TSO A/N: I think you guys can figure out what happened.

Set in the world of Springtime for Cinder, this is one year before the events of chapter 7. Again, you'll have no idea what's going on unless you read that, so go. Read.

This is, by far, more serious than Flirting with Disaster. This story serves as a series of unimportant fun backstory things about team GΣCO. You know, for da lolz. That's it, but keep in mind that everything that happens in this story is actually part of the Springtime for Cinder universe, unlike Flirting with Disaster, which was purely a "what if," situation.

We have chosen to use the £ sign to indicate lien.

For anyone wondering, Smaragda Prasinos hasn't changed her name yet.

—TSO

...

I don't have anything to say other than enjoy! And don't forget to review!

The loudspeaker came to life, "Would all first year leaders please report to the conference rooms for mission assignment."

Glynda Goodwitch, the leader of team GΣCO, had the incredible luck of being reminded of this meeting only two minutes before it was scheduled to start, 'Typical announcements.'

She rolled her eyes and sighed, setting her book down, "Sorry, girls, but this study session is over. Duty calls." She rose from her chair, changing out of her night clothes as quickly as possible, in too much of a hurry to even pay heed to the three other people in the room.

"Someone's going to be late…" Obrey received a glare from her half-naked leader the second the words were uttered.

The instant she managed to get her blouse on, she was headed out the room, snatching her crop from Σμαράγδα's hands before running through the doorway, down the hall, outside the building, and across the lawn to the other building. Deputy-Headmaster Ozpin stood at the center of the lawn, watching her run by. "You're late, Ms. Goodwitch."

She ran past him, yelling back over her shoulder, "I know, Professor Ozpin! I was held up."

The leader of team GΣCO burst through the door of conference room 12, "I'm here, guys!"

Headmaster Maroon, as well as every other leader in the room, looked to the girl, "Oh, Glynda, how nice of you to join us. Luckily, we still have two missions left."

The blonde sighed in relief and thanked Christ that she at least still had an option, "What do we have, sir?"

The man held out two envelopes. "These two missions require a team comprised entirely of females. The first is a volunteer opportunity at the women's homeless shelter on the west side, the second is an escort mission. Which would you prefer?"

The blonde paused, "You said the first was volunteer work?" he nodded, "Meaning we get paid for the second?" he nodded again.

The young woman walked toward her headmaster as the man begun to reply. "The particular mission is actually undercover work for the Vale police department. They are legally required to pay you at least 8.27£ an hour. However, you will also get to keep any tips that you make along the way, as well as the 5.20£ an hour tha..."

Glynda had heard enough. "We'll take it!" she exclaimed, ignoring a few giggles that came from the other team leaders.

The man calmly reached out and handed her the manilla folder, "Here is everything you will need to know about this mission."

The girl took it from his hand. It felt rather heavy for just papers, "What's in it?"

"You have been issued new scrolls for your undercover identities, they are enclosed in the folder. All you need to do to complete this process is insert your pictures into the photo ID interface, which is a rather simple task." Glynda nodded.

The headmaster began to address the girls over the general details of their missions, such as personal safety and tips for maintaining the health of the team. Glynda promptly ignored him, tearing open the envelope and beginning to read the paper contents within.

"Escort mission.

Briefing: The purpose of this mission is to gather information on criminal Ima Badgy, leader of a large cartel based in south Vale.

NOTE: Do not attempt to capture the man, this is purely an investigation into his drug deals. There is no way for the police to provide support should an unauthorised action result in a dangerous situation. If this happens, you will have to rely on your skills as huntsmen to..."

The blonde skipped a few lines, it seemed simple enough. Talk to the guy, escort him around as like a limo driver or something, and ask questions, maybe collect evidence. Nothing she and the rest of her team couldn't handle. Further down was some other pertinent information about how to set the scrolls' photo ID, and an address for the employment office.

The only thing that seemed odd were the requirements for hiring. No past history of prostitution seemed reasonable, but she couldn't figure out why they needed to be over 21 and without dependants. 'Does this employer really think that limo driving is that dangerous?'

She pulled out the scrolls and entered the information required to set up the ID for each of herteam mates, glad that she was making at least 13.47£ an hour for all this. Then something occurred to her, she could buy drinks with this scroll. She immediately tried to come up with a plan that involved managing to keep the things after this mission was over.

The blonde stood at the door of the Foxy Lady with her team. The rest of GΣCO looked to the girl, quizzical expressions adorning their faces. The address matched exactly to what the mission briefing gave them, and there wasn't anything that would seem to indicate this wasn't their mission, except the establishment itself.

Cinder was the one to speak first, "Um, Glynda, I think you might have made a mistake when you requested this assignment…"

Their leader shook her head, the weight of their situation dawning on her, "Absolutely not. This is… exactly what I expected when I applied us for this."

The redhead looked at the girl, squinting suspiciously, "Then why did you say we were going to be driving people around?"

Not knowing what to do, Glynda raised her voice and tried her best to assert her dominance over the team, "As your leader, I get to make the decisions, and if this is the mission I choose, then this is the mission we do. Any questions?" The other girls shook their heads, not really knowing what to say, none of them willing to question their appointed leader, at least, not as long as this was for a grade.

Σμαράγδα sighed, "Okay, girls, I guess we're just going to have to go with it. Hopefully, we all come out of this unharmed."

"Oh, I nearly forgot," their leader reached into a pocket of her skirt and withdrew three scrolls, "they gave us these so that we could pass the requirements for employment here. All of us are varying ages over 21, and we don't have any children or husbands." All eyes turned to Σμαράγδα.

The Faunus looked at her team, "It's not my fault! I… he… gave me a few drinks and I... ... the pills failed... it was a Sunday, the abortion clinic was closed… I ran out of gas... I had a flat tire! I didn't have enough money for cab fare! My tux didn't come back from the cleaners! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! It wasn't my Fault I SWEAR TO GOD!"

The rest of her team stared at her, not sure what to say. Eventually, the blonde sighed, shaking her head, and returned to the topic on hand. "Also, these don't have any history of activity involving… well… criminal adultery." She paused, her judgemental eyes landing on the redhead, "They won't hire someone who has already been caught."

Obrey spoke up defensively, "I only did it for one year! I needed the money, and there weren't any stable job options where I lived that would work for me!"

Cinder shook her head, "You still were sentenced with felony prostitution, Obrey. You spent one year in Vale prison and had to pay 6,000£ for it. We probably wouldn't have needed these if you hadn't." The brunette waved her new scroll in her partner's face.

Glynda shook her head, "No, Cinder, we would have still needed them for the age requirement. There's nothing we can do to get around that." She looked around and noticed some bystanders watching them, "Now, let's get going before anyone gets suspicious."

The team begrudgingly moved to the door, entering the establishment. They looked at the bouncer, and Glynda quietly asked him where the manager's office was. After checking their age, the man mumbled something and pointed to a door at the back of the building. The blonde nodded sternly, thanked him, and led team GΣCO to the place indicated. They arrived at the door, but just as Glynda was about to knock, she felt Obrey's hand on her shoulder, stopping her from completing her action.

"Girls, we need names for our new… profession," the redhead whispered to her team. "We can't use our real names, or the ones on these scrolls."

The other three stared at her. "You mean stripper names?" the faunus asked.

The redhead hesitated before nodding an affirmative.

Cinder sighed, rubbing her forehead. Of all the things about this mission, this was certainly the most degrading. "Okay, what should we all be?" She quickly realised how this would interact with their cover, "We need something easy to remember that we can all use. Anything that is forgettable will certainly spell trouble for us."

The faunus looked at her partner for a second, thinking. "Glynda, what do you think of… Blonde B..." the woman's glare made her stop there, "no… oh… tree swallow… no…" The girl looked over the blonde's form, trying to think of anything that would be easy to remember and quick to associate with Glynda, "OH! I got it! How about Jiggly Juggz?!"

The Blonde damn near slapped Σμαράδα in the face, but Obrey interrupted, "It's perfect! It just screams… uhh…" she checked Glynda's scroll, "Olivia… Broadchester? Yeah. It just screams Oliva Broadchester to me."

The leader of team GΣCO looked at the other three, sighing with dismay, "So, are we just going to name each other, then?"

Obrey nodded, "Sure. Hmm… I think I'll try you, Σμαράγδα. Let's go with…" She eyed the girl carefully, then remembered that the girl had mentioned being a cat faunus, "Uhh… Pussy Galore?" Cinder giggled slightly when she figured out how her partner came to that name.

The blonde shook her head, "Check Cinder's scroll, Obrey." The brunette's face fell as she pulled out the scroll and handed it to the redhead.

The other girl checked the identification screen only to find that Pussy Galore was, in fact, her partner's fake ID. "Well, that's weird… Uh, how about… Ummmm… Kit Kat?" The other two shook their heads in disapproval. The girl's pink eyes ran across the other's mint hair, "Uhhhh… Oh, Jade Thunder!" All three other girls nodded in agreement.

The faunus looked to her teammate, "I'm fine with that." She repeated the name, "Jade Thunder," it had a nice ring to it.

Obrey looked to her leader, "Go for it, Glynda."

The blonde looked at the two other girls before realizing that if she chose Obrey, Cinder would be naming herself. Her mind drew a blank as she looked at the brunette. Besides being rich, there wasn't much she knew about the Schnee. "Cinder... Ummm... Dust Tycoon… no… Robber Baron… eh, it doesn't work… How about Moneybags Magnate?" The other three all gave her the same shocked and disgusted look. The blonde cursed her lack of creativity as she tried to think of any defining feature of her teammate. The answer finally came to her when she realised the girl's semblance was certainly fire based. "Maybe Burning Desire?" The other three shook their heads, "Oh, wait, duh. Cinder Schnee, I hereby dub you Firecrotch, keeper of the most wanted puss in all of Remnant."

The faunus snickered. "Posted bounty, 10,000£ dead, 50,000£ alive."

Cinder facepalmed as Obrey interjected, "That's my name!"

Σμαράγδα looked to the redhead, "No, it's clearly Cinder's name."

The Schnee shook her head, "I guess I'll accept this, if only to spite you..." she looked over her partner's pale white, almost pink, skin as something came to her mind, "Dark Chocolate." A wicked grin spread over her face at the sight of the girl's offence.

The other two laughed as the redhead sputtered, "I… No… That's not…"

Glynda put her hand on Obrey's shoulder, "It is now, Dark Chocolate."

With that, she opened the door and entered the manager's office before the other girl could protest any more.

Glynda looked at the man sitting in an office chair behind the mahogany table. It was none other than the deputy headmaster of Beacon himself. "Professor Ozpin, what are you doing here?"

"Ms. Goodwitch, this is my company. I run it. Why would I not be here?"

"I just wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Well, I wasn't expecting the police to outsource this particular assignment, so I am just as surprised to find out that my own students would be here as you are to see me."

The redhead stepped forward, whispering to her leader, "You're blowing our cover." She then turned to the man behind the desk, "Mr. Ozpin, we are here to apply for a job at your club."

The professor sat forward in his chair, "Hmmm… I see, what qualifications do you have for this job?"

"We're female. Is there anything else needed?"

"We here at the Foxy Lady run a more elaborate show than simply flashing, my dear."

"Well, I'm sure we can all learn the ropes before our first night is out."

He paused for a moment, he was going to have to hire these girls no matter what the result of the interview was, "Well. In that case, I'm going to need some form of identification for the payroll."

The four handed him their false scrolls, and pretty soon, they were officially employees of the largest strip club on the north side of Vale.

Obrey led the team back out to the bar area when the paperwork was all done. Their leader then spoke up, "Okay, I know we start tomorrow, but Dark Chocolate, do you have any advice on what we are supposed to do now?"

The redhead turned around, "You want to make some money on the side, right?" The other three nodded, "Okay, girls, the fastest way to get good tips is to get him to loosen up a bit. Give the man a drink, and let him buy you a drink. But remember, you need to stay sober while you're on the job, so watch carefully." The girl caught the bartender's attention, ushering him over to the group.

"How may I help you?"

She leaned in close and whispered to him, "The four of us are new here." he nodded, understanding, "and I was wondering if you could help us out a bit."

Another nod, as he pulled out a pen and paper, jotting down some easy descriptions he could remember the girls by. "Understood, ma'am. May I take your order?"

"Okay, when a man asks to buy us drinks, I want you to give the blonde exactly what he asks for. Trust me, she needs it." he chucked slightly in agreement, "Okay, I want you to give me an orange juice in the glass he asks for, prepared in the style he requested. The brunette wants a Dr. Pepper, and the mint-haired girl…" Obrey paused for a moment, thinking, "She wants sparkling water."

Σμαράγδα rolled her eyes, "No, I think I'll have a root beer." The man crossed out the water, replacing it with the more sensible drink.

Glynda looked at her teammate, "What was that all about?"

"Whenever a man orders something for you, you will receive this drink each time."

The brunette looked at her partner, "When did you learn that?"

"Back when I worked the house with your mom."

The faunus giggled slightly, "Apply ice to burn."

Cinder shook her head, "Okay, anything else we need to know?"

The redhead paused, thinking, "Ummm… There are a few things you guys should know before tomorrow, and you'll also need time to prepare some items…" The girls nodded and Obrey smiled at the amount of attention they were finally paying when she spoke. "Now, I trust we all know the basics? Like, we're never supposed to give out any kind of personal information to anyone for any reason. No name, no address, no phone number… Nothing. The most dangerous thing you can do is get yourself in a situation where a customer can find who you are. And no pictures either, they have to pay to look."

Cinder scoffed, "They're going to take pictures anyway."

"Then you let them know it's against the rules. Most clubs have a no pictures policy. If they keep doing it, the bouncer will throw them out. See how they like it."

The Faunus knitted her eyebrows, "How will he know?"

"And this brings me to my next point: We have to befriend the bouncer. He's the one who'll make sure everyone is following the rules. His job is to protect you, but he'll do it better if he knows you. And it's always a good idea to have him walk you to your car or a taxi to help make sure you leave this place safely. You're more likely to be violated in the parking lot than inside the club."

The leader gasped, "God, that's horrible."

Obrey nodded, "Which gets me to the next thing you need to know. Never, under any circumstances leave with a customer. No matter how nice or kind they seem. It's one of the worst, most reckless things you can do. It is both dangerous for your health, and no one will know where you are if things go sideways." The other three nodded, "Another thing you're never supposed to do is drugs. Don't ever accept anything that a customer offers you. Drugs and alcohol can and will cloud your judgement, and that's the last thing you want in this field of business." The girls nodded, connecting this with Obrey's previous effort to set up their drink orders for them, "They will also make you act more like the one person you can't be at this job: yourselves. You need to be a different person here, remember, you are trying to sell a product, not make friends. Of course, that doesn't mean you have the right to be bitchy to others, whether they are employees or customers," she paused, casting her gaze over Glynda who rolled her eyes in response. "Always smile and have a positive attitude; even if you really don't feel like it. Customers will be a lot more attracted to you if they see you smiling and enjoying yourself. Plus, even a fake smile can make you feel more comfortable with this new line of work."

The brunette interrupted, "Wait, Obrey, this isn't going to be our job permanently."

"You want to make some cash while you have this job, right?"

"Yes."

"Then pay attention. Okay girls, walk with me." They all followed Obrey as she made her way closer to the stage. "Now, see that girl up there? See how nice her hair looks?"

The Faunus was immediately distracted by the woman's bare crotch, "I don't see any..."

"Not that hair."

"Oh."

"You need to stay clean, and well groomed at all times. You'll find out that hair is more easily styled when it hasn't been washed for twenty four hours, so make sure to keep that in mind." Σμαράγδα reached out, winked at the girl dancing, and placed 20£ on the stage, "Dammit, pay attention."

The faunus snapped her head back to face Obrey, "Sorry."

"You need to remove any fur that you have growing down there every day before work. You need to keep well groomed and clean, too. The customers don't want to see some dirty animal on the stage."

"Hey!"

"No, I didn't mean it like that."

"Whatever."

"Now, moving on. We can't wear any glitter," Glynda glanced away, "or strong perfumes," Cinder coughed lightly, "the patron needs to be able to hide where he's been from his wife. If he doesn't think he can get away with it, he won't even bother with you. Keep in mind, ladies, this is just like any other job. Your goal is to move product as effectively as possible, you need to be able to build his confidence, and suck his wallet dry. I will reiterate that this is a job, you're trying to sell a product to these people. Your looks certainly help, but that's not what you're selling. The merchandise is your personality, you can't just show up and expect to phone it in with your looks. You have to make them think that they're special, and you have to work hard for your money. Looks will only get you tips for the first two or three minutes, then they start to lose interest. And if that happens, you'll have to work twice as hard to win them back."

She led them away from the stage toward an employee working the floor. She addressed her team once they could all see the girl, "You know how people judge you by first impressions?" The three thought for a second and then nodded in agreement, "It matters even more here. You need to convey yourself with confidence when approaching the customer…"

The blonde interrupted, "You sound like you're teaching us how to sell a used car."

"That's because, at it's core, it's the same process. Build confidence, make them feel comfortable around you, and then milk it for all it's worth, and then even more. Sometimes being a bit more forward will pay off later, you should..." She continued to lead them around the club giving various tips as her team began to slowly lose interest in what was going on. The redhead was so lost in her teachings that she failed to notice that the girls didn't seem to care what she was talking about anymore, even if the payoff was more money.

Eventually, Obrey got tired of telling Σμαράγδα to stop eyeing the merchandise, and it dawned on her that the other three had completely lost interest in what she was saying. "Okay, ladies, I think that's enough for tonight."

Glynda let out a relieved sigh, "Oh, finally."

"We'll buy some clothes in the morning," the former prostitute promptly ignored her teammate, "and show up for work tomorrow." She turned toward the door, "There's just one last thing we need to do."

The olive girl blinked, "Which is?"

"Have you not been paying attention in the slightest?"

Cinder leaned closer to her teammate, whispering into the girl's ear, "We need to befriend the bouncer, remember?"

Σμαράγδα blushed slightly, "Right. I may have gotten a little distracted at some point." She thought for a second, "How are gonna do that though? We can't just be friends with him. We don't even know him."

"Just follow me, ladies. We'll start with getting to know him first."

The four walked over to the man, and Obrey led a surprisingly lively conversation between the five of them. By no means were they friends by the end of it, but the girls were certainly acquainted with the intimidating man.

TSO A/N: I loved writing this chapter. It was soooooo much fun. We will be continuing this story with random updates when we feel like it, so just look out for those. Springtime for Cinder is still by far our priority, so we will focus that story more so. Also, here's my short list of stripping tips.

1. Befriend the bouncer, convince him to walk you to your car: it helps prevent getting raped in the parking lot, and keep your keys in your fist with the longest key sticking out.

2. No glitter or strong perfume, it's hard for customers to hide these from their significant others.

3. Your goal is to sell a product. the most important aspect to the job is your ability to market yourself, not your looks. Looks help, but you have to be able to hold his attention.

4. A simple guideline: topless by the second song, full nude by the third song.

5. Don't tell the other girls how much you've made.

6. Don't steal customers from the tip row of another dancer.

7. Private dances are paid up-front.

8. Wear some money, they're more willing to fork something up if they think others also have.

9. Never ever drink on the job. One drink is too many drinks, you need to be focused and able to prevent yourself from getting into dangerous situations.

10. Never leave with a customer.

11. Never let a customer know any personal information about yourself (name, age, phone number, address…).

12. Never let a boyfriend or other interest visit you at work. You don't go to his work, he doesn't go to yours. You can't afford him distracting you.

13. Dress sexy, but not trashy, you are not a prostitute.

14. Don't do drugs. Ever.

15. You have to work for tips, you can't just phone it in and expect the men to pay up.

16. Approach the man, rarely do men actively seek out the girls. You need to work him out of his shell if you want to get any tips.

17. Always smile even if it's a fake one. Customers don't like antisocial/jaded dancers and a smile makes you more approachable.

18. Never be yourself. Ever.

19. Groom well, and use baby wipes. Toilet paper has lint.

20. Most importantly, have fun. If he thinks you enjoy it, then he is more likely to enjoy it as well.