"You're a bar. You're supposed to have darts," Someone whined as Sunny and Bigby walked in.

"And I normally do, but who knows where the fuck they went to after-" The voice stopped as Sunny and Bigby walked into the room.

There were three people at the bar. An older woman behind the bar who must have been Holly and two others. A blonde man whom Sunny didn't know the name of, and a familiar dark-haired man.

Sunny remembered him from a few days ago. He was the one who started screaming at her to get back in line.

"C'mon, Holly, I need entertainment," The blonde man said before he noticed the others were looking behind him. "This'll do."

Holly quickly started putting shot glasses away at the sight of Bigby. She looked somewhat panicked as she did so. As if they would explode if Bigby gave them a funny look.

"We're just here to ask some questions," Sunny tried to tell them.

Holly looked at the man sitting at the bar. The two of them shared an undefinable look before Holly turned back to Bigby. "Okay."

The blonde man smiled at Sunny. Making her tense a little. "Hey, I know you. You're Emmanuel and Jia's kid, right?"

Sunny's eyes widened a bit. She wasn't surprised this guy knew her father, but how the hell did he know her mother?

"You guys remember Jia?" Blondie looked back at the others with a smile. They just gave uncomfortable shrugs that didn't tell if they did or not. "Now there was a real spitfire. Is she still as such?"

"You're asking me if my mother is a spitfire?" Sunny said in an incredulous tone.

Blondie rolled his eyes and turned to Bigby. Wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "And this guy. Every time I see him, he seems to lose weight. It's amazing; it really is. He loses weight and yet somehow keeps all the muscle."

"Jack," Bigby frowned at him. The annoyance in his tone was clear.

"Wolfie, my dear, how are you?" Jack smirked.

Bigby ignored him. Walking up to the counter, towards Holly.

Jack didn't seem to get the hint (or maybe he just didn't care) "Because, you know, we were just talking about you. All of us. At the bar, here. About you."

"We just need to talk to Holly. Privately." Bigby said and gave Jack a warning look.

"Alright, just give us a second first." Jack continued as if Bigby hadn't said anything. "I'm dying to hear about the body that came out of the East River this morning. It was a Fable, right?"

Bigby and Sunny both frowned at him in surprise.

"Oh, everyone knows," Jack grinned.

"How did-"

"Tweedle Dee was just here," Dark hair said without taking his eyes off his drink.

"Meationed they had a red jacket. Just like you," Jack nodded to Sunny.

"What the hell!" Bigby shouted. "Crane."

"Son of a bitch," Sunny muttered.

"Tweedle Dee said you arrested him for no earthly reason," Jack mocked in some form of an English accent. 'Kept him locked in the cellar all fuckin' night'... He said you tortured him. Which... I dunno; that seems like a breach of your legislative duties. Bigby, c'mon, you can't be so dumb as to-"

"Jack! Find the off button. Now." Holly yelled at him.

Jack turned around and frowned at the two. "What is it with you two? You and Gren are all, 'Let's get a posse together,' when there's no one around, but as soon as the Big Bad Wolf walks in, your tails go between your legs. Cat got your nerve? What happened?"

"What happened? I'm tired is what happened," Holly shook her head.

"Tired of what?"

"Of trouble, Jack!" Holly shouted with a twitchy eye. "I'm sick and tired of trouble. I don't want any more. So just stop revving his motor, or wait outside, or the fuck the hell off, I don't care which."

Jack realised he wasn't getting any sympathy from Holly. Swinging back to the Sheriff. "Bigby...look...two Fables are dead. And, shit, Gren's sister-"

"Holly's sister," Gren corrected with a frown.

"Holly's sister has been missing for, what, a few weeks now? And we haven't heard word one about it from anyone."

"Actually... Have there been any updates?" Holly asked. There was a small hint of hope in her voice. "On my sister?"

Sunny and Bigby exchanged a glance. Realising they should have discussed how to go about this before they arrived.

"Holly... Your sister's dead. She's the one we found early this morning," Bigby was upfront.

Holly eye's widened. She turned away from everyone. Trying to hide her grief away from everyone.

"Boy, I sure walked into that one.", Jack said awkwardly.

"For fucks sake-" Sunny started to swear at him.

"If you say one more fucking thing, just one more thing-" Gren growled at the same time.

Jack just kept on smiling. Walking off to another side of the room. Seemingly without a care in the world. Which pissed Sunny off even more.

"God-fucking-damn it! Of course, the dear deputy is all safe and sound!" Gren stood up from his chair. "Where were you when we reported this weeks ago, huh? Where are you when we ever fucking need you?!"

As Gren continued to yell, Sunny hung her head down in shame. He was right. There was no denying that.

"If you'd given one ounce of a shit about her, about any of us, she might've been saved! She might've been cared for! She might've been-"

Gren stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of a glass breaking. Everyone's attention turned to Holly. She was staring down at the glass-covered bar. She was taking heavy breaths. It looks like she was trying not to start screaming right then and there.

Everything Sunny could have said to her got caught in her throat. She wanted to try and comfort her. Do anything to help, but she barely knew this woman. What could she possibly say that would help?

"I'm sorry, Holly. I'm sorry we found your sister this way, and I... wish this had ended up better," Bigby told her.

Gren gave Bigby a dirty look as Holly walked to the other side of the room. Sitting down at one of the tables. Facing away from everyone.

Sunny approached her. "Holly, I'm-"

"Get the fuck out of my bar," Holly tells her coldly.

"I just wanna-"

"It should have been you. It should have been you, and it wasn't,"

"She's right," Sunny couldn't help but think to herself.

Sunny took a deep breath and stood next to Holly. She reached into her pocket for the pin they had found earlier.

"Lily was wearing this. I thought you might like to have it." Sunny said as she handled it over.

Holly turned the brooch over in her hands. "I...I didn't know she still had this," She explained wistfully. "The copper was from a dwarf mine... It's very rare...and very old."

"It's really nice," Sunny smiled softly.

The two of them just looked at each other for a moment. Holly was trying to work on what Sunny's deal was. She let out a sigh. "Gren?"

"Yeah?"

"Take off for a bit, would ya?" Holly told him.

"Are you sure?" Gren asked.

Holly looked back at Sunny. Who just gave her another smile. Holly gave Gren another look. Confirming her previous instruction. Gren made his way outside along with Jack.

Once the two of them were gone, Holly made her way back over to the bar. Pulling out a new glass for herself. "I don't know that much about her life...honestly, we didn't talk often."

Holly took a swig and sat down with her arms crossed. "She was lost here, in the city. She just got swept away by it."

"Do you have any idea why she'd be glamoured as Fei?" Bigby asked.

Holly looked over at Sunny in shock. Sunny just looked at the floor uncomfortably. "What? Oh, god. I'm sorry. That was probably about..."

Holly paused for a moment. "She was hooking. To pay down debt. It ate me up to see her that way. Eventually, the only people she owed were at her work, you know, that shithole club. The Pudding 'n' Pie. The owner, Georgie, with all his fuckin' "fees", it's a crock of shit. It's how they kept her under their thumb, really."

Sunny picked up on Holly's disgust. "Holly, it's okay. If it's too much, we don't have to do this."

"Pudding and Pie, huh?" Bigby Wondered out loud. "What do you know about the place?"

"It's a real garbage dump," Holly scowled.

"We can go check it out," Sunny told him. "We've got a lead. Maybe we can take it from here?"

Bigby nodded. "Thanks for everything, Holly. Is there, um, is there anything we can do to-"

"No, no, I'm better off dealin' with things alone. I don't need sympathy, and I don't need charity."

"It's not charity; it's looking out for each other," Sunny sincerely told her.

Holly thought about it for a moment. "Is she...where is she?"

"She's at the Business Office."

"I'm gonna have to go down there and get her," Holly sighed. "Fuck."

"We can handle the funeral arrangements if you need-" Sunny tilled her head.

"No, no, it's--it's a kind of-it's a formality with trolls. We burn our dead by sunrise or...I dunno. Some old-world shit will fuck your soul up."

"Of course. That should be fine. Snow White's down at the Business Office. She can help if you need anything, alright?" Sunny looked at Bigby. "Right?"

"Of course," Bigby approved. Making Sunny smile gratefully.

The two called Holly a cab. Once, she was on her way. They made their way to the other side of town. To the Pudding & Pie.

There wasn't much to say about the Pudding & Pie from the outside. It looked to be your run-of-the-mill New York strip club. Lit up in neo-lights, outlines of naked women, and covered in graffiti.

The two of them are greeted at the door by a slender blonde woman in a deep purple dress.

"Oh! Sheriff! And?" She smiled at Sunny.

"Sunny," She answered.

"What a nice surprise," Her grin widened. "I'm not sure I've seen either of you here before. You're always welcome, of course. Is it business or pleasure? Or both?"

Sunny and Bigby stood there awkwardly for a moment. Bigby got straight to the point. "We've got some questions for Georgie."

"Straight to business this time, then," The woman said. Her smile became more forced as she spoke. "You're in luck; he's here. Come on."

The woman moved to unlock the front door and lead them inside. "I should warn you that Georgie does not like to be bothered when he's working. And he's in kind of a...mood right now. I mean, more so than usual."

"Of course," Sunny muttered. Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "We'll be on our best behaviour."

Sunny couldn't say she had met a lot of sex workers. One of her mother's friends had been one during the sixties, but she had passed away when Sunny was just a kid. She traded stories with a few she had met in bars over the years. Every one of them had been a delight.

Pimps on the other hand. She had yet to meet a pleasant one.

As the woman walked them down the hall she started giving them some kind of intro to the place. "Welcome to the Pudding and Pie, where we cater to the diverse tastes of the Fable community. Your pleasure is our pleasure. Your desires are our desires. Your imagination is the menu, and discretion is our guarantee."

Okay?

The inside of the place didn't have much to cry about. It looked just about as cliche as the outside. More neon lights and posters of almost naked men and women lined the walls.

Well, at least, they're consistent.

"Did you know Lily? She worked here," Sunny tried asking.

"My lips are sealed," She replied with a frustrated look. "You'd better ask Georgie."

Sunny wasn't surprised to find that Georgie... was a fucking asshole.

If Sunny thought the building and decor were cliches, well, they had nothing on this Georgie. A skinny pale smear of a guy wearing a black wife beater and bowler hat, for fucks sake.

Georgie was sitting on one of the lounges with a boombox blaring next to him.

The moment they had walked into the room, he started screaming at the woman up on the stage. Calling her things Sunny preferred not to repeat.

"Nice guy," Bigby scoffed.

"Yeah, real sweet talker," Sunny frustratingly added.

"It's good that you two have a sense of humour," The woman smirked. "Good luck."

Bigby stepped forward. Starring Georgie down with an annoyed glint in his eye.

"Oh, it's you," Georgie said when he noticed Bigby. "We're closed."

The ginger woman up on the stage stopped what she was doing. Her eyes flicked from Bigby and Sunny curiously.

"Keep dancing, you! I didn't say stop!" Georgie yelled at her again. She gave him an annoyed look. "Fuck's sake!"

Georgie turned off the boombox with a huff. "You stay right there, don't even think about sitting down. We're not finished."

"Don't talk to her like that," Sunny told him with gritted teeth.

"And who the hell are you?" Georgie rolled his eyes. "Looking for work or something?"

"Yeah, right, I'd find better pimps in the gutter," Sunny scoffed.

"Wow, nice one." Georgie let out a fake laugh.

"Georgie," Bigby stepped in.

"Grrr! It's the Big Bad Wolf!" Georgie laughed. "Very scary. Jesus, you two. You're both so corny. I love it, though. No, seriously, I love it."

Bigby narrowed his eyes at him. It was clear Georgie was starting to get on his nerves.

"Okay, alright, Sheriff. Just fucking with you. Look, I know why you're here."

"Are you sure?" Bigby said. Making no attempt to hide his speciousness.

"Listen, Sheriff, around here, we can't afford to wait for you and your swanky pals to take an interest. We have to look out for each other."

Sunny wanted to laugh right in his face. This guy? Looking out for others. Yeah fucking right. He seems like the kind of guy that would save a man just so he could take his wallet.

"When shit happens, I hear about it, especially if it concerns my livelihood," Georgie added. Proving Sunny's internal assessment.

"So you knew Lily was glamoured then?" Sunny asked with a hand on her hip.

"Of course she was, you daft bitch. She was a troll." Georgie sneered at her.

"I mean glamoured to look like another person, dumbass." Sunny retaliated.

"Yeah? Well, so what? Who gives a toss? People get up to all kinds of things when nobody's watching. It's their own business."

"It's identity theft! It's illegal."

"Not in Fabletown. It's just frowned on." Georgie smiled like he won.

"It's illegal, as long as I don't like it," Bigby stepped in. "The thirteenth floor would never provide a glamor like that. It's strictly black market stuff."

"Ooh, black market, is it? How exciting!" Georgie said nonchalantly. "This is exactly what I would expect from a thug like you. Storm in, throw around a bunch of accusations, try to scare people, but you've got fuck all to back it up."

"And we're all just meant to jump any time the wolf shows his teeth," Georgie turned to the woman on the stage. "He used to be something, you know. Now look at him."

"Nothing to back it up? What the fuck is this, then?" Bigby raised an eyebrow as he pulled the glamour tube out of his pocket.

"Get that out of my face," Georgie said as he averted his eyes.

"We found it on Lily's body. It's definitely a back alley job. Where did she get it?" Bigby pressed.

"You've got this all wrong. If Lily was doing a special glamour, it wasn't for me! For fuck's sake, I want that kind of heat?"

"Who was she doing it for, then?"

"She had clients, Bigby," Georgie shouted in defence. "Maybe one of them was into it. Lot of fucked up people in Fabletown."

"Like who?" Sunny questioned.

"Try looking at your friend here." Georgie nodded his head at Bigby. He switched the boombox back on. then turned back to the worker. "Go on, then."

"We're not done here!" Bigby shouted over the music.

"I think we are!" Georgie told him.

"I said we're not!"

"You gonna hit me? Go ahead. That's what you wanna do, right? That's what you came here for, right? That's what you like!"

"One more time. Who. Hired. Her?"

Georgie pulled his fist back. Ready to punch but immediately lost his balance. He stumbled back right into the boombox. Crashing it onto the floor.

Sunny and Bigby watched awkwardly as Georgie started cursing left and right. It was extremely sad to look at.

"YOU! Take your sad fucking face where I can't see it!" Georgie shouted at the ginger. She was quick to make her way off the stage and to a door near the back of the room. "You proud of yourself, mate? Proud of your little mess? Fuck's sake."

Sunny looked towards that backdoor as Bigby kept trying to ask Georgie questions. When she realised Geogie's focus was on swearing at Bigby, she took the opportunity to make her way through it.

She told herself that it was to ask questions about the case, but she really just wanted to apologise. Picking fights with Georgie was not going to help the woman. Sunny was just letting her frustrations get to her again.

Sunny peeked around the corner to see the ginger woman sitting at a vanity mirror. One of those ones with the light bulbs on the frame.

"Um, hi," Sunny stepped out.

"Hello," The woman gave her a sad smile.

"I'm sorry about... out there," Sunny gestured awkwardly. "I think I just made things worse."

"It's fine," The woman told her before starting to apply more lipstick.

"Do you mind if I sit?" Sunny asked.

"... Sure," She nodded. As Sunny sat, she heard the sound of glass smashing from the other room. Both the women silently agreed to ignore it.

"So you're new?"

"Yeah, most people call me Sunny," She tried to introduce herself.

"They used to call me The Little Mermaid. Once upon a time," She let out a small laugh.

"What do they call you now?"

"Whatever makes them happy," She joked. There was a louder smash as she did. "My name is Nerissa."

"Well, Nerissa, do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"You can ask, but I don't have answers. You'll have to find those yourself." Nerissa said. She stared back at herself.

Sunny raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Did you see Lily last night? You know where she went or who she was with?"

"We can't talk about work," Nerissa told her.

"If you're worried about them, I sure there's some way we can get you some kind of immunity-"

"I mean can't. These lips are sealed. Discretion is our guarantee. It's how things work here. By design." Nerissa repeated.

"I feel like I've been hearing that a lot lately," Sunny said in disappointment.

Before Sunny could ask anything else, Bigby walked into the room. Holding a small red book in his hand. They didn't ask where or how he got it, but judging from the smashing they heard earlier, they could guess.

"Please, Nerissa, if there is anything you can tell us," Sunny asked again. She placed her hand over Nerissa's in a silent plea.

"I can't-" Nerissa pressed her lips together in frustration. "I'm sorry."

Sunny looked to Bigby. Not knowing what to do.

Nerissa paused for a moment but then also looked up at Bigby. "Sheriff Wolf, would you like to make an appointment with me?"

Bigby's eyebrows raised in confusion. He looked at Sunny, who just gave him a 'just go with it' look.

"Okay... What would I need to do?"

"I need a hundred and fifty. It's not good to be short." She told him as she wrote something down.

"Okay," Bigby started looking through his pockets but couldn't find any cash. "Oh...uh, I don't, uh..."

Nerissa gave him an unimpressed look. While Sunny just continued to grimace awkwardly. "No money hidden away somewhere unexpected?" She pulled some of her own money out of her purse. "Wait here for a second."

The two watched as Nerissa left. Peeking through the door, they saw her talking to Georgie. He handed her something and then made her way back. She placed a small hotel room key in Bigby's palm. It had a tag with the number 204 on it.

"Not 207?" Bigby asked.

"What's in 207?"

"It's a lead, hopefully," Bigby explained. "The Open Arms. This is where they met."

"Enjoy your stay. I hope you find what you're looking for," Nerissa rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

Sunny and Bigby found themselves outside again. Sunny took a moment to call Snow. Just to keep her informed about how they were going. The conversation shifted to how things were going with Holly. Once she was done, she walked back over to Bigby.

"The funeral is soon," Sunny told him. "Holly was wondering if I was coming."

"You gonna?"

"I want to, but I don't wanna leave you high and dry," Sunny sighed.

"It's fine, I'm used to being on my own," Bigby said as he lit another cigarette.

"That doesn't make me wanna go more when you say it like that," Sunny tried to give him a smile.

"It's fine, really," Bigby said again.

Sunny felt a pang of sympathy. The way he said it. It reminded Sunny how she had been insisting she had been fine all day.

"Okay, okay," Sunny exhaled. "Just call the office if you need me. Or I guess I'll probably be at the funeral all night, so you know where to find me."

The deputy called herself a cab. Shooting Bigby one last smile before closing the door.

"Stay safe," Bigby said quietly.

So... um, I found some time to post a chapter this week, yippee! Turns out I got the timing wrong, and we were home for a few days between plane trips. Nothing too exciting to share. Aotearoa was really nice, but my cousin and aunt were driving me a bit insane at some points. 

I'm currently working on my Star Wars fic, and am hoping to have that and the first part of my Back to the Future fic done by the end of the year.

Only one real note for this chapter: The way sex workers are presented in TWAU is pretty atrocious, even for a story that is meant to be set in the mid-80s. Like I'm sticking pretty close to the original plot for the first game, but I'm hoping to write more positive things about sex workers in future parts of the story.