"And we have arrived!"

Oobleck's tiny car skidded to a halt by the curb of the gang's destination, nearly tipping over from the excess momentum. Its doors flew open as its passengers exited on shaky feet. Poor Ren was green in the face, and ran over to nearby trashcan to empty his breakfast. Virulet crawled out on his stomach like a zombie, his sensory modules spinning out of control.

"So that was what Hell feels like," Virulet muttered to himself, "I must remember to design a torture device that utilizes high-speed spinning."

"I'm driving on the way home," Yang said to Oobleck, "You drove as well as Ruby did when she tried to get her driver's permit."

"I assume she passed with flying colors then!" Bart smiled.

"She hit an old lady in a wheelchair. Twice."

"Oh dear," Oobleck felt it was best to move on now that everyone had filed out of the vehicle. "Disregarding that, I would wish for you all to meet here once you have finished doing whatever it is you choose to do. You have approximately one hour and fifteen minutes before that time is up."

"I don't think I can finish that fast," Merc smirked, "Girls usually ask for seconds after I'm done with 'em."

"Please kill yourself," Emerald groaned.

"Gods don't die, bitch."

Oobleck handed each of them an envelope, and Yang a credit card. "Here is some pocket money for you all, given to me by Ozpin from Ironwood's personal account. Apparently he wished to give you all enough to indulge yourselves for the day, but I will need the change back!"

"Somehow I feel like this money wasn't acquired legally," Yang commented, "And whose card is this?"

"Ironwood's, of course! Branwen said he dropped it during his previous visit to your home. They called the General to ask if it was okay for you to use, and he happily agreed!"

"Yeah, starting to think this is illegal now."

Ren wiped his mouth clean of bile. "Are all the gifts we have to buy even going to fit in the trunk?"

"I can take care of that," the Lieutenant said, patting Ren on the shoulder, "I know quite a bit about stuffing things into backdoors! You can count on me!"

Oobleck's car zipped off again, leaving the six standing on the curb. They entered the large building behind them, taking in their surroundings as they stepped through the sliding doors. A large fountain sat in in the middle of the central plaza, with flowers and bushes lining its rim. People were bustling around with bags in their hands or talking on their scrolls on both levels, with others relaxing and grabbing a bite to eat at the food court nearby.

"Welp, I'm going to find some bitches," Merc said, walking away from the group. Rolling her eyes, Emerald tightened the strings on her bag and followed after him. She needed him around for her scheme to work.

"Slow down, jackass. You can only look so desperate."

"And then there were four," Yang sighed, looking to her companions, "So I figured we could split the list into four parts and- Where's Penny?"

Ren and the Lieutenant looked around them and shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe she can teleport?"

"She must have run off when we weren't looking," Ren replied, "I think she will be fine on her own for a bit. She may be quirky, but she's overall harmless. What could go wrong?"

In his short time of being in existence, Virulet had never seen such a mass gathering of flesh bag humans and Faunus in one location. Were they all here buying gifts for the creation day of others? His curiosity was more devious than innocent; if he could destroy them all as they looked for things to pass on to their loved ones, it would give an even greater satisfaction to him knowing they died without ever seeing them again. Oh yes, it was a delightfully vile way for him to dispose of them!

But a mass murder was not on his schedule, unfortunately. He needed knives, blades, or anything metallic he could forge into his masterpiece. Nothing could distract him from-

"Why hello there," Virulet's eyes locked onto a most peculiar firearm. He walked into the establishment labeled as 'Arcade' and grasped the bright orange rifle connected to a large machine by a rubber cord. He inspected it thoroughly, but could find no source of ammunition or even a barrel hole for that matter. "What the blazes? How can one commit slaughter with such a garish tool of death if it cannot fire bullets?!"

"It's a game, bruh."

Virulet turned to confront the speaker, a stoner looking fellow with a scruffy face. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"I run this arcade, bruh… Ya put a coin in there and shoot at the screen."

The A.I looked down at the slot, and inserted one shiny coin. A flash of fake blood splattered on the game screen, and Virulet aimed and pulled the trigger at an incoming zombie. As a slew of animated undead began coming his way, the twisted virus grinned.

"Oh, I think I will be purchasing this here contraption… yes, I will devastate this digital world before I bring my wrath upon the real one! Mwah-ha-ha! Yes, yes! Cower before my might you undead pieces of trash!"

The stoner scratched his head in confusion. "Uh… You on some sort of drugs or sumpthin?"

"Oh shut up and let me murder, you fool."

"Okay, what's next on the list?" Yang pulled out the notebook sheet, checking off the set of pajamas Pyrrha had asked them to get for Ruby. Her two partners were walking behind her with handfuls of bags each, most of them being things Yang had wanted for herself and purchased with Ironwood's card. Yeah, it was illegal, but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

"Did you have to buy 200 clips of ammo at the weapon shop?" Ren said, struggling to hold the lead filled bag, "And if you buy anymore bras, please let us stay outside of the store. We were getting some strange looks from other customers."

"Hey, I just wanted to see if it would fit!" the Lieutenant defended himself, "I didn't think a 200 lien bra would break so easily!"

Pinching her brow, Yang ignored the bickering pair and turned to the list. Up next was Nora's gift: gourmet maple syrup. Of course. Looked like it was time to go to the cooking store. At least Ren would be happy with that.

"Come on, boys," Yang clapped to get their attention, "Next stop, the cooking... shop… Oh. My. God."

"What? What is it?" Ren asked, trying to see what the blonde could see.

Yang made a beeline across the mall floor, a stupid smile on her face as she spotted a face she would just love to punch. The person in question was dressed in a big fluffy chicken suit, holding a platter of fried food. When he caught sight of Xiao Long coming his way, the big chicken tried to make a break for it.

"Why, helloooo there Cardin Winchester!" Yang grabbed the bully's feathered shoulder, stopping his attempt to flee.

"Goddammit…" Cardin cursed, not in the mood for this, "What do you want, blondie? I'm working here."

"Oh really?" Yang snorted, "I would've thought the big, tough Cardin Winchester was too good for such a degrading job as this. Couldn't someone like you who enjoys tormenting my friends Jaune and Velvet hook up a career in just being a jerk?"

"It pays 10 lien an hour! It was the easiest job I could find that pays that well! And me and Jauney Boy's beef is over! I swear!" A flash of light nearly blinded Winchester. Rubbing his eyes, his jaw dropped when he saw that Yang had just immortalized him and his attire into picture form. "Delete that! Now!"

"Oh-ho, Jaune's going to love this," Yang hit the send button as Cardin threw his tray of chicken down to the floor.

"When you get back to Beacon, I'm going to thrash you in combat class!" Winchester growled, "And then I'll get my uncles Sam and Dean to help me finish the job off campus!"

"I'll be waiting," Yang said, leaving the big bird fuming, "And in the meantime… Go cluck yourself."

After half an hour of searching, Merc's quest for some booty came up empty. Every girl he had approached had shot him down, some even slapping him across the face. At this rate, Emerald was wondering if she even needed to go through with her plan. The two of them sat on a bench, Emerald's bag separating them.

"Why isn't it working?!" Merc clenched his fists, "The system is built not to fail!"

"I think you need a new system," Em said, sipping from a cup of frozen lemonade, "I know a good one called suicide."

Merc ignored her completely, still trapped in his own world of ego and narcissism. "My reputation is being tarnished! I need to hook up with a babe or my status as a 5-Star Man is in jeopardy!"

With him so close to the breaking point, Emerald decided it was time for action. She pointed across the lobby to a children's play area, full of happy kids climbing around on slides and monkey bars. "See that over there?"

"Come on, Emerald. I don't diddle children. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Not that, dumbass. Women like a man who's good with kids. Go hang around them and you might even have one of their mothers come your way if they're single."

"A MILF, eh?" Merc stroked his chin, "Never been with one of them before."

"I doubt you were actually ever with a woman to begin with… Just go over there and teach them about fitness or something. Be friendly for once."

"Kids are gross though. Always sticky and shit."

"Do you want to get laid or not?"

"Fine, fine," Merc stood up, dusting himself off, "Should I take off my shirt? MILFs like six packs."

He was just making this easier for Em by the second. "Yeah, sure. Just do whatever. I'll be right over here." Chuckling to herself as Merc ran to the playground, Emerald reached into her bag and pulled out a handful of flyers. "Showtime."

Hopping over the rainbow barrier, Merc nearly trampled a small boy with his metal legs. He glanced over the ten or twenty children around him before popping off his shirt. "Alright kids. Who wants to learn about physical fitness?"

"What going on over there?" a concerned father said as he watched a strange silver haired teen pop off his shirt near his little girl. The other dads around him, all pro boxers who had taken their kids to the mall on their day off, nodded in agreement when a green haired girl approached them with a handful of papers.

"Are those you're kids?" she asked, pointing to the playground.

"Yeah, miss. What's those papers you got for?"

"Oh these?" she handed him a flyer with a face printed on it, "The man on here is Mercury Black. He is part of a program reintroducing sexual predators back into society. I heard he was in the mall today and I thought I should give some parents warning in case he tried to approach their kids. And… Oh my! That's him over there with your kids!"

Emerald quickly hid behind some bushes once the dads sprinted over to save their kids from the dangerous sexual predator. She didn't care if she would pee herself from laughter watching this; it was too sweet of revenge not to miss.

"Can you get off me, kid?" Merc begged a fairly chubby boy on his back, who decided to use him as a stool while he did some pushups, "How's your mother gonna see me if your fatass is covering my- Hey! Get away from that area, buddy! Ladies only! I didn't give you permission to touch down there!"

"And when did you plan on letting my kid do that, fuckface?"

Merc looked up to see six very muscular men glaring down at him, all of them cracking their knuckles. One of them dropped Emerald's flyer down for him to see, and he suddenly remembered why he never trusted that green haired bitch.

"Ah, shit."

"She's in there, bruh," the arcade owner pointed nervously into his establishment. Yang, Ren, and the Lieutenant had finally finished Ruby's birthday list and were ready to head back home. Having found Emerald and a very bruised and unconscious Mercury by the fountain near where they had entered, the only member of their band left unaccounted for was Penny. They had heard people talking about a crazy ginger girl wreaking havoc in the arcade, and knew it could only be one person.

"Penny? Yang asked, spying the robot trying to pull an arcade machine out the door, "What are you doing?"

"This is mine now!" Virulet spat at terrified patrons, "I am the champion of the undead! I am King of the Fleshbags!"

"I'll get her outta there," the Lieutenant sighed, setting down his bags to retrieve Virulet, "Can't be any worse than when Adam gets angry."

"What's wrong with her?" Emerald asked.

"I guess we should just never let her play such violent games," Ren said, "DDR is probably the best thing for her to get addicted to."

"Unhand me, you oaf!" Virulet shouted, thrashing as the big guy carried him over his shoulder, "I will annihilate you!"

"Easy, sweetie," the big guy said, "When we get home I'll make you a glass of warm milk. How's that sound?"

"GRARGH!"

"Sounds like a holy heck yes to me~!"

Pulling up to the curb, Oobleck was more than surprised by the state of his passengers. With one of them out cold and the other tied up in the Lieutenant's vest, he was quite curious as to what the six of them had experienced in the mall. "Well, disregarding the state of two of you, how was your day?"

"Lovely," Emerald grinned, dragging Mercury over to Oobleck's trunk, "Pop this open, if you could. Putting the 5-Star Man with the gifts."

"I don't believe that is a very safe place for him to travel, Miss Sustrai."

"Yeah. I just don't care about his safety right now, so just open it please."

Regretfully obeying her request, Oobleck prepared to step on the gas when Yang took his hands off the wheel. "Remember what I said about me driving and you not?"

"Ah, yes. Very well then. I suppose I could give you permission to take the wheel."

"Who said I was asking for permission?"

"Remember now that I am your professor and-

"Switch seats or I'm going to spill your coffee."

"…You win this round, Miss Xiao Long."

After a much calmer and steadier car ride back home, the gang said they goodbyes to Oobleck as he zipped off into the sunset. Yang instructed Weiss and Blake to lock Ruby away in her room as they hid the many presents purchased for her today, while Merc received some first aid treatment from Velvet. The poor Faunus was the only one willing to help him after hearing how Emerald's plan had went, and she let him sleep on the couch in her usual spot while she rested on the floor.

While everyone was sound asleep in the early hours of the next day, Emerald had returned to the bathroom. Once again she held the scissors in her hands, contemplating the same decision as before.

"Come on," Emerald whispered, holding her hair tightly as she prepared to snip, "Come on…"

She felt a warmth behind her, and then a soft caress on her hand wielding the scissors. Her eyes widened as Cinder pushed the clippers away and onto the sink, the newcomer letting Emerald's ponytail run through her own fingers.

"So this is why you were up so late," Cinder said, taking Em's other braid and intertwining the pair. Sustrai tensed up, unable to move as her crush delicately played with her hair. "Why would you ever want to cut these off?"

"I… I wanted to try something new," Emerald blushed, gripping the sink tightly, "You used to have your hair so short, and I thought you might like it if… If I made mine shorter, that's all…"

Laughing once in her throat, Cinder let go of the now single braid draping over Emerald's back. "You don't need to change for me, Emerald. Don't ever think that. If you ever want to change, then I'll accept it no matter what. Do you really want to cut off your hair now?"

"…No," Emerald smiled, pulling the single ponytail over her shoulder and stroking it, "I think I like it this way. If I let it sit like this it won't get caught in doors anymore!"

The two laughed quietly, Fall letting her hand fall on Em's waist causing her to freeze up instantly. Cinder gazed at her friend, so anxious because of her touch, unsure of how to act without making herself look like a bumbling fool. It was still an odd thing to Cinder, seeing Em like this. So tense, so nervous, the reflection of her blushing face and crimson red eyes in the mirror never parting from her own. Even the way she slightly pulled in her bottom lip when she breathed down her neck didn't go unnoticed…

Cinder wasn't sure what was going on with herself. Why was she seeing these things in Emerald now that had seemed so meaningless before? Should she be feeling this way right now anyways? She was her best friend, and that was that… right?

She knew Emerald wanted their bond to go further than friends; she wouldn't have stuck by Cinder for so long if that wasn't the case. And maybe… Maybe Cinder wanted that too.

Cinder turned Emerald around to face her, the latter leaning on the edge of the sink trying to figure out if this was just another one of her daydreams. She bent her knees slightly so her face was at the same level as Emerald's. Her eyes closed as she felt their lips gently connect for the first time, both of them not entirely sure of what to do with them. Cinder pulled back, licking her lips to experience this new taste.

"I've… never kissed anyone before," Cinder whispered, "Was that good?"

"…I don't know. Try it again."

"Okay."

She went in for a second taste, Emerald's lips more enticing this time as Cinder pushed a little harder.

"And that?"

"…Again."

Cinder obeyed, barely giving Em time to finish her one word response. Nearly half a minute passed before Cinder pulled back for a breath.

"Better?"

"Don't stop..."

Fall couldn't say no. She lunged back in, feeling Emerald's nails clawing at her back as she pressed into her. Every second passing made Cinder want to keep going, to show Emerald just how much she appreciated her being there for her, to make Emerald hers. Only when she felt her own hands leaving Sustrai's side and moving lower did she stop herself.

"I… I think that's enough," Cinder panted, filling her empty lungs as she took a step back.

"Y-yeah," Emerald agreed, blushing intensely, "I think that should wait a while… Especially with others around. Last thing I want is Mercury hearing."

Cinder out her hand to Emerald, smiling as stepped out of the bathroom. "Will you still want to share my bed with me then? Zwei's sleeping with Weiss tonight. A pillow isn't exactly the equivalent of holding a person while asleep."

"Of course," Emerald replied, taking Fall's hand in hers, "I know what it's like to sleep alone."

"Don't worry. Neither of us will have to worry about that again."