[BOUNTY] Doll-faced Lolita [Alex and Nolli]

Sylvia Bethany, flat chested bitch that sounded as if she was some doll or rich pedophiles plaything, was slowly falling into the 'not worth it' category of bounties to go after. The last update on her information told Alex that the woman was last seen escaping into the North District sewers and he already wanted to go home. The sewers meant that he couldn't use his powers, or even smoke without possibly blowing something up (and dying wasn't on his agenda), and that he'd have to schlep through the goddamn sewers to look for some D-Rank Bounty.

Maybe if he was lucky the rumored sewer gators had already gotten her and left a bloodied foot lying around or something. Then he'd just have to take a picture with his smartphone and collect his 50 fucking Credits that were going to pay for his dry cleaning and all the bath products to get the smell off the sewer was going to leave lingering on his body. Thankfully he wasn't wearing anything he wouldn't mind burning as he sobbed bitter tears doing so or anything that would be a bitch to replace, just blue jeans and a black shirt today along with a pair of purple tinted shades.

However, if Alex's newest pack of cigarettes got ruined again, he'd probably take to the streets and punch out the first poor sap that crossed his path. Hopefully it would be Miss Bethany climbing back to the surface, since he would actually punch her and not feel guilty about it. He wasn't beyond hitting a woman, since he punched people he felt needed it regardless of gender. It didn't mean he just went around smacking the opposite sex all day like a pimp though, but holding back against someone when it stated that she was good at hand-to-hand wouldn't be smart. Especially since the last thing he wanted to have happen was get his ass kicked after going into the sewers to get her.

Flipping his phone open again, Alex snarled out a "Where the hell are you?" as he rounded the corner, not exactly looking where he was going or checking to see if anything was in his path. He was on the edge where there was no water, so he wasn't exactly expecting to fall in. And it wasn't like there would be anyone down there with him aside from Lolita. Unless, of course, she already left and there hadn't been an update since or there was another person out for her bounty.

For the past two hours or so, Nolli had been wandering aimlessly around the Substratum's intricate sewage network. Why the hell is Sylvia Bethany using the sewers as a means of escape? There's gotta be a better way to get to North District... The place's stench was enough to melt your face, and the murky water probably hid some kinda mythical sewer beast just below its tar-black surface.

The flashlight Nolli had equipped himself with died about fifteen minutes ago. Though it was a bit irritating, Nolli was prepared for this. The neon pink cargo pants he wore glowed in the dark; they provided him with just enough light to navigate the sewers safely. Nolli examined his surroundings for any signs of recent activity with the dim, pink glow provided by his handy trousers. Just as he turned a corner, rather than looking ahead of him, he was looking a the slimy wall to his right that oozed a sketchy, yellow, mucus-like substance.

Nolli yelped in surprise just as someone snarled, "Where the hell are you?". He'd just walked straight into another person
(to be fair, the other guy was looking at his cell-phone and wearing sunglasses). Another person, down here in the sewer. Could it be Lolita? No.

Recovering from his prior shock, Nolli strained his eyes to get a better look at his sewer mate. No, definitely not Lolita... Not unless Lolita had grown a foot and become a man since the last Bulletin update.

Nolli could smell the cigarette smoke, even through the rancid smell of their surroundings. "Oh wow, smoker much? Sheesh, sewer can't even mask that one." Nolli slapped his hand to his mouth. Shit, did I really just say that out loud? Nolli didn't even know the guy. He'd honestly meant to keep the rude remark to himself, but somehow it'd managed to slip. "Er..." Nolli pressed his lips together, "that's not usually how I do introductions..." Nolli scratched his temple uncomfortably and added a nervous little chuckle. Nolli was usually very good with new people, perhaps it was just the sewer getting to him... "Uhh, name's Nolli... You looking for a certain midget by any chance?" Oh Lord, just one failed introduction after another. Nolli slapped himself inwardly.

Plop.

Alex stared hard at the 'murky tar-like water' (His mind didn't want to tell him what it really was) that his phone fell into as another person smacked into him. He had stumbled slightly, but caught himself without the use of reaching out to either grab something or steady himself against the wall. His foot slipped on something he could only hope was water and his desire to throw another person in the 'tar-like water' intensified. His cigarettes were one thing, but the phone was a whole other monster that didn't help his anger issues any today. Really, Alex was surprised he didn't have an ulcer by now with all the rage issues that seemed to be piling up lately and all the stress that was starting to weigh him down.

The man made an off-hand comment about the smell of smoke on Alex and his lips worked into a grimace. "That's a sharp smell if you can pick that out," he said, scraping his tongue against his teeth after speaking. Just opening his mouth made it feel like he was dying faster from the noxious fumes of the Substratum underbelly than anything else. It made him want to leave faster than he already wanted too, since this girl was slowly slipping into his third column. The really not fucking worth it column.

"Er...that's not usually how I do introductions.. Uhh, name's Nolli... You looking for a certain midget by any chance?"

"Alexander. Yes. And you are paying for that," he returned before pointing where his phone dropped... then just made a frustrated gesture to the entire river of sludge. He had a back-up phone in his loft, but there was no way he was going straight home after this. Maybe the station would have a shower he could use or something. He fished around for a flashlight in his back pocket now that he lost his phone/makeshift-flashlight, before clicking it on and shining it in Nolli's face. "Sorry," he lied, since it was childish and on purpose, "and if the smoke offends you, just blame it on what I am." He wouldn't have been the first.

Nolli watched, somewhat horrified as the man's phone made a loud sploosh, hitting the surface of the murky poo water. Very slowly, Nolli's eyes rolled back to what was now, an even angrier man than before. "That's a sharp smell if you can pick that out," the man grimaced. "PFFFT, you could be freakin anosmic and still smell that...," Nolli blurted, unable to stop himself. He slapped his hands over his mouth again. He either had to get his sewer tourettes under control, or leave altogether. Shitshitshitshit, this guy is going to murder me at this point...

The man introduced himself, "Alexander. Yes. And you are paying for that," he said, gesturing towards the area where his phone had disappeared. Nolli was quick to defend his wallet, but in the process, forgot about Lolita, "HEY, you were texting and walking. PLUS YOU'RE WEARING SUNGLASSES. Why are you wearing sunglasses in the sewer??

Since his makeshift flashlight had disappeared into the poopy oblivion that was the sewer, Alexander produced an actual flashlight from his back pocket. The man made an insincere apology, "Sorry," as he shined the flashlight in Nolli's eyes. You dick-hole, you did that on purpose, Nolli thought, as he squinted and shielded his eyes. Thank god he was able to keep that one contained. Yeah, no problem... he muttered. Nolli forgave him, equally insincere though. Alexander continued, "and if the smoke offends you, just blame it on what I am."

Nolli wondered what he could have meant by that, and then it occurred to him. "Ohh? You're a harbinger? I couldn't tell cause of your shades. Which, by the way, I still see no point wearing if your going to be tromping through the dark sewer. I forgive you for smelling like walking lung cancer, by the way." FFFF, I didn't mean to say that last part... Damn this sewer. Nolli physically slapped his forehead this time, "I'm so sorry, I meant the keep that last part to myself." It must have been the fumes or something, because Nolli NEVER would have said something like that under normal circumstances, heck, he probably wouldn't have even thought it.

"What's your ability? If you don't me me asking," inquired Nolli. He figured that if Alex was offended by the question, it was okay, cause he probably already had Nolli's death meticulously planned out anyways.

Just as Nolli awaited an answer, the shit-abyss next to them gurgled loudly. The blood drained form Nolli's face as he watched a figure arise from the depths of Poo Hell. Mythical sewer beast??

Did this guy really have that much of a problem keeping the shit he was thinking in that head of his? Alex's eye twitched rather violently with each new remark, his lips working into a deeper grimace the longer the man spoke. He was half tempted on throwing Nolli into the sludge water and telling him to fetch, but part of Alex never wanted to touch that old phone again. He'd get a new one eventually, but he figured 'dropping it the sewer because someone ran into me' wasn't something his warranty covered.

"HEY, you were texting and walking. PLUS YOU'RE WEARING SUNGLASSES. Why are you wearing sunglasses in the sewer??

"It's colored glass. Not actual sunglasses," Alex returned as if it would make a difference. He had them on since the maintenance tunnel he had came in on was awfully bright, but now that he was in the actual underbelly, he really ought to have taken them off. "And I wasn't texting. I was checking to see if the bounty updated." Why was he even trying to explain himself? He blamed the fumes for his sudden 'give a fuck' attitude, but still blamed Nolli for his phone ending up in the water.

Alex smirked when he managed to make the man shy back for a moment because of the sudden beam of light in his face, but then flicked it back to the pathway to check down the tunnels. An eyebrow quirked at the man's reaction to him being a Harbinger, which meant that he wasn't one himself. Alex hadn't studied his face long enough to tell, but then again, that wasn't why he attempted blinding him. However, his scowled returned when the man made another off-hand comment. Yep, no filter. He titled the flashlight so it lit up his face campfire face style and used his other hand to pull off his glasses, violet cat-slit eyes staring at the man, "I wear them because walking around with these kind of eyes makes it a little hard to do much of anything without attracting attention." He cared less when he was in his own domain, since less people would fuck with him in the Lodge.

"What's your ability? If you don't me me asking,"

"I can make your heart stop with a touch," Alex said as his lips curved into a vicious smirk. It wasn't really a lie, just not the whole truth. He was about to tell him what his power really was when the look on his face made Alex glance to see what he was looking at. Shining the flashlight at the murky water, Alex snorted when he saw the 'figure' in the water reveal itself to them. "I don't even want to ask how a sex doll ended up in the sewers." He looked back at Nolli, "So. I assume you have a phone that gets a signal? Any update on our midget friend?"

The man removed his glasses and tilted the flashlight up so Nolli could better see his face. "I wear them because walking around with these kind of eyes makes it a little hard to do much of anything without attracting attention." Nolli stared, being abnormally rude thanks to the sewage fumes. He accidentally let another unintended remark slip, "that.... That's PRETTY FUCKIN COOL." Nolli slapped himself again. Fuucckk my liiiffee. He normally didn't swear this much either...

A red splotch had began to form on Nolli's forehead due to repeated, self-inflicted face-slapping. He looked back up at Alexander. He'd met a lot of harbingers in his day, but he'd never met one with cat-slit eyes.

Answering Nolli's question about his ability, the guy continued, "I can make your heart stop with a touch," his lips turned up at he corners into a dangerous smile.

"PFT, yeahokaysure," Nolli looked at Alexander skeptically. Nolli knew that he probably shouldn't have responded to a comment like that the way he did, but for some reason, he just couldn't control his mouth.

Nolli's eyes widened and he turned his head to the gurgling crap sludge.

Looking to where Nolli's eyes pointed, Alex scoffed, "I don't even want to ask how a sex doll ended up in the sewers." He looked back at Nolli, "So. I assume you have a phone that gets a signal? Any update on our midget friend?"

Appearing to take no notice of the question, Nolli continued to stare, "Alex... I don't thing that's a sex doll..." Completely disregarding whether or not the guy minded if his name was shortened, Nolli pointed a shaking finger as he raised his other hand to his mouth. I'm gonna be sick...

As more of the figure became visible, Nolli could clearly see it was a human cadaver. "Poor guy must've took quite a beating..." said Nolli, judging from the multiple bruises and the odd ways the corpse's joints were bent.

Could this have been Lolita's doing? "Nah.. she's never killed anyone before... but then again, she's on the run now..." mumbled Nolli, unintentionally thinking out loud. Again.

Alex snorted. "I'm glad you find my mutation awesome," he drawled, more amused that annoyed. It wasn't often that people said it, but at least he hadn't been turned away by the fact that he was a Harbinger. Most people would turn tail and run, or look at him with disgust (that was fine, since he usually returned it), but he was starting to like this guy. Even if he was still a bit loose with his comments. He really needed to stop slapping himself though, since that was a tab concerning.

Arching an eyebrow at his response to Alex's comment about his powers, the man snorted and figured that he'd save explaining it for another time. He could also start a stopped heart, but giving him that clue would be too easy and take away the edge of surprise. So until he had a chance to demonstrate the power (if he ever did), then he'd leave the man hanging on just what it was that he could do exactly.

"Alex... I don't thing that's a sex doll..."

The eyebrow lifted again as Alex focused the flashlight on the doll again. Sure enough, what Nolli said was true. Alex's lips worked into a thin line as the body drifted by, the amount of bruising indicating a struggled but there was no way that the girl could have been capable of bending his limbs like that. Either it was another person's handiwork or she had help in her escape. Nolli seemed to be having the same idea.

"Unlikely," Alex said in response, jiggling the flashlight so that the beam circled one of the bent limbs. "She couldn't have been capable of something like that unless she had help or used the surrounding to her advantage. It didn't say that she was a Harbinger in the briefing attached to her bounty and I highly doubt she'd be capable of a feat like that just because she is good at hand to hand combat." He lifted the light off the body and let it keep floating by forgotten. Someone else would catch it after them, so he figured he'd let them deal with it. "Let's go."

"Unlikely," said Alex, pointing out the grotesquely bent limbs, "She couldn't have been capable of something like that unless she had help or used the surrounding to her advantage. It didn't say that she was a Harbinger in the briefing attached to her bounty and I highly doubt she'd be capable of a feat like that just because she is good at hand to hand combat. Let's go."

Nolli didn't protest when Alex had suggested leaving. He'd wanted to get out of the sewer the second he'd climbed down. His eyes darted back at the bloated and battered corpse, Nolli couldn't help but feel they were looking over a crucial detail. He wouldn't have put it past the the city to have a corpse or two floating around in the sewer, but why hadn't anyone discovered it yet? Was he killed that recently? It didn't look like it. Judging by the pasty flesh that had began to fester in places, he seemed to be quite a few days into the decomposing process. The man's dead eyes stared blankly at the dark ceiling.Twitch.

Nolli froze. That was definitely just my imagination. Right, his imagination, the fumes must be playing tricks on his brain too. There's no way the corpse just moved. Even if it had, it was probably just cause of something in the sewage. He pushed the thought aside, and shook his head hurrying to catch up. He wasn't thinking straight since he'd been deprived of fresh air for so long. "Oh right, the bounty..." Nolli interjected; trying desperately to occupy himself with other thoughts. He produced his bedazzled, orange and green, zebra striped phone and unlocked it. Glancing up at Alex, half afraid he'd snatch it away and chuck it into the sewage in rage, Nolli said, "Hold on, I'm checking to see if there's an update on the Bulletin."

Nolli stopped walking to check his phone, and looked pointedly at Alex as if to say, 'this is how you're supposed to check your phone if you're taking a stroll in the sewer.' Nolli was about to open the browser just as he felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck rise in alarm. Looking up from what he was doing, he strained to hear over the slow moving poo-water. His heart-rate soared. Footsteps. They were faint, but definitely coming their way. Growing louder, Nolli instantly figured they were far too heavy to belong to a 4'9 midget, he deduced that they likely belonged to a heavier set male. Steady and confident, like he knew what he was doing.

Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him again, but something about the footsteps set them apart from other. It was the wet sound, like the person's shoes and socks were soaked thoroughly. Squish... squish... squish...

That part is definitely all in your head, Nolli. The fumes are making you paranoid; they're just normal footsteps. "Hey, Alex. Unless you think you can take him, we gotta find somewhere to hide. Somewhere that'll mask my glowy pants," hissed Nolli. He was trying his best to mask his uneasiness, but his attempts were in vain. Nolli swallowed as a bead of sweat rolled down his brow. "Or we could just hang out here and hope that he's not hostile. . ."

Nolli just stared as the large sewer rodent scampered passed them. He almost laughed out loud, of course it wasn't the dead guy. What was he thinking?

"I doubt that thing could do a lot to us. Maybe bite us or give us rabies." Alex pointed out the human finger in the creatures mouth, "or that."

Wait... a finger? Nolli was pretty sure the corpse had all ten fingers. He looked at his hands and then at Alex's, and we have all ten fingers... Which meant that the finger belonged to a fourth person. Lolita? Hah, nine-fingered midget?... Nolli wasn't sure why he found that funny...

"What'd the update say?" Oh, right.

Nolli opened up the Bulletin and checked for any new information on Lolita. "Well, there's nothing new on her location, so I guess we can assume that she's still down here, for now. He kept reading. His eyes widened a bit, an accomplice? "This is interesting, they just added some information about a possible accomplice," Uh oh... "who's possibly a Harbinger with an unknown ability..." Nolli handed the phone to Alex, watching him very carefully. There's no way he'd throw my phone into the poo-water, right? I mean it's our only source of information right now...

The corpse wasn't a harbinger, Nolli clearly remembered the man's empty gaze. That guy's eyes were as normal as mine... This meant that the dead guy, who couldn't have been killed by a midget, was possibly killed by the midget's potential Harbinger accomplice. The finger that Alex and Nolli had seen earlier, now could belong to either Lolita or Lolita's traveling companion.

Nolli took back his phone, relieved that it'd been returned to him safely.

"'Course I'm going after them, couldn't pass up the chance to maybe see a nine-fingered midget." Nolli was being totally serious, he didn't even care about the money. This Lolita just sounded like a very interesting character

Looking for a relatively cleaner/dryer place to sit, Nolli took a seat on a less grimy ledge. He rested his chin on his hands and stared into the murky goodness that was sewage. Yum. How were they going to catch Lolita? If that dead guy was another bounty hunter, and if she killed him, that meant she was aware that she had pursuers. Depending on how safe she felt with her alleged accomplice, she might still be taking her time down here in the shit hole of the city, or she upped and left right after she killed the guy. She must have a lot of confidence in the strength of her accomplice if she decided to stay... "You got any ideas, Alex?" Nolli asked, looking up from the dark, tar-like, shit-water.

Nolli studied Alex, a bit rudely, but he couldn't help that. "You okay, man? You still look kinda tense. Something the matter?" Now that Alex had brought Nolli's attention to this, he'd been feeling a little uneasy as well, even after the sewer rodent disappeared into the darkness. Well, if we see whatever it is eventually, we see it, and if we don't, we don't.

"Or a nine-fingered harbinger." Touche

Nolli could tell that Alex was distracted with something. He too, was soon distracted with something when a gigantic fucking worm-bug started to make it's way up his arm. Nolli flailed; when he failed to lose the bug, he quickly plucked it from his arm and tossed it into the sewage. Whaddya know, it can swim... Nolli grimaced, thoroughly disgusted.

"Sorry, I'm fine. But ideas..." Nolli looked back up at the sound of Alex's voice. "Honestly? I'm better at improvising. Do you have any you wanted to run with?"

Nolli thoughtfully looked back down, specifically at the swimming worm-bug as it made its way down the steadily flowing stream of poo. Winging the whole thing had started to sound better and better, considering what little information they had to go with. Obviously, if they weren't careful, they could easily end up in deep shit big trouble. The way things were looking now, wandering around the sewer seemed to be their best option. Unless... "can you think of any way to draw them out without potentially scaring them off?"

"Let's search more before we come up with a concrete plan."

Nolli nodded in agreement, unable to come up with anything better. He rubbed his eyes, beginning to feel a bit light-headed. Welp, if they're still down here, I guess we have a chance of bumpin' into them at some point.

Carefully getting up from the dirty ledge, Nolli brushed off his glowy pants. He spoke, "onward, then?" Not really waiting for Alex, Nolli continued in the direction they'd been coming originally before being sidetracked.

After spending several long, eye-watering hours in the sewer, Nolli began to wonder how extended exposure to the wastes would affect one's mentality and/or physique. By the looks of things, he figured someone's health could deteriorate just from being down here. Even someone in perfect condition (let alone a missing finger) would grow sickly in a place like this. In fact, the nauseating smells were beginning to seriously affect Nolli's own ability to hold his breakfast down. There's no way Lolita, who was allegedly half the size of Alex and himself, could spend more than a day or two down here.

Nolli halted, nearly keeling over from a sudden urge to throw up. Slightly bent over at the stomach, he glanced back at Alex to see if the guy was experiencing any of the sudden symptoms he was. Unless the man was completely immune to the sewer or an excellent faker, the cat-eyed harbinger seemed virtually unaffected at the moment. Nolli turned his head back to the ground, trying to regain his composure. In the pink light provided by his pants, it occurred to him that he was leaving a trail of footprints in the thick coat of residue that covered the floor. Footprints. His eyes widened. He'd noticed that earlier, but for some reason, he hadn't applied the concept in the slightest. Virtually all the surfaces of the sewer were coated with some kind of slimy debris. If Lolita was down here, there had to be some kind of trail.

Nolli whipped around, "ALEX." He quickly slumped over again, regretting the abrupt motion. Nolli continued, trying not to spew the contents of his stomach all over the sewer (not like it would make much of a difference anyways LOL), "Look... for a trail..." His words were muffled by his hand.

Nolli heaved once more, barely managing to keep down his latest meal.

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