Pearls on a String

Volume 2

Chapter 17: Scream

Beacon Academy

Saturday Morning

Beryl eased her eyes open as she tried to figure out what on Remnant had caused her to wake. It became immediately apparent that she was floating on a boat.

Her light bronze eyes blinked uncertainly. No, that can't be right, I'm in my bed, and in our dorm room, so why am I rocking?

And then she noticed the alternating pressure on her back that was the root cause of her motion.

She craned her neck to look over her shoulder humorously. "Are you enjoying yourself?" she affectionately asked.

"Mmhmm," Evie replied without ceasing her kneading. The Cat Faunus leaned forward slightly so that she might rub her cheek along Beryl's, emitting a loud purr as she did so.

The blue-haired girl chuckled softly. "Can I at least turn over so I can kiss you good morning?"

"Oh, well I suppose so," her girlfriend replied with mock irritation. It was spoiled by the wide grin she greeted Beryl with once they were facing each other. "Good morning."

"Mmm, good morning, beautiful," Beryl murmured before giving her a quick kiss.

Evie's grin widened even further in delight. "Beautiful, hmm?"

"Very much so."

"You're so sweet. And really, really cute when you just wake up all snuggly."

Beryl giggled and reached up to stroke one of Evie's furry Faunus ears with a gentle finger. "I'm not the only snuggly one."

"I've found a new appreciation for snuggles," Evie replied loftily. "Especially when you're so good at it."

"I do try."

"Good morning, you two," they heard Lustre's soft voice call out. There was an unusual undertone to her words, however.

"Hey, Lustre," Beryl greeted her partner carefully as she rose up on one arm, peering over Evie's shoulder. "Um, something wrong?"

"Did either of you hear Pip return last night?"

The couple glanced at each other and shared a quick motion in the negative. "Is she not here?" Evie asked, concerned, as she sat up.

Their silver-haired teammate sighed and shook her head as well. "She is not. Her sheets appear undisturbed, and she does not respond to my messages."

"Okaaay," Beryl drawled, becoming concerned. Pip would often in the past stay out late, sometimes not returning back to the dorm at all if she had hooked up, but she always, always let the team know where she was.

"Could they have stayed in a hotel?" Evie asked, chewing on her bottom lip.

Lustre shook her head once more. "I do not believe they would have had the lien for it. Rufus spent all of his on the airship tickets." She was already dressed, sitting on the side of her bed with an air of impatience.

"Dust, Lustre, you should have woken us up," Beryl grumbled, swinging her legs around and jumping up. "Didn't have to sit there and worry all by yourself."

"I did not wish to disturb you."

Evie sighed as she went to walk past Lustre's bed, pausing to rest her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Next time, please do. Okay?"

Lustre nodded slowly, her eyes filled with concern. "Very well."

"Okay then," Evie began as she threw her bedclothes off and rummaged for a clean outfit. Beryl had already stripped, her own concern causing her to ignore the potential immodesty. "Beryl, sweetie, can you begin calling around the Vale hotels?"

"Will do," she replied briskly. When Pip wasn't around, the mantle of command fell to Evie. It wasn't a position she ever felt comfortable with, and rarely had to adopt it, but her visage was now filled with a steely determination to find their missing team leader.

"Lustre, go check with the landing pad if they've been seen," her raven-haired Faunus girlfriend continued "After that, hit the cafeteria and then the dorm common rooms. I'll go cover the library study rooms and then the training rooms. Both of you contact me once you're done."

With that the other two left in a flash of monochromatic color, leaving Beryl alone in the room as she frantically began scrolling through the list of hotels.

Half an hour later, she felt like throwing her scroll across the room in despair. Nobody by the names of Rufus Henna or Pippin Cerise had checked in to any hotel in town. Instead of giving in to the temptation, she instead mashed her finger down on her girlfriend's icon.

"Any luck?" Evie asked immediately after picking up.

Beryl shook her head solemnly. "None. You?"

The Faunus girl sighed. "No. And neither has Lustre. I was going to have us start going door to door in the dorms, but…"

"...There's nobody else here she'd be comfortable enough staying with," she finished for her. "So, what now?"

"Now," Evie stated, her voice laced with resolve. "We go meet with Professor Ozpin. Meet you at his office."

Undisclosed Location

Pip had several visitors throughout the day, mostly to check on her vitals or jot down some notes on whatever it was they were looking for. Each time her questions were ignored, be they pleading or angry shouts or even reasonable discourse.

Eventually the activity across the hallway in Rufus' room picked up. Several bulky items on wheels were brought into his room, and she spotted Viridian enter as well to supervise the bustle.

Rufus was looking more than a little worried, which she could hardly blame him for.

There was a quiet swish as the door to her room slid open to reveal a newcomer. He was tall and broad-shouldered, his toned stature clearly evident even under the expensive silk three-piece charcoal suit he wore. The dark-haired man, sporting a neatly-trimmed beard, adjusted his red tie as he walked over to view her dispassionately.

"And then you would be Subject Two Dash Two," he murmured in a sonorous and cultured baritone. "Heat semblance." His face changed in the blink of an eye, the startlingly intense pale green eyes twinkling merrily as a happy smile creased his cheeks. "How marvelous."

The lanky blonde cleared her dry throat. "And just who might you be?"

"Ah, and such lovely manners as well. Surprising, but I suppose it's a facade at this point, isn't it?" The man ran a finger down her arm, causing her to squirm slightly in a futile effort to avoid his touch. "My name, child, is Lord Malachite, and you are my guest here."

He turned and strolled over to the windowed wall, an obsidian walking stick that she hadn't noticed before tapping a ringing staccato against the metal floor. Staring out at the other room across the hall, he gave a quiet chuckle.

"I'm sure you cannot appreciate just how expensive, not to mention revolutionary, this process is. We've fairly well perfected it against the Grimm, but if this second phase works?" He turned slightly to peer over his shoulder at her, and she sucked in a quick breath at the manic gleam that now resided in his eyes. "That would be truly extraordinary."

"Now then," he barked, his tone suddenly changing as he walked back over to her. "I have high hopes for you and Subject Two Dash One. I do indeed hope you can survive this initial process, so that the real objective can be met." He leaned over her with an evil little leer. "And I suppose you'd like to know what that would be, hmm?"

Pip could only nod warily, unsure what to make of the man's mercurial temperament.

He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small piece of metal with a flourish. "This, my dear child, is the result of years of research and development. It's certainly smaller than the ones we use on the beasts, modified for control as well as tracking."

The blonde eyes widened as she looked at the small crescent of metal. Doubled in size, and not twisted from extreme heat, it might closely resemble the item that Ozpin had showed to her team.

And then his words seemed to finally sink in. "Control? And… tracking?"

"Oh, yes," he laughed lightly, leaning back and twirling the object in his hands like a newfound toy. His expression reflected the metaphor as he grinned in childlike glee. "We should be able to maintain autonomous control over a decent range, which will be extended if we can ever hook into the CCT… But that is a project for another day. And tracking, yes indeed, once this is in we can find you anywhere on Remnant." A mirthful chuckle escaped from his lips. "Anywhere."

He glanced at her but seemed disheartened at the look in her eyes. "Now, don't you start giving up just yet, my dear Subject. As I said, I have high hopes for you. Though, we do have contingency plans in place if the initial procedures are not successful… Plenty of other aura users with compatible semblances." Malachite's smile changed into a knowing smirk. "For example, Miss Lustre Bijou, I might be excited to see what an application of white dust might do to her…"

"Don't you dare touch her," Pip growled quietly.

Malachite then grinned, showing entirely too much teeth. "Well, then, I suggest you-"

"I WILL FUCKING RIP YOUR HEAD OFF IF YOU TOUCH HER!" the blonde abruptly screamed, spittle flying from her lips as she furiously lunged forward as far as the restraints would allow. She fell back again, panting and glaring up at the megalomaniac.

The suited man tapped his chin thoughtfully, his pale green eyes glittering. "Spirited," he smirked again before turning to leave. "I like it."

She slammed her head back against the metal table in frustration as the door hissed closed. Angry tears threatened to fill her eyes borne from frustration and helplessness, but she shook her head to dash them away.

Instead she turned her face to see what they were doing with Rufus.

Malachite was standing in there with Doctor Viridian now, along with several lab techs. Machinery and carts surrounded the russet-haired boy, though from his shoulders and above was clearly visible. Whatever it was they were planning, and she had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly what that was, it was just about to start.

Her boyfriend seemed to snap off a few retorts to their amused host before Malachite departed. Viridian pulled a few cylinders from a nearby cart and held them up for inspection.

They glowed with an ethereal green light.

"Oh, Oum," she moaned despondently.

As if he'd heard her, Rufus turned to gaze into her eyes. His expression was full of sorrow and regret as he carefully formed three words on his lips.

"I love you too," she whispered back. "I'm so sorry…"

Rufus nodded, but then his face was screwed up in pain from whatever they'd started and he stared up at the ceiling. She watched in growing horror as the muscles and tendons in his neck stood out. As hard as he was grinding his teeth, they must be chipping at this point. And all the while, the portion of his torso blocked from her view was glowing with that sickly, otherworldly green.

"Hold on, babe," Pip cried. "Please, please hold on…"

Then his mouth extended in a rictus of agony, the green nimbus seemingly engulfing his entire body. The veins throbbing in his forehead and neck were now pulsing with the same green glow as he screamed.

Incredibly, she could faintly hear the noise from where she lay, through two sets of soundproofing. The windows to his room cracked but held, spiderweb patterns spilling forth like frost on a windshield only to stop as Rufus' eyes bulged out. Blood began to trickle from his eye sockets, his ears, his nose… And then he seemed to cough, the pink-tinged spittle shooting forth to spatter across the attendant workers.

Pip watched with unbelieving eyes as Rufus sagged back, his head lolling to the side and staring sightlessly at her.

No… No he can't… Please, babe, no…

She blinked her watery eyes as a rapid progression of images seemed to flitter past her consciousness, of holding hands with Rufus while strolling through Vacuo, of times spent snuggling on a bench, his warm brown eyes like pools of chocolate gazing at her with love.

He was too good a man, not to mention a warrior, and this was no way for him to die.

Pip's head snapped over when her door opened to reveal Viridian as he sorrowfully pulled his blood-stained gloves off. His white labcoat was speckled with drops of red, standing out like crimson fall leaves against the fresh snow.

"Well, that was disappointing," the scientist sighed. "I do hope you will handle the process better, my dear girl."

"You killed him," she weeped quietly, unable to muster up the energy for the rage that she was surely due.

"Technically… yes, I suppose I did," he replied nonchalantly. He tossed his gloves into the metal wastebasket nearby. "I will need to enter my notes while they are fresh… But we can get things set up in here. You don't mind, do you?" He gave her a small, polite smile.

"Why?"

"Pardon?" he asked curiously in response to the barely audible whisper.

Pip took a trembling breath, eyeing the carts that were now being rolled into her room. Even through her blurred vision she could note the presence of several glowing red cylinders.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally managed to whisper hoarsely.

"Why? As I told you, my dear, for science!" He grinned before adding an afterthought. "At least that is my concern. My employer, whom you met, has far grander schemes."

With that he strode out the door. Pip ignored the presence and preparations of the others, closing her eyes and allowing the tears to freely flow down her cheeks as she quietly sobbed.

Beacon Academy

Monday Evening

Evie picked at her dinner dispiritedly. She'd managed to keep her resolve intact up until now, but with no word whatsoever on her partner's whereabouts after two days, she'd finally succumbed to the gloomy thoughts that pushed at the back of her mind.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered, blinking back her tears.

She sighed as she felt a small but strong arm encircle her waist. The Cat Faunus leaned her head over and onto the top of her girlfriend's blue crowned head.

"Don't give up hope," Beryl whispered back. "You know how Pip is, she's strong, and… and a survivor. A fighter. We'll find her."

"But Ozpin has had all of Vale's authorities looking for her," she protested. "It's like she and Rufus just vanished without a trace!"

"I have been wondering about that," Lustre murmured from across the table. Her food was mostly untouched as well, and she stared down at her plate with a small frown. "I wonder just how much manpower the authorities can bring to assist with this search. Did not Beryl's father mention the emergence of more enhanced Grimm here in Vale? What if more hunter teams have gone missing?"

Evie growled quietly. "I'm calling Oz," she stated flatly, pulling out her scroll. They hadn't heard from the Headmaster since they had arrived at his office yesterday morning, and an update was far overdue.

And if there was no update forthcoming, then she'd damn well go get one of her own.

"Miss Black," the visage of Ozpin greeted her calmly. "I was expecting to hear from you."

"Please, sir," she asked as politely as she could muster. "Can you tell us anything?"

The grey-haired administrator sighed. "We've found a broken scroll that we are fairly certain belonged to Miss Cerise, but that is the extent of it so far."

Beryl's face suddenly pressed against Evie's. "Can you tell us where it was found?" she asked with barely restrained eagerness.

Ozpin looked through the scroll steadily for the span of a few heartbeats before nodding slowly. "Indeed, Miss Beryl. It was found in the industrial district on Light Street."

Evie's face lit up, though she just gave Ozpin a solemn nod. "Thank you, Professor. Please keep us updated."

"I shall endeavour to do so," he replied softly. "And, Miss Black? Good luck."

Evie snapped her scroll shut and looked up at the others. Beryl's eyes were shining with anticipation, already on board with the unspoken plan, while Lustre was looking back at her curiously.

"Right," she began for Lustre's benefit. "Ozpin gave us implicit permission to go investigate. Where was it you saw them last?"

Their silver-haired teammate blinked her eyes. "Remnant's Fashion, two streets over."

"So, we plot a line between the two and extend it out. That's our first search area." Evie stood up, her dinner forgotten. "We're looking at the seedier side of Vale. Let's gear up, girls. We have a teammate to find."

Vale Industrial Sector

Late Monday Evening

Evie inched out around the corner, clutching her scimitar in its sheath in a white-knuckled grip. They'd been canvassing the streets for most of the night now without success, and finally decided to split up in order to cover more area and follow some of the more sketchy leads they'd uncovered.

The Cat Faunus had spoken with a couple of her brethren who were out for a stroll, and came across some information regarding a possible kidnapping ring that operated out of the warehouse across the street from where she now stood. It was far-fetched, and she scoffed silently to herself at the notion that Pip would have been taken unawares by mere criminals, but still.

She was not about to return to the others empty-handed.

The streets seemed fairly well deserted at such a late hour. In fact, she only had another half hour until their final rendezvous before calling it a night. Before then she had to at least investigate this one final lead.

Concentrating, she narrowed her focus on a spot up on the roof of the warehouse. Just as she was about to push her aura into her semblance and teleport up there, her world exploded in a bright flash of pain as all of her muscles seized up.

Dao dropped from nerveless fingers as she hit the ground, twitching uncontrollably. Her vision darkened at the edges, and the last thing she saw were a pair of boots as they walked around her, making no sound whatsoever.

Some indeterminable amount of time later, Evie blinked her eyes open groggily. Her arms were bound behind her back and her ankles secured as well. She was inside and lying on a cold concrete floor, but most disturbing was the metal collar she felt encircling her throat.

Oh, Dust… that an inhibitor collar…

"Hello, kitty cat," a slimy voice called out from across the room.

She shook her head to clear the rest of her fuzziness away and glared over towards the source of the voice. Seated at a flimsy card table were three men. Noises from further into the cavernous room that she found herself in indicated there were more opponents to be found, but these three were her more immediate concern.

"Took you long enough to wake," the man smirked. "Duffy here knocked you out for an hour and a half, I think that's a new record."

"Shit, man, when are you gonna stop using my name around the merchandise?" a second man whined. He was lean and lanky, and his boots seemed to match those that she last viewed.

"How…?" she croaked.

"Yeah, it's my semblance, kitty," Duffy explained in his nasal voice. "Makes me completely silent. Very useful in creeping up on you lovely Faunus girls."

Evie narrowed her eyes as her brain finally kicked into gear, imparting a number of items to her.

Firstly, this wasn't just a kidnapping ring. From the sounds of it, they were Faunus slavers, an abhorrent practice that the Vale authorities had been working for years to stamp out. Dealing with young, pretty girls of Faunus heritage, the kidnappers would sell them to wealthy criminals for various purposes, none of them pleasant. And as such, they were unlikely to have had anything to do with Pip's disappearance.

Secondly, she was an hour overdue for her check in. Likely her scroll had been taken, along with her weapon, and the others would have no idea where she'd been taken.

And then finally, with the collar around her neck preventing her from using her semblance, she was pretty well screwed.

With a low growl she began to twist around, trying to find a weak spot in her restraints. I can't believe I got so suckered in… Dust, what if I can't get out of this? What if I never see Beryl again?

The first man tsked at her patronizingly as he rose to his feet. "Trying to escape already, kitty cat?"

She turned her head to glare up at him, her sapphire blue eyes burning with intensity. "You don't get to call me that," she snarled.

"Well, I can call you anything I want, sweet cheeks," he laughed as he reached her side. The man knelt down next to her and she leaned away, gagging at the stench of his overpowering body odor.

"Oh, now, that's just rude," he snickered. With a quick motion he yanked up on her arm as he stood, causing her to bite back a scream as he wrenched her shoulder painfully. "Maybe we should sample the goods first?" he leered.

"Boss don't like it if the merchandise is damaged," the third man spoke up in a bored tone.

"Well, perhaps just a little peek," the first man continued, breathing foul air into Evie's face. "Make sure she'd a decent catch and all."

He was interrupted by a fierce and altogether welcome voice that rang out through the warehouse.

"Get your fucking hands off of my girlfriend!"

"What the fu-" The man holding Evie suddenly released his grip with a painful howl as a pair of dust rounds slammed into his forehead. He flopped bonelessly backwards to sprawl on the floor. Unfortunately Evie was unable to arrest her own fall, but she twisted so that she might land facing outwards and see the events unfurl.

The other two men stood uncertainly, clutching guns in their hands. "Who's there?" the one called Duffy shouted nervously. "Ernie? Bud? You guys out there?"

"Nobody here but us shadows," Beryl's voice giggled, the sound rather frightening being as disembodied as it were. Another pair of shots rang out, and the third man clutched at his arm, dropping his gun to the floor. One more shot snapped his head up and he slouched back, unconcious.

"Shit!" Duffy barked out. "I'm outta here!"

With that he turned and fled further into the shadows. His flight was short-lived, however, as his limp body came flying back into the light to skid to a groaning halt under the flimsy card table, miraculously not toppling it.

Lustre strolled from where she'd intercepted Duffy, and Beryl emerged from the shadows closer to Evie, though with more urgency.

"Hey, you okay, Evie?" the blue-haired girl whispered in concern. She quickly knelt at the Cat Faunus' side and used her sword to deftly slice through her arm restraints.

Evie immediately sat up and wrapped her arms around Beryl. "My hero!" she cooed before covering her girlfriend's face and neck in kisses.

"Evieee…" Beryl groaned, embarrassed. "Can you at least let me cut off the leg bindings?"

"Not stopping you," she purred in reply, nibbling on the blue-haired girl's ear.

Lustre coughed into her fist as she looked over at the other side of the room. "Er, I'll just call the authorities, then…"

Beryl finally managed to capture Evie's face in her hands, stilling the rain of affection so that she might give her a simple, though loving, kiss. "What were you thinking?" she murmured once she pulled back.

"Um…" Evie cringed. "I… wasn't, really?"

Her girlfriend shook her head as she fumbled with the collar around her neck. With a twist it was off and clattering to the floor. "I'm glad I found you," she sighed.

"As am I. How did you, by the way?"

Beryl smiled softly. "Found a pair of Faunus who said they'd spoken with you earlier, gave us the same address."

"Oh. Lucky, that."

"Yeah, real lucky."

"So…" Evie stated, her eyes downcast as she became serious once more. "No closer to finding Pip, huh?"

"Not on our end. Was this the only lead you had?"

"Pretty much. I mean, I'm glad you guys bagged these assholes, getting them off the streets is a huge deal, but…"

Beryl nodded as she slipped her arm around Evie's waist, helping her to her feet. "Yeah. But still doesn't help us find Pip. We gotta get back, though. Can't get out of classes tomorrow."

"No, I know that." Evie let out an irritated huff. "Pip would have our asses if we skipped out on class."

"You know it."

"And there's always later tomorrow. We can come right back out after our last class."

Beryl nodded as they began to walk out towards where Lustre had gone. "Absolutely." She paused to deliver an absent-minded kick into the face of the first kidnapper, knocking him back out again.

Evie sighed, closing her eyes briefly. Pip, wherever you are… just hang on, alright, girl? You hang on, and we'll find you. Someday soon, I promise you that.

A/N: I did something a little differently here, usually each chapter is done in the voice of only one of the girls. For this one, each section is in a different voice, first Beryl, then Pip, and finally the last two are Evie. And… yep, first major character death. This is definitely gonna have some repercussions.

So, after the Season 3 finale, I'm a little… exhausted. And disheartened. I know some authors are taking a break from writing to recuperate from the brutal ending, but I'm going to keep going. I use my writing as an outlet, a release more or less, so I actually find doing so a better therapy than to take a hiatus.

Alrighty, then. Much love for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing!

Martin Hooper1: Plots be indeed on the rise! Give the girls a chance, they'll get there eventually…

TacoKing23: My apologies for adversely affecting the health of your heart. But, yeah… I'm evil like that.

Stay shiny!