Darkness surrounded Ellie, swirling, gently caressing cheeks. A shallow sea of darkness spread out before her, filled with pieces of the past. 

How still the air was… It was as if the darkness itself was waiting for something. Anticipating. 

Ellie took a step forward, unsure of how deep the water was, stepping only on the surface. Was it even a sea? Glancing down into the dark water she saw the peaceful faces of strangers. 

"Where am I?" Her voice echoed, bouncing right back at her. 

Another step. This time the darkness did not hold her and she plummeted straight into the black water. Her feet kicked about wildly, her lungs gasping for air. Faces stared back at her in the dark, hands reaching out. 

Ellie gasped desperately for air again and flung herself upright in the bed, eyes wide open. She was not in the dark anymore. Where was she? Her eyes dashed around the room, it was nicely decorated with landscape paintings on the walls, rich mahogany furniture, and a large comfortable bed. 

"Skully?" She asked softly, eyes searching for the skull. 

"Over here, on the dresser," he grunted loudly. 

For a moment Skully had the shape of a person, a dark outline sitting on the dresser, Ellie shook her head and rubbed her eyes. It was gone, only the skull was there now. Swiftly she rolled out of the bed and grabbed him. 

"I had a terrible dream. What happened? Where am I?" Ellie asked, still looking around the room. 

"You fainted again. Oleander brought you back to his place. He- he might be alright…" Skully grumbled. If only he had questioned Oleander more when he had been in Ellie's body. 

Ellie sighed, "I fainted? I need to stop doing that when I come face to face with danger. Why do I taste pizza? I should find Oleander. If he's awake that is." She quietly opened the door, only to see the sun shining through the large living room windows. "Is it morning already?" 

"Ellie. You're awake. I was a bit worried…" Oleander remarked from the dining table. "Come sit. The butler made breakfast." 

She smiled at him and placed herself in a chair, "I- I'm sorry about fainting like that. Also, I don't eat meat or anything made from animals so..." 

"Oh. I can tell my butler to make you something suitable. Also, it's fine. I got my driver to come pick us up, it was no trouble at all. I hope you slept nicely," he said as he glanced at the skull. "I believe you by the way, when you said you talk to the skull… I think we should find out more about it." 

Ellie's face lit up. "Really? I'm super excited now, finally someone who can help me find out more about Skully," she squealed. Had she really made a friend? Someone who understood, and was somewhat on the same page as her? She wanted to leap into the air. 

Oleander couldn't help but smile, every bit of melancholy he had felt had melted away since meeting her. Though he had to be careful not to get too close, she was human after all, and there was that strange skull. He bit his lip and called the butler over, telling him to whip something up for Ellie. 

She placed Skully on the table, "I'm still not sure how I'm the only one that can hear him though." There were a lot of unanswered questions when it came to the skull, this was probably one of the more obvious questions. 

Oleander leaned forward on the table, staring intently at the skull. He wondered more about how Skully was able to possess Ellie's body. "If he's vampire, maybe it's his powers, or blood? I mean it's always blood when it comes to vampires." He half-joked. 

"Blood, huh?" Skully said in a pensive tone. 

"Blood?" Ellie repeated, glancing down at Skully, "I did cut my finger and bleed all over him that day when I found him buried under the old oak tree…" 

Oleander nodded, "I guess we could test that theory, I mean I could test the theory." 

Ellie hesitated. A small knot formed at the pit of her stomach, if others could hear Skully what did that mean for her? "I should get going though. I wish I could stay, but I have to look for a new job, I got fired from the coffee shop," Ellie muttered and stared into the coffee the butler had placed in front of her. 

" I could help you find a job…" Oleander suggested, "I know people." 

She glanced up at him, eyes meeting again, was his eyes always this pretty? "Y- yes, yes. That would be so helpful. You're the best," Ellie exclaimed, "I guess we could test the blood theory first then…" It couldn't be that easy to hear Skully, could it? 

"Do I have a say in this at all?" Skully grumbled. 

Oleander could almost feel himself blushing as Ellie said that. "I'm far from the best, but yes, we can test the theory first, and then I can take you to see a friend who might have some job for you." He was sure Leon could find something for her to do, the club was large after all. 

The gentle spring sun shone brightly through the windows as they finished breakfast. Skully making the odd complaint, Ellie ignoring it. She hadn't eaten food this good in forever, or had she ever eaten food this good? She smiled to herself, was this what it was like to have a friend? Her cheeks turned bright red as her eyes met his yet again, did friends usually look this good too? 

"I will get a knife," Oleander said and swiftly got up. 

"You can use my pocket knife," Ellie remarked, searching her pockets. 

Oleander swallowed hard, the memory of Skully in her body, cutting off the Sorrow's head popped into his mind. "It's fine. I think something sharper would be better, perhaps a blade instead." He disappeared into the kitchen, asking the butler for a blade. 

Ellie chuckled, "You're right. A blade would be much better. Where is my pocket knife anyway?" She searched through her backpack. 

"You probably put it in a different pocket," Skully grunted, knowing full well that he had indeed placed it into her coat pocket by accident after cleaning it in the bathroom of Pizza Town. 

Oleander brought a thin blade that the butler had unearthed for him and suddenly picked up the skull. "So, how do I do this?" He stared at the fangs and the empty eye sockets. 

"Can I say no?" Skully hissed. 

"I'm not sure. I sort of bled all over it," Ellie said before letting out a small giggle. 

"Hmmm." Oleander poked his finger on one of the fangs, it was as sharp as his own, making him bleed. "I guess I will try the fangs." Perhaps he didn't need the blade after all. 

"You better clean me after this," Skully complained. 

Oleander almost dropped the skull, "I can hear him…" 

"What? You can hear me that easily?" Skully grunted loudly. 

"You can hear him?!" Ellie squealed. 

Of course it was the blood… "I can hear him. I definitely can. Wow. This is bizarre," Oleander remarked, staring at the skull. It was also frightening. He could feel the power that this vampire had. Was this the right thing to do? He shook his head. 

"Fantastic. Soon everyone can hear me, who's next? The butler? The baker down the street?" Skully said in his most annoyed tone. Though he was actually surprised that it had worked. It was not just him and Ellie anymore, and he was not quite sure how he felt about that. 

"This is awesome. Now Skully can tell you everything he vaguely remembers and you can help us figure him out." Ellie was ecstatic, twirling around on the floor before feeling her cheeks turn red again. She was happy for Skully, though there was that small tug inside of her, wondering if this was going to change things too much. 

Oleander gave the skull back to Ellie, "You take him. I- I can take you to see my friend now. He should be able to find you a job, he's a great guy."

Ellie nodded and tucked Skully into her backpack, "Alright. I'm ready, and I really hope he has a job for me. I really need the money for rent." 

Oleander didn't just feel helpful, he felt useful for once. At least there was something he could do right. And Leon was always willing to help him out, he had no doubts that Ellie would get some sort of job by today. He smiled to himself in the car as the driver took them both downtown to V. 

Ellie stared up at the bright neon V, it glared at her so brightly even though the sun was high. Downtown was like a different world from Old Dawn, flashy, clean, and skyscrapers everywhere. 

"V? Is this a club? Are you seriously thinking Ellie is gonna work in a club?" Skully growled from the backpack. 

"It's nice inside, and there's a plethora of different jobs in here, there's even a kitchen," Oleander remarked before saying hi to the doorman who opened the doors wide for them both. 

"I have never actually been to a club before," Ellie said softly as the music was getting louder. 

"It's loud, and sometimes annoying. But like I said, not every job is at the bar." Oleander took a deep breath. Where was Leon at this hour? 

"It's noon and it's already a full party here. Don't these people work?" Skully grumbled. 

"Skully sometimes sounds like an old man," Ellie giggled. "Where is you friend?" 

Oleander's eyes searched the bar, then the dance floor before he spotted Leon in the usual place, dancing the day away. "He's right there. See the man with the see-through shirt, and the golden blonde hair?" He pointed to Leon. 

Skully couldn't help but feel some sense of familiarity. Was it the long golden hair? Was it the flamboyance? He had known someone much like this once, hadn't he? Everything was in pieces as usual. Dreamlike. 

"Oli!" Leon shouted from the dance floor, eyes shifting to Ellie. 

Oleander waved at Leon, gesturing for him to come to them. Leon's eyes turned sombre, serious, narrowing as he walked closer, stopping a couple of meters away. 

"Who the hell is that?" Leon shouted to Oleander. 

"I need to talk to you," Oleander said, puzzled by Leon's sudden stop. 

"I asked, who the hell is that?" Leon raised his voice even louder. 

What was wrong with Leon? "This is Ellie, my friend. Can we go talk somewhere else?" Oleander asked carefully. 

Leon didn't dare walk any closer. The spirits terrified him, why did they all look so dark and despaired, ready to devour anything and anyone. Why were they all following behind her? Dark hands that were ready to drag him along. "Friend? I want her out of here now. NOW." He thundered. 

Oleander's face furrowed, why was Leon suddenly furious? What had Ellie done? Nothing. "I came to ask you something. She's my friend. What's the matter with you?" 

"I said get her out of here!" Leon's voice cut through the music. He couldn't have someone like her coming into his sanctuary. Why did she come with a horde of evil spirits? To spite him? What was she? Not good for Oleander, he was sure of that. And not good for his club. First there was the hunter yesterday, and now her with a horde of desperate, vicious spirits. "GET THE HELL OUT." He boomed. 

"I don't know what your problem is, but fine, we'll go." Oleander gently grabbed Ellie's arm and pulled her out of the club. "I'm sorry about that. I don't know what he was on about," he sighed and glanced at her, bewildered by Leon's reaction. 

"I'm just confused, honestly. I guess he's not gonna give me a job," Ellie said with a slight smile. 

"What was his fudging problem? What did he have against Ellie? Let me kick his butt," Skully growled. 

Oleander clenched his jaw, "I'll talk to him later. Ugh. I'm sorry, I promised to find you a job, which I will still do. I know someone else. She is a relative, sort of. Juliette Valentine. I'm certain she will find you some sort of position at her company," he said a bit more confidently. Why didn't he think of this sooner? Juliette was much more professional than Leon. He should have gone to her first, not Leon, why did he think Ellie would want to work in a club anyway? More stupid choices. 

"The Juliette Valentine?" Ellie's eyes widened. 

"Who the fudge is Juliette Valentine?" Skully asked. Though as he said it, there was a particular feeling in there. Valentine. Something familiar. Were they vampires too? He wanted to ask Oleander, but stopped himself. No. He was certain of it. Vampires. Did he want Ellie to fall into the grasp of all these vampires though?