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Salt and Sulfur (MessedupRp x Skeith Takahata II)

Charlotte slept peacefully for the remainder of the night. When she finally began to stir, she let out a light grumble of protest. "Good morning, Flopsy..." She mumbled, patting the rabbit's head. Her eyes slowly fluttered open which was when she felt someone's arm around her. She bit her lip as she remembered everything that had happened the night before. She slowly sat up, her baggy shirt hanging sloppily off one shoulder, her hair disheveled. She stretched her arms high above her head as she yawned. As her body came to rest, she brushed her bangs out of her face. Suddenly her eyes opened wide as a smile spread across her lips. She remembered that they were supposed to start their joint investigation that day.

With Floppy still under her arm, she turned to look at Maria. She smiled tiredly as she raised her hand to wiggle her fingers at her. "Good morning!" She said tiredly, but cheerfully. She slid free from the sheets moving around to where her things were sitting, working on dressing again. Setting Flopsy on the edge of the bed while she slipped back into the rest of her clothes. "So, breakfast and then we have some fun, right?" She asked, looking back towards Maria, that playful sort of madness glimmering in her eyes again.
 
Maria woke not soon after Charlotte had sat up, she looked around and saw where she was getting dressed and nodded "uh yeah... Breakfast then we start" she was still getting used to an investigation of a dissapearance "playing".

She sat up with a sigh and swung her legs over to stand up. She had forgotten again that Charlotte was here when she took off her underwear, facing away from her newfound partner. As she slipped on a fresh bra and panties, and then began dressing she blushed as she remembered that Charlotte was there, she ignored it and tried to act like she hadn't done anything.
 
Hearing Maria move out from under the sheets, Charlotte turned to look at her. She turned to see her, just as she had finished pulling her panties into place, silently cursing that she had missed the opportunity to see her completely naked. As she finished dressing she plopped back onto the bed, laying back with her legs hanging off the side. She looked backwards at Maria. "So, what's for breakfast?" She asked, smiling widely. The young elf was not a particularly picky eater and would eat just about anything. Growing up on the first level of the city, she didn't have the luxury of being picky.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if Maria had even noticed her trying to kiss her the night before. She'd obsessed over the opportunity to have Maria all to herself since starting her criminal career, but she now that she was here, she found her inexperience robbing her off some of her confidence.
 
Maria sighed and nodded, getting her clothes on, almost putting on her police uniform before shaking her head taking down an old jacket that had belonged to her mother. She nodded, more to herself than to Charlotte "yeah. I'll make something before we go."

She smiled and left the bedroom to the small kitchen. She took what meager food she kept and made something quickly. She wasn't an amazing cook so her meal booked down to being a few pieces of toast and some scrambled eggs.
 
Charlotte popped upright as Maria left the room. She smiled as she watched her head down to the kitchen. She plopped back against the mattress, turning her head to look at Flopsy. She frowned as she stared at him, pushing him over onto his side. "Shut up. I didn't blow it last night. She just wasn't ready yet." She sat up straight again, looking back towards him again. "That's not fair! I know you miss Mom and Dad too!" She shook her head, reaching for her hair ties. "Besides, our first should be special. Like after I blow something up or level a building." Her smile returned as she imagined sharing her first kiss with Maria as a truly massive explosion went off behind them. As horrifying as the image would be for most, it was properly romantic for her. She was shaken back to reality once again by the imaginary voice of her rabbit. "She isn't scared of me you jerk. She's just being shy."

She pushed herself off the bed once she was convinced her hair was properly styled. She looked back at Flopsy before sticking out her tongue. "You know what? You can stay in here while I go eat breakfast." She walked out from the bedroom, heading off to locate Maria. Her eyes settled on her in the kitchen and the breakfast she had prepared. She slid into a chair happily beginning to eat the meal. Compared to the scraps she survived on down on the first level, this was like dining in a proper five-star restaurant. "Thank you!" She mumbled with food in her mouth, smiling up at her.
 
Maria couldn't suppress a smile at the sight of Charlotte's cheeks bulged with food and as she tried to speak. Despite her insanity and love of arson, Maria did find she had her moments of being downright cute. She nodded to herself at this statement, then the third figure, sitting between them spoke "don't get attached dear. They all get hurt when you get Attached"

Charlotte could not see her, since she was only in Maria's mind, she scowled in her mind's eyes and retorted mentally "I know mother. I know" her mother only chuckled in Response, "I sure didn't last lon-" she stopped as guilt crossed her daughter's face "sorry." She stood up and dissapeared. Maria returned her attention to Charlotte "okay so... I think I have a lead for us to follow"
 
Charlotte's smile didn't fade, even as she tried to swallow the food held in her over stuffed mouth. She let out a sharp gasp upon swallowing. When she looked back across at Maria, her smile fell some at the sight of how serious she had become. It was strange how fast her attitude seemed to have shifted. She blinked a couple times as she spoke. Hearing her mention a lead, her smile returned. She looked down at her now empty plate, sliding it away before leaning forward, propping her elbows on the table and her head in her hands.

She looked like the proper image of an excited and curious child, even if a madness twinkled in her eyes. "Oh? What kind of lead?" Charlotte was no detective, despite her knack for keeping track of potential targets. The ins and outs of a proper investigation eluded her, especially given that so much of it was methodical and procedural, details that bored the psychopathic anarchist. Still, so long as she was doing so with Maria, she would have fun or make it fun where she had to.
 
Maria slid a folder down to Charlotte. Inside was a swanky home, it seemed to be on the fourth or fifth level of the city. "We're going to break into this mansion. The owner, Mr. Grayson Ignus is a suspected member of the Descendants. His group was against our politician so his will be the place to start our search.
 
Charlotte's smile spread wider as she realized that the man whose house was in the folder was on her list of potential targets at her home. "Oh, hello there, Iggy..." She said softly with a giggle as she looked at the folder. Everything about this plan screamed for Charlotte's expertise. She often had to pre-scope targets for demolition to see where and when explosives had to be set and detonated for maximum carnage. Which called for breaking and entering, also typically a distraction elsewhere.

"I can get us in. Easy peasy." She said, examining the photos in the folder. It seemed as if Maria had already been monitoring him at least, which meant that they could skip that step. "What are we looking for? Other than the elf lady herself?"
 
He wouldn't keep her at his home no... Too obvious for the Descendants... No she'll be close by but not right there. We're going to sneak in, find what we can and get back out. If we find anything depricating or we need to get out with more... Living prize then... Well you have more experience in that department than I do.
 
Charlotte looked up from the folder as Maria spoke about the plan. She should have known that they wouldn't find the elf in their first day of searching. Today's objective seemed to be more about verifying Ignus' connection to the Descendants, and subsequently, the Descendants involvement in the kidnapping of their elf. When she mentioned Charlotte's area of expertise, the gleam of madness her eyes often held showed again. She smiled wider as she looked down at Ignus' home. She sincerely hoped that she would have the opportunity to sew some chaos and level the building.

She looked up again, eagerly anticipating the day's activities. "I guess the only question is when do we start?" She asked with a child like excited lilt to her voice.
 
Maria wasn't entirely sure if she liked the enthusiasm or was rather afraid if how enthusiastic she was about blowing up a home. She pushed that aside and directed her attention to the plan. We start now, pack light" with that she left to the equipment room without another word.

They left as the sun was rising for the fifth level of the city. Taking a secret back way only used by police for the purpose of interceptions. They arrived at the pristine white and gold building as the rays of the sun were just gleaming off it.
 
Charlotte watched as Maria left the kitchen, her smile falling as she did so. The night before and the first part of their morning had been so nice that Maria's suddenly serious demeanor distressed her. Obviously not privy to Maria's hallucination, she was left to assume that the suddenly cold behavior had been a result of her own behavior. "Was it something I said?" She whispered softly to herself.

She took note of the secret patch they took to get to their destination. It would be useful for avoiding law enforcement in the event that she chose to visit the upper levels on later outings of her own. As they arrived at their destination, her smile returned as she looked over the building. She had half a mind to destroy it regardless of the outcome of their search. She wanted so badly to impress Maria and make her feelings properly known. She only knew one way to illicit such strong emotional responses from people.

She approached the house, careful to remain unseen and unheard, but their was a giddiness to her body language as they drew closer. Much like a child that was trying desperately to hold in a laugh or otherwise attention grabbing outburst. She fished her lock picking tools from her smaller belt bag as she reached the rear entrance. She knew better than to make a move on the front door. She looked back to Maria and then beyond her to make sure they weren't noticed by anyone. Once sure they were safe to continue, she proceeded to pick the lock. Once the door came free, swinging slowly away from the frame. She stepped back with a broad smile, bowing with her hands gesturing to the door. "Ladies first."
 
Maria walked through the door, her mother was leaning on the counter and shaking her head softly. It took most of her eillpoerr to not shoot the halluciation. She looked around where they were.

A pristine white kitchen, well keep it seemed with a large metal door for a meat cooler on one corner. She pointed to the door and spoke quietly to Charlotte. "We need to check this. They could be hiding something or someone in here" she crept to the locker and pulled the metal handle, opening the heavy door with a puff of condensation falling down to the floor.
 
"I already hate this place..." She mumbled lowly as she looked around the kitchen. It was too nice and everything she hated about high society. The overly pristine and orderly nature of the house made the naturally chaotic elf feel very uncomfortable. Ignoring the fact that, beyond Maria, she had no particular love of humans.

Charlotte's hands pulled back the sleeves of her shirt, tucking them in behind a pair of complicated mechanical gauntlets that she wore. They resembled no known military technology and were clearly hand made by the young elvish anarchist. Numerous gadgets were clearly visible, but most prominent were the barrels that stuck out over the back of her hand, and the belt of ammunition that coiled her wrists like bracelets, hanging loose enough to behave like bangles. She slid the cocking mechanism back on each as she turned to face the rest of the house, keeping her arms raised just in case someone came in and found them poking around, covering Maria as she approached the locker.

"Anything?" She asked, glancing back over her shoulder. Maria would have a better idea of what would help in their investigation than she ever would.
 
Maria checked the whole locker, scanning every wall and every meat hook, testing the hooks to see if they were some sort of knob until she finally found her lead, laying crumpled in a heap among some old rags was a purple cloak. Same as the one the politician wore on the day she was kidnapped.

She nodded to herself and dropped the cloak then closed the locker "she was here. She was here all right. Now we need to find where she went. Maybe in some sort of study he has it written down.
 
Charlotte turned around completely to face Maria, lowering her arms to her sides again as she closed the locker. "Well, that was quick." She remarked on them already verifying their lead and finding a new clue. "Hmm..." She turned to face the rest of the house, tapping her chin in thought. "I guess we should split up, yeah?" She wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, but anything related to the Descendants or the politician was sure to be relevant. Which was a good enough starting point for her.

It hadn't even dawned on her that Maria might not trust her to wander the house on her own, given the mischief the psychotic young elf could get up to. She'd already made it clear how eager she was to destroy the structure if the opportunity presented itself.
 
Maria looked down at the cloth and nodded "yeah... It was quick... Too quick..." She put a hand on Charlotte's shoulder "something's wrong... Either this was put here to frame our friend Mr. Ignus or it was a trap set by the man himself. "Something doesn't add up here Charlotte... Nobody in the descendants would keep something this vital so obviously seen unless... Unless it was a decoy."

Maria smiled wide and dashed back into the meat locker, she tore away at the pile of old rags, tearing them off until nothing was left except for bare floor. And a hidden hatch. She smiled up at Charlotte, "they leave what appears to be a clue right there to divert anyone who comes looking... Smart, but not smart enough."
 
Charlotte stared at Maria, blinking a few times as Maria placed her hand on her shoulder and spoke. "No way. Iggy's trouble. I know it." It hadn't even occurred to her that they might have been being duped. She followed after Maria back into the locker, watching in thinly veiled awe as she unveiled the hidden hatch. She looked back to Maria in admiration. "You're really good at your job..." She said softly, almost dreamily. It suddenly wasn't quite so surprising that Maria had been able to catch her back when they were on opposite sides. Especially seeing as Charlotte made no real effort to cover her tracks.

She looked down at the hatch, kneeling down beside it. "A secret room?" She crooked her eyebrow, glancing back up at her again. "I knew it was going to be fun playing with you!" She said with a grin. It was slowly starting to feel like a scavenger hunt and she loved it. "What are we waiting for?" She asked excitedly, slapping her hands on her knees as she spoke. Her hands quickly moved to the hatch, starting to work it free. True to Charlotte's impulsive nature, she was more than happy to be the first to enter, without any warning or prior planning.
 
Maria held Charlotte back from entering "okay okay... Maybe I should go down first okay?" Again she didn't wait for an answer before she slid down the ladder to the floor below, setting her goggles over her eyes she used her night-vision feature to find the power switch.

Overhead lightbulbs flickered on, illuminating a long hallways, carved into the framework between level there and four "I always suspected they had some sort of tunnel system... But I never knew where." She called down Charlotte and and told her to close the hatch again behind them.
 
Charlotte visibly pouted when told to wait, Maria going down first. Still, she got over it quickly. She had to be willing to share in the fun. If Maria wanted to be the first to see the tunnels, that was fine with her. She waited till the lights flickered on and Maria called for her to follow. She had half a mind to plant an explosive in the house before leaving. She wanted it so bad. Her reasons for refraining were less about Maria's disapproval, and the more practical realization that it would likely collapse the tunnel and kill them both. She mounted the ladder, closing the hatch and sliding down it with her hands and feet clinging to the outside. She hopped off with a light grunt as she reached the ground, twirling around to face Maria.

Her smile returned as she looked down the tunnel system. Her hands coming together as she drummed her fingers together. "I wish I would have thought of a tunnel system." She admitted after a moment, looking up and down the passage way. Of course, she preferred to run from the law enforcement in broad daylight and out in the open, enjoying the chase. But it would make arriving at her target destinations easier, given how wanted she was. She crouched down to examine the floor of the tunnel. It was clearly used, and often, making tracking specific prints difficult. "Oh where, oh where have you gone, Iggy?" She questioned the stagnant air of the underground passage.
 
Maria pulled her repeating rifle around from the sling on her back, the weapon looked like an ordinary rifle except for the large revolver barrel with four rows of pointed bullets that looped around inside. She held it at the ready and nodded. Well then. Ignus is definitely apart Of some group or another, and he definitely was in some way involved with that kidnappings. The question is how and why." She didn't expect Charlotte to answer but she did expect the apparition of her mother to, crouched down in her police uniform, "there's tracks. Wheel tracks though so someone used some sort of motorized vehicle, needed to move hateer they had quickly. Maybe something like a squirming elf?" She smirked at Maria then faded away. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Come on Charlotte. Make sure you keep your eye out for traps. I don't doubt this whole thing might be rigged."
 
Charlotte gave a nod as Maria spoke about Ignus' involvement. She knew she'd been on to something when she was watching him before. She just wasn't sure what. Now she was much more satisfied having decided to make him a target. She made note of the way Maria sighed, seemingly at nothing. Charlotte's long ears twitched some as she watched her, her eyes narrowing with concern. Despite her madness and child like disposition, she could tell when something was being kept from her.

When told to keep an eye out for traps, Charlotte was more than prepared. This was where her specialty would come in handy. Traps and the like were definitely her game. "Yes, ma'am. Leave it to me!" She chirped excitedly. She flicked her goggles down over her eyes, manually zooming them in about 25% to make examining the framework and floor of the tunnel easier as they walked. Charlotte moved to lead, albeit only a couple feet ahead. Her ability to locate and disarm traps and explosives wouldn't do much good if Maria accidentally tripped them before she could see them. She was slightly crouched as she moved to better study her surroundings as they walked. Still, she listened carefully for potential threats, keeping her gauntlet mounted guns ready just in case.

She was sure that they would be wise enough to rig the tunnel, but what use would there be in manually detonating one of their greatest resources if they didn't know with absolute certainty that they were being followed?
 
Maria was thinking the same thing and she had a theory. Most likely they would find the tunnel clear. Especially with that wheeled vehicle tracks. They wouldn't dare to risk this just to move a captured politician a few feet. No, most likely there would be no traps set, at least not now. They had probably taken her to Ignus' mansion as a part-way zone and used it to keep her for a while. They got an order to take her away and they did, leaving her cloak behind on mistake. Ignus finds it and tosses it on the rags, planning to incinerate it with the rags later and using it as a decoy in case.

"She could be anywhere by now Charlotte... My god... What is the Polary have her?" The Gurzo were a despicable cultic society. Known for their horrible experiments in Sulfur magic, chopping up the bodies of their enemies, sewing them unto grotesque creatures and giving them life. Even the worst biomancers were disgusted by these creations from the Polary.
 
Charlotte lifted her goggles off of her face, turning to face Maria when she began speaking again. Her smile fell away as she spoke about the Polary. She visibly winced when she thought about it. No one missed anyone stolen away from the first level of the city. Being society's cast offs, no one would look if anyone went missing, or care if they were killed. She had seen people taken, including contacts, and when trying to learn more had encountered the aftermath of their research. Disposed of flesh and parts not used in their rituals. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the rabbit hanging from her belt. "How could you say that?" She asked hurtfully towards Flopsy.

She clenched her eyes shut as she shuddered. She shook her head back and forth before looking back up at Maria almost desperately. "D-do we have to? I've seen what they do... I don't..." She clenched her eyes shut again as she took several deep breaths, trying to put away her concerns. When her eyes opened again, almost as if flipping a switch, her expression seemed to return to normal. "Well then we should hurry, right? Don't want to let them win!" She turned and continued down the tunnel.
 
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