Pearls on a String

Volume 2

Chapter 25: Burn

Malachite's Atlas Base

Monday Night

Time seemed frozen.

Beryl stared numbly at Evie lying motionless on the concrete floor of the warehouse-like cavernous room, the blood pooling under her from the wound she'd taken to her face from one of the enhanced Beowolves they'd been fighting. She couldn't see how bad the damage was as her girlfriend was lying face down with her raven hair matting in the sticky red liquid, but for it to be bleeding this badly and so very quickly, her aura must not be up to the task of staunching the flow.

Rapid scenes flashed through her head of their time together, both in recreation and in combat, how the fierce Cat Faunus had so captured her heart a year ago, finally admitting to each other their love just a short while ago.

So few days she'd had with her…

No. I refuse to let it end like this. I swore to protect her, and I'll be damned if I fail her now.

She could feel the Beowolves close in as if they eagerly scented the blood, but she ignored them. With a few rapid paces she placed herself astride Evie's body protectively, crouching with her shield up, and activated her semblance.

I will not let you bastards have her.

"Aww, did the little kitty cat get scratched?" the teasing voice lilted from the darkness.

Beryl ignored the voice, instead straining her meager senses to anticipate where the next attack might come from.

"No answer?" the voice said from seemingly another direction, the pout evident in her tone. "Well, then, I suppose I'll just let my pets have their fun…"

Three Beowolves sped in, two from in front and one behind. Beryl reversed the grip on her sword, driving Shashka behind her with enough force to impale the Grimm at her back, while she simply let the pair in front rebound off of her. Another one flew in from the right, and she twirled her weapon into a carbine, intercepting that one with a few shots to the middle. Afterwards she calmly delivered two rapid headshots to the stunned Beowolves that had bounced off of her shield.

"Now, now," the voice giggled. "No fair protecting my pet's next meal, you know…"

Beryl switched her weapon back into a blade just in time, as a whip snapped around her right foot, giving it a mighty tug to throw her off of her feet. Fortunately, with her semblance activated, she didn't budge. Remembering the attack on Evie, she whipped her sword down and severed the whip before her tormenter could send an electrical surge at her.

"Damn you!" the voice screeched, suddenly enraged. "Do you have any idea how long I worked on Violet Scourge?"

"Should have worked longer on the name for it," the blue-haired girl quipped, uneasily noting that the pool of blood had reached both of her feet. I have to end this soon… "This is getting kinda boring, could you pick things up a bit? I got places to be."

"You insignificant little brat!" the voice snarled from her right. Just on the edge of her vision, she could catch a glimpse of a short girl with a purple ponytail as she paced by. "Fine, enough playing around, it's time for you and your little Faunus bitch to die!"

Beryl crouched low, watching the Beowolves pace ever closer, still far too many for her to deal with at once.

You will not have her, she thought angrily. I will protect her to my dying breath… You… will… not… have… her!

A low growl began to build up inside of her small chest, accompanied by almost a pressure of some sort as the Beowolves began to dart in.

"Stay away from her!" Beryl screamed furiously.

Her eyes flashed a brilliant cerulean to match the glow of her semblance which suddenly and violently exploded outwards. Boxes and pallets were sent flying out to smash into splinters against the walls. The small girl, suddenly visible in the bright blue light, was herself flung helplessly up to hit the far wall, smacking her head sharply before slumping the ten feet down to the ground, unconscious.

The Beowolves, however, instantly disintegrated upon contact with the blast.

Panting heavily, and uncertain as to what just occurred, Beryl slumped down to one knee, her head hanging low.

Worry about what the Dust just happened later, right now I have to save Evie…

Her eyes had returned to their normal shade of bronze, though she hadn't any way of knowing that yet. She let Shashka and Dahl clang to the floor as she leaned worriedly over Evie, ever so carefully turning her over to ascertain the extent of her wounds.

What she saw made her suck in a startled breath.

There were three long furrows down the side of her girlfriend's face, the topmost one slicing from her Faunus ear, tearing a gash through it, and into her scalp. The bottom most one went down her cheek, ripping it in two and exposing her teeth before it vanished past her chin.

The middle gash, however, went right down from her forehead and past the bloody, gaping hole where her left eye once was..

"Oh, Evie," Beryl sobbed, her hand hovering over her ruined face. She was still bleeding out from all three wounds, but the worst was from the eye socket, running in rivulets down her face as her aura struggled to keep her precious fluid inside her body.

"I'm not letting you die, dammit," the blue-haired girl whispered with tears in her eyes. She moved both of her hands over to rest on her face, one on either side. Her right hand quickly became slick with blood, but she kept her grip firm.

She closed her eyes, and pushed her aura into Evie.

She'd never tried anything on this scale before, neither of them had. But this had to work, there was no other possible outcome than for this to work.

Please, Oum, please let this work...

And then she opened her eyes to see the brilliant cerulean and white glow emanating from her hands and infusing her girlfriend with her aura. Wanting to give her as much as she could and as quickly as possible, she leaned over further and pressed her lips to the half-ruined ones of the girl under her, immediately feeling the aura flow through her lips as well while she pushed it into her girlfriend. The blood streaming from Evie's face began to slow, but the wounds were still gaping, the bloody socket where her eye used to be still welling with the dark red liquid.

More… I have to give her more, can't stop...

The words from the lecture regarding aura transfer echoed in her mind.

'But care must be taken not to transfer too much as the donor might be damaged in the process.'

I don't care. I can't live my life without her, and I gladly give my life for her...

She could feel the drain on her aura, felt herself get weaker by the second, but still persisted in the link. She kept pouring her aura into the single most important person in her life, until she could feel the blackness closing in while the flesh under her palms knit together.

And still Beryl pressed on.

Her last few conscious thoughts as she slumped to the side, involuntarily breaking contact with Evie's lips and her face, were to beg for forgiveness from the girl she couldn't live without.

"Worth… it…" she breathed as her eyes slid closed.

Beryl lay unnaturally still next to the motionless Cat Faunus, their hands entwined.

o o o

Frost glared up at Leech from her prone position as he closed in with a hand extended. "You would do well not to underestimate me," she stated quietly.

The lanky main quirked an eyebrow, but his face quickly slipped into a look of surprise as she cast a white glyph under his feet to send him sprawling backwards from her.

He let out a low chuckle as he regained his footing. "Perhaps you are more of a challenge that I expected…"

She got to her feet as well, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. "You have no idea."

With a quick flick of her wrist, another smaller white glyph sprang into existence under her rapier across the room, flinging it at her. She caught it expertly, rapidly twirling it before thrusting it into the ground. Spikes of ice sprang forth, emanating from her and towards her opponent.

He nimbly leapt over the advancing ice onslaught, but she was already in motion, flying across the room and slicing unexpectedly into his torso. He spun about in midair to kick out at her, but by that point she was already gone and crouched back where he'd originated from.

Frost spun around, flinging her hand out in a wide sweep of her arm. All round the combatants in a wide circle, from where she stood to where Leech had now landed, were a row of vertical white glyphs, lighting up the room with their glow. She pushed as much of her aura as she dared into her semblance, but hoped that he didn't pay too close attention to the glyphs themselves.

The one directly behind him was slightly different from the others.

"Just what do you have in store for me, little huntress?" Leech chuckled as he slowly walked forward.

Frost gave him a tight little smirk, one she'd learned from her Aunt Weiss. "This."

The gaunt man was struck from behind, catching him completely off-guard. He whirled about, but was stunned to see a glowing-white replica of himself standing there in an identical combat pose.

"How…?" he gasped, for the first time sounding shaken.

Frost allowed a bit of a snicker to escape as she held herself up on one knee, using Myrtenaster as a crutch while she maintained the glyphs, including the summoning one across the room.

"I have to admit," she stated levelly. "You are certainly the toughest opponent I've faced so far. I felt it only appropriate to use you for my very special glyph. You should feel honored."

Before Leech could reply, he was forced to defend himself from a flurry of attacks from his doppleganger. Frost watched intently as the two battled, knowing that the outcome was a foregone conclusion as the copy would not be nearly as powerful as the original with what little time she'd used to prepare for this. Still, her summoned servant would serve its purpose well enough by weakening her opponent.

After a few minutes of intense combat, the glowing copy was dispelled by a whirling kick to its chest. Leech was visibly panting by this point, and slowly turned to face her once more.

"Impressive," he grudgingly admitted. "And more than a little entertaining. But, if that is the best you have…?"

She smirked, having taken the time to regain her aura, especially now that she no longer needed to focus on the summoning. "Oh, no. That was just the warmup."

Without warning she launched herself backwards, springing forward once more off of the glyph there to quickly strike out at him. She flashed back and forth between the encircling glyphs, hitting him from so many directions he was unable to effectively block them or counter her movements.

It was not long before Leech's aura bottomed out in a fragmented flare, and he finally fell unconscious from his wounds.

Frost collapsed to her side, panting heavily from the exertation of her flurry of attacks as she dismissed her remaining glyphs. She groaned as she levered herself up, unwilling to allow herself the luxury of recovery while the other trainees still needed her help.

She wearily pushed herself the rest of the way to her feet, clutching Myrtenaster determinedly in her hand as she stumbled down the corridor in the direction Pip and Lustre had taken.

Unnoticed behind her, Leech stirred feebly.

o o o

Pip groaned as she rolled onto her side, trying to extract herself from the ruins of the console she'd crashed into when she was flung through the window. Every fibre of her body hurt, aching as if she'd been stomped flat by a Goliath and then used as a chew toy by an Ursa to boot.

Dimly she could hear Malachite's mocking voice as he regaled Lustre, with some detail, of the ordeal that was now ahead of her now that she would be another of his test subjects.

She must be down as well… Dammit, no, I can't let him have her, I can't… She can't go through what I did, I won't let that happen!

Anger started to course through her, threatening to break past the numbness, but she just couldn't manage to do it. The aura blockers held fast, aided by her exhaustion and pain. Tears fell down her cheeks as she internally berated herself for being too weak to protect Lustre. Protect her family.

She crouched on all fours, her hot tears splashing on the floor below her as her head swiveled around to search for something, anything to help her save her team. And then, as if to an answered prayer from Oum himself, her eyes finally come to rest upon a wall-mounted medical kit that had fallen open from when she'd been thrown into the room. The contents spilled across the floor, bandages and pill bottles and ointments…

And a single orange-colored syringe.

Pip's eyes blinked as a plan began to form in her head. It was reckless, certainly, and likely to be as deadly to herself as it would be to her enemy.

But it would save Lustre from him.

Staggering to her feet as her hand closed around the hypodermic, the blonde warrior shouldered her way through the door and back into the main room once more.

Malachite paused in his megalomaniacal ranting to glance at her in surprise. "Well, back for more, I see? Some children just don't know when to stay down…"

She ignored him, focusing on Lustre who herself was struggling to regain her footing.

"Lustre," the blonde grunted, swaying on her feet. "Run."

"Pip?" her friend inquired, her words slurred and eyes somewhat unfocused. "What are you…?"

She pulled the cap off of the syringe, held it aloft, and then plunged it into her chest, injecting herself with the shot of pure adrenaline.

"Run!" she screamed. Her head was thrown back as the pain coursed through her veins. The blood began pumping through her body as the adrenaline coursed through her. She knew, without looking, that her veins would now be glowing red, pulsing beneath her skin as the unholy results of Malachite and Viridian's experimentation took hold of her once again.

She opened her eyes back up, leveling her gaze upon the slightly concerned-looking Malachite. Unbeknownst to Pip, her coral eyes now burned a bright crimson.

The blonde started walking forward, each step hissing as her body began dumping out the heat that emanated. The syringe lay discarded on the ground behind her as bits and pieces of her clothing began to drop off in small charred pieces.

"Lustre, run now," she growled. "Please, just run."

Her silver-haired teammate finally managed to lurch to her feet and, sending one final terrified glance over her shoulder, took off in a flash of her semblance.

"Well, well, well… I was wondering if the process simply failed to take hold," Malachite commented, his eyes glittering. "I suppose you were merely repressing it, somehow?"

"No more talking," Pip snarled, her lips pulled back to expose her blood-stained teeth. The blonde shrugged her shoulders, letting the armor drop off of her as the straps disintegrated. She could feel the power coursing through her, the raging molten fire inside her that begged for release.

Gods, it felt incredible.

She rushed forward with a wordless roar of fury, barefoot now that her boots had burned away with the rest of her clothing. Malachite's eyes widened at the sudden attack, but his sword swung in effortlessly to intercept her.

Only for it to be caught in one of Pip's hands.

He stared at his sword as he strained to slice through her grip, but he was unable to make any progress. Pip's arm trembled as it held tight, and a bright spot appeared through her bloody fingers, making the obsidian sword glow brightly as it warped.

Her other hand shot forward to clamp over his forehead.

"I want you..." she growled, her voice dripping with the promise of death, "...to burn."

Malachite's eyes extended out from his head as his mouth opened wide in a silent rictus of agony. He dropped his partially-melted sword to grab at her arm with both hands, but was unable to move it.

"Burn!" Pip yelled, the air about her shimmering with heat.

The spot under hand had at first simply begun to smoke, but now the flesh was bubbling. Malachite would have screamed if he could, but the air in his lungs had superheated. The blood began to boil in his veins, and he dimly wondered why he wasn't dead yet.

"BURN!" she screamed as he sank to his knees, making a wet sound as his skin burst like overripe fruit. The spray of hot blood would have soaked her, if it hadn't evaporated an inch from her body. Ruined flesh ran down Malachite's torso like molten wax as he melted horrifically, organs bursting to add to the mess spilling across the linoleum floor.

Still she focused her rage into her hand. Malachite's bones began to crack and shatter from the heat, collapsing into a pile at her feet. Pip sank to her knees, the pooled blood hissing from contact with her overheated body, as she continued to press her hands down.

She was panting by this point, every exhale like a blast from a furnace. The remains of Malachite quickly turned to dust, flaking and drifting about her in the hot currents of air, the blood and gore evaporated from the ground.

The floor beneath her glowing hands began to crack and shatter, and her body trembled mightily as a flash of hot fear coursed through her veins.

She could not stop it. She couldn't turn it off, just like she'd been warned.

Pip closed her eyelids over her dry, searing orbs and sat back on her haunches. Her fists were clenched in her lap as she waited for the inevitable self-combustion. Eventually her head slipped back, hair whipping about her face wildly as she emitted a hoarse scream of loss, of pain and triumph, of anger and relief.

Her team was safe, safe from that monster. Rufus was avenged.

She supposed, in the end, she could die happy with that knowledge.

But then there was a blast of cool air against the right side of her body, like a refreshing splash of ice-cold water on a scorching summer's day. Startled, she opened her blazing crimson eyes to see a bloody and battered Frost Schnee, her face reddened and sweaty from her proximity to the overheated girl, though Myrtenaster in her hand was emitting tendrils of visible icy condensation in the air. In her other hand was another syringe, this one filled with the familiar blue liquid that was her inhibitor.

Frost plunged it into her arm, and it began to work immediately, cooling her off and draining away the excess heat. Her shoulders slumped as she involuntarily fell sideways and into her new comrade's open arms.

Then Lustre was there as well, supporting her from behind, and gently stroking her now-damp and matted blonde hair away from her face.

"How…?" she finally croaked through parched and cracked lips.

Lustre smiled softly. "I came prepared," she simply said.

Pip sighed, her breath rattling through her aching chest. "Of course you did," she whispered. "The others?"

Lustre shared a worried glance with Frost. "Alive. Do not worry for them, or for yourself. We have you." She smiled softly down at her teammate. "It is over."

"Okay," Pip murmured, her weary eyes sliding shut once more. "Let's call it a day, huh, babe?"

"Anything you say, fearless leader," Lustre chuckled as the blonde in her arms let an exhausted sleep overcome her.

A/N: Sooo… just one last cliffhanger, sorta? Don't worry, Evie and Beryl (who just went super-saiyan on us) will be resolved next chapter. Think Malachite's end was delightfully visceral enough for everyone? I hope to have the next chapter, the first of the ones to wrap up Volume 2, done by the end of the week.

Martin Hooper1: Ehhh, I'm not quite on a Miles and Kerry level, more like a Joss Whedon. That's another step below George RR Martin, and several steps below the first two gents.

Stay shiny!