Pearls on a String

Volume 3

Chapter 33: Calm

Downtown Vale

Pip lounged upon the sofa in the waiting area of the motel, stretching her long legs out in front of her. "I'm gonna go fetch 'em," she stated without a trace of seriousness, in fact not moving a muscle from her comfortable sprawl.

Sitting somewhat more demurely next to her, Lustre didn't even look up from her book. "No, you are not."

"Yep, I'm gonna go up and knock on their door."

"Then I shall have to break your legs now and save my partner the trouble."

The rangy blonde chuckled, lacing her fingers behind her head as she looked up at the ceiling. "Now there's the Team Perl morning threats I've come to expect."

"It would certainly not be a typical morning without one," her silver-haired friend agreed calmly.

They sat in silence for a few more moments before Pip spoke up again restlessly.

"You think it went alright for them?"

"I do not see why it would not. They make quite the adorable couple, and love each other greatly."

Pip grinned over at her teammate and opened her mouth to engage in one of her trademark teasings when Lustre beat her to it.

"No, I am not a romantic. No, I am not reading one of those types of books."

The blonde let a breath out, deflated. "You're no fun this morning," she grumbled mildly.

Lustre gave a soft smile, still not looking up from her book. "That would be due to my lack of sleep, as a direct result of your snoring by my head."

"Wha- Babe, I'm offended." Pip clasped a hand to her chest. "I've told you before, I don't snore! You must have been dreaming."

The silver-haired girl's smile turned into a smirk. "Yes, dear. You keep telling yourself that."

Just then the couple in question appeared, as the elevator door slid aside with a ding, holding hands and smiling shyly at each other. Beryl gave a start as she noticed the elevator had opened and dragged her giggling Faunus girlfriend after her.

"Yep," Pip grinned widely. "It went well."

"Told you so," Lustre murmured in a sing-song voice, causing the blonde to bark out a quick laugh as she rose to her feet.

"You two are looking pretty damn radiant this morning!" the rangy coral-eyed girl announced.

"Um, yeah," Beryl chuckled a bit bashfully, ducking her head. "I guess we are."

"And quite satisfied," Evie added in a smug voice. Her girlfriend turned to regard her quizzically, but then Beryl's face cleared up as she laughed and hugged her enthusiastically.

"Okaaay," Pip drawled out. "Well, let's go grab some breakfast from in here before we head out, okay?"

"Yeah, sounds good," her partner smiled. "And, um… we have something to tell you, too."

Pip and Lustre shared a confused shrug behind the pair's back as they entered the small breakfast room of the motel. "They shall tell us in due time," the silver-haired girl stated softly.

Nodding, she trailed behind the others, smirking at the way Evie's tail curled possessively around her blue-haired teammate's leg, and grabbed what she could of the complementary food set out. Fortunately, it was laden with a decent amount of meats, so she grabbed a tongful of bacon, a few sausage patties, and a goodly-sized serving of eggs. As an afterthought, she plopped a chunk of melon on her plate as well to forestall any criticism from her teammates. Ahead of her, Lustre had found the hot sauce, which was somewhat lacking based on her disappointed look, but she proceeded to drench her eggs in it anyway.

The two of them headed over to a corner table within the moderately busy room where Evie and Beryl were already seated, grinning at them somewhat nervously while clasping hands on the table's surface.

"So, what's goin' on?" Pip asked as she sat. No point in beating around the bush, I wanna know what's got them all bothered.

She may be back in Vale to search for her older sibling, but to these three girls, she was still and always would be their big sister.

"Okay," Evie began, clearing her throat before lowering her voice. "So, obviously, last night went… well…"

"Evieeee," Beryl moaned softly. "You didn't say you'd be bringing that up!"

"I'm just… giving context!" the raven-haired Faunus explained, her tail swishing nervously behind her. "So… alright, I'm just gonna come right out and tell you guys, 'cause you'd be the first to know anyway… I mean, yeah we live together, but you're our family, right?"

"Evie," Lustre broke in gently. "You are rambling, dear. Just say what it is you need to say."

The Cat Faunus nodded rapidly and inhaled deeply before letting it out in a rush. "We're Mated," she finally whispered with a pleased smile.

"You're… Really?" Pip laughed loudly with her head thrown back, the happy sound echoing off the walls and causing more than a few stares in their direction. "That's awesome! Dust, I'm so happy for you guys!"

"I am overjoyed for you both as well," Lustre stated with a fond smile, resting her hand on her partner's shoulder. "Was this planned?"

"Sorta," Evie grinned bashfully. "I just… I kinda winged it."

"Pfft, like she really needed to," the blue-haired girl at her side scoffed lightly. "She shoulda known I'd go along with anything she wanted."

"Well, I do now," Evie retorted with a lecherous grin, causing her girlfriend to blush.

"Evieeee..."

"Damn." Pip shook her head, absolute joy for her friends bubbling up in her chest. She wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. "Just… Damn. That's awesome, really."

"Pip, are you crying?" her partner exclaimed.

"No, just… dusty in here." The blonde shook her head ruefully.

"Uh-huh," Beryl laughed. "And not 'cause our fearless leader is a big softie or anything, right?"

"...Hush, you."

"Well, I must say, this is amazing news," Lustre interjected warmly. "Would you two like to celebrate? I am afraid I do not know the protocol in such instances…"

"Er, there's no real protocol, per se," Evie smiled. "I mean, usually, it's just like telling folk that they're dating or engaged… Which is why you're the first to know, of course."

"Aww," the blonde grinned, leaping from her chair and running around the table. "You guys… c'mere…"

"Ack!" Beryl laughed as Pip threw an arm around her shoulders from behind, wrapping her up in a similar hug alongside the Cat Faunus.

o o o

The four girls, armed and armored in their typical combat gear, were standing in front of a rather tall, though dilapidated, apartment building. It was an imposing brick structure with numerous windows, with the bottom two floors having secure-looking bars across them and a rusty fire escape along each side of the building, bordered by narrow alleys.

"Sooo…" Evie murmured uncertainly. "This is the place, then?"

Pip nodded slowly. "Yeah, this was the address that Uncle Jaune gave me for that guy Glory was associated with." She grinned suddenly and turned to the others. "Feels weird calling him that."

Her partner reached out and gave her arm a squeeze. "C'mon, blondie. Let's go find your sister."

They trudged up to the eighth floor, passing several graffiti-lined corridors, some apartments with the doors hanging off the hinges, and another with a very odd smell emanating from it.

"Ugh," Pip scowled with her nose screwed up. "Junkies."

"Is that what the smell is?" Beryl asked curiously.

Lustre turned from where she led the procession. "And how precisely do you know this, dear?"

The rangy blonde raised her hands defensively. "Hey, keep in mind my upbringing. I never used the stuff, but I knew those who did."

"Not gonna judge any," Evie reassured her. "Just as curious, though."

They finally reached the target floor, only Beryl breathing heavily. "Dust," the petite blue-haired girl sighed. "I gotta work on my endurance, especially with my armor on…"

"I have a few ideas along those lines," her Cat Faunus lover grinned wickedly.

Pip barked out a loud laugh, followed by Lustre's more demure giggling, while the blue-haired girl in question blushed a bright red and covered her face with the palm of her hand.

"I suppose I walked right into that, didn't I," she sighed.

"Yes," Evie snickered, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Yes, you did."

After recovering, Pip walked forward to the second door on the hallway. She paused as another door further along opened to reveal a mother and her two little girls on their way to play somewhere outside. The brunette, evidently a Bird Faunus of some sort by the tan-colored plumes along her neck that matched the downy fluff on her children, gave them all a wide berth as she scurried past.

"Well, this can't be all that bad a place," Beryl murmured. "I mean, families live here."

"Oh, sweetie," her girlfriend sighed. "Sometimes folk don't have a choice in the conditions they can afford to live in. Faunus especially, even nowadays."

Pip nodded a bit sadly. "It's gotten a lot better, I think, but yeah, I knew a lot of kids that came from projects, government housing, that sorta thing… Gotta live where the work is." The blonde gave a somewhat lopsided grin. "Makes me wonder, sometimes, where I would have ended up if I hadn't gotten into the program for Signal and then Beacon."

"I do not think that would ever have been in doubt, dear," Lustre replied warmly. "You are a warrior and a Huntress."

"And our fearless leader," Beryl chipped in. "Can't imagine you ever ending up anywhere else."

"Yeah, I suppose," Pip nodded, sucking in a quick breath as she faced the door. "Whelp, no use puttin' it off any longer, this is the place. Here goes."

She rapped her knuckles on the door several times and then stood back to wait.

After almost a full minute she frowned and turned partway towards her partner. "You hear anything?"

Evie nodded, her Faunus ears twitching. "Yeah, sounded like… a window opening? Oh!"

The raven-haired girl spun and darted over toward the end of the hallway by the stairs. The window there was open, and she leaned out to look around the side of the building.

"Two figures escaping out the side!" she called out over her shoulder. "One in the alley, the other's going over the rooftops!"

"Evie, take the alley, Lustre, the roof!" Pip barked out as she charged down the staircase. Beryl was hot on her heels, but they felt the breeze as their silver-haired teammate shot past them and through the window. Evie had already teleported away in pursuit.

Panting, the two armored girls arrived at the ground level. The blonde grinned and gave a polite nod to the startled mother from earlier. "Ma'am," she said breathlessly before shouldering the side door open and lunging into the alleyway.

Evie was standing stock-still in the middle, both her Faunus ears and tail twitching sporadically and her head tilted slightly to the side. The two girls slowed their charge, trotting up next to her and peering down the alley.

"Uhh, did they get away?" Beryl asked curiously.

Their teammate shook her head slowly, raven tresses blowing in the light breeze. "No… not exactly… just trying to… locate…" Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled suddenly as a feral grin crept across her face. "Aha, gotcha!"

She blinked away again, only to end up almost at the other end of the narrow alley at chest-level. And then she was tackling an invisible figure that quickly materialized into a dark-clad form as the two began to struggle amidst curses and scuffling. Finally the other managed to flip Evie off and pounced, the hood of the dark cloak falling back to reveal a shock of blonde hair in disarray.

The blonde woman straddled the Faunus girl, striking her across the face with a clenched fist. Before she could get another hit in, she was slammed into her side by a blur of blue.

Beryl had the taller attacker pressed up against the brick wall, Shashka at her throat. "Don't you fucking touch my girlfriend," she growled fiercely.

Pip stepped over to help Evie up, but her partner was already rolling to her feet and dusting herself off, none the worse for wear thanks to her aura. "So," the raven-haired girl began nonchalantly. "That her?"

Frowning slightly, the blonde team leader turned to the other blonde who seemed content to remain still while pinned in place by the blade still held unwaveringly at her throat. Her hair was a little different from the photo, closer-cropped on the sides now and spiky up top, but her lean face and bright blue eyes were unmistakable, those features a clear indicator of the Arc family genes at work. Upon closer inspection, Pip could see that her sister's right ear had several gold hoop piercings along the edge with a gold chain connecting the top and bottom ones, while the left contained only a single sapphire stud that matched her eyes.

"Looks like it," the blonde team leader sighed, trying for a reassuring smile. The pinned woman twisted slightly to view her, revealing that the tattoo on the side of her neck was of a purple Morning Glory. Heh, appropriate.

"So who are you guys with?" the other woman finally spat out harshly, her blue eyes hard and glinting. "Don't think I've seen you types running around here, look more like fancy students than anything."

"Um, yeah…" Pip grinned, rubbing the back of her neck. "That's 'cause we are. Thing is…"

Just then a large figure dropped bonelessly to the concrete in between them with a muffled whump. It stirred slightly, tossing back another dark cloak to reveal a lean face with jet-black hair and tall Faunus ears that swiveled inquisitively as he took in his surroundings. He flinched slightly as Lustre dropped to the ground, his golden eyes narrowed in irritation at the final team member's appearance.

"You okay, Tim?" the blonde woman frowned.

"Yeah, fine, G, fine," he grunted, sitting up and brushing himself off. "Who are these clowns?"

She snorted derisively. "Just some kids from the school who need a good smackdown."

"Oh yeah," Evie grinned. "Definitely her."

"Does she not realize who has a blade to whose throat here?" Beryl rhetorically questioned to the world at large.

"Okay, okay, let's just hold up now," Pip implored, her hands upraised. "Please let her go, babe, we're getting off on the wrong foot here."

Scowling, Beryl stepped back and sheathed her sword, though she kept herself in front of Evie with her arms crossed as if daring the other blonde to try anything. Her Cat Faunus girlfriend giggled at that and wrapped her arms around her from behind.

"You're so cute when you're being all protective," the raven-haired girl murmured.

"Evieeee," Beryl complained quietly. "I'm trying to be intimidating here!"

"Okay, seriously, who are you people?" Tim demanded as he got to his feet, hands twitching at his sides.

"Allow me," Evie interjected, stepping up next to her adorably ferocious girlfriend. "Glory Cerise?"

The other blonde tilted her head cautiously in agreement.

The Cat Faunus grinned widely as she indicated her team leader with a sweep of her hand. "Meet your sister, Pippin Cerise."

Pip gave her a weak smile and a hesitant wave. "Um, hey."

Glory stared at the other blonde for a good minute. "You're shitting me here."

"Actually, I kinda see it," Tim mused as he stepped in between the two, head swiveling back and forth. "Younger sister, I take it?"

"Yup," Pip nodded easily.

"Figures." He shook his head ruefully. "I mean seriously, what's with the amateur hour? Leaving us with our weapons and everything?"

"Hey, we weren't looking for a fight!" the blonde retorted. "And it's not like we couldn't hold our own if we needed to!"

"Pfft, yeah, right," he waved her away dismissively. "So, G, whaddya think?"

"I think she's gonna shiv you if you keep taunting her like that," Glory replied with a smirk. "But for now… Yeah, I still don't believe it. I'm an orphan, how'd you even find me, then?"

Evie laid a restraining arm on her partner who, truth be told, was working quite hard at keeping her hands from erupting into flames. "That's a long story. I get it, you don't trust us, but maybe we can talk somewhere else?"

Glory eyed the four of them stoically for a few moments while her partner just looked on with a condescending smirk, one which continued to increasingly infuriate Pip as the seconds ticked by.

"Fine," the other blonde finally grunted. She stepped away from the wall and tilted her head to the side. "This way."

Fat Charlie's Bar & Grill

Downtown Vale

"Well, this is… an interesting locale," Lustre murmured from her seat around the large round table.

Pip had just finished regaling her newfound sister with the tale of her summer quest to find her mother, and how along the way she'd been inadvertently discovering more family that she never knew existed. The six of them were clustered together in a smoky, mostly-deserted bar. While both Tim and Glory had tumblers of smoky liquid in front of them, the others had declined any beverage.

"It's colorful," Pip agreed, watching her blonde sibling who wore a thousand-yard stare on her face as she tried to come to terms with everything revealed to her. "Been in worse."

"Oh, c'mon kid, don't try and play the tough-girl card," the Wolf Faunus scoffed from his relaxed perch next to his partner. "It doesn't suit you."

"You callin' me a liar?" the lanky blonde demanded with a low growl. "Just got done telling you, dumb-ass, I grew up in an orphanage. Yeah, I had a roof over my head to sleep under at night, but I spent plenty of time on the streets."

"Riiight," he drawled, tossing back the rest of his drink. Amber eyes glittered in amusement as he regarded the irate girl. "I'm sure you had it rough."

Her growling cut off as Evie laid a restraining hand on her arm. "Why are you letting him get under your skin like that?" the Cat Faunus murmured.

"'Cause he's a condescending ass," Pip retorted, not bothering to lower her voice.

"Well, you're not wrong," Glory replied, earning her a laugh from the raven-haired man lounging indolently next to her. Her blue eyes focused in on Pip once more, this time more consideringly rather than mistrustful. "But he's saved my life enough for me to put up with it."

"Aw, you love it," Tim snickered. "Don't deny."

In response the other blonde shot a hand over to flick him on the nose, causing him to just laugh harder. "Alright then," she began quietly, ignoring her partner's antics. "I got some stuff I gotta do today. Errands and such. Pip, you wanna come with?"

"Me?" her sister replied somewhat less than intelligently.

"Wait, what?" Tim interjected, the legs of his tilted chair slamming back to the floor with a thud. "G, you trust this kid to watch your back?"

"Look, jerkoff," Pip snarled, rising to her feet and leaning forward on her fists. She cut off whatever response Glory had been about to make, as she'd just reached the limit of her admittedly short fuse. "I'm no kid, I've been through shit you cannot begin to imagine, alright? Yeah, I'm eighteen and a student, nineteen next month, but my team is probably the best in Beacon, and we're just now starting our third year. I could kick your ass nine ways to Oum, and I'm damn well able to fucking watch my sister's back as well as you could, if not better."

"Pip," her partner murmured warningly.

The blonde was panting heavily by that point, and just now noticed the tendrils of smoke wafting up from the table. Glancing down, she saw the veins in her hands glowing dully red, the surface below her fists charred and blackened.

Without meeting the wide-eyed stares of Glory or Tim, she closed her eyes and willed herself to relax as she sat back down. "Sorry," she mumbled, abashed. "I'm okay now."

"Fuck me," she heard the Wolf Faunus breathe.

Glory snorted as Pip opened her eyes again. "That's some semblance you got there."

"It's not all semblance," she returned quietly. "But… Well, it's a long story, and better saved for another time, yeah?"

The other blonde nodded. "Yeah, okay, Pip. And for the record?" She smirked widely over at Tim. "This ass is only twenty himself."

"Now why you gotta go dispelling my air of mystery?" Tim objected mildly.

"Not that mysterious, dork," Glory smiled fondly as she rose to her feet.

Beryl leaned over from the other side of Evie, frowning slightly. "You sure about this, Pip?"

"It'll be fine, babe," she reassured the blue-haired girl before turning to her team at large. "Really, it will give us a chance to talk. Um, when and where do we wanna meet up?"

"Back here for dinner?" Glory proposed.

She was met by a chorus of assents, some more reluctant than others. The siblings bade their farewells before heading outside and along the sidewalk.

Glory had left her cloak with her partner, finally giving Pip a chance to take a good look at her older sister. She was perhaps a couple of inches shorter than her, but with just as lanky a frame as herself. The limbs exposed by the short-sleeved dark purple blouse were not as muscular, though she looked as if she could easily hold her own in a fight. The black leggings, crisscrossed by several belts draped across her hips, did nothing to conceal powerful leg muscles that bunched as she walked, likely honed by years of running through the streets.

"Are you checking out my ass?" Glory inquired mildly without turning her way.

"What? No!" Pip squawked, though she ceased her sputtering when she saw the teasing smirk on her sister's face, the exact same one that she knew she often bore herself around her friends. "Damn, that's eerie," the younger blonde laughed. "Seriously, like looking in a mirror."

"Yeah, I'm starting to pick up on that as well," her sister murmured. "Plenty of differences, though."

"Well, yeah. Nice ink, by the way."

"Thanks," Glory grinned. Her short sleeves showed off vines winding around her left arm and a stylized dagger on the other forearm. The bright purple Morning Glory on the side of her neck was facing her, contrasting nicely with the purple of her blouse. "You got any?"

"Pfft, nah. That requires money."

"Well, yeah, but… How do you even afford Beacon?"

"Government program."

"Huh. Handy, that."

Pip nodded genially, her head remaining on a swivel as she kept her coral eyes roaming. "Doesn't leave me much, just what I can pick up from Grimm bounties. Not that I need much, really."

Her sister nodded as well in response, seemingly staring straight forward but Pip could tell that she was acutely aware of her surroundings. As they turned a corner, the blonde got a glimpse of a pair of handles just barely protruding from behind her sister's waist.

"So what weapons do you have there?" she asked curiously.

"Just a pair of daggers." Glory shrugged. "Nothing fancy, but they work well enough."

"Gotcha."

"Nice sword you got, though."

"Thanks. I call her Odachi Dahlia. She's a sniper rifle as well."

"Hmm."

The younger blonde scratched absently at the back of her neck. "And then what about your semblance, I'm guessing it's some sorta invisibility?"

Glory nodded levelly. "That's right, only lasts for a minute at best, but it's gotten me out of a lotta tight places." Her grin turned somewhat lopsided. "Of course, it doesn't work so well against Faunus."

"Cool…"

"Yup."

Pip sighed softly. Well, I think we've exhausted all the small talk I can think of, save for the weather… Oh, well, here's one.

"So…" The rangy armored girl glanced aside at her sister. "You and Tim, huh?"

"What? No, no way," Glory laughed. The sound was quite similar to her own, if a little raspier. "No, Tim and I, we're partners and friends, nothing more. I'm more along the lines of that cute couple in your team. The Faunus girl and the little blue-haired one, what were their names again?"

"Evie and Beryl. Um… So, exclusively into girls, huh?"

"Yep. You?"

"Nope, I prefer guys myself."

"Cool." They walked for another minute in silence before Glory spoke up again. "Anybody you're seeing?"

"Nope." Pip pushed aside the familiar ache, duller now from having the summer to mourn the loss of Rufus, and kept her voice light. "How about you?"

"Eh, a few flings here and there, nothing serious."

"Mmhmm."

Glory cleared her throat as they paused outside what looked to be a nondescript warehouse. "So does this feel as awkward to you as it does to me?"

"Fuck, yes," Pip groaned.

The siblings shared a brief laugh as they stood a couple of feet from each other. light coral eyes meeting bright sapphire ones.

"I really have a sister," Glory mused wonderingly.

"Seems that way," Pip agreed, her own marvel at the idea still lacing her voice.

The elder blonde sibling gave her a slow nod. "Well, let's get through this one meeting, and on the way to the next I'll tell you what I know."

"Still don't trust me, do ya?" the younger one grinned.

Glory paused and shot her a mirrored grin. "Trust is hard to come by. Let's just say I'm willing to give you a chance. Keep your mouth shut in here and just back me up, okay?"

"You got it, sis," Pip nodded.

The other blonde paused again with her hand on the door handle, her sardonic grin changing slightly into something a little more speculative. "Okay… sis."

Pip followed her sister into the cavernous warehouse, dimly lit only by the windows overhead. It was getting towards lunchtime, but she was still content from the large breakfast earlier. The passageway they strode down was lined with tall shelves stuffed with unmarked boxes of various sizes. She trailed behind a step, keeping to Glory's right shoulder, but left her sword sheathed.

So, going for the intimidating bodyguard look, I guess… I got an inkling whatever she's here for, it ain't exactly legal…

Part of her was a bit troubled that she might be getting herself into the shadier side of Vale, but she'd certainly brushed up against the underbelly of the city often enough while growing up.

She smiled slightly just before they entered the main part of the building. Wonder if I might have crossed paths with her before, not even knowing?

"You're late," a low voice called out from a folding chair set before a card table that was set up in the junction of shelf-lined corridors. An elderly but fit-looking man in a black suit and red tie sat there, idly counting out stacks of lien while other forms stood nearby. Pip's gaze traveled around, picking out the figures in the shadows easily. Right, so no real aura users except for this guy, but I'm sure they've got guns on hand.

"I'm always late," Glory scoffed in return. She came to a halt several paces from the table, Pip remaining a pace behind but taking a step further to the side, arms loose at her sides.

"You're later than usual," the man amended, looking over Pip warily. "New partner?"

"Something like that," Glory murmured offhandedly. "So, you got the goods already, right?"

"I did," he nodded.

"And the payment?"

The man watched her for several heartbeats. "You were late on delivery, too."

Glory shrugged, unconcerned. "Again, nothing new. You knew that coming in."

"And Raymond?" The man's dark eyes took on a dangerously glittering aspect.

"Nothing he didn't deserve."

Pip didn't let a frown cross her features, but she was getting a little tired of only following half of the conversation. Who the Dust is Raymond? And why do I get the feeling this meetup just got a whole lot less friendly?

"Well," the man stated quietly. "You left him with a broken hand."

Glory's smirk widened. "He put it where it didn't belong."

"Be that as it may, I'm a firm believer in retribution on an equal level."

One of the shadows behind them stirred and approached. Pip glanced over, one eyebrow raised questioningly, which Glory returned with a slight nod.

Yay, finally I get to have some fun!

The man that approached was rather large and bulky, but he didn't move like a fighter, rather as a person used to intimidating people through his size alone. Pip was more than willing to disabuse him of such hubris.

While he was still several steps away, Pip turned suddenly and lunged, grasping the extended forearm and giving it a twist. The thug howled as his bones creaked from the aura-assisted hold, but the blonde didn't leave him that way for long. Spinning, she delivered a roundhouse kick to the hunched man's jaw, dropping him like a sack of flour.

"Really, Davis," her sister intoned in a bored-sounding voice, not even bothering to turn around. "Is this necessary?"

The man, Davis, lurched to his feet, narrowly missing pitching the table over. His aquiline features were pinched in anger. "Drop that bitch," he snarled.

Whelp, kid gloves are off. Pip drew her beloved greatsword in a quick motion but left it in a high guard. With a brief pulse of her aura, she activated the red dust in her system and sent it along her arms. The veins glowed a dull red that showed up rather well in the dim warehouse, though they were soon outshined by the flames that licked along the edge of her sword.

Glory glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the ignited sword held aloft. "You sure you don't wanna just pay me off so we can leave?" she asked the man mildly.

Davis had quickly changed his tune, recoiling from the display. "Y- Yeah, okay, fine, here's your payout, just… Just leave, alright?"

Glory accepted the stack, taking her time to count the notes, before giving him a winning smile. "Thanks for the business, Davis!"

The blonde Beacon student snorted softly as she doused the flames, twirling Odachi Dahlia a few times to cool it off before slipping it back in the sheath across her back. As the two sisters departed, the other figures shrank away slightly.

"Don't you bring that freaky bitch back here next time, you hear me, Glory?" the man shouted at their retreating backs.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied with an airy wave of her hand over her shoulder, not bothering to look back.

Once they were outside, Glory turned towards Pip with a wide grin on her face. "Oum's bloody balls, that was so much fun! I've always wanted to put that smug bastard in his place!"

Pip snickered, stretching her arms over her head. "Please, I've faced down much scarier, those guys weren't even in the same league as those Dragon losers back in Mistral."

"Um." Glory blinked her eyes uncertainly. "You went up against the Black Dragons?"

"Yep," she replied cheerfully, swinging her arms back down. "Kicked their asses, too. That's how I met our cousin, Merri."

"Right…"

"So, out of curiosity, who's Raymond?"

Glory gave herself a shake and let her customary sardonic grin slip into place once more. "Raymond Davis, Junior, as in that guy's only son. Also, a grabby little prick who shoulda known better than to touch my ass."

Throwing her head back and barking out a loud laugh, Pip continued on her walk with Glory.

After a block, Glory slowed her pace and glanced over at her younger sibling. "So, you wanna know about how I ended up where I did?"

"I'd like to, yeah," Pip replied with a soft smile. "If nothing else, it'd help with tracking mom down."

"Mom…" The other blonde shook her head. "Hard to believe I might even have one… And yet here I am, walking along with my badass little sister. Not how I imagined today would go when I woke up."

They rounded a corner, pressing further into the streets of downtown Vale. The crowds grew denser as they progressed into the business district, but the distinctive pair of blondes were able to easily navigate and still remain shoulder-to-shoulder.

"So I don't really know anything about where I came from," Glory finally began softly, just loud enough to carry over the ambient sounds of the city as office workers scurried to return to their businesses after lunch. "I remember woods, walking through them… but not how I got there. Don't really remember how long I was in those woods, either, just that I was real hungry. Only possession I had was this worn little book of nursery rhymes that had my full name inside of it. Couldn't read it on my own yet, but I liked the pictures." She smiled slightly in remembrance. "And then this group of Faunus came by, heading for Vale through the woods. They were smugglers, and readily took me along, fed and protected me, taught me how to look after myself."

Glory paused by a street vendor selling sticks of meat that were sizzling on a grill. She held up two fingers and passed along a low-denomination lien note to the elderly brunette Cat Faunus, who exchanged it for a pair of the skewers. She passed one to Pip who murmured her thanks before they continued on.

Grinning around her bite of meat, Pip reflected that she hadn't had one of these since she started at Signal all those years ago. Slightly spicy but full of flavor, you never asked where the meat came from. It didn't matter, really, because the taste made you unwilling to determine its origins.

"That's where I met Tim, actually," Glory mumbled around her own bite, holding one hand under to catch the juice that ran down her chin, much as it did Pip's. "We stuck together after we got to Vale, grew up together on the streets. Consider him a brother more than a partner, but don't tell him I said that."

Pip swallowed her bite with a grin. "My lips are sealed. Greasy, but sealed. 'Sides which, I'm easily bribed by a Rat Poker."

Her sister barked out a quick laugh. "Oh, yeah, shoulda figured you'd have had one of these before… Great, ain't they?"

"The best," Pip grinned widely. "So that's really all you had to work with, huh? Your name from a book, and wandering in the woods…"

"Yep, that's it," Glory agreed. "Don't know why you'd even need to go off of my own memories, though, haven't you been back to the orphanage yet?"

The younger blonde paused and blinked her coral eyes uncertainly. "Why would I go back there?"

"Well, you're eighteen now, right?" Glory gave her arm a tug to move them along once more, careful to use her non-greasy hand. "They can give you the details on how you got there, like who dropped you off and all that."

"I didn't… I had no idea." Pip's mind was awhirl with the information she'd just gleaned, it never even have occurred to her that as an adult now she could read her own file. "Oum, I gotta go visit them…"

"Hey, not so fast, now," Glory chuckled. "They'll be around tomorrow, and it's gettin' close to when their office would be closing anyways, I'll bet. 'Sides, I've still got you for the afternoon."

"Okay," Pip nodded with a grin. "Tomorrow, then. So what's up next?"

"Well…" Glory began to tick items off on her hand. "Lesse, I got two assassinations, a robbery lined up, oh, and there's a shopkeeper that needs a shakedown."

The younger blonde stopped in her tracks, staring at her sister incredulously. Glory only lasted a half minute before she erupted in laughter.

"Oh, fucking Dust, the look on your face," she wheezed merrily. "Seriously, Pip, I'm not that bad, okay?"

Pip shook her head ruefully, long blonde ponytail swinging over her shoulder. "Well, I wasn't gonna judge any… Maybe the assassination thing, but…"

Glory snorted another laugh as they continued on. "I facilitate property as it changes ownership."

"Uh-huh. Sounds like a fancy way of calling yourself a thief."

"Eh, you say potato… Anyways, we only have one more stop before we can head back and meet the others."

"So, then, where is it?"

"Here." Glory pulled them to a halt outside of a ramshackle-looking church, set into the end of a row of townhouses just on the outskirts of the commercial district they'd passed through. Pip noted a sign that pointed along the alley, indicating the existence of a soup kitchen down that way. Several men and women, predominantly Faunus, were already lined up along the brick wall.

"You… volunteer at a soup kitchen?" she asked incredulously.

Glory held a finger to her lips, sapphire blue eyes twinkling merrily as the late afternoon sun shone off of her golden earrings. "Shhh. I have a rep to maintain."

"Gotcha." Pip grinned as she followed the older blonde down the alley, several of those in line calling out to her in a friendly manner.

Yeah, I got one awesome sister. How about that?

Downtown Vale

Next Morning

Pip groaned, swatting ineffectually at the sunlight that shone upon her and disturbing her sleep. Her head pounded and her blonde hair was plastered across her face from the drool.

She screwed her eyes up and pulled the pillow over her head, trying to recall the events of the previous night to track down the cause of her hellacious hangover.

We spent the afternoon at the soup kitchen, then met back up with the others at the bar… Ate, drank… drank some more, swapped stories, told her about my semblance and the dust infusion, and Vytal… Wait, was there another bar? Maybe, I remember Evie and Beryl saying they'd never bar-hopped before… I teased Lustre because she had done it before…

Tequila shots? A contest of some sort?

And then back to… Right, not the motel, Glory's place, along with Lustre and Beryl and Evie and Tim…

Tim…

Her eyes shot open as several things became terrifyingly clear to her sluggish brain.

Firstly, she was stark naked under the covers.

Secondly, she was not alone in the bed.

Dreading what she might see, Pip slowly pulled the pillow down and turned her head. Tousled raven hair, topped by a pair of twitching wolf ears, came into view first followed by slightly wild-looking amber eyes.

Tim cleared his throat. "Um, so."

Pip squeezed her eyes shut, then reopened them. Shit. Still there.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"I think we…"

"Yeah, yeah I think we did."

"Well. Fuck."

"Exactly."

The both of them turned and flopped onto their backs, staring up at the ceiling.

"Your room?" Pip asked quietly.

"Yup."

"You ever clean it?"

"Oh, bite me, blondie."

She grinned slightly, turning her head once more. "I think I already took care of that. Nice hickey you got."

"What? Shit…"

Tim bounced out of bed to stand in front of a mirror atop a rather cluttered dresser. "How the fuck am I gonna play this off…"

Pip coughed lightly as she sat up, the sheets tucked around her torso, and very adamantly not looking at the naked man's posterior.

Well, she might have snuck a quick peek.

"Glory can't know about this," the blonde pleaded quietly.

"Oh, no shit," Tim muttered, digging into his dresser. "She'd go fucking ballistic... "

"So glad we agree," Pip snarked, rummaging around for her own clothing. She found what she could and quickly shrugged them on, deciding she'd leave off on hunting for her bra. But then just as she got her halter top back on, she spied it hanging from the corner of the mirror that Tim was standing in front of, now mostly dressed with a black turtleneck shirt and jeans.

"Excuse me," she stated lightly, reaching over and flipping the black lacy bra off of the edge. She paused in close proximity of the man, eyes nervously flicking over to his. They were of matching height, near enough, if you didn't account for the ears currently flattened against his head.

"For the record," Pip murmured as she turned around. "You're still an ass."

"Never claimed otherwise," Tim muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear, but then raised his voice again. "So we agree, then? We never, ever speak of this again?"

"Works for me."

Once she was situated, she cautiously opened the bedroom door. Right outside was a small kitchenette and living room, with another closed door across from Tim's. On a ratty couch against the wall was the sleeping form of Lustre.

She slipped out, padding on bare feet, and quickly found her armor and boots in the corner. Grimacing, she carefully shifted things around a bit to make more of a reclining area. Glancing over, she watched Tim move into the kitchen to put coffee on.

"Um… do you have any tea?" Pip asked meekly.

The raven-haired man paused and regarded her neutrally. "Yeah, I think so. What, you not a coffee drinker?'

"It's for Lustre," she explained with a nod of her head.

He nodded wordlessly and turned around again, pulling out a dented tea kettle. As he set it in the sink to fill, the other door opened to reveal a widely-yawning Glory in a worn and ragged lavender nightshirt.

"Mornin'," she mumbled, closing the door behind her. "Coffee?"

"Almost," Tim grunted without turning around.

"Hey, Glory," Pip called out from where she sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Oh, hey, um, Pip," her sister replied, looking a bit befuddled. "Didja sleep on the floor?"

"Yep, sure did," the younger blonde grinned as she lied through her teeth. "Wasn't too uncomfortable, really."

Lustre sat up suddenly, looking around in momentary confusion. "Where are we?" she asked calmly, silver hair artfully tousled as always.

"Hey, babe, we're at Glory's apartment. And Tim's," she added belatedly. The Wolf Faunus gave a grunt of acknowledgment from the stove.

"I see," Lustre murmured. "And where are Evie and Beryl?"

Glory smirked as she stepped back and pushed her door back open again. Evie and Beryl, the both of them looking a bit flustered and sleepy, were sitting on the edge of the bed in there, holding hands.

Pip looked between her smug-looking older sister and her two abashed-looking friends. "Did… Did… Did you sleep with my teammates?" she sputtered.

"Relax, I behaved myself," the older blonde laughed. "Not that they didn't offer," she amended thoughtfully.

"What?" Evie practically shrieked, while Beryl buried her blushing face in her hands. "We most certainly did not!"

"Sure thing, cutie," Glory chuckled. She moved around the corner and into the kitchen, but continued over her shoulder. "Lemme know if you ever do want a threesome when you're sober, I'm not one to take advantage of girls like that."

"A what now?" Evie leapt from the bed, her clothing twisted about and in as much disarray as her hair was. "We're not… I mean, we don't…" She opened and closed her mouth indignantly before finally managing to utter loudly, "We just started having sex!"

"Evieeee…" Beryl muffled and mortified groan sounded from where she remained on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry, I just…" Evie spun around, first looking at her girlfriend before regarding their host wildly. "Wait, we didn't… actually do anything with you in the room, did we?"

Glory didn't respond, only sipped smugly from her cup of coffee.

"Dust," Beryl sighed, flopping back against the bed. "I am never drinking again."

Lustre smiled gently as Pip levered herself off the floor to plop on the couch next to her. "Well, we did anticipate this summer would be an adventure," the silver-haired girl opined.

The blonde team leader shook her head ruefully, watching a very humiliated-looking Cat Faunus slink back into Glory's bedroom to curl up next to her girlfriend.

"Yeah, I suppose we did," she agreed. Maybe a little more adventurous than I'd imagined, though...

A/N: New players have entered the stage! And right before we end this, too. So as far as a schedule goes, I'm placing my other works on hold temporarily. Gave me the time to finish this chapter up, and then I have just one more to do. I decided to close things out in two longer chapters rather than four smaller ones, just so I could properly end this story. So now that we've met Glory and Tim, and Pip has more clues leading her towards her mother, the finale will wrap up the search, one way or another. I hope to get the finale written over the next weekend and post it up the following week, but as should be a given by now, don't hold me to that.

Much love for my reviewers, djjohns94, TacoKing23, and Nicodemus Cain!

Stay shiny!