We're All Mad Here Solving a Mystery in Paris, France (because we're just that cool)

Quartz went into fight mode, ready to brawl. Henry gently bumped against the girls' legs as if to say "Hey, it's okay!" Quartz reaches down and pats Henry, trying to calm down. But she couldn't. They were trapped in a passage with nowhere to go but forward. Quartz hesitantly takes a few steps forward, looking around. Nothing was out of the ordinary in the passage, besides it being, ya know, a SECRET PASSAGE.

@Lish
 
"Q? You okay?" she asked quietly. She could feel Quartz's soul next to her and hear her breathing faintly. But she had felt a big spike of fear and caution in her friend. She felt Henry bump against her legs. "Okay," Cheshire said, not sure how to go on from here. "Do we have a light? It's pitch-black here." Cheshire didn't really need light to be okay, but it would make her more comfortable to use every single one of her senses, including her sight.

@JexMix
 
Quartz gently grabbed Chesh's hand. She was scared. She realized what they had gotten themselves into and being trapped scared her. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a flashlight, flicking it on. "Is that better?" She asks quietly, glancing down at Henry.

@Lish
 
Chesh grasped Quartz's hand when Quartz reached over. Cheshire nodded. She then realized that Quartz- unless she was shining the flashlight on Chesh's face- wouldn't be able to see her nodding. So she said, "Yeah. Thank you." She looked to Quartz's face. "Hey. Don't worry about it. We'll be okay. Remember how awesome we are." She stood still for a second, listening. Then she said, "Let's go down this dark secret tunnel passage thing. We never know what we'll find."

@JexMix
 
Quartz nods and smiles, even though it couldn't be seen. Quartz had no need for the flashlight, but if it made Chesh feel better she would gladly use it. She starts walking with Chesh, her hand intertwined in hers, squeezing tightly. She had faced so many other things, so why did this scare her so much? She couldn't figure it out and she hated it.

@Lish
 
The two of them walked forward, almost cautiously. Cheshire was on full-alert, scanning the ground in front of them as they walked on. The tunnel was dry and dark still, and kept going on. It was fairly level, from what Chesh could feel. Then she jumped. Quartz wouldn't be able to hear it at first, but would then hear a faint sound, getting louder. Clack, clack, clack. Footsteps. They were coming this way, but from behind them- from the exact same way that they had come. Chesh squeezed Quartz's hand once, adrenaline pumping. She pulled Quartz to the side of the tunnel, pushing against the wall on that side, and reaching over to flick the flashlight off. Chesh quieted her own breathing. She pushed a thought into the soul of whoever was coming, not to look their way. They didn't seem to notice Quartz or Cheshire, and once the person passed them in the dark, Cheshire started following them, her hand still holding Quartz's. They went swiftly away, as if they were in a rush for something, fastwalking. Chesh eased each foot down to be as quiet as possible, sticking to the wall, but keeping up with the person. They walked on for two or three minutes, before the footsteps paused. Chesh froze, unsure of what would happen next.

@JexMix
 
As Quartz was pushed against the side of the tunnel, she steadies and quiets her breath. Whoever approached would not be able to hear them, hopefully. 'But where did they come from?' She thinks to Chesh. Once they were a decent distance, Quartz and Chesh followed as quietly as possible. When the footsteps stopped Quartz held her breath and splayed her unoccupied hand out, making it so that her fingers were bent and in prime position to claw. She wasn't taking any chances.

@Lish
 
A few beeping noises followed, and a mechanical door opened, shedding light on the three people. The doors opened, and Cheshire pulled Quartz through, trying to look as casual as possible. It was a black market. A black market right under Paris, France. It was teeming with suspicious-looking people, and nobody gave Chesh or Quartz a second glance for this reason. There were metal beams holding up the roof above them, and little booths tucked between the beams, selling every kind of thing that most people would not want them to be selling. "Maybe this is where the assassin was hired? Or maybe he took a pit stop here before going to murder Mr. Dude?"

@JexMix
 
Quartz looked around. A black market, hidden by a library. What a sight. There were little shops and so many people. So many people. With bad intentions. She could sense the intentions. Each soul had a different purpose for being here, and almost none of them were good. "This... he was hired here. I can tell. There are many hitmen here," She whispers to Chesh. There's a little weapon shop on their left, so Quartz pulls Chesh into it as to not seem suspicious. Maybe she could actually find a weapon.

@Lish
 
Cheshire felt a shiver going down her back, and scrunched up her nose. This place reeked of anger and fear, and even a little bit evil. Cheshire didn't like to think that there were evil people, but sometimes there were definitely evil actions and evil intentions. "I can feel it too," she murmured. Chesh's ran to figure out a plan. She could still feel the assassin's soul trail, but it was overlapped by so many similar soul trails, Chesh could barely feel it. Quartz pulled her over to a weapon stand, and she eyed the weapons with skepticism. This was a black market, after all. You couldn't really trust anybody here. They were all traders and scammers and... gosh, she could barely find a shred of not corrupted happiness in this place. And the man at the stand seemed like a slippery snake of a person. Chesh scanned the place. There were so many people that looked like the assassin had- dressed in all black. And who knew if they hadn't changed clothes by now? Their next lead was the soul trail, finding out which one was the man's. Wait. But now that Chesh thought about it, she felt the assassin's soul trail here. From the fading strength of it, Chesh could tell he was here before the murder. Right before the murder. And those weapons... they had the trace of the assassin. The assassin had poured his soul into these weapons.

Chesh stepped forward, calling the man's attention to her. He looked in her direction. "And how may I help you lovely ladies today?"

Usually Cheshire hated to implement feelings into other's souls, especially fear, but sometimes she felt like she had to. Her eyes gained a strange intensity. She was worthy of respect. Once the feeling had been forced onto his soul, she said, "I had a question for you." She pulled some money out of her pocket, and laid it on his stand. His eyes sparked with even more interest. "My friend here was looking for a weapon, but she wants to know where exactly your weapons come from." Cheshire glanced to Quartz, as if asking her to play along.

@JexMix
 
Quartz catches the hint and nods. "I really need a new weapon, but I need to know where they come from. Are they locally sourced, or imported?" She asks, making eye contact with the merchant. She couldn't show a hint of fear, even though she just wanted to run away. She noticed the slight fear in the man's eyes, and smiled to herself under the mask. She could feel so many blackened auras here, it almost made her sick. But she had to remain calm, or else they would be found out. She glanced at Chesh to make sure she was okay, then returned her gaze to the man. "So? Where do they come from?" She asks again, crossing her arms and straightening her posture. At a full 7'2", she's pretty intimidating even when she's not trying to be. When she is, though, she's pretty damn terrifying. She makes eye contact, practically staring into the man's soul, not backing down.

@Lish
 
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The man started to freeze up, just a little bit, sizing the two of them up. He was one of those slippery people that needed a deal, not just something moral to motivate him. The deal didn't even have to be sealed with words. Between the two of them, Cheshire and Quartz looked powerful and not a force to be reckoned with. Quartz had to ask her question twice for him to answer. He was able to keep his composure, saying, "Well, they do come from somebody who lives around here, but that's about all I can tell you. We have a deal of secrecy."

Cheshire raised one eyebrow. "You can't tell us anything else?" The man shook his head, as if solemnly. She pulled out some more money. "Or you won't?" He looked down at the money, and then back up at Cheshire and Quartz, not answering Chesh's question. He knew she was right. Cheshire continued. "For example, it would be lying to say that I can't kill you. Or that I can't steal these weapons in the millisecond when you're not looking. Or that I can't hunt down what you love most and decimate it. But the question is, will I?" She smiled sweetly. "Does that make sense, sweetie?"

The man glanced down at the money once again, then leaned forward and lowered his voice. "So it would be wrong to tell you that I can't tell you whether or not I get these weapons from a man known as the Whisper. But I could say that I won't tell you that. And that I didn't tell you that."

Chesh glanced to Quartz. They had a name now.

@JexMix
 
Quartz nods. "Thank you very much. As for weaponry..." She surveys the table in front of her. She had to buy something, or else the man would be suspicious. She spends a few minutes looking, before deciding on a set of double-bladed dragon knives. "I'll take these. How much are they?" She asks, holding up the set. Despite being made by an assassin, they were high quality weapons that she would actually use. She figures since she has to pick something, it may as well be something she'll use.

@Lish
 
As her friend bought the double bladed dragon knives, Cheshire scanned the area, thinking over the name. The Whisper. Who was the Whisper? When Quartz was finished with her transaction, Chesh stepped away from the weapons booth. "What do we do now?" she asked. They had a name, but how were they supposed to connect a name to a person?

@JexMix
 
Quartz put her weapons on her hips, two little straps holding them in place. She steps away with Chesh, deep in thought. The Whisper. Interesting. "Well, I say we try to follow the trail. I know it's overlapped by so many other ones, but it's our best bet," She says quietly in Chesh's ear. They didn't need anyone hearing. She turned around and surveyed the area, the people. All she felt was evil. There were few good people here. The overwhelming bad made her sick. Quartz had to grab Chesh's hand and squeeze to keep from throwing up, it was that bad. "We need to go follow the trail," She mutters.

@Lish
 
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Following the trail was definitely easier said than done. Cheshire glanced around. It was very hard to find it, especially because of all the people there. But Quartz was right, it was the best way to go. Well, it was really the only way to go. "Can I have one of those knives?" she asked Quartz quietly. "I'll be able to track him better that way." If Quartz offered her the knife, Cheshire would take it in her hand and close her eyes, slowly turning it in her fingers. Yes. The soul that had worked on these weapons had walked through here- they matched. She followed the soul trail closely, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. It led through the black market.

@JexMix
 
Quartz quickly unstrapped one and handed it to Chesh, letting her do her thing. Once Chesh got something, she followed the pink-haired girl through the crowd. She should sense the man's soul trail too, thanks to the other knife. But she let Chesh take the lead, as she knew how to track better than Quartz.

They casually saunter through the market, occasionally stopping to look at tables and stuff as not to be too suspicious. Everyone here was suspicious, but they had to blend in with it or else they would look out of place. Quartz had picked up a few vials of poison, as she was running low and couldn't get any from Henry at that moment. When she notices Chesh staring at her weirdly, she shrugs. "What? I was running low and I sure as hell can't sit here and milk Henry's fangs for it right now," She mutters before almost throwing up again. She slaps a hand over the mouth of her mask to keep from doing so.

Once the wave of nausea passes, she turns to Chesh. "The amount of level here makes me sick," She whispers.

@Lish
 
Cheshire Cat squinted a little at Quartz. "You eat poison? Now that's wicked. How did I not know that?" Quartz was being heavily affected by the atmosphere in here, and Chesh looked at her carefully before getting her explanation. It was definitely hard to just pretend to fit in here, with all the bad and evil things here. Evil decisions. Selfish intentions. Horrible deeds. Messed-up lies. It reeked of evil here and Chesh hated it to the center of her being.

They followed the soul trail as it weaved through the black market, stopping occasionally as to not look suspicious. Technically, they were the least suspicious people here. But they didn't want suspicious people to suspect them, did they? They came to a door, but the trail stayed in the door a while, then looped out. She narrowed her eyes. There was a man standing outside the door, maybe six feet away. Cheshire tapped Quartz, guesturing to the man. "That's him," she said quietly. "That's the Whisper."

@JexMix feel free to let the story go wherever you want :D
 
Quartz shakes her head. "No. Well, yes, I eat poison, but that's not what this is for. I always have poison on hand, because you never know when you'll need it," She explains. Hopefully, that made them a little less suspicious. When Chesh pointed out who the Whisper was, she nearly passed out. His aura was so strong. She took the knife back from Chesh and strapped it back into its place, debating on what they should do. Do they approach him? Or do they observe? She turns to Chesh, her eyes wide. "We need to observe right now. We don't know much about him, how he ticks. We need to find out how he works before we can do anything," She whispers. Quartz glances back at the man, willing herself to be strong.

The two walk over to various tables near the man, observing the wares, occasionally buying something as not to seem out of place. Truth be told, they were probably going to dispose of most of it when they left.

@Lish
 
"Ah, okay," Cheshire said, taking the explanation. There was something about finding the man she had been tracking. Quartz was right. They had to observe for now. But this guy... he wasn't like all of the other people here. Of course, there was this underlying feeling of evil around him, but it wasn't as strong as most others here. It was more... subdued. He felt very indifferent to Chesh. He seemed very powerful. And yet not the kind of person to brag. He definitely wasn't any of a better person than the others here, but he was just different in a way that Chesh couldn't pin down. His mask made Chesh narrow her eyes. There was something about that, too. Something that seemed to be part of a much bigger plan, not just this mission they were on. It didn't match the rest of his outfit. He wore plain black on every other part of his body, but his mask was lined with gold. It covered his nose down to his chin, and wrapped around to the back of his head, where Chesh assumed it was fastened, but no more than that. It just... it seemed like the thing that was throwing everything off about him. He leaned against the wall casually, and people seemed to skirt around him. He was either well known or mighty intimidating to everyone. How were they to approach him and bring him to justice? Or, was that something they still wanted to do?

"What are we going to do with him? Turn him into the police?" Chesh murmured. "Or just... I dunno, kill him? We certainly can't do that here, I have a feeling we would be highly outnumbered."

@JexMix
 
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