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Hell wasn’t as bad of a place as people thought it was, at least not for those of us who were busy working off our sentences. It was a little warm for sure, but the torture and suffering everyone heard about were contained to specific parts of Hell, where the worst of the worst resided.

Me? I was your ordinary run-of-the-mill sinful Hellite. I put in my punishment time when it was necessary, but besides that, I was free to do as I pleased. Unfortunately for me, it’d been quite a bit since my last ‘job’, and I knew the easy times wouldn’t last forever.

I didn’t exactly dread getting a summons to the court, but at the same time, I wasn’t looking forward to it either. A summons usually meant that I had a trip back to Mortal Earth lined up, which I always had mixed feelings about. Still, it did change up the pace of things a bit, and I could dig my teeth into a new task and mission, losing myself for months at a time. It certainly helped the sentence move a bit quicker, although time was a strange illusion around Hell anyway, meaning less than most people would give it credit for. However, when the day came, I did my best to look ready and professional as I made my way to the courthouse, donning my best suit and tie over my stripped and orange feline body.

“I’m here for my summons,” I said while walking up to the receptionist’s desk and laying out my paperwork, with one of my large tiger paws holding it down.

The ewe nodded and pulled the paper towards her. She gave it a quick scan before handing it back and pointing me down the hallway.

“Thanks,” I continued with a soft sigh, giving the ewe just as much of a casual glance as she’d given me, before starting my way down one of the many hallways, mostly knowing where I was going at this point. This was my punishment for having a little too much fun in my mortal life. Although, in the general scheme of things, it could’ve been a lot worse. I’d gotten off pretty easy after I had proven I could be rather helpful down in Hell – unlike some of the others who I’d known in my mortal life.

I knew which door it was by heart, as this wasn’t my first mission, and after a soft knock, I heard a voice inside yell out to come inside. I slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open, sending my eyes towards that lovely vixen sitting behind her desk with stacks of papers on either side.

“Back again Jake?” she said with a casual tone, all without even taking her eyes off her computer screen.

“You bet, darling,” I added ack as I strolled across the room and sat down in one of the empty chairs by her desk. “Always a pleasure to see your lovely face.”

“And other parts of me too, I bet.” She shot right back with a small wink.

“No comment,” I responded. “So, what do you have for me this time, Melody?”

The vixen peeled her eyes away from the screen before reaching across her desk for some papers, then dumping the ile onto my side of the desk with a heavy thud. I inched my paw forward to open the folder, only to be greeted by a picture of a rather large hog staring back at me.

“Pretty high-profile target for you this time,” she began almost too casually. “Name’s Henry Mason. He runs a lot up in Mortal Earth, but a strip club is his pride and joy. We’ve had reports from a few Angels of some free-will corruption appearing in his dancers, three of which were confirmed to have his mark on them, while two were undefined. He’s had other minor offenses over the years, but nothing to drag him back for, until now. He probably knows you’re coming for him, too. He’s been around the block a few times, so it’ll probably take you a bit to gain his trust. Though, you’re one of our top hunters, so I have full confidence in your abilities of course.”

I sighed and slumped into that uncomfortable office chair by the front of her desk. “Great, an extended mission to Mortal Earth.”

“Helps cut down your sentence,” Melody added as she took her eyes off the computer screen and shot me a quick glance.

“Sometimes I wonder if all that sex, drugs, and rock and roll was really worth it,” I grunted while grabbing the folder and paging through it, seeing more info than I could digest at the moment.

“Beats the life I led,” the vixen shot back, focusing her efforts back onto her computer with her fingers typing away like nothing had happened. “Anyway, your portal opens tomorrow at noon. Gives you time to read over the profile and get yourself ready. Things are already set up for you, or in the process of being set up, anyway. I’m sure you know what to do by now. Good luck.”

“Catch ya later, sexy,” I said, winking and a blowing a kiss back to the vixen as I closed the folder and stood up, turning to leave her office.

“Oh, one more thing,” Melody mentioned before I had made my way to the door. Her words got both my feet and my tail to stop in place, and with a slow turn I let my eyes fall on her once more. “We’re received some feedback from your recent performances. Although you did a wonderful job in doing what was asked, there was some concern about some of your tactics from the new management.”

“Oh really?” I mumbled out with a soft sigh underneath my breath, having at least some idea what this was about.

“A few of the bigger bosses take issue with how freely you change genders,” Melody continued, keeping her tone professional and her eyes mostly locked on her computer screen. “In your file there is a note to have you attend a gender dysphoria training seminar, just to make sure you’re aware of the risks.”

I rolled my eyes again as my tail gave a lazy whip behind me. I crossed my arms over my chest and added in a deep huff as I pointed out, “That’s the best way to get another demon to pay attention to you. It’s worked for thousands of years. Guys can’t resist the lure of a seductive girl. In this form, I’d have to work ten times as hard for the same attention.”

“I’m aware,” Melody responded as diplomatically as she could. “Nevertheless, with all these new management changes, they seem to have made this a priority. I’m afraid the seminar is mandatory, but I can set it up for you to take right now if you have some free time. It’s a three hour course, but I believe there’s some physical shifting as well, so it should be right up your alley.”

“Great,” I answered as I let my paws drop to my sides, “Just what I want to do with my spare time.”

Melody let a few furious bursts of her fingers fly into her keyboard, and after slowing to a halt, her eyes turned to look back at me she said, “Room 302. Class starts in 10 minutes. I’d be honored if you used my form again. You’ve studied it well.”

“Thanks,” I replied with a sarcastic grumble as I turned and made my way out of the room, still not believing that I was stuck here for another three hours. Maybe Hell’s reputation of torture wasn’t so far off after all…

---

“Mr. Sunderland, was it?”

I flicked my ears towards the voice as soon as I heard it over the loud and thumping dance music. I knew instantly that someone important was making their way over. I could feel the demonic energy pulsing off them, twisting and knotting in a series of wide tendrils and loops. It was a deep sensation, rather hard to explain to anyone who wasn’t a demon, but I could feel that energy floating in the air around me. I’d learned to control my reactions to most super-natural forces by this point, especially with a few recent months of refreshing practice under my belt, and I managed to fake my surprise when I heard my name being called. My eyes shot up towards that large and imposing rhino, doing my best to flash a small smile on my face to greet him.

He was dressed in a full suit and looked rather intimidating, just as any important figure in a strip club should look. He flaunted his massive size and weight, making it well known that he was someone you really didn’t want to mess with. The tingle of demonic energy I got from him almost made my whiskers shiver in response to his presence. That warm burn shooting over my fur, and even deeper through my flesh, was unmistakable. The tingle of Hell’s own work was all around him.

He was one of my target’s bodyguards, and one that I knew rather well. Stanley was his name, and I’d seen him guarding a few of the more secure doors around the club off and on for the last few months. His gazed down at me, and before I could even squeak out a simple response, he directed his powerful demonic energy right into me. I felt it poking and prodding through my demonic core, singeing and tickling my mortal flesh, as it looked for anything it should know; anything that might put him on alert with the tiger he was now talking with.

All demons had an aura no matter how weak or strong they were. I did too, of course, but I wasn’t too nervous as I felt the rhino’s gaze pierce through me. It was difficult, but not impossible, to hide most traces of one’s own demonic aura. Couple that with the fact that there was already plenty of demonic energy swirling around both of us inside the club, and my demonic fingerprint barely even registered on a good demon scan.

“Mr. Mason would like to speak with you,” the large beast whispered as he leaned in close to one of my ears. He seemed satisfied that he hadn’t found anything too alarming inside of me with his quick check, although I knew that would only be the first test of many. I was walking into quite a den after all. Most of the higher ups, and even some of the dances and patrons, were Hellspawn. Some just on vacation, some having escaped, and some working their way down to the depths for the first time. It was always an unruly mix of energies when a den of sin like this was involved. It made it all the more exciting to hide and pounce when the time was right, leaving my feline hunter senses tingling.

“About time,” I said with a casual smile, although the rhino didn’t seem to be all that amused at my excitement, as his face remained rather firm. I brushed off his gaze and put both of my paws on the armrest of my chair to push myself up. However, before I could stand up straight, I had to adjust myself from the lingering excitement from the dance I’d been watching. My favorite tigress was on stage, and I always made a point to come see her when I could. It gave me a good reason to come and scope out the club, and the patrons of course, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy her as well. A fellow good-looking tiger was always a sight to see, especially one that didn’t seem to have a demonic touch to her... yet.

The rhino allowed me my adjustment time before pointing me towards the back of the club. I knew where to go well enough by this point, so with a little push off against the ground I began my walk towards the infamous door. The large mountain of rhino slid in behind me and kept a rather close watch on me all the while, and I could feel his eyes still scanning the back of my frame and my inner body with each step I took.

I did my best to hold my nerves and keep my aura as low as possible while the watchful eyes of a few others began to descend on me. I needed to look confident, like a good agent would be when going in to talk business with the club owner. Being social wasn’t really at the top of any tiger’s list in terms of strengths, but I’d gotten better at it over the years. At this point, I was at least passable; enough to keep up with the more social species at least. For a tiger, that wasn’t half bad, and it left me feeling at least semi-confident in my abilities as I pumped myself up for the big meeting.

As I walked up to the ‘Employee's Only’ door, I heard the rhino grunt for me to stop. I did as he requested and waited by the doorframe as he inserted a key and pushed himself forward to open it for me. I felt another quick stab of his aura into my gut as he searched through me once again, but it wasn’t long before he stepped through the door, showing off some of the fluorescent light from the hallway beyond.

“Follow me.”

He led me down the hallway and through a small maze of passages as we snaked our way towards our destination. After what felt like ages, he finally came to a stop in front of a plain wooden door. Slowly, he reached up with his paw to give it a few knocks. We waited in silence before I heard a loud, “Come in,” from the other side. Nodding, the rhino opened the door and allowed me to follow him inside.

There was my target, sitting behind a large paper-filled desk, staring back at me pleasantly enough as I entered. He was quite the large hog, having just as much muscle as fat spaced out all over his frame. White tusks jutted out of his jaw proudly, looking as menacing as the rhino’s own horn with their sharp tips glistening in the dull light of the room. His face was wide, but it narrowed to a much smaller snout as he gave me a warm smile. Despite his friendly appearance, I could feel his powerful, demonic energy slamming into my chest the moment I walked into that well-protected room.

It was very hard to resist that initial jolt as the hog’s eyes burrowed down into my inner core, far deeper than the rhino’s own probe had gone by a mile or two. It was even harder not to let my face show that I had felt the plunge, either. That would certainly give me away, as normal mortals couldn’t feel demonic energy bubbling through them. The burning, tingling pain shooting through my core and extremities was intense, as was the small ringing in my ears, and even the bitter taste of sulfur on my tongue, all side effects from such a demonic entanglement. I knew he was looking at me with all the intensity he could muster to make sure nothing slipped by his guard. If he noticed one single thing wrong with me, then I would be gone, and I would no doubt lose my chance to make my move. Any slight twist of my brow, twitch of my body, or even an out-of-place blink would give me away as being a demon, and that would send my whole plan spiraling out of control. He knew that someone would be after him, but I did everything I could to make sure he didn’t think it was me.

He was a strong one, and it took almost all I had to let his energy flow through me without much resistance. I only had to adjust a little bit of it as it deflected around my demonic core, keeping my own footprint to his scan as light as possible. At the same time, I was struggling to keep my exterior calm as I reached out a paw, trying to look overjoyed at the opportunity to finally meet the hog in person. It was a very difficult balance to keep up, but that’s why they’d sent in the best to do this kind of job.

I held my paw extended for a moment while he shifted his gaze towards it, trying to keep my face smiling and excited while my body fought off his painful lashing gaze. That powerful stare burrowed deep into my paw as his eyes scanned for any possible way it could hurt him. But after a moment, I could feel the near searing pain let up just a bit. I felt his gaze drop away before he finally reached up his own paw to meet mine in a firm shake.

It’d be so easy to make some kind of sudden move, perhaps an energy shock to his system to leave him exposed before I swooped in for the true capture, but I knew that would be a terrible move. He was in his private office, and the demonic energy surrounding me was almost choking. No doubt he had many lines of defense, and although I couldn’t reach out my own energy to feel around, I knew that there were many bad things pointed in my direction. I would be dead long before I had much of a chance to move if anything spiked the hog’s, or his bodyguard’s, attention. Dying as a demon on the mortal plane was full of complex and complicated issues that I really didn’t want to deal with if I could help it, so I figured it was best to play along for now, gaining his trust the old-fashioned way.

The hog was first to pull his paw away from mine as another welcoming, yet deceiving, smile flashed over his face. He leaned back in his chair saying, “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sunderland.”

“Please, call me Jake,” I replied with a little smile, trying to keep things casual as I sat down and relaxed back into my seat. I was more than happy to let him have the power in the conversation. It’s what he wanted after all, and it would make him more comfortable, which was certainly better for me. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Mason. You’re a hard man to reach, it seems.”

I watched him shift himself up straighter as his gaze scanned over me one more time. “Well,” he began, “if we’re being casual, then you can simply call me ‘Henry’. And yes, this kind of business requires a certain level of caution, as I’m sure you know. There can be quite the dark side to things unfortunately, and even with all my efforts to stay out of it, I have enemies that I don’t even know the names of until they show their ugly heads. I’m never exactly sure who to trust and if people really are who they claim to be. It’s unfortunate, but that’s a fact of life around here. I apologize if Stanley spooked you a bit.”

“I’m well aware of how things work,” I admitted with a little chuckle, shifting in my seat. “I don’t blame you for the extra security, not at all. But I’m happy I finally got a chance to meet with you in person. A business deal isn’t a business deal until two partners can sit down and shake paws over it, no matter what the lawyers say.”

Henry nodded softly at that as he brought his paws close to one another on his desk, interlocking his fingers as he leaned forwards a bit. “So, I’ve heard you represent some ladies I may be interested in.”

“Straight ‘down-to-business’ kinda guy, huh?” I shifted up in my seat and got into a better negotiating pose as I felt the tension rise in the air. That made Henry shift in his posture as well to match, leaving him still towering over me, making sure he was still the one in control.

“Well then,” I said, smirking as I reached into my inner suit pocket. I made sure not to make any sudden moves, keeping everything slow and in sight of the hog and his rhino guard as I carefully pulled out my cell phone. I showed it off to both of them, silently asking for their approval, before placing it down onto the edge of Henry’s desk and unlocking it.

“I should have brought a nice portfolio of everyone I represent and all that good stuff, I wasn't exactly expecting to see you today, so suddenly. For now, this is the best I’ve got, which is still pretty good since there’s a few full movies saved on there.” I pulled up the website I created a few months ago for my ‘Casting Agency’ before turning it for the hog and letting him see the page.

I watched closely as the hog’s eyes scanned the phone itself before locking onto the content on the screen. I took a soft breath while he was distracted before I started my pitch.

“As you’ve no doubt been told, I represent a lot of models, and I have more than a few girls that certainly wouldn’t mind becoming employees here at your fine establishment. A few are even career exotic dancers with plenty of experience that could give a nice kick to your business. Go ahead and scan through the list there and see if anyone meets your fancy. I’ve got everything from the classics to the more exotic. If you want a bigger screen, you can type the address into your computer and it should come up no problem. I can see that you have some rather large fingers, and these newfangled phones aren’t exactly made to handle that. I have problems with my large paws all the time as well.”

He gave my phone a few testing presses, but soon turned to one of the computer screens on his desk. He was quick to type in the address instead, then slide the phone back towards me.

“Yeah, it is frustrating to be forced into those specialty stores for my size,” he replied with a soft grunt as he focused in on the screen. He gave a few clicks over the website once it came up, but before long he pushed his screen around so we could both look at whatever he clicked on.

“Go right ahead and go to the ‘Dancers’ tab, that’ll give you the best rundown,” I pointed out when we got settled. “Although, you can take your time and browse through the others, if you like. I’m sure we could convince a few in the other categories if someone catches your eye. They’re all negotiable.”

He gave back an approving nod at that while his fingers clicked away on his oversized computer mouse, scrolling down the list as his eyes scanned over the dozen or so women and names I had listed there. Of course, they weren’t real. I’d borrowed their info from a few female demons I happened to know, but to be honest, most of them would be thrilled to be included in such a list. I knew Melody certainly did.

“So,” I continued, not giving him too much time to really search, “I’ve been taking a look at your stock of dancers, and you have most of the usual suspects pretty well defined: wolves, vixens, a dragoness, a few felines--all of them solid in my opinion. What I think you need is something exotic, someone to really get some curiosity flowing.”

Henry didn’t disagree as his eyes slid over the images on his screen, working past most of the species I had mentioned until he finally clicked on the name ‘Sheila’.

“Ah, now that’s exactly who I had in mind for you,” I added as the kangaroo’s picture flashed up on screen. She was a bombshell in every sense of the word. She was tall, strong, and tough; very Australian for sure, and she had all the curves of a full-bodied woman. Her chest was large, and her powerful, hopping hips were certainly big enough to crush a man between them should she desire.

Henry was quiet as he gazed over the dozen or so pictures I had on there, so that gave me a chance to keep up the sales pitch.

“She’s a kinky devil too, I must say, and she dances with the fury of an Amazon goddess. She also loves to collaborate with other girls, so if you have someone else on your staff that’s willing to put on a little show…”

Henry gave a little nod, and I could tell his mind was working rather hard in thought.

“Is she available?” he asked point-blank, his gaze still lingering on a few pictures.

“For the most part, yes,” I said, trying to make things seem realistic instead of simply saying someone so beautiful was free to start working right away. “She’s currently working somewhere else, but if you like what you see, I could pull some strings for you. I think this place would be a great fit for her.”

“I certainly like what I see,” Henry mumbled, licking his lips as he stared at those pictures in front of him. “Question is, how much?”

That question made me smile a bit even though I knew it was coming. “You really are a down to business kind of guy, aren’t ya? Well, I know it’s not your style, but before we talk any numbers, I’d like to give you the chance to get to know her. You can ask her a few questions, see what she’s willing to do for you, and make sure she’s a good fit for your particular style of business here. If all that checks out, then we can certainly start to talk money.”

I could tell that he didn’t really like that answer as his expression deepened. He pulled his gaze off the screen and directed his focus back to me, his nostrils flaring. I felt that demonic stare dig into my depths once more as tendrils of energy whipped through my body once again.

The assault was more out of frustration than really searching for anything. He was just letting his energy free to do whatever it was it wanted to, losing control of it for a passing moment. It was still dangerous to me, so I had to keep my appearances up. Each time a strong energy whip bounced off my well-shielded core, which was almost like a kick in the nuts to a demon, I struggled to not twitch or gasp. It took more than I expected to hold myself back from showing it, but after a few moments, the assault weakened.

“It’s a bad sign when an agent doesn’t want to talk about money. She’s really that expensive, huh?”

Even though I knew his tone was going in the wrong direction, I wasn’t too worried about the deal going south, yet. I could see the hog leaning in closer, spreading out his arms to make his frame look larger, as his breathing got heavy and he stared me down.

He was trying to intimidate me, and I let him think it was working by adding in a few more nervous twitches of my tail and ears. It was part of negotiating after all, and I did my best to keep him thinking he had the upper hand on me. It’d make him more interested in taking up my offer if he thought he could come out on top.

“Honestly, for what she’s asking, she would be a steal for what she could be worth to you. I can forward you a few videos of her performances, if you’d like, although you already know she’d draw in the crowds. When’s the last time this cold northern city had something as exotic as a ‘roo dancing for it? People would line up to see that, then come back again and again after they were hooked.”

He shot me another unconvinced glare as I rambled on, shifting a bit in his seat.

“So, what I normally do before talking money is take the dancer and the club owner out to dinner, my treat. That way you can talk about whatever you want to talk about. Feel free to get as deep as you need and ask whatever you like. Most of these girls are far from shy, especially Sheila there. No commitment, no expectations, no nothing. If she doesn’t tickle your fancy in person, then I’ll ask no more of you. But, to be honest, I’ve never had a club owner say they weren’t interested after meeting face to face with a girl of mine.”

I smiled a little more and leaned in a good bit after that, as if trying to hide my voice from the guard. “You could even get a few samples here and there if that’s what it takes to convince you. Feel free to inspect the merchandise, see how it works and runs. Just careful with this one, she’s rather feisty.”

I gave the hog a small wink as I leaned back, and that offer certainly started to put him in a better mood as he looked back at the pictures still on his screen.

“Hmmm, that is a tempting offer,” he replied with a smile cracking through his firm face, already thinking of things that he might be able to do to that sexy ‘roo.

“I know you’re a busy man,” I continued with a casual smile, “and your time is very valuable, but please allow me to take you out to lunch sometime soon. I’ll see to it that Sheila meets us there and you can have however long you can spare to get to know her, even in private, if you desire. I know this great Indian buffet that’s all-you-can-eat, and the food is absolutely amazing. It’ll be my treat, no strings attached, even if she doesn’t end up working for you.”

There was no better way to convince a hog than to offer him food, and I could see his brain working rather hard to weigh his options. A full belly, and maybe more, was certainly on his mind, and I could see him start to come around before he finally gave back a small nod.

“Alright, sure,” he grinned. “We’ll talk and set something up next week, if that works for you.”

“Any day works just fine for me, and I’ll make sure Sheila can make it as well.” With a relieved smile, I reached out a paw to seal the deal. Henry hesitated, and his eyes scanned my paw once again with a few probes, but he did reach out to grasp it in a shake soon enough.

“I’ll give you my card,” I added with a confident nod. I reached into my pocket once more, perhaps a little quicker than might have been advised, but the movement flew past both Henry and his guard as I pulled out the little piece of cardboard and laid it on his desk. “Just give me a call and I’ll set something up whenever you can make it.”

“Sounds good,” he said with a look down at the flashy business card. “A pleasure to meet you Mr. Sutherland… Jake. I look forward to doing business and meeting this ‘roo girl of yours.”

“As do I Mr. Mas-er, Henry,” I corrected myself before pushing out of the chair and turning to face that rhino. He was ever stoic in his expression as he simply opened the door and lead me back to the main part of the club.

---

I let out a sigh of relief when I finally escaped that stuffy office and made my way back out to the club’s main floor, although I couldn’t quite relax, yet. It was certainly possible that I had read everything wrong; perhaps Henry already knew who I was, and maybe he was already taking steps to make sure I didn’t make it home tonight. But, there was little I could do to stop him, so I tried not to let that part worry me too much. I stopped at the bar for a quick drink (or two) so I could shake off a few nerves, and then I quickly made my way home before my true presence could betray itself.

It was a rough trip, as I forced myself to take the long and winding route through the chilly night air. I had to keep my senses peeled for anyone that might be on my tail, but luckily, I didn’t feel the touch of anyone demonic nearby, at least not above the normal background levels I usually encountered in such a large city. There were demons lurking everywhere, but most of them kept to themselves and their business.

I was more than overjoyed when I finally collapsed down onto my own couch with a heavy huff and opened myself up to feed on whatever energy I could draw inside me. The strain of the day had been quite taxing on my frame and core, and I quickly fell asleep right there on the couch. I awoke the next morning a little sore from the effort, but I knew that I couldn’t take too long to rest and recover; I had some serious work to do.

I now needed a kangaroo girl, and I needed her to look just like the picture I’d already shown Henry. Asking the demoness I’d borrowed the pictures from was out of the question, as she was far from the type for such an undercover operation. That left me with two options, both of which would be testing my conjuring power’s limits. Demonic energy was a lovely thing, and very versatile if you knew how to use it, but it did have its limits. I could project the image of the ‘roo beside me and hope my combined actions seemed realistic enough to pass the scrutiny from Henry and his goons. I’d done it before, but usually for weaker, less protected targets. Or, I could simply switch forms and play the part of Sheila myself.

A little shapeshifting wasn’t too much to ask from some demonic energy, and now that I’d taken that darn training course, I was more than eager to put it to some good use. It would take a little practice though, as I had to be flawless in my actions and movements, or else Henry would see right through it.

The transformation itself was easy enough to pull off with some simple conjuring. With each further transformation I inspected myself in a mirror, and I added a few, small adjustments to make myself look perfect. I still needed her to look like the pictures I had on the website of course, but I also wanted her to look better, even more alluring in person, which was a tricky balance to land on. By the time I finally received that call back from the hog, I had her looks and personality down pretty well, and I was more than happy to set a date and time for our lunch meeting.

I had a decent bit of time to come up with a plan for our meeting, one that would hopefully keep the real-life restaurant safe in the process. It required a good bit of set-up and some high-level energy conjuring, but I’d given myself a good bit of time before the date to make sure I could work out the kinks. Nevertheless, as I made my way down to the restaurant on that day, strutting the streets confidently in my new kangaroo form (and getting quite a few looks and whistles on the way) I couldn’t help but feel a little bit nervous. There was a lot that could go wrong, and like most plans I came up with, things were overly complicated and probably unnecessary. It was never a bad idea to be safe though – that was something I’d learned over the many years of serving my punishment. Either way, it was too late to have second thoughts now as the awning of the Indian place came into view.

My nerves would actually help me with the call I had to make. Henry had called the previous day to make sure our meeting was still on, and I was happy to tell him that it was, but I didn’t bother telling him that the tiger wouldn’t be making it. It would be better to let him know in a quick phone call a few moments before, so as I got close to the restaurant, I stepped into an alleyway and pulled out my cell phone.

It wasn’t too difficult to switch to my original voice, even if I was still in the roo’s form. All it took was clearing my throat, a little rush of energy, and a few test words to make sure I sounded like a male tiger and not a female kangaroo.

I dialed up his number, and with an obvious rush to my voice, I made my point right away. I stated that I couldn’t make it, and that one of my other clients needed my unfortunate immediate attention. I apologized a few times, but I assured him that the meeting was still on, and that Sheila would still be there waiting for him. I also told him to order whatever he wanted, and they could even go out for drinks afterwards if he liked, or just grab a hotel room. Sheila had the credit card and there was no limit.

He seemed annoyed at that twist, but he said that he’d still be there, which I only half put stock in. I thanked him once again before hanging up with a heavy sigh.

All I could do was hope that I didn’t just make a mess of things after all my careful planning. It was hard to predict what a demon would do, especially one that was weary of meeting new people, but I had to try and think positive. If this didn’t work, then the other options would start to get rather risky.

I took a moment to try and relax myself as I got my voice back to Sheila’s, and once I was ready, I walked back out in front of the restaurant to wait. With another sigh, I leaned up against the wall, waiting for any sign of the hog to pass by, and trying to ignore all the winks and whistles that some of the passersby threw at me.

The longer I waited, the more nervous I became, but just when I thought he might not show, I noticed an out-of-place and expensive car drive by. As it slowed, I felt a few heavy jabs shoot into my body as more than one source of demonic energy tunneled and probed away at my core. Right away I knew it was the person I’d been waiting for, and I did my best to remain calm. A few, small facial twitches did squeak out here and there as two, or maybe even three sources all fought for their space inside of me, but I remained calm as the pressures and surges burned a path through my flesh.

It took me everything I had to remain casual and slowly thump my tail against the wall while enduring the assault. They’d no doubt find a little lingering energy coming off me, a by-product of the transformation, but in such a seedy business it wasn’t unusual to have a few of the girls ‘tainted’ with a little demonic presence. That was about the level I was hoping to give off, although as the car continued past me and turned down a side street, I couldn’t help but gasp. Had they sensed something I hadn’t blocked? Was the game up?

I was left to wonder for a minute or two, still feeling a lingering probe of energy shoot into my system here and there, before I felt the sources start to get closer and stronger once more. The car had made another lap around the block before finally pulling up to park across the street from the restaurant. The tinted windows hid who was inside, but I knew very well who it was, as their energy was unquestionable.

I did my best to gather up some confidence and stabilize my core, knowing the assault would probably continue for a bit. I wasn’t wrong as harder, but focused jabs began to punch through my gut, scorching my flesh and forcing me to grit my teeth to compensate. Overall, I did manage to hold myself back from making any sudden moves. They kept up their assault for what felt like ages, but eventually I felt the plunges and the burn begin to fade, leaving me breathing a little deeper but looking back towards the car with only a questioning tilt to my head. Finally, with a few slow openings of the doors, a few creatures made their way out.

“G’day!” I shouted as I watched the familiar rhino, a less familiar gorilla, and of course, the hog finally step out of the car and start to cross the street. I held out my paw when they were close enough, enthusiastically shaking each one of theirs as I did my best to smile and keep myself moving. It helped me to remain calm and natural as their combined gazes continued to bore into me.

I did everything I could not to let any sign of discomfort shoot over my face or body. The searing burn shooting around my inner core, the heavy tingling tracing its way all throughout my extremities, the dull ringing in my ears, and even the taste of sulfur on my tongue… they were all things I’d learned to deal with long ago, although when coming from three separate sources it was a whole new ballgame to try and handle. It was hard work to try and evade them for sure, and a few times I shivered and winced as one of their probes rocketed straight into my own well-protected core, although they didn’t seem to notice my reaction very much. I think the promise of food made all three of them a little less scrutinizing in general, at least after getting their first scans out of the way. Not to mention there was one gorgeous ‘roo girl right in front of them, which always helped to take a guy’s mind off his true task. It also helped that I was dressed as skimpy as I could get away with too, showing off almost too much of my tan fur underneath what amounted to ‘clothing’.

“G’day to you too sweetheart,” Henry added with a smirk as he shook my paw, although his eyes didn’t exactly move back up from my chest for a good while afterwards. I let him have his look as it distracted his energy. I felt the guards starting to fall back as well since they’d found nothing too alarming inside me either. I couldn’t help but smile a little at my initial victory as I cleared my throat and spoke up in my best pseudo-Australian accent.

“Oi, a bummer Jake couldn’t make it. Got his call a moment ago. Mate’s always busy with some crazy shit. Us girls are a lot to handle, I guess.”

“I don’t think it’s that big of a loss to be honest,” Henry said, grinning as his gaze finally lifted off my chest to inspect the building behind me. “That’ll give us even more time to get to know each other after all. And, no offense to him, but the less salesman talk I hear, the better. I must admit that I’ve never taken a dancer out to lunch before hiring them, but Jake was rather… persuasive about it. I didn’t think it was possible for you’d look even better in person than in those photos, but…”

He gave me another creepy grin as his head nodded in enjoyment at the sight before him. While it felt odd to be hit on like that by the rather large hog, I did my best to tell myself that Sheila would be used to it by now. I just gave him another playful smile back as I opened my lips to say, “Well, thank ya!” With a little grin and a shift back onto my tail and hind legs for balance, I made sure to show myself off a bit more to let all three of them have a good look at the merchandise.

“Now come on,” I continued after a few minutes of letting them gawk, “this place is really ripper! Been here a few times while visiting Jake and such. Leaves my muzzle burnin’ just the right amount every time.”

With my own little bit of Aussie slang thrown in, I turned around and made my way towards the front door. On my way I ‘accidently’ let one of my large feet strike against a small rock out front, sending it bouncing off along the sidewalk. It was such a small thing that I doubt anyone really noticed, but that small rock played a rather large part in my plan, seeing as it was the trigger I’d set up earlier to form a portal over the door of the restaurant.

There was a little rush of energy that surged through the air as the invisible portal took shape, and I did feel the two guards hesitate for just a brief second as something set their demonic detectors tingling. I just had to remain confident and leading, and make sure to let my thick tail and rump sway alluringly behind me all the while. That sight would be more than enough to lure most guys in along with me despite what they were no doubt feeling. The hog and his guards were no exception. They might have hesitated just a split second, but as I made my way through the door they weren’t too far behind either.

I’d left a timer on that portal so no one else could sneak in behind us, and in seven seconds or so the portal shut, locking us inside the ‘alternate’ room. It was an exact replica of the restaurant, at least as close as I remembered it anyway, but it was removed from the Mortal Earth realm and sealed away in its own dimension for safety purposes. They had fallen into my trap just as I’d planned, but that small tingle of energy had left them all on high alert, even as the fresh sights and smells of food began to waft over their normal senses.

Although they were a bit hesitant, all three of them seemed none the wiser to the abrupt change of location, giving me a chance to let out a gentle sigh as they all rushed for the buffet line. I wasn’t too far behind, picking up some food myself before sliding back into the table and watching them chow down like the large built animals they were.

“Hungry, huh?” I blurted out with a soft smile. “Told ya it was ripper!” They all managed to nod gently a few times as they ate, not even sparing any breath to reply. I felt a little tingle of pride shoot through me as I could tell I’d done a rather good job creating the food.

“Pretty good I’d say,” Henry eventually replied between bites, as a mixture of sauce dripped down his chin. He finished off chewing and swallowing that bite before bringing his napkin up to slowly dab away at the mess. It was more a polite notion than anything though, as he didn’t do much more than smear things around, but then he didn’t really seem to care. He was, after all, a hog. They weren’t known for their table manners.

“So, tell me a bit about yourself, Sheila. What made you a dancer?” the hog blurted out between quick bites.

I was well-prepared for that question. “Well, my childhood in Australia left me growing up rather rough and tumble. I was never one of the girly girls, even with my looks. I moved to American when I was 16 to become a classical dancer, but school is expensive, and I needed money for bills and such. Hence why I started dancing in clubs. It paid better than any other gig, so I became comfortable with it, and even began to enjoy it. After a few years, well, here I am! Hanging out with you three big boys.”

Henry and his guards listened closely and nodded along as they filled themselves up with food. As I continued on to my current situation and how my other job was treating me, everyone slowed in their eating and begin to really listen in. I kept up a little cocky arrogance here and there as the conversation moved to the things I did up on stage.

“So, do you make use of your pouch?” Henry cut in after I’d finished my story and clarified a few details. He licked his still stained lips slowly as he adjusted himself down below the table, his mind certainly surging to all sorts of things it seemed.

“Oh, all roos use their pouches constantly,” I chuckled. “It’s very convenient. If you want, and are brave enough, I did have a little surprised planned for ya. Jake told me to come prepared, so I did.”

I gave quite the suggestive wink towards the hog as I made sure he knew I was talking to him personally. “Got a little something in my pouch you might like. A little example of what I can hold in there… if you wanna dig in and get it out for me.”

I leaned closer and over the table, letting my cleavage show rather proudly, as I looked the hog straight in the eye. That was the main part of my plan - get him close, keep him preoccupied, and then slap a containment pendant against his flesh. All it would take is one touch to his frame and the pendant would suck his core inside, only for it to be released later in the depths of Hell, in a far more secure prison than the room we were in right now. But, as most of my amazing plans had a habit of doing, things weren’t going to be quite so easy and simple.

The hog considered it rather hard for a few more moments, before finally shaking his head and saying, “I don’t think so. Not in such a public place, anyways. Perhaps we could save that for later?”

I was a little disappointed, but at the same time I wasn’t going to give up that easily. With a little shift in my gaze, I shot my eyes over towards the rhino and the gorilla, giving them both a little wink as I teased, “Right, how about you boys? Wanna help put on a little show for your boss here? I ain’t ever seen this place so empty before. There ain’t no one around to see, really.”

Both guards hesitated for a bit and looked back towards the hog, then towards each other. Henry gave them a soft shrug, and with another soft shrug between themselves, the rhino was the first one to say, “Sure, why not? I don’t get to stick my hand somewhere so private very often.”

With an excited grin, I hopped out of my seat before unbuttoning the top button on my jean shorts. That gave off some deeper access into my pouch, and made sure those large paws had plenty of room to maneuver. I waited for both of them to stand up, enjoying as they suddenly turned a little shy, which was always funny to see between two large beasts like that. As I waited, I shot my own pair of paws down into my pouch, showing them just how to do it, while also digging around to grab two of the small pendants I had hidden in there. They were wrapped up in a protective cloth that hid my own flesh from their contact, but it was easy enough to slide them into the palms of my paws as I pulled them back out, with the business end uncovered and ready to go.

With a smirk, I carefully hid them behind my back as I thrust my hips forward with one quick motion, almost ordering them to dive in with that cute and teasing smile on my face. With a little lick to my lips, I suggested “Why don’t you both reach in together and see what you can find? Make sure to go nice and deep, I pushed it all the way down to the bottom for ya.”

I kept my hips kicked forwards as I watched one black and one gray paw reach out and start to get close to the edge. With a cautious push between my belly and pouch, both of them slipped in just a bit before hesitating, then digging deeper. It kind of tickled to be honest, and I really hadn’t had much practice in fending off the sensation as I held back just a little spasm of my energy, but it didn’t really matter much in the end. I let them both get a good way in, nearly down to that set of handcuffs I had stashed in there, before I threw my arms upwards in a sudden strike towards their heads.

Before either beast could react, my palms made contact with their cheeks at nearly the same time, slapping the small metal pendant firmly against their flesh. In a quick blast of light, the pendant drained their energy, sucking the cores right out of their mortal bodies. They let out a few beastly shouts and squirms of pain between them, but there was nothing they could do to resist once the magic of the pendant had them in its grasp. They were left to shake and lurch as their limbs flailed, while their bodies turned into dust in front of me.

I didn’t get to sit back and enjoy the sight for long, however. A second after I’d activated those pendants, I felt a few heavy tendrils of energy shoot towards me from the hog’s side of the table.

“You bitch!” he shouted as I could feel his energy descend on me like a rocket. I was ready for it though, and I evaded the worst of that surge with a heavy jump backwards, only to retaliate with a sudden shot of energy from my outstretched paws. The time for hiding things was over as I felt my form flicker back and forth between roo and tiger, not bothering to keep up my appearance any longer. My own whipping tendrils of dark demonic energy shot out like an uncoiled snake, although they were deflected by the hog’s quickly-forming energy shield.

Henry was much more agile than he looked, and he easily twisted himself underneath the table, only to pop back up and send it flying across the room towards me with a powerful shove. I dodged that easily enough, and I got in another attempt to wrap him up in my tendrils, but he jumped to the side and made a sudden sprint for the door. “Oh no you don’t, fatty!” I called out in my normal growling voice. With a simple snap to my fingers, I dropped the facade of the restaurant, showing off the featureless black void all around us. That sudden transformation caused the hog to stop in his tracks and twist back to face me. His gaze was betrayed and furious, as he knew he was caught, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet.

He knew where he was, and he knew that with enough energy he could break free. I knew it as well, and I had been storing my energy reserves for exactly this moment. With a heavy grunt, and a firm stabilizing to his stance, he shouted, “You think you can overpower me? Let me see you try.”

“I’ve done it to plenty more powerful demons than you,” I snarled, letting a heavy roar build up in my throat. It was then that the race began with both of us pumping all the energy we could into the area around us. His energy was quick to push at the boundaries of the small rectangle we were in, while mine did it’s best to hold the fabric of the room together. Light and heat swirled around us, as we drained what we could into our surroundings. Try as I might, a few small cracks started to appear in the blackness around us as the hog had the easier task. He just needed to break through one small point and then he’d be back in the real restaurant. If that happened, I’d have quite a good bit of explaining to do to all the witnesses on the other end, not to mention a highly agitated demonic hog to still deal with as well.

“Mmmph, that all you got?” he snapped back with a grin on his face, leaving his complexion glowing in the swirling light all around him.

I let the strain on my face show as it wasn’t easy to fight him off, and I was quickly finding my own energy running out the more I tried to fight back. My confidence began to drain from me as the hog seemed more powerful than I was hoping, and I knew I couldn’t fight him like this and hope to win. He’d come out on top and get the upper hand before too long. I needed to try something else. The only question was just how much energy would I risk for the chance?

I’d been in high-stress situations plenty of times, and the one reason I’d made it through them before was my quick thinking, and a bit of luck as well. This was going to be no different as I gritted my teeth and focused in on the hog’s core. All his energy was going into pushing through the boundaries of the room, which left his center rather unprotected. Before he could realize what I was doing, I shifted a good bit of energy from my defense and focused it into a narrow beam, sending it surging towards him and into his chest with a brilliant bolt of light.

That redirection of energy let a few tendrils of his own slip through some cracks in the room and break into the Mortal Earth realm once again, but my gamble had been worth it, as I watched my energy discharge hit him and cause him to tumble back. Being hit in the core with such a burst was like getting kicked in the nuts to a demon, leaving the large hog to curl up tightly into a ball on the ground as he struggled to get his breath back. His dazed body twitched and shuddered as all the energy from his attack was dispersed around him, leaving the dark void around us to seal back up in one solid mass of blackness. Although the room was dark once more, there were still a few twinkles and sporadic glints of light and energy shimmering through the black space, lingering from our high-energy battle.

I was exhausted to say the least. My external energy levels dropped back down, rushing back into my core to try and soothe my aching body. But, I didn’t have long to act as I grabbed a single deep breath and then sprinted over towards the fallen hog. A couple of quick incantations left my lips, and a few summoning swirls of my tiger paw shot through the glistening air, leaving the pig surrounded by an energy-sucking sigil, which quickly took hold and left him paralyzed right where he’d fallen.

I didn’t let my guard down until the sigil had taken full effect, leaving the gasping pig weakly raising his arm up and squealing out, “You-you bastard. I knew she was too good to be true.”

“I take that as a compliment,” I responded, a small grin growing over my tired and panting lips. Just to make sure he wouldn’t be moving anywhere, I shouted out another quick spell, and out of the black void underneath him, a dozen pairs of arms and paws began to crawl out. They wrapped their fingers all over his large and struggling frame, pulling him flat onto his back while more and more joined the party. A vast assortment of species grabbed on, with the stronger ones squeezing him painfully tight around his chest, arms, and legs, with the smaller and weaker ones completing the hold and grabbing where the others simply couldn’t reach.

I had to keep some focus on containing the spells and the room, but I was more or less free to walk back to where my ‘roo pouch had dropped its contents and pick up the final pendant I’d brought with me. I let it dangle and clang around on its thin, beaded chain as I slowly walked back towards the hog.

“Henry Mason, you are hereby summoned back to Hell to stand your sentencing for multiple crimes against the Demon Code, including but not limited to corruption of free will and evading capture.”

“You fuckin’ prick,” he yelled back, still struggling against those powerful black paws as his eyes glowed a deep but harmless red in anger, “I didn’t do nothin’!”

“Not my place to say,” I said, I lowering my paw towards his forehead, bringing the pendant closer to his flesh with each breath I took. “I’m just a hunter. But good luck at your tribunal, you’re going to need it.”

With those last words, I pushed the pendent up against his forehead, watching him arch his back in pain as a bright flash of light enveloped us both. He squirmed and called out a few more things in garbled English and Demon tongue as his core was sucked into the pendant, but most of it was incoherent as his large body turned to dust around me. Before long it wound up as a little pile of cinders on the floor, topped with that still glistening pendant, with the remnants of energy surging through it.

A relieved sigh rushed through my lips I bent down to pick the pendant up, holding the chain firmly in my paw for a moment before going back to collect the other two pendants from his guard’s piles as well. They most likely won’t be charged with much, but they’d still get a little punishment for aiding and abetting a known criminal. Nevertheless, I finally had them all to deliver back to Melody in a day or two from now. A few months of hard Earthly work was finished, and I was ready for some good vacation time. With another relieved sigh, I took a seat right where a chair should be in the Mortal Earth realm, and with a small shake of my head I could feel the black room brighten up all around me. I had to adjust my positing just a little bit, but I was close enough in hitting my mark, finding myself seated back at a table in the restaurant, the real restaurant.

“More water?” the waitress asked suddenly, startling me out of my tired, but relaxed, state as I jumped up to attention.

“Yes please,” I mumbled back, pushing my half empty cup towards her a bit, and smiling as I reached into my pocket to feel those three pendants jingling around softly against one another. Three bad demons down, a million more to go...