Apologies for the ridiculous delay just been busy moving houses and working loads but life's settled now. So anyway, as always thanks for the reviews and favs, they are all appreciated!

"So after all this you are telling me a Malkavian Sabbat took my allies and murdered them?" Sebastian queried doubtfully as he looked at me with mistrustful grey-blue eyes.

I grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes quite the fiend but Isaac and the others dealt with him and send you their condolences. The Baron said to say he only wished he could have known the Ventrue were there then they might not have fallen into such ill luck." It was a half-truth, more Kent had said to say that the Baron had offered such amusing sentiments.

Sebastian's frown deepened and his stare took on a warning edge. "Malkavian I hope you are simply reporting from that false dictator and not trying to goad me."

"I say only what he wished me to," I retorted as innocently as I could.

We were in Sebastian's office, and here I had stood for over an hour now reporting back the loss of the Ventrue and the execution of a Malkavian Sabbat who had kidnapped Kine and Kindred alike to experiment upon them. It was obvious Sebastian did not want to believe me but what choice did he have? I could tell from his reactions that he had heard nothing to the contrary and could think of no reason as to why I would lie to him. Unless perhaps he had a ball of eight to tell him otherwise, there were so many drawers in this room for such a magic bauble to be kept.

His loyal sheriff lingered nearby casting a warning shadow upon me, daring me to speak false and anger the Prince. "And what of his alliance with Nines? Any evidence of that?" he snarled.

"Oh just some hints but no proof alas," I murmured sorrowfully, "the Baron is too clever for me and too untrusting."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed and he stood up from his desk to glower at me. "Well then what useful news do you have? Anything?" he snarled. "Or have you just been wasting all this time?"

"I found out what happened to the blond children of Veddhartha," I retorted defensively. It wasn't my fault Alex had found them first.

Sebastian raised one golden eyebrow and gave me a quizzical look before continuing. "Yes but that's all you have done, you were supposed to bring me proof of Nines' and Isaac's allegiance! Unless," he paused and looked at me like a hungry shark, "unless you deliberately found none, perhaps you spent all that time in Hollywood for other reasons."

I shook my head with a look of surprise. "Oh no my Prince, the only games I am good at are checkers and battleships, you spared me, I owe everything to you, you plucked me from my sire's ashes and educated me in my ignorance, to you I am loyal," I said gently with a small smile.

His gaze remained suspicious but I could see him wavering.

"Let me continue to prove it," I implored him, "send me on another task." Yes I needed distraction, take my minds off Alex, poor Alex, and ensure that dear LaCroix knew I was on his side, at least until Isaac deemed the alliance useless. Ah but it was all so complicated, perhaps my minds and I should take a vacation.

He looked thoughtful for a moment and his scowl lessened slightly. "Very well," he said in his matter-of-fact voice, "perhaps you do deserve another chance, something even you cannot mess up I think. I need you to go to Santa Monica and find a Gangrel named Beckett, tell him I wish to request his services for a case, which I think will be of interest to us both."

"Ooh how exciting," I enthused happily.

"Yes, if he prompts you for information tell him it concerns a Noddist relic of value and importance."

"Noddist?" I echoed.

The Prince touched his brow wearily with one hand and nodded. "Yes, do not concern yourself with what it is, just find Beckett and tell him. If you really need help my ghoul Mercurio should be able to assist, although he is dealing with other business for me so it would be easier if you could just do this yourself."

"Yes sir Mr LaCroix!" I said enthusiastically. I saluted, turned and skipped out of the office before he could question me further. Down the elevator, past my greedy guard and out to the cool, poisoned streets of Downtown. Ah but I had just got here, perhaps some catch ups first, maybe find the gnomes who made sugar and perhaps the many tentacle beast that dwelled deep down beneath the earth in the streams of shit and water. Yes, yes, so much to do, first to my darling Anarchs, they must miss me so much!

I stopped on my way to The Last Round to prey on an unsuspecting hobo. Their blood tasted thick and sour and I broke from them early to vomit it back up in a hot spray on crimson. Disgusting, vile taste! So the plague was still in town then. I shuddered, glowered at the dazed soon to be dead wanderer of trashcans and continued on my way. I would have to find a more sophisticated feed, perhaps at The Empire Arms Hotel.

As usual The Last Round was filled with questionable patrons and loud, pounding music that was without style and words, there was only a roaring accompanied by a heavy electronic beat and perhaps the strings of overplayed guitars.

"Cammy," dearest Damsel greeted me with a frown and a snarl, "what are you doing here?"

I smiled back, ah how I had missed our tête-à-tête. "I came to say hello," I informed her, "to speak of the man in the tower, and make murmurs with the number man."

"Murmurs about what?" she snarled. "Kent has already told us about the Sabbat killer in Hollywood and that prick's plans to unite himself with the Nosferatu, what do you have to say, huh? Can't imagine it's anything worth listening to."

"As I said, words from Rapunzel without the hair, high in the tower watching all," I commented happily. "Chill out Girl Scout, you won't sell cookies with that attitude!" Before she could respond I scurried up the stairs. I found Kent lounging comfortably on a chair with two half-clad army vixens lingering nearby, Skelter stood by the stairs, ever alert, whilst Jack lingered in a corner and Nines posed against a wall. The rebel leader tried to look casual but I knew he was putting on a tough pose, perhaps to earn some of Kent's attention.

"What do you want Malk?" Nines demanded frostily.

I looked at him and grinned. "I'm here with information!" I squealed happily.

"I doubt that," he commented coolly. "Kent has already told us about the problems in Hollywood. Did you report back to your master?"

I nodded happily. "Yes I told high highness of the Sabbat killer and the loss of his poor Ventrue."

"It's a pity you couldn't have sorted it out sooner," Nines scolded.

"Why?" I queried curiously. "I mean the lights and the unicorns, it was all so distracting and zombies, yes don't forget the zombies!"

"Maybe your precious prince has let you think he was happy to wait for your crap and swallow it but he wasn't. He doesn't need evidence he just needs hearsay, there have been rumours all over this city about Anarchs taking out Ventrue, innocent travellers of course," he sneered. "Now we have those loyal to that bloody Camarilla targeting us, three of our own have already disappeared. If you had just told us sooner, if the missing Ventrue had been nipped in the bud, if we'd known to find evidence but no, maybe you didn't think that would sit well with your prince."

I glanced at Kent but he avoided me, turning his head up to one his admirers and smiling at her instead. "I am loyal to Isaac," I said calmly, "I go to the prince because the Baron willed it and Kent." I looked at him pointedly for a reaction but he gave me known, obviously the vixen was wearing the girdle of Aphrodite and had him ensnared.

Nines scowled at me. "You claim you do things for Isaac but I'm not ready to trust that just yet Malk. Look, you could've helped us sooner but you didn't, that makes you a liability not an ally but so long as you don't blunder anymore or think to say the wrong thing to your prince then we won't have a problem with you. Just stay away from us and keep your affairs out of ours. It's not good getting information from someone when it's delayed and usually tainted with rubbish, I'd rather be in the dark than brought into your kind of light."

I looked to Kent again, waiting for him to jump to my defence but he was busy with snogging the other vamp who was beside him whilst the first watched with a jealous gaze. "Well I only told Mr. Cross what happened," I remarked in a hurt tone. "He wasn't happy but he believed me."

"Of course he did kid," Nines said dryly. "I don't know if you're naive, really clever or just plain mad sometimes. Maybe you believe him, maybe you don't, maybe you just pretend to. This is the problem with you, no one can trust what you say and maybe that's not your fault, maybe it is, who knows? In this war though we can't have you on our side, sorry. So if you want to play neutral, good, if you want to go back to licking his majesty's boots fine but if you cross the line and makes things bad for us we'll come for you. That being said, thanks for your help, don't trust his highness and get out while you still can kid."

Dismissed then? Cast out from the army before the war? Why though? Were my flamboyant ideas too much for the Anarchs? Were they simply racist Brujahs who had problems with Malkavians? Ah but then Kent was a Toreador and evidently welcome to the cause. Had he not been with me in Hollywood? Had he not been slow in solving the mystery of the disappearances? Was it not me who had found the truth? Why then was I punished with exile? Ah but I was a martyr, a scapegoat, they were frightened because I could see the goblins.

"Well I'm going to the Lady of the Sea," I told them chirpily, "but perhaps in the future we can be friends again." I grinned before turning and prancing down the stairs.

"Have fun mad bitch?" Damsel leered at me.

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, though not as much as I would've liked dear ginger fighter, so off to moon, sand and sea!" I hurried from her, the Anarchs didn't want me here then I wouldn't be here. I crouched and obfuscated, for a moment no one would see me. Ah there were the voices, the low mixed murmurs, young, old, female, male, languages old and new. One slightly more prominent than the others, a male, an antediluvian, a sire, a master. I debated listening to him but I didn't have the patience, so I thrust his voice back into the others, one among the many.

I whispered in the ears of punks wandering past, giggled at the mad mumbling bag ladies and blew gently in the ears of the students. They all whirled round in surprise with wide eyes looking for someone who wasn't there before scowling at the companions as if they were the ones playing pranks.

I stood up and lost my disguise when I reach The Empire Arms. When I strode in I was greeted with the usual look of distain from the dark haired clerk but he said nothing as I headed to the restaurant. I could hear a singer playing, a female, no doubt the raven haired regular who couldn't get a gig elsewhere. She wanted to be a rock star; her posh parents had sighed and given her a job singing in their hotel instead. I followed her siren voice, too soft for the rock vocals, loud yes but not deep, not a yell, no she would never fulfil her dreams. She was there in a red dress, largely ignored by the alcoholics shuffling from the bar trying to gossip over her, to them she was nothing but an annoyance. I eyed the patrons hungrily, all snobs, all with luscious dark secrets but none as seductive as the singer.

I darted out a door to the right and headed down an empty corridor until I came to a bolted door. With my hand lock pick and some force I made sharp work of it. Here was her small domain, a mimic of the rooms of the real stars, a storage room as well as a dressing room. There was a mirror on the wall with a card for 'Our Little Star' nestled against it, a rack of dresses hung carelessly on wire hangers, and discarded cardboard boxes lingering across the floor. I occupied the only seat and waited.

The fairies did my work and called her to me, their tinkling tones plagued her ears, tormenting her until she silenced her voice and came to the door. I watched as the door at the top of a small set of metal steps opened my weary raven haired beauty wandered in with a frown. She closed the door, halted and looked at me with alarm and curiosity.

I stood up and grinned, too petite too be dangerous, too weird to be safe. She did not know what to think. "Come to me," I purred with as much seduction as I could manage. "Come." My thirst was strong; it crept into my voice, set an unwanted edge to it.

She hesitated and I saw the fairies exchange puzzled looks before they sung harder.

"Come now singer, night time dreamer," I called gently with a soft, promising smile.

"Who are you?" she demanded uneasily as she descended slowly, half-reluctant but half-willing. "What are you wearing?" Her eyes flashed with distain making mine burn with annoyance.

Insult my outfit? How dare she, the finest elves had made my hat! I snarled, I was thirstier than I realised. Was Xander's influence still lingering on me or I had just simply ignored my thirst for longer than planned? "You're beautiful," I praised when I saw her eyes widened, "a siren, a Muse, Apollo's own divine voiced servant, your voice calls to me."

"Really?" A dark eyebrow rose a notch in doubt.

"Truly, it's different, it's seductive, I come here often you know and your voice stays with me through the nights, it's unforgettable."

She stepped down, yes closer, off the steps. I closed the distance, I reached for her and she shrank back again. Impatient I simply pounced, springing onto her and sinking my fangs in, ignoring her yelp of protest and pain. Soon she would be silent and go under, yes she was stilling already. Then there was a shake, a jerk of protest, a muffled cry. I held fast, sank my fangs in deeper and sucked at the hot nectar that drifted up.

Once sated, I released her, setting her down in her chair and leaving her to her dreams. Full, I departed for the room and out to the cool, poisoned streets of Downtown. I considered staying, visiting Pisha for fun and Venus but I couldn't, something in me hurt, there was a wound, one I annoyingly couldn't see. I looked down at myself and frowned. "You're tricky self," I scolded, "always playing games."

"Still talking to yourself then Malk?"

I did not look to the speak; I simply disregarded him and obfuscating.

"Malk," he scorned, "that only works on the weak minded and those who haven't already detected you."

I clapped my hands over my ears and scurried forward, heading back to the Ventrue Tower where my yellow carriage awaited.

"Malk come on!"

"You're talking to the wind," I whispered, "talking to air! Can't hear you!" I hurried on in a crouch, noting all the puzzled stares. All for him of course, he was talking to himself, no one could see me.

"Malk you're drawing attention!" he snapped moodily.

"Stop following the wind," I hissed back. I glanced back; saw his look of embarrassment, his annoyance at the stares. I then turned forward and there he was in my path. Damn there speed! Well I was still unseen, invisible, time to take advantage. I charged at him, I would knock him over and laugh as he blinked stupidly at nothing.

He grabbed me, ruining my attack and shook me hard. "Ariadne knock it off," he scolded, "I can see you alright?"

I dropped my hands from my ears and glared up at him. "Oh now you can see me?" I sneered. "I thought there was a spell on me, perhaps it is temperamental, silly wizards."

"What?"

"Maybe it restricts itself to round without followers, but then the number man could see but ah he must have special vision perhaps." It was always possible I supposed, Nines was strong, and it would be just like him to withhold some special gifts.

"Oh." Kent's grip on me slackened slightly and his grey eyes shone with a hint of guilt. "Look Nines made up his mind, I tried to dissuade him, said you were mad but harmless but he just doesn't want to risk our business with you. There was no point in me saying anymore, it would have been a silly argument."

"It's alright, there are followers and doers, you are just a sheep he of the three names, I understand."

"That's not funny," he snarled. "Look what could I have said? You are mad, you did delay telling us about the Ventrue, it is difficult to tell whose side you're really on and even if you mean to be on Isaac's sides maybe one of your many minds would rather side with Sebastian, who can say? We can't run the risk!"

"Then don't," I said calmly as I shrugged him off. "Go back and play battle soldier, I shall go and moonbathe of the shores of Santa Monica, a deserved holiday I think."

"What business do you have there?" he demanded curiously.

I tapped my nose and smirked. "Ah but you don't want to hear the business of LaCroix anymore, I could be lying, we could be jesting." I laughed, turned from him and ran. I reached the taxi, flung open the door dramatically and threw myself across the leather seats like a wild runaway or perhaps a heroic thief. "To the Lady of the Sea!" I commanded as I sat up and shut the door. "And quickly."

"Yes quickly please, there are only a couple of hours until sunup."

I turned to Kent with a hateful glare. "Get out, back to your pinup dames soldier! You don't want to play anymore, take your ball and go home then, don't follow me," I snapped at him.

He gave a groan and leaned across the seats to me. "I'm sorry," he said moodily, "alright? I am sorry, I should have stuck up for you even if it meant getting laughed at and bullied by the others. You found out who the killer was for us and you have done your best, in your own wayward way, to help Isaac. Maybe you like that arsehole LaCroix, maybe you don't, but there's no evidence you're trading secrets with him so Nines shouldn't be so paranoid." He sat back against his seat and groaned. "He's just stressed Malk, there have been attacks on the Anarchs every night now, Lacroix started rumours that we were kidnapping Camarilla members and they're attacking us in vengeance. It's not your fault but it puts everyone on edge, makes us all paranoid."

I shrugged. "Politics bore me," I commented in disinterest. "I want to build sandcastles."

Kent laughed dryly. "Alright Malk, let's build sandcastles then."