Darwin bobbed and weaved as the world came crashing down around his ears. The shouts of angry patrons and guests shrieked as he sped past their legs and slipped under tables.

"Filthy Animal!"

"Get Rid of it!"

"Beastly Creature!"

"Shades of Hell!"

And many more colorful bits of language clipped the air as Darwin made off with his prize. A bit of roast chicken he snatched from an errant plate earlier. His spoils dangled from his mouth as he ran. He fought back the temptation to try swallowing the savory piece of meat, but he was afraid of choking on it.

He slid past the grabbing hands that tried to pull on him, causing him to veer in strange directions. A man in an apron blocked his path. He tried to scramble out of the way, claws reflexively digging into the ground, but found no purchase. The Chef plucked him up from the floor as he skidded, losing precious momentum and failing directly into his captor's hands.

"Ahh, got you little Kitty! Out with you. This is not your food!" The giant roared, ripping the small piece of meat from his teeth. He hissed in return and took a swipe at him. The Man learned back before making a rude face in return.

"Alright Kitty, out you go. Make your rude noises in the gutter, where they belong!"

The man then drop-kicked him, yes drop-kicked, the hairy intruder out of a side door and into the alley wall. Darwin felt the impact of the boot on his stomach, and then the overwhelming sensation of the wall. Like the windmill giant throwing Don Quixote from his horse and onto the ground.

He lay there, crippled and moaning, as he felt he was surely dying. Every bone in his body was-

Completely fine, He still was in an ungodly amount of pain, but there was a strange sensation that kept his body in one piece, instead of a plastered mess inside.

A voice cackled. "We'll, I wondered what happened to you. Don't worry, I'm much faster on the draw than you'd think." He quipped, the alien movement squirming inside him. Darwin tried to bear his will against it. There was a grinding sensation as he did, a sort of metallic scrapping that poisoned his breath.

"Just what are you doing? - You're only hurting yourself in there- OR is that the point? Agonize yourself to torture me. How touching. By the way-"

An eerie phantom note peeled across the inside of his tiny skull, compressing it, shrinking it, building pressure that felt like a knife from every angle, trying to break his head open.

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And then vanished, leaving Darwin panting, exhausted, and wincing at the ordeal.

"Just kill me." Darwin spat.

"Pardon? I don't think I caught that, say again-"

"JUST KILL ME. That's what this is, you taking your time before the final blow? Isn't that what this is? The Foreplay to my grand execution by your Hands? My Final Humiliation, hm. Just get it over with then, Kill ME !" Darwin screamed in the air.

A Pause for drama.

The Devil replied with a dismissive and bored tone of voice. "No.

"What?!"

"I said, No. Ye gods, what is wrong with you? What kind of creature just demands to be killed? This isn't even proper torture, it's a-aa-an inconvenience at worst. Compared to the things I've seen, this is downright cozy." The Devil had a tone of genuine confusion and aghast. But Darwin grimaced in his stormy way. Trying to lock eyes with the preverbal monster.

"You have made me an abomination! I am trapped in this useless body because of you. My life is in shambles now, and no doubt you've already lost my money to the poor by now, just to spite me!"

"Just to- do you even hear yourself right now? Why in Hell's great fires would I do that? I'm on Holiday! that sort of thing sounds like work to me. If you're in pain, it's your damned fault. Shades, it's like working in the Sorting house again, all these souls, whining about how unfair it is that they're in Hell."

"Don't lie to me. You're enjoying this, taking shots at me like this! I should kill you for this!"

The Devil lowered a withering gaze

"Try it, pussycat, I'll show what Evil Looks like." The threat hung there like the gallows as flashes of fire and nameless monsters filled the edges of the Demon's mind, the sights and sounds of his position, the traditions by which he'd lived. The Name he was Given.

The Cats will shrivel on the vine. The Demon felt it and took a breath.

"If my small kindness wounds you so badly. If merely being a functional person is such a hot brand to your soft, tender, squealing ego..." He paused.

The Cat swallowed. He didn't like the sound of this.

"Perhaps I should take a moment. And smother you in it!"

"You Bastard!" Darwin cried, not quite understanding what was happening.

"Aha, I thought you'd say that. Well, You've always wanted fame, Right, Fortune and riches? Well, there's more than one way to Skin a Cat!" he spat, Darwin's head spun in confusion.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"You'll see! I'm sure you'll find it infuriating. Tah-tah for now, Little pussy."

And with that, he hung up. Darwin blinked as the connection snapped closed in his mind. He couldn't help but dread what the Fiend had in store for his next scheme.

Darwin limped slightly, before finding there was no pain and scampered off.

He had to arm himself, and fast. Merely having his old power's back wouldn't be enough. He had to go leaps and bounds above what he was before. The Fiend's threats were hardly idle, and he knew.

The bastard had stolen his powers; he remembered some of the terrible things and dark knowledge he'd accrued over the years, a formidable arsenal to call upon, even if he'd destroyed a majority of the written works a display of force.

The knowledge in those books was nearly irreplaceable and might have offered a clue as to undoing his predicament. Perhaps that was the true purpose of destroying them? He shook his head. He couldn't get them back, so it was pointless to wonder. For now, he had other plans.

His stomach growled wearily. He was still hungry, but right now, he had to lie down for a moment. He would eat at his leisure after a nap. Being a Cat was exhausting. He cursed the demon a final time before drifting off to sleep. Cold stones beneath him and the smell of garbage around him.

He hated everything. He yawned once more and dozed off.