the stairs. Time to go and tell the prince that I would be back in Hollywood to do his bidding and maybe slip a tidbit about Isaac and Nines being drinking buddies to him, I had to give him something otherwise he might just think me lazy or incompetent.

I hurried to the Prince, ignoring the growls in my stomach as I skipped down gloomy Downtown. At last escape, freedom from the plague bearers and release from the boring Goths, uptight Pisha and unexciting townspeople. Maybe when the plague was sorted Downtown would have some excitement in it again but until then Hollywood was the way to go. I glanced up at the skinny statues once more with suspicion, wondering if they had my sombrero as well.

"I know you took it," I snarled at them, "you just wanted to play with the tassels! Hat thieves!" I marched on in and shot my usual bright, slightly eccentric smile to the plump Chunk. "Good evening doughnut, open the magic doors and send me up!"

Chunk blinked at me, uncertain, but smiled anyway as I pushed just a little seduction and charm into my appearance. "Is he expecting you?" he queried.

"Oh yes," I assured. Technically true, I'm sure Mr. LaCroix did indeed expect me to visit before running off again.

"Okay, I'll buzz you up cupcake."

"Thanks lord of the refrigerator," I thanked before prancing past him to the lift that had just binged open. Inside I danced enthusiastically to slow elevator music before finally being granted access to the glorious top suite.

I sprang out merrily and found a gigantic sword poised at my throat. I looked up at my would be assailant and beamed happily at the sheriff. "It's Night of the Living Dead isn't it? I love that movie! Did you get to meet the great and awesome Ash?"

"Malkavian," Sebastian purred from over to the right by his desk, "what are you doing here?" I sensed him nod to the Sheriff and the blade was lowered.

"I have a name," I pouted.

He gave me a cool glance with his piercing blue eyes. "And what is it?" he queried in a stiff manner. Sebastian takes being dead to a whole new level sometimes, unless he's angry he seems to act a lot more inanimate than the rest of us. I don't know whether it's good or bad that the Prince and I are opposites, they say opposites attract but it's hard to get along with someone you have nothing in common with.

"Ariadne," I commented proudly.

He seemed caught between a smile and a frown and chose a calm and perfectly blank expression instead. "Right, not your birth name I imagine but I have heard worse from your lot. So, why are you here Ariadne? Do you have news for me?" His gaze became dangerous, almost feral, restrained merely by his Ventrue nature that forbade any animalistic behaviour within him; I knew there was a threat in it. Sebastian was obviously not up for playing games tonight, pity because I had been hoping to persuade him to play some Twister up on the rooftop of the tower. I glanced at the Sheriff and wondered if he could be persuaded, chances were he would cheat and use his wings. Yes I knew about them, they danced in my mind, thin, almost invisible membrane hovering translucently around his back, he came from across the waters, his true nature whispered to me, loudly sometimes but quiet at others. A voice in my head calling warning, Nagloper, Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom, unknown to me, forgotten to others.

I turned from him feeling Sebastian's blue gaze boring into me and wondered briefly if he knew how dangerous his pet was. "News, yes a telegram just for you!" I informed him brightly with a clap of my hands. "The number man and he with the barony do meet and greet, phonecalls, emails, they are quite the companions!"

"Really?" Sebastian gave a careful, tight smile. "And what do they discuss?"

Ah on dangerous waters now, must be careful not to get swallowed up by a hungry shark. I could not risk saying too much or Isaac might not be too happy with me and I was eager to get back in his good books. "Well, the Baron knows nothing of the missing Ventrue," I said truthfully, "nor does the Count." I grinned widely.

"The Count?" Sebastian echoed in puzzlement with a frown.

I nodded, proud of my new nickname. "He who counts numbers, the vampire with ties to the Baron!"

Sebastian gave a loud groan; clearly my humour was above him. "Do they merely claim not to have any knowledge over the Ventrue or is it the truth?" he wondered aloud.

I shrugged. "The number man seemed sincerely surprised to hear of absentees, truancy shocks even the rebel!"

"Is this all you have learned in this time?" he demanded with a hardened gaze. "I send you to Hollywood to find missing Ventrue, you disappear for months and return with no news about them or Isaac, apart from claims of an alliance with Nines for which you have no evidence, then I ask you to infiltrate the Anarchs and find out more of this alliance and you return, still with no proof?"

The Sheriff seemed to step behind me casting his long, heavy shadow over me. If I have been alive perhaps it would have sent a chill through me but as it was I was dead and merely found it annoying, although I was quite envious of its length and found myself wondering if I could maybe find Wendy and get her to sew me a nice long one. "The mad are rarely trusted," I commented serenely. "There is an alliance amongst the Anarch leader and the Baron of the stars. The missing Ventrue are unknown to any bloodsuckers in Hollywood, living or dead it seems, which is a mystery in itself but with many vanishing one might suppose they slipped under the cracks more easily. So many vanish, magicians, drug addicts, prostitutes, college students and more, more than usual. Perhaps a connection, perhaps not but Isaac is not spoiling for war, he would not take them."

"Really?" Sebastian queried bitingly. "Nor Nines, just to spite me or perhaps to be rid of some of their perceived enemies? Brujah are hardly known to be logical thinkers, they take action as it suits them, they would not think of the consequences. I know what they think of me and my close subjects, they view us as dictators to be overthrown, they would consider the elimination of my allies as a blow to my power."

I shrugged again. "Isaac is a Toreador, a clever one, he greets, he asks for tribute, he does not make vamps vanish and he would not have it happen in his land, it's not his way. He would send the nobles back to you. I think they are connected to the others missing, and I will investigate, maybe it will be Anarchs, maybe Tzimisce or Gangrel, dirty Sabbat, they do not think, they act rashly and violently, yes maybe they wander the starry streets causing chaos in chaos. I will find out, I promise and I will see justice done and deliver the truth to you Prince," I vowed.

Sebastian continued to scowl. "You have had months Malkavian, you are wasting my time, and I have been considering sending others in your place to find my Ventrue and find out what ties there are between Isaac and Nines. They are plotters wishing to take me down like Caesar, and like him I am expected to wrongly die for my people but I will not fall so easily! I have survived since the days of Napoleon, I have climbed to the ranks of Prince, I am not some neonate to be easily toppled over."

"Like the Tower of Piza," I murmured happily, "you lean but still you stand, stubborn thing." I moved into him and nuzzled against his chest. He stepped back with outspread arms, more in shock than anything else. "I like you Prince," I said sincerely, "though you did deal an end to my sire. Well..." I cocked my head back and flashed a fanged smirk to the Sheriff. "You did rather, because in his madness he angered the masked men. Yes..." I had a recollection of that evening, being made to kneel on stage, part of a great act, perhaps Sebastian's greatest performance to date. Ah he had so nobly spared me when the number keeper had protested, yes I could picture that, darling Isaac had been there, somewhere in the corner of my eye, unknown to me yet. My sire, this Moon Boy, up in ash and cinders, beheaded so swiftly with only a mad giggle as he tried to use some Hysteria. I smiled. "So many rules you have Prince," I mused, "so many lying in a broken pile, perhaps a hint, perhaps a suggestion."

"Your words grow dangerous," Sebastian growled as he mustered back some of his authority and shook off the nerves I had caused him.

"I think you need to enforce your rules more," I mused, "or abandon them altogether, it cannot be both ways. Anarchs, Sabbat, Camarilla, there is too much in this world, too many rivals and rivals within rivals. I will do my part though, yes," I leaned against him again, stretching my thin fingers up to grip his shoulders.

He gave a grunt of protest and I felt the tip of the Sheriff's unnecessarily large blade digging into the back of my neck. It was sharp and pressed hard enough to draw blood, I felt my neck grow damp and scented the sweet, hot nectar. It was too sweet, richer than a human's and not as fulfilling, they said if one drank of our kind one would receive the powers of their victim. I wondered if one would receive the madness too. Could I be purged of my insanity if someone sucked it out of me? "I will find the missing Ventrue," I murmured. I recalled Sebastian's description of them now, yes an image in my mind, a male and female, tall, toned blondes, pale with clear eyes, the male with green the female with grey, wispy, elegant creatures, blue blooded through and through but with the dangerous tint that all of us had. Predators, in their twenties when they had died, they went to Hollywood on business, hoped to cement an alliance between Sebastian and the uncrowned king of the sewers, the fallen golden boy. Had they made it as far as the Nosferatu or had they disappeared above ground?

"And you will get me proof of Isaac and Nines' partnership," Sebastian instructed coldly, "solid proof that I can produce when I am forced to call the Blood Hunt. A tie between them is too dangerous to be ignored," he lamented with a feigned sigh, "I will have no choice to stop it before it goes any further. I only wish for peace and justice amongst our kind, it is all I want and the Anarchs seek to shake it down unnecessarily, they will do more damage than harm to our kind." He looked down at me meeting my eyes with his own. "It was why, alas, your sire had to be sacrificed, if he were permitted to escape unpunished for creating you without permission who can say how many more vampires might spring up, unplanned, sired by Anarch, Sabbat and Camarilla alike. We would be taken over by these untrained neonates, they would be too many to be properly schooled and they would endanger us and themselves with their ignorance and numbers. The Kine would start to suspect. The change is a gift, a dark one mind and it must be thought out and considered carefully, people should not receive it at random."

I nodded, I did not miss Moon Boy anyway, I hardly remembered him. "And there is the risk of Thin-Bloods," I pointed out helpfully.

Sebastian's lips tightened together in a grimace. "Yes, a nuisance they are, too weak for anything," he grumbled. He shrugged my grasp off at last and my hands slipped from his shoulders down to grip his pale, icy hands. I took them in mine lightly and squeezed just once before releasing them.

"I take my time Prince, yes but patience is required," I tried to placate him.

He nodded, touching his brow briefly with his right hand before waving off the Sheriff at last. The sword tip finally left me but the scent of blood continued to plague my nostrils. My thirst was returning and growing. "Do you ever let yourself go Prince?" I wondered aloud. "Perhaps when you feed?" I suggested hopefully. "Do you bite hard into virgin necks and taste the screams with the blood and swallow down the fear? Or do you stick to emotionless plastic bags and deprive yourself of everything but a bland taste?"

He was frowning again but the spark of hunger was there in his eyes. "I feed as we all should," he said stiffly, "in a controlled manner, I take what I need but I do not kill, it is best not to sink so low into depravity. I drink from live Kine though."

"As you should," I murmured as I held back a shudder, I was so thirsty, so eager for that gushing hot life force. "I like the game, I like to lure the Kine to me, to have them calm, safe and completely ignorant, it makes it fun, their bodies are afraid and send the blood pounding to me but their minds are soft, my toys, my puppets. Do you feed alone or do others get to drink with you?"

"Usually alone," he admitted, "but there are the occasional exceptions. Hmm, it is getting close to the dawn, perhaps a snack before slumber, a reward for your promised services?"

Ah so the Prince had a brain then, seemed he knew full well what I was hinting at. I rubbed my head against him like a cat. "Yes, that would be much appreciated, although when I return I would like a nice shiny gold star."

He pulled back from me again, his body once more stiff, hardened like rigor mortis had set in, he was like Isaac, far too professional to be comfortable with such gestures. "I will have someone brought up for you then."

"For us," I murmured, "for us, let me sup at your table Prince."

"Well...I suppose it would be a symbol of your allegiance to me, yes, old-fashioned but suitable perhaps." Well if he wanted to view it that way I would let him, personally I just wanted to see him finally act like what he was, a goddamn vampire.

He walked back to his desk, leaned down to the intercom and pressed a button on it. "Clarise could you come up for a moment please? I have some files for you to sort out."

"Right away Mr. LaCroix!" came the cheery female's response.

He stood upright and gave me a cold smile. "Supper is on its way."

With a name like Kent Alan Ryan this guy deserved to be a character, I was always disappointed that he never showed up in the game to try and avenge his ghoul. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, trying to make my OC a little bit more sympathetic, though overall really she's just too mad to consider feelings, she does have a soft spot for Isaac though but who knows if that will stop her from doing things just for fun? I hope no one is too OC here, I'm trying hard to make Sebastian a little more sympathetic, I mean in the game I get his goals but he is a tool and much like Teresa he just goes about things the completely wrong way.

Anyway enjoy and always please read and review!