Rei and Luna stepped into the shopping mall through the sliding glass door. The moment Rei glanced around, her feline eyes sparkled in wonder. “Wow! Meosjida!”

The mall at the central plaza has fifty floors inside a massive circular chamber. The ceiling was domed higher than any cathedral and made of the most beautiful glass. Rivers of people rode on escalators and strolled around walkways to their favorite shops. The smell of popcorn, caramel, and fried food flooded the warm air. And the floor shines like a surface of a lake at sunrise.

In the background, the “Jingle Bells Rock” music played from the unseen speakers. Holograms of tree ornaments danced over the crowd. A giant Christmas tree towered in the center with sparkling lights, and Christmas pine wreaths hung across railings on each floor.

Rei noticed diamond dust sprinkling down like snow. It felt like flakes tickling her nose.

"This place looks amazing!" She exclaimed. "I have never been to the Tower Plaza before!"

Luna shrugged with her hands in her pockets. "Only the wealthy shoppers come here. I usually avoid this place unless I see a hot girl to score. Heeheehee."

Rei glared at her. "Luna, we are not here to get you a girlfriend. We're here to shop for gifts. My boyfriend is first on my list."

Luna thought Rei and Rally broke up since they couldn't date during their time-consuming jobs. But that wasn't the case because now they will have the chance to be together again.

On the upcoming Christmas day, Commissioner Fiona planned to throw a party for the whole police department. She invited everyone as long as they brought gifts. Just a nice cozy Christmas celebration where cops and bounty hunters don’t need to worry about crime. After all, Christmas was about being with friends and families.

"Do you at least know what you are getting him?" Luna asked.

"Hmmmmmm…" Rei approached the mall map billboard near the center. “I was thinking of something kinky, but that sounds too extreme.”

Luna narrowed her eyes. “How long have you two dated?”

Rei placed her finger on her lower lip. “Two or three months. I think we only dated six times.”

“And you haven’t scored yet?”

“Sesang-e, Luna! I’m not in a rush! When the right time comes, I will commute to him for….. pleasure.”

Luna giggled. “You better hurry before he finds another girl to bang.”

Rei glared at her partner. She hissed like a snake and glanced back at the map. “Hmmmmmm… Let’s go to the fragrance level. I heard the officers complain about his musky smell at work. A good cologne should cheer him up."

"I thought dogs are sensitive to cologne."

"Jinsil, but I heard they made special fragrances for Humanimals. I tried one and it made my fur smell very good without irritating me. Not cheap though."

“Well, you better not spend both our cryptocurrency. The criminals might take a break for the holiday too.”

Rei was aware of that. She still needed to buy something for Luna. The only problem was, she doesn’t know what Luna wants. Definity, not a new girlfriend.

*****

On the tenth floor, Rei spotted a store called The Gentleman Dog's Essence. She could smell the mixed scents, drifting from the store's double glass doors. Lavender, sage, rosemary, mint, and other manly perfumes for Humanimals.

Rei strode into the store, seeing bottles of cologne on shelves across the red walls. More cologne bottles in different colors sat inside glass counters on soft cushions. It reminded Rei of a jewelry store.

"May I help you two?" A tall Doberman clerk in a tuxedo asked behind the counter.

Rei approached him. "Yes, I'm here to purchase a cologne for my boyfriend. It's for Christmas."

The clerk smiled. “Wonderful! For Christmas, we placed all our products on special discounts. What type of fragrance does he prefer?"

Rei paused with her mouth wide open. "Uhhhhhhh, I'm not sure."

"Well, that won't be a problem. I can show you each product and allow you to sniff them. No charge is required."

"Gamsahaeyo! That will be great!" Rei shook her fists in excitement.

Luna rubbed her face. "Don't tell me this will take forever..."

*****

Luna stepped outside and crossed her arms like a bodyguard. If she had a cig (cigarette), she would smoke her brains off to heighten her patience.

How could Rei not know what her stupid boyfriend want for Christmas? Now she was checking out all the colognes like a brainless bimbo, which could take hours and hours for her to decide.

Maybe Luna should cruise around to talk to a hottie or get a drink at a bar. But she might get lost in the crowd and the mall has too many floors to navigate. Rei will become furious if Luna leaves her behind.

Suddenly, someone screamed below on the previous floor. More cries followed the distress.

Luna raced to the rail and peeked down. A crowd of shoppers retreated from a toy shop called Happy's Toy Box. Gunfire and clashes echoed from the store.

Luna grinned. Now this will end my boredom!

She hopped over the ledge and landed in front of the toy store. After the entrance cleared, Luna pulled out her railgun and sprinted into the shop.

All the shoppers left, except a blonde fox employee who hid behind a cash register counter. She wore a red dress with white cotton around the edges. A female version of Santa Claus's outfit.

Kind of sexy, but Luna doesn't have time to flirt.

The panther approached the clerk and kneeled. The fox glanced at her while shivering on the floor.

"It's okay," Luna whispered. "What's going on here?"

The quivering fox pointed her finger over the counter. "Down the toy alley… A robot with tentacle arms broke in and attacked the guards… It’s a monster!"

A rogue robot? How cliché was that?

"Okay, stay here until the cops show up," Luna ordered. "I will handle the situation."

"Are you a cop?"

"No, baby. Just a bounty hunter." Luna smiled a flirty grin at the clerk. She leaped over the counter and charged into the toy section.

She kept her back low while running past dolls and action figures on the red shelves. She stopped when a man's voice cried.

"Help!" He shouted.

"No one can help you now!" A feminine mechanical voice exclaimed.

Luna followed the voices down the alley. Toward the center, she stopped near an open spot where a Christmas tree collapsed. But that wasn't what surprised her.

A large metal sphere with one red eye held up a human man, using long mechanical arms from its back. The man wore a blue vest over a white shirt and a tie around his neck. A long yellow mustache wiggled under his pointy nose. He looked like a businessman from a British cartoon show.

Luna scanned the man through her cybernetic vision. Her scanner identified the man as the store manager named Fraser Pearson. He used to live in London until the corporation transferred him to Moreau City. Probably they needed a human to watch one of their stores in the mutant-infested city.

The robot was an Octo-X Assault Probo, a military mech used to attack targets underwater. Luna couldn’t identify the operator inside the machine’s cockpit.

“Please….. What do you want?” Fraser begged. “I’ll give you anything!”

The pilot inside the water mech laughed. “Don’t you recognize my voice?”

“I have no idea!!!”

A hatch on the metal ball opened, and then a fennec fox girl rose on top. She wore a gray leather coat with a white fluffy neck collar and goggles on her small head.

Her name came up as Mattel Easterman, a former employee of Happy’s Toy Box. She only worked at the store for two years until her manager fired her for sabotaging the products. No bounty appeared in her records, but it looked like she was about to get one now.

“Now you recognize me?” The dwarf fox girl asked.

Frasier beamed his eyes at her. “Mattel?”

The fox smiled. “You damn right you son of a bitch! I found myself a new toy to play with. Now I’m going to use it to rip you apart like a doll!”

The robotic tentacle arms stretched the man’s limbs out, forcing him to scream in pain.

“Why!?” He cried in agony.

“Why? Because you ruined my life after you fired me!” Mattel shouted in fury. “I lost my home, my workshop, and everything! I was the best toy maker for the company!”

“But you were sabotaging the products!”

“Lies! I was improving them!”

Fraiser clenched his teeth. “You were changing them without authorization! Every employee knows you can’t do that!”

“Screw the guidelines! Your company is manufacturing boring ass toys for children! I was trying to make them more playful, and you threw me out like garbage! I was your golden goose for crying out loud!"

It sounded like the little fox wanted to become an inventor for the corporation. Of course, corporations never liked their employees changing their designs which could jeopardize their business. Rules are rules.

"Sorry, but I was only following orders!" Frasier exclaimed.

The mech wrapped its arm around the manager's neck. The fox could pull the man apart at any time.

"Screw your orders!" Mattel shouted. "If I can't have a life, then no one else can! First I will leave your body parts here, and the rest of the corporation is next! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Jesus! She's insane! Luna usually hunts only wanted criminals in the city. If someone doesn't have a bounty on their head, what would be the point?

Earning money was the key to survival in the city, and working for free was a waste of time.

It might take a while for the police or security to arrive. Either way, the fox in her giant toy will kill her ex-boss before they come.

Luna was the only one who could stop Mattel from killing Frasier immediately. She doesn't have an EMP grenade, but her railgun should piece through the mech's armor skin. And if she was lucky, the manager might pay her for saving his life.

The panther stepped out from her cover and blasted her railgun. Her energy projectile struck the mech's back.

The fox pilot jumped as if her butt got shot. She yelped and dropped into the cockpit.

The mechanical octopus's red eye scanned around the toy section. "Who the hell shot me!?"

Luna aimed her gun at the arms holding the manager. Her second shot hit the arm and it dropped the human. The manager crawled away while his attacker was distracted.

The mech spun around, catching Luna's sight. "I see you!"

Luna giggled and waved her hand. "Come and get me, bitch!"

The Octo-X charged, crawling on its long eight arms. Luna ran past the toy shelves, allowing the criminal to chase her.

Luring the fox from her victim should give the manager the chance to escape. If not, then hiding would be his better option.

Luna dashed to another alley, but she stopped when she ran into a white wall.

Damn! Dead end! Luna will have to face the attacker on her own.

On the right shelf, she spotted a plastic clear can with green putty labeled, "Stinky Nose Snot." Little brats do like nasty stuff.

No way in hell I will ever have kids, Luna thought. She grabbed the can and read the contents. It might be useful.

The Octo-X mech approached Luna and stopped. It completely blocked her escape.

"How dare you interfere!" The fox girl's voice shouted through her electronic speaker. "Are you a cop?"

Luna opened the can behind her back. "No. I'm just a customer trying to find a gift here. Holiday shopping is a living hell here."

"So you usually shoot other customers to beat the competition?"

Luna rubbed the putty together between her palms. The wet texture felt slimy and stinky. "Usually, I don't attack other people, but when I see someone threatening another person's life, that totally pisses me off."

The fox snarled inside the mech. "That business is between him and me!"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "The business to kill him? Sounds like a fucked up business to me."

The mech rattled its tentacles. "He ruined my life by firing me! I was trying to improve the toys!"

"By ignoring the rules and messing with the toys without permission? I think that gave him every right to fire your dumb ass."

"Screw you!" The mech spread out its arms. "If you are going to protect him, I'll kill you too!"

Damn! This little bitch is crazier than I thought! Luna grinned, knowing anger can push her target off guard. "Then come and get me!"

The mech charged.

Luna threw the putty into the mech's eye. The toy dough spread across the machine's face as if it was alive.

Mattel stopped and used the mech’s arms to pull the putty off. But the arms got stuck in the putty. "What is this stuff!?"

Luna leaped into the air and landed on top of the metal octopus. She gripped the handles on the hatch and pulled.

It was locked tight, so Luna pulled harder as she hissed through her fangs. Her bionic arms increased her strength by expanding. Her fibers burned as her muscles bulged. Even the metal bones in her arms heated up slightly to give her more power.

Finally, she yanked the hatch off and tossed it to the floor.

Inside, the fox screamed angrily while shaking the panel's control sticks. She still couldn't free the mechanical arms from the strong putty.

Luna drew out her gun and pointed it closely at the fox's little head. "Freeze!"

Mattel paused and glanced up. Her eyes widened with surprise.

"Step out of this thing nice and slowly, or I will zap your stupid brain out," Luna ordered.

Mattel snarled. "Damn cop!"

Luna laughed. "I'm not a cop. I'm a bounty hunter."

*****

"Ileon jenjang?" Rei glanced over the ledge in front of the cologne shop.

A crowd of customers gathered below in a commotion.

What was going on down there? Rei took the escalator down to the lower floor. After pushing through the curious crowd, she saw two cops in black armor suits escorting a little fox woman in handcuffs. Behind them, a forklift mech carried an octopus machine out from a toy shop.

"Hey, kitty!" Luna strolled toward Rei from the toy shop. She placed her hands on her hips. "You finally got what you came here for?"

"Ye ye." Rei held up the brown paper bag. "What happened here?"

Luna rubbed the back of her head and grinned. "Just a shopping crash I stopped because I got bored. Sorry for leaving you."

Rei grinned. “No problem. The clerk kept me busy. Hehehe.”

*****

On Christmas day, the MCPD station became packed with visitors and staff during their vacation time. About a hundred officers and employers arrived with their families to celebrate the peaceful day without crime. Maybe a little crime still poisoned the city, but everyone needed a joyful break.

The party took place inside the lobby behind the main hall on the first floor. It has plenty of room for dining tables with Christmas treats, and an enormous space for the tall Christmas tree to shine. Lights and Christmas vines hung across the railings on the staircase. In the background, soft Christmas music, "All I Want for Christmas is You," played to raise the holiday atmosphere with a touch of love.

Rei arrived a little late, wearing a green dress and a green pointy hat. She wanted to look adorable for her boyfriend and appeal to the Holiday spirit. This might be their only time to spend together before they return to work. Nobody should ever waste Christmas.

After she greeted the commissioner, Rei spotted Rally standing near the tree alone. He wore his usual black leather jacket and long gray jeans. As he gazed at the tree, he sipped a glass of eggnog.

Rei would have laughed if her doggie man wore a reindeer costume or a Santa suit. He probably doesn't feel comfortable wearing a fancy outfit. But anyone can wear whatever they want during Christmas.

Rei slowly walked toward him without squeaking the white marble floor. "Annyeonghaseyo!"

Rally's right ear twitched. He turned toward her and smiled. “Whoa! Nice dress.”

Rei giggled like a cute doll. "Thank you."

“Are you a naughty elf?”

“A furry naughty elf. Hehehe. Wanna leave early so I can show you how naughty I am?” Rei pursed her lips into a seductive grin.

“How about later?” Rally asked. “My partner is coming with his family. He wants me to meet them since his wife wouldn't stop bugging him. I guess she wants to make sure he has a strong partner to protect him.”

“Oh, goodie! How nice they can come and see him. Not many people here could see their human relatives again.”

Rally shrugged. “Unless they have an expensive passport. Is your family coming?”

Rei lowered her ears as she frowned. “Aniyo….. They never called me either. Sometimes I believe they forgot I existed.” She sniffed. “But I can move on without them. Everyone has to leave the bird's nest, eventually.”

Rally raised an eyebrow with a grin. “Unless you are a cat who eats birds for breakfast.”

Rei laughed. “I got something for you.”

“Should I close my eyes and count to 10?”

Rei held up a box, wrapped in green shiny paper. “You can open it now. Merry Christmas!”

Rally pulled the wrapping paper off the box. He opened it and picked up a brown round glass bottle with a tiny bow tie below the cork. “Chocolate Tree Mint cologne?”

Rei slapped her hands together. “Yeah! I thought it would make you smell better.”

Rally scrunched his forehead. “Do I really smell that bad?” He sniffed his right armpit.

Rei giggled. “Your friends kept complaining about your odd smell. But I think that will spice things up between us.”

Rally shrugged. “Alright. Speaking of spice, I got something for you, too.”

Rei clenched her fists and danced on her toes like a little girl waiting to see what she got for Christmas. Her skin trembled and her heart rate increased.

When Rally gave her a pink flat gift box, Rei immediately opened the box and found a pink neck collar with sparkling diamonds on it.

Rei moved her lips into an O shape. “Oh! Whoa! It's…..”

Rally rubbed the back of his head. His cheeks blushed. “Yes, it is a cat collar. I used up my bonus paycheck to purchase it. I thought it would look cute on you.”

Rei’s eyes glowed with sparkles in her wide pupils. “I love it!”

She took the collar and placed it around her neck. It didn’t feel too tight at all. A perfect fit. “But you didn't have to buy an expensive gift.”

Rally placed the cologne bottle into the pocket of his jacket. He wrapped his arms around Rei. “Does that mean I wasted my cryptocurrency for nothing?”

Rei shook her head. “It doesn't matter today. I love you.”

“And I love you too.” Rally bent forward and kissed Rei’s lips. Tasting the eggnog from his muzzle made their moment deliciously romantic.

*****

So far the party went well. Rei met Benny's family with Rally. They chatted for hours and danced around the tree.

When the guests decided to chill in their seats, Rei spotted Luna sitting alone at an empty table. She wore a red leather vest and green pants, which matched the holiday spirit. However, the panther woman looked lonely.

I guess it is now the time. Rei approached the tree and picked up a black thin box she hid after she ate with Rally. She carried it to Luna’s table. “Waiting for a date?”

Luna glanced at her partner with a wry grin. “I’m just chilling here. Too much chatting in here.”

“You know my boyfriend’s gift isn’t the only gift I bought.” Rei held up the gift box. “You can open it now.”

Luna opened the box and pulled out a small figure that appeared to be tribal. It has a black ball on a plush cone body, covered in rainbow-colored beans. Two white buttons on the face beneath a pink cap on top.

Luna grimaced. "A doll?"

"It is a Zulu doll from your birthplace in South Africa," said Rei.

Luna glared. "How in the hell did you know where I came from?"

Rei shrugged. "Lots of research under your nose. What do you think?"

Luna smiled at the doll. A tear dripped down her right cheek. "I never thought I would find something from my old home… So many memories back then…"

Rei tilted her head. "If it’s too much, I can-"

"No! No!" Luna held up her palm. "This is fine. I can dig it… Here."

She pulled out a music chip from her coat and handed it to her partner. "It isn’t much, but I thought it would spice up your memory too."

Rei glanced at the pink chip. "What is it?"

"Music from your old K-pop idol group. I had to buy the bootlegged version from the dark web."

Rei narrowed her eyes at the chip. "But I already have albums from my old group."

"Nah!" Luna pointed her finger at the chip. " That album is rare. I believe the music studio rejected it at your old home."

Rei’s eyes widened. "Do you mean this was the first album my friends and I made? I remember we recorded our first songs and tried to pitch them. But our producer didn’t like it and told us to make a new one. I totally forgot about this!"

Luna crossed her arms. "Now you have it, and I hope it is worth my money’s sacrifice too."

Rei rubbed tears off her face. She loved the first songs she made with her friends. Getting the album back felt like a lost loved one has returned to her. "Thank you, Luna."

Luna grinned. She still has water in her eyes. "How do you say Merry Christmas in Korean?"

Rei smiled. "Meli Keuliseumaseu."

Luna opened her arms. "Meli Keulisemaseu."

Rei stepped forward and hugged her partner. This was her first Christmas in Moreau City, and her bond with her partner felt warmer than ever.