There was a rush of wind followed by a loud pop. At least, that's how Stanton experienced the interplanar travel. Falling to his knees when they arrived, the sound of voices chanting got his attention—also the smell of clothes smoldering.

Looking around at a group of robed figures, Gisse's eyes focused instead on Stanton. He'd fallen down during the journey and, more alarmingly, fallen out of the slowly burning dress. Moving as fast as her demonic reflexes allowed, Gisse scooped Stanton up and wrapped a wing around him for modesty. "Where are we?"

The head priest of the demonic order present stood forward. Tipping back the cowl of her hood, she looked up at where Gisse stood on the dais and then bowed deeply. "Daughter of Desire, you are in our temple to your father. We are three leagues from the capital."

Regaining his wits, Stanton leaned a little against Gisse for both physical and emotional support. "H-How long will it take to get there from here?"

Glancing from Stanton to Gisse, the priest could see that the demoness cared for her charge. "By coach, we can reach there by early evening."

Biting her lower lip a moment, Gisse could see vulnerability in Stanton's eyes. He was scared, and she understood he had a lot of good reasons to be. "We need clothing, then, and will depart as soon as possible. See to it." When the priest didn't make a move, Gisse rolled her eyes. "What?"

"Aharon Master of Conflagrations always rewards us with—with power." Licking her lips now, the priest felt more than a little worry. Asking for payment wasn't usually rewarded, but it had been so long since they had received any rewards at all, despite their obedience to their cult.

It would have been so easy for Gisse to tell them that her father would take care of it; he'd said he would, after all. She took a deep breath and drew on the power she held inside. The daughter of a true immortal and a powerful succubus, she wasn't exactly a lightweight. She opened a path for her demonic energies to flow.

A small gift would have sufficed. Really, it was just a bit of fun on a Friday afternoon for their little cult. The priest would have been happy with a burst of energy enough to give them a good orgy for the weekend. What she got was, comparatively, a superhuman amount of power that burned inside. She opened her mouth and rocked back on her heels, screaming, red flames pouring from her eyes as Gisse's power sought out ways to enhance her frail, human form.

Stanton turned his head and looked over a shoulder to see what was going on, only in time for the priest to pitch forward again, sprout a huge pair of leathery wings from her back, and a pair of horns from her head. "Are you alright?" It was in his nature to offer help. Stanton couldn't help himself. When the cultist priest didn't reply, he asked again.

"I am better than alright." Lifting her head, her eyes locked on Gisse, the priest dropped to one knee before the succubus. "My goddess, ask of me what you will, and I'll accomplish it in your name!"

Gisse's eyes widened at the raw devotion and rush of energy having a worshiper brought. "Oh no. No, no, no. Dad's going to—"

"Uh, Gisse?" Stanton asked. "Look up at the wall there. That was your dad's name before, right?"

Breaking her eyes away from her first priest, Gisse looked at the twisted and renamed statue behind the cultists. She felt for it, tried to sense what had changed it, and felt her father's magic at work. She couldn't help herself, smiling at the memory of him being proud of her, and seeing him effectively gifting her her first cult. "Oh, Daddy…"

"Can we get moving? Is it even the same day? I'd like to let Mom know what's going on before she tears Conjur down looking for me." Stanton, still more than a little exposed, realized his problem was easily solved. "Wand? Can we get a wardrobe to freshen up?"

Not having seen such weird magic used before, Gisse was amazed that a seemingly sentient dimensional rift was able to open in a temple to a demon (her temple, she had to remind herself). "What is this?"

Taking a deep breath, Stanton strode out from beneath Gisse's wing and toward the now-open wardrobe. "This is the biggest perk of being Super Lupine Girl, Gisse. Please, welcome to my realm!"

Walking beside Stanton, ignoring her minions for now, Gisse reached the threshold and felt a tingling sense of excitement. "It's so… pink."

Stepping out of the last of his clothes, Stanton only had to reach toward the safety of the underwear cabinet to find fresh items in his hand. "Of course it's pink. Pink is in this season. Now, if Mother is going to be consolable in any way, we both need to be dressed to within an inch of our lives." Stepping into his fresh panties and buckling the bra, Stanton turned to wide-eyed cultists. "Do any of you have experience as a lady's maid, or would like to learn?"

There was a crash of thunder as something ripped through space for a second time in the summoning chamber. Appearing in the middle of the square, patting flames off her coat, was Princess Angel von Snuggles, the Fourth. "Stanton! What happened?!"

Still in his underwear, Stanton held out his arms in Angel's direction and was glad to see her rush toward him and dive into a hug. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but can you help get us dressed? How long has passed? Has anything weird happened?"

Angel jerked back and looked Stanton up and down, then Gisse, and raised an eyebrow. "You both need a lot of work. It's a day and a bit after when you disappeared, Triana, Lorissa, and Battlemaid have been chasing the dragon all over Conjur, and a very terse letter from your mom arrived."

Wincing, Stanton sighed. "The dragon kidnapped me. It was only with Gisse's help that I got away. She knows, now, so don't worry about trying to hide my identity from her. Managed to keep it from the damned dragon still, at least. So, welcome to Gisse's new place. These are her friends. They're kinda a little odd, but really just want what anyone does."

Looking back at the cultists, Angel stroked her jaw. "Are you sure? They look like cultists. That one is a half demon!"

"Probably only a third, really. Gisse just did it as thanks for pulling us back to this plane. Anyway, clothes! Please, Angel, we need your help!"

Angel only took half a second before she cracked. "Only because you asked nicely. Where are we, anyway?"

"Uh," Gisse was still trying to come to terms with Stanton being Super Lupine Girl, but it was as if an entire house of cards was tumbling down. She connected Angel with Wolfette, Super Lupine Girl's sometimes-sidekick, and after making that link she joined up Battlemaid and Billi. "This is sort of my temple now. Dad let me have it after I converted his priest over there." She did her best not to pay too much attention to the corrupted woman who was making doe eyes at her.

"We're not far from the capital, and Gisse's new friends are going to help us get there. So, Angel, we need two make-overs. Skirts, corsets, frills—and maybe even a bustle!" Stanton could see Angel's eyes turning starry and getting wider with each description.

Gisse didn't expect the whirlwind of motion that was Angel. One moment she was wearing her usual loose shirt and ankle-length skirt, and the next Angel had whisked those away, acquired underwear that matched her skin tone, and was loading her arms up with a gown that had more frills than should be able to exist on one plane. "All this?"

"That's just the petticoat. You need the full gown once you have that and the corset on." Angel examined Gisse's form and whispered to the side, "What do you think? Something split so she can have her wings out? If you're going to get eyes on you, and you're a demon, you need to be loud about it."

"Do I get a say?" Gisse asked.

Stanton shook his head as he wiggled his hips into his own set of under skits. "Not when she's like this. Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you at the party."

Gisse felt mild confusion. "'Party'?"

"Of course. If Mommy is upset, she probably has all the girls there still, in case I turn up late. Hey, Angel, did Lore, Triana, and Billi make it to Mommy's big night?"

Shaking her head while sorting through tiaras, Angel said, "I'll go get them when you're on your way. Triana might have to pull some strings at the transport hub or something. Ah, this will be perfect."

". . ." Stanton stared at the tiara, then shook his head. "I called this upon myself."

Grinning for all she was worth, Angel asked, "So, dragon kidnapped you?"

"Yeah. Grabbed me while I was acting normal. She made Gisse use some anti-magic stuff to keep me from getting away. Then she killed me." When he noticed Angel dropped the tiara she'd been holding, he said, "I got better. Mostly because Cleverclaws lives up to her name.

"After that I got free, Gisse tried to defend me, and the dragon cast a dismissal spell to banish her."

"And," Angel wiped a little bit of soot off Stanton's shoulder, "by the smell of this, you jumped into the path of it and you both got banished. Then what?"

"Gisse?" Stanton asked.

"Huh? Oh!" The outfit Gisse was being strong-armed into wearing was the opposite of anything she normally would be seen in, but Angel seemed an unstoppable force, thrusting more dresses and things upon her to, seemingly, force fashion upon her by osmosis. "Right. We arrived in the central blighted desert. It wasn't far from Dite. We walked there and I pretended to have captured Stanton and broken him to my will."

"You captured him and bent him to your will?" Angel asked, surprise and curiosity warring within her.

The accusation stung Gisse and she recoiled a little from it. Stanton's arm around her shoulder sent her to her happy place, though. "N-No. It was all pretend. We needed to convince my dad that I had control of Stanton, but also distract him from asking questions. Dad has—he has a weakness for strong women."

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Blinking, Angel looked at Stanton. "You went through with that?"

"It worked, didn't it? Gisse is the best demon I have ever met, and probably right up there when it comes to other people, too. After all, the thing out there with the half demon is because she was too generous." Pulling the corset up around his midsection, Stanton turned his back to Gisse. "Can you help get this tight, please?"

As she tensioned the strings of the corset, Gisse felt guilt eating away at her. There was a secret she hadn't revealed to Stanton, and it was something he'd need to know, but she felt like it wasn't her secret to reveal. "St-Stanton?"

"A little more, thanks! Uh, what?"

"There's something about the dragon, and I don't know if I should tell you." Gisse tied the strings off into a large bow, then added a tighter knot to the loops to prevent it coming undone too easily. "I know who it is."

Stanton froze, mid chest-adjustment, and worked through his thoughts on it. "Would it help me defeat them?"

Opening and closing her mouth a few times, Gisse eventually shook her head. Then, because she realized Stanton wasn't looking at her, she said, "No. I don't think it would."

"Then if it comes up, it will come up. You don't have to tell me." Turning, Stanton gave Gisse his best smile. "Thank you for giving me the choice to make." He repeated the kiss on her now blushing cheek.

Every moment Gisse spent with Stanton was a thrill. She had no idea how he would act, but she found delight in everything he did. She did get some time, while Angel worked on her hair, to contemplate all the times she'd run into Super Lupine Girl. With the information she had now, she recontextualized all the clues she'd gotten as to "her" alter ego.

Further, at least as far as demons were concerned, Stanton's soul was marked by her magic. It wasn't a huge mark, but it was hers and he'd asked her to do it. It was, she realized, better than putting a ring on his finger.

"Gisse?" Stanton asked. "Gisse? Hey, are you okay?"

Blinking in surprise, Gisse started to shake her head before Angel growled and told her to hold still. "Sorry, I was thinking about things."

Staring into a mirror, Stanton pursed his lips and applied a red, angled stick of gloss to them in a smooth line. "'Things'?" he asked, turning to look at Gisse.

Even in the female guise of Super Lupine Girl, Stanton had looked strong and powerful to Gisse. He'd even looked a little handsome. Now, though, Stanton looked pretty. She took a slow breath and let it out. "Mostly all the times I'd talked to you as Super Lupine Girl."

Tapping his chin, Stanton did the same now that she'd mentioned it. "I didn't come off too harsh, I hope? I tried to be as positive as I could. I knew you were doing your best, but not exactly volunteering any help."

"You were a little over-the-top nice. I wasn't sure why you were doing it at first, but it makes sense now." Gisse twitched her head when Angel attached an earring on one side, then added a second. "Is all this really needed?"

"Yes. Now, hold still. These are only clip-on, but with your ears I have a lot of room to clip onto." Angel might have put on a gruff exterior for dealing with Gisse, but she couldn't stop her tail wagging at the fun of dressing up someone new.

It didn't take much longer before she had both of them dressed, hair made up, and makeup done (though she was unhappy with Stanton's efforts and had to redo his. "Okay, head for the capital and I'll go tell the others to meet you there."

With Angel vanishing, Stanton stood up and let his dress swirl around him. He enjoyed wearing nice clothes, and despite himself, Stanton found that delight translated to women's clothes too. Then he looked over at Gisse, who was blushing and staring into a mirror. "I didn't think you liked wearing all these dresses?"

Blushing for all she was worth, and trying not to twirl her dresses, Gisse stammered for a moment and then latched onto a life raft. "It's warm, is all. This whole plane is so cold!"

Smirking, Stanton cleared his throat. "Wardrobe, it is a little cold. Could you please provide a fashionable jacket to match Gisse's outfit, that would keep a chilly demoness toasty warm and looking fantastic?"

A flash of magic that almost blinded Gisse as it sought to create by raw power alone, slowly faded to reveal a very fine looking black jacket. She reached her hand out to it, hesitated (mostly because her nails were painted and she didn't know how long they would take to dry), but finally touched it. "Is this some kind of leather? It's so soft!"

"Looks like it's lined, too. That should be warm en—" Stanton let out a chuckle as Gisse rushed to lift it around her shoulders and slide her arms into it. "Good?"

Doing up the odd fastener on the front, that seemed like it had interlocking teeth, Gisse wrapped both her arms around herself and let out a blissful sigh. "It's like home."

Stanton reached out to the shelf of the wardrobe and ran his hand down it. "Nice work. Thanks." He didn't get an answer directly, but he felt it was important to acknowledge the hard work of what he suspected was either a sapient magical creature or the universe itself wearing a mask—either was good to be on the good side of. "So, shall we make haste?"

With an excited nod, Gisse slipped her arm into Stanton's and they left the wardrobe a moment before it vanished. "Uh, minion?"

The half demon rushed up to Gisse, dropped to her knees, spread her wings, and dipped down so low that her nose touch the floor. "Yes, oh Reason to Exist?"

Gisse could imagine her father thinking that it was probably a little bit too much. "Rise, and don't perform such antics. You are—you are my high priestess. You should project power, grace, and warmth." It was easy to get distracted by the magical jacket that kept Gisse at a comfortable heat. Nonetheless, she carried on. "Is our carriage prepared?"

"This way! Uh, if you please?" It was a struggle to be what her goddess had commanded and show obedience and respect to said goddess. "G-Goddess?"

The unsure word grabbed Gisse's attention and she raised an eyebrow, to which the half demon cowered. "Stand up. You may address me by my name, Gisse Daughter of Desire. Be assertive in asking questions, but fear not asking them. I will not think less of you during your training period."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the half demon bowed her head and said, "Thank you, Gisse Daughter of Desire, you are most gracious. Your conveyance is ready whenever you wish to take it."

"Very helpful. Lead on, please." The last word slipped out. Gisse hadn't meant to say it, but at the same time, she could see the woman was doing her best despite a very complicated situation. "And, what is your name?"

"B-Baroness Catherine Glow."

Stanton felt like his ears twitched and he turned to look at the woman. Barons and baronesses were the lowest ranks of titled nobles, but they were titled nobles. He knew of the Glow family from his training, they held a minor piece of land outside the capital that earned a tidy profit in taxes for the Emperor. "Are you in line of succession to the barony?"

"Seventh. Though Father says if I can attain more power…" Catherine looked at Gisse with excitement.

"You know it will be hard to make a case for yourself if you can't hide all your new attributes?" Stanton asked, following her out of the small building and to a waiting horse-drawn carriage.

Smiling, Catherine nodded. "Father has spells to help with that. He worshiped Aharon Master of Conflagrations his whole life. He has wings and a penchant for fire magic."

"Huh. I didn't realize demon-worshiping cults had such a grasp on the peerage. Not that I have a problem with it myself, since my own loyalties are a little skewed by goodness and femininity." As they reached the wagon, Stanton opened the door and stepped to the side to help Gisse in. "The most beautiful woman present always precedes the rest."

After Gisse, giggling, stepped into the wagon, Stanton's gaze swept to Catherine. She froze and looked back. The way he spoke of peers made her keenly aware that he was likely one, and any peer bar that of barony rank would be able to sink her in so much trouble that her family would likely be destroyed and wiped from the face of the nation. But here Stanton was, offering her a seat in the wagon. "Thank you."

When both were in, and the driver of the carriage looked ready to depart, Stanton pulled himself into the interior too and found a seat opposite Gisse and Catherine. The latter of the two looked terrified again, but it wasn't Gisse she was looking at—but Stanton. "Is something wrong?"

"You're a peer?"

"Not yet. My father and mother plan to raise me to the head of one of their families, but that day is not yet here, and neither are in control of their titles. I'm just Stanton Raveel-Sharptooth for now." Seeing the panic on Catherine's face at his full name made Stanton wince. "I won't turn you or your family in for several good reasons.

"First, you happen to be dedicated to the nicest demon I have ever met, and one I would happily sponsor for citizenship.

"Second, you don't deserve it. You were born into this, and while I may have qualms with Aharon, he seems focused on his own realm. Also, he didn't actually kill me when I recently met him, so there is that.

"And, finally, I have not personally witnessed you performing any banned acts. Summoning a demon is not in and of itself against the Emperor's laws, but you would be liable if Gisse did something terrible. Gisse, are you planning something terrible?"

Happy to be listening up until then, Gisse shook her head. "Unless removing the head of the dragon is terrible?"

Lifting his hand up to his jaw, Stanton felt the jolt of the wagon taking off and shook his head. "I can't think of a reason it would be bad, except I'd prefer if the dragon could see the error of its ways and become good instead. Though, even that is a terrifying concept."

Nodding, Gisse said, "Then I don't plan anything more terrible than finishing some art and writing a story or two. And eating!" She had realized, halfway through, that she was talking of things she would rather Stanton not investigate, so tacked on food at the end to hopefully distract him.

Picking up on the two interesting topics, Stanton could nonetheless see the panic in Gisse's eyes as she snapped over to talking about food. Like the proverbial feline that he wasn't, he nonetheless left the topics for later. "Yes! Food. I loved the spice that the deer's soul added to that pie you made."

"Not all our food is made with souls, but my parents and others of similar rank tend to have souls in everything." It was a source of contention between Gisse and her father, especially given he disliked his daughter "eating like a common demon."

"Maybe you could take some animals back to the Abyss with you at some point, then encourage other demons to try those instead of mortals' souls?"

Listening to the back and forth between the two, Catherine was a little surprised at the topic. Eventually, when there was a lull, she asked, "You don't eat mortals' souls?"

Shuddering at the idea, Gisse shook her head. "No. I am a vegan demon. I only eat the souls of lesser beasts." The look of shock on Catherine's face told Gisse she might need to go further. "So, no sacrificing anyone to me, okay? Animals are fine. Sacrifice them, feast on them, and invite me to show you how to harvest and cook their souls."

"And me," Stanton said. "When will you be doing your next sacrifice?"

Catherine realized that, though she'd been invested with vast power by a demon, she was in for a very strange time indeed as a servant of Gisse's. When all that power had been poured into her, she had though the demon doing so would use her as a tool of destruction. She was, she realized, more of an assistant, and the demon she was serving was—nice. "We hadn't planned any, yet. I didn't like the idea of sacrificing people, and Father said not to use animals."

"Oh, well, forget that," Gisse said. "Deer, cows, goats— Oh! Can you get me chickens? I haven't been able to try a chicken soul yet."

It seemed too good to be true. A huge boost of her own personal power, and she only needed to pay in sacrificed animals? Catherine nodded happily and took careful mental notes to buy a lot of chickens. "As you say, kind mistress."

The little title earned a blush from Gisse that Stanton found even more endearing. He was also glad to hear that Catherine hadn't started with human sacrifice. That would have been a step too far and would have hurt him to have to conceal. "Aharon said that Gisse wouldn't be able to be banished with this summon. Is that right?"

Catherine nodded enthusiastically, feeling the new weight of her horns as she did so. "It's a much older ritual, and not an easy one to cast. Dad said I have a knack for the old types of magic, so rather than impossible it was just difficult. It protects the demon from dispelling magic, but has a limit on duration. Sorry, Mistress, but you only have five days with this one."

"But, you'll summon me again?" Gisse, as soon as she asked, realized it was a silly question. Catherine looked mortified.

"Of—Of course!"

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This story is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. If you are paying money to see this or the original creator, Damaged, is not credited, you are viewing a plagiarized copy of the story.