Wolfing down a bowl of meaty oatmeal, the young adult gazed at his smartwatch. Oh, lovely, look at the time, he has to be out of here in fifteen minutes! If only a certain watery problem hadn't happened he'd have been out the door already! Scrubbing down the bowl for minutes on end, he sighed. Please, let the roofers do their job properly this time!

Slapping a pair of dark pink overalls with white kitties on the pocket over his plain white shirt and skort, the fixer upper crossed his fingers. This was work appropriate, right? Please, let it be! Should he pull his hair into a side ponytail before he blows this joint as well? Nah, forget it, he hardly has the time for that. Fixing his hairpins and earrings, a raincoat soon ate him. Better get going. But, as he prepared to do so, a new problem threw itself into the mix.

"Mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow!" Mr. Tux cried.

[Oh, hey there! Me again, your lovely, dovely, handy dandy SoulCritter Translator! What did Mr. Tux say just now? Well, he said, "Don't leave me here by myself!" Okay, tootles, I have some greener pastures to get to right about now!]

Black void plopping into his bag, the chimera let out a groan. Alright, alright, fine, he can camp out in his handbag! Great, he's so going to get fried by his boss for this, too, lovely! May as well prepare himself for a workplace infraction and a super big dip into his pay. Shoes slipped on, his tail reached for the umbrella. Better hurry before he has another problem on his hands!

Umbrella opened and ready to go, the creature almost inverted inward as the gusts of doom came down like their lives depended on it. Gee, what lovely weather they've all got on their hands here! Please, don't let him have a job in demon central today! Racing across the sidewalk, he kept his fingers crossed. Fixer Upper Solutions in front of him, he bolted towards the entrance. Badge placed over the card reader, the prayers continued. No demon junction work, pretty please!

"So you finally decided to show up, huh?" Oriole asked. "How many times did I text you this morning to be here early today? We're heading to demon junction!"

"Squawk, blue card, blue card!" a light green parrot shouted. "Blue card!"

"Sargent Blue Feet, let him explain himself first," Oriole said, sighing.

Rustle, rustle.

"Mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow!" Mr. Tux shouted.

[Whoop, whoop, it's me, your fellow SoulCritter Translator! So, what did Mr. Tux say now? Well, he said, "Peasant's employer, you'd better have treats for me!" Well, gotta go, buh bye!]

Mr. Tux sticking his head out of his handbag, the fixer upper's cheeks grew bright pink. Oh, great, he's definitely going to be in trouble now! He's going to get six blue cards, no, ten, maybe a pink slip? He can feel it now, he's about to have his employment terminated, effective forever! Ah, he's seeing stars, no, the entire galaxy. Better rip off his employee badge and pack up his things.

"You finally found your soulcritter?" Oriole asked. "Congratulations." He then cleared his throat. "Even still, you'd better explain to me why you came so late!"

[Geez, I was on time, alright? Look, I have a leak problem in my apartment right now, okay? Sorry for not reading any of my texts! Please don't fire me!] A page from his communication log shouted.

"Blue card, blue card!" Sargent Blue Feet squawked.

"He's not getting a blue card, simmer down!" Oriole shouted. "So, what's your soulcritter's name?"

[His name is Mr. Tux. Please, don't fire me, I'll try to come thirty minutes earlier next time!] A page from his communication log shouted.

"Pink slip, pink slip, give Mr. Tardypants a pink slip here!" Sargent Blue Feet squawked.

"One more squawk out of you, and you're cleaning up the zoos in demon junction all by yourself with nothing but your feathers, got it?" Oriole gave the bird a glare. He then sighed. "I'm not going to give you a yellow card, alright? Now, hurry up and go get your equipment, we have to go to the flying creature zoo as soon as possible."

Dragging himself towards the back room, the chimera grumbled. Oh, great, they're going to the zoo again? How many times are the demons going to make them chase their creatures being kept in captivity? Probably for the rest of the entire year at this rate. Large nets grabbed one after another, eight eyes were soon glued to him in unison.

"So, you finally got a soulcritter?" Rhodette asked, finger on her chin. "Honestly, I was starting to think you'd never get one to call your own."

"Qwee, qwee, qwee, qwee!" Desiree squeaked.

[Hello, hello, hello, hi, and greetings! What did our friend Desiree the lemur say just now? Well, she said, "Thought this guy was going to be soulcritterless forever!" Okay, SoulCritter Translator out!]

"Kitty, kitty! Kitteh!" Quari the unipuppy cried, horn glowing.

Pesky rainbow puppy with a horn dancing around his shoulder, the chimera resisted the urge to flop the critter net over them. Uh, hello, can he have some personal space here?! The people in charge of making laws really ought to create a rule that soulcritters cannot come to work ever! Yeah, right, like a law like that would ever come to pass. Tch.

[Yes, I found my soulcritter. Can you tell Quari to stop hovering over me?!] A page from his communication log cried.

"Quari, here's a sparkle biscuit, eat up!" Kokon exclaimed, tossing a glittery bone in the air. "What's the fella's name? Have you planned to go to the special café yet?"

[Mr. Tux, and yes! Can you stop asking me questions before boss sends Sargent Blue Feet after us? I can't afford another warning right now!] A page from his communication log exclaimed.

"Demon baddies going to have their zoos even more zooey, yay, yay!" Quari cried, clapping their little paws together.

Tweet, tweet.

Warning tweets coming his way, the cat tailed individual raced off towards the company van. Oh, great, He is so about to get not one, not two, but three yellow cards now! Seatbelt soon strapped, he crossed his fingers once again. Don't let this be the zoo on the bad side of demon junction this time. One wrong move, and laser beams will be awarded to him, for sure.

Eyes glued out the window, the hyena sighed at the sight before him. Streets littered with punks catching a smoke break with their soulcritters, the young adult folded his currently human hand into a fist. Look at these hoodlums creating second critter smoke! Someone ought to stomp out these pesky puff dens as soon as possible! Gah, yeah, right, as if the humans in charge of this place would ever do a single thing.

Droplets coming down faster by the second, the hyena clapped his palms together. Aliens, gods, whatever's up there, make a storm come so the zoos are all closed for the rest of the week! And, while they're at it, why not flood all the gates forever? Tch, as if there's aliens up there, those weren't even real to begin with! Reaching for a tiny tennis ball, he tossed it onto his lap.

"Mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow!" Mr. Tux shouted.

[Hi, hi, it's me, your lovely SoulCritter Translator here! What did Mr. Tux say just now? You guessed it, he cried out, "How dare you pick up dirty trash you found on the floor, peasant!" Okay, translator out!]

Ball tossed onto his shoulder, the chimera threw the thing back towards whence it came. Whatever, forget this, he shouldn't have even bothered trying! Radio going on and on about another thunderstorm on the horizon, his eyes sparkled. Close all the zoos, no, actually, close up all of Sweden's business for the rest of the day! Come on, rain, bring on the dangerous lightning!

[Current Location: Flying Critter Zoo within the Demon Junction in Enig, Sweden at around ten in the morning.]

[Current likelihood of a major lightning storm: seventy five percent.]

"Remember, we need to be nice to the demons here," Oriole demanded, finger stuck up in the air. "Whatever you do, do not comment on the condition of the zoo. What happens if you do?"

"But, look at this place! It's filled with rats crawling everywhere!" Rhodette cried, pointing.

"Qwee, qwee, qwee!" Desiree shouted.

[Sigh, you need me again? I was about to take a snack break! Hello, SoulCritter Translator reporting for duty! What did our lemur pal say just now? She said, "Rats, so many rats! This place stinky!" I'm going back to my break now! Clocking out, peace!]

"What happens if you comment on the condition of the zoo in front of the demons?" Oriole asked, stamping his foot.

"We know, we know! They'll tie us to the shame stake!" Kokon and Rhodette cried at the same time.

Shame stake brought to his attention, the chimera's eyes wandered. Did a rat just crawl up his overalls?! Get out, get out, get out! Please, tie him to a stake twice over, thanks! Mr. Tux yoinking the disgusting rodent's tail, he crossed his fingers. Look, a treat, just for him! Ha, never mind, better not think that, or it'll so happen.

"Mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow!" Mr. Tux shouted, rodent lunged across the air.

[Hey, hey, I said I was on a snack break, didn't I? Sheesh, okaaaaaay, fineeee, hi there, SoulCritter Translator reporting for duty again! Sigh, what did our pal Mr. Tux say just now? I got you, I got you! Okie dokie, he said, "This one's mine, stay away!" I'm out, peacers!]

Declaration bouncing off his ears, the young adult's eyebrows twitched. Sorry, he belongs to no one! Dragging himself to the manager building, a dark, purple skinned horned demon with long golden hair that trailed towards the door had their feet sprawled across their desk. Name tag floating in the air, he read it for a moment. Hadedosia, huh? Tch, he fight in a war, or something?

"Took you three long enough!" Hadedosia shouted. "I ought to tie you three to the shame stake right now!"

"We're terribly sorry, we uh, had a squeaky run in outside just now," Rhodette said, bowing her head, eyes wandering. "Your zoo is lovely, by the way! Why, I'll definitely rate it eleven, no, twenty stars tonight when I'm off the clock!"

"Rhodette, don't say that word!" Kokon whispered under his breath.

"Which one?!" She whispered, too.

"Squeaky." His face grew dark.

Demon's eyes glowing red, the fixer upper's heart leaped out of his chest. Oh, no, they are all so done for right about now! Is he going to be tied up onto the shame stake? Probably! It was nice knowing him, demons are so going to make an example out of him for the entire world to see! No, perhaps the entire universe until the world resets in a billion years! Ha ha, nice going, Rhodette!

"Did someone say squeaky just now?!" Hadedosia asked, eyes glowing.

"No! Us, say the forbidden s word? Of course not!" Rhodette cried, laughing. "What do you need us to do for you today?"

"You chimeras sure don't have brains in those heads of yours, do you? Go round up the flying critters and have them put back in their environments! Oh, and while you're at it, feed the ducks and our little rat friends some sugar biscuits! Now, get going, or all six of you will be tied up to that stake of shame!" A finger was pointed at the door.

"Get going, get going, get going!" a black bat with heart shaped wings demanded.

"Aww, look at you, Loveykins, who wants a treat from papa? You do!" Hadedosia cried. They then groaned. "Why are you lot still here? You're just asking to be punished, aren't you?! Get going, or your soulcritters will be sprayed with poison!"

Zoom.

Racing out of the office, the young adult gazed at the dens. Oh, great, all of them were completely empty! Why does this always happen? They ought to, he doesn't know, hire critter control here or something! But, do the demons ever use their brains in those heads of theirs? They most certainly don't! If they even had any! Zap, ow. Ugh, can't even think those kinds of things without being zapped, he sees how it is!

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

Hearing a squeaking army off in the distance, the young adult removed the huge net from his work bag. Alright, flying critters, they're going down! And, three, two, one, catch! Squeak, squeak, squeak, first of many squirming around in the net, he turned his smartwatch screen on. Alright, what it this critter called? The screaming feathered void weasel. Which part of the zoo does this thing go to? Ah, right, he thinks he remembers.

Critters plopped back into their first den, the hyena's eyes wandered off towards the gate. Gaping hole glaring straight at him, he raced towards it. Better hurry and fix that before it's too late. Little fixer upper done and dusted, he groaned. One down, hundreds of creatures to go! Grumble, grumble, grumble.

Next set of fiends plopped back into their exhibits, the fixer upper reached for the sugar biscuits. Oh, wonderful, here come the squeakers! Ugh, sorry, his bad, little rat friends! Do the demons seriously have to keep them all here? If the humans did something like this, their zoo would be closed immediately! Someone get an inspector on call here to take a look at this place already!

Ducks biting on his hair like it was a snack as the snacks had been dropped down, the cat tailed individual barked under his breath. Teeth off the merchandise! He ought to give the demons a hefty damage bill for this one! No, two or three, while he's at it! Sigh, forget all that, he's got more important things to focus on here!

Hours passing rather slowly, the chimera locked eyes with the demon children dancing around with their soulcritters from afar. Oh, boy, listen to all the ridiculous chatter over there! Blah, blah, blah, time to go sneak into some human's homes. Bleep, bloop, bloop. Troublemakers, he swears to whatever is watching him up there! Sweeping the ground for quite awhile, he had soon been pulled aside.

"So, I was just wondering, have you joined an early soulcritters bondees support group?" Oriole asked. "If not, I can help you find a few."

[My sister already found me one, thanks. Not like I need to go to one, mind you!] A page from his communication log shouted.

"You say that, but honestly, Siorc, you really need to go out there and meet some new people. You don't have many friends, right?" His arms were crossed.

[Does it look like I need any of those? Do those pay the bills?!] A page from his communication log cried.

"Please, take some time to go to that support group, alright? That's an order. Consider it part of your job from now on." A foot stamp.

"Pink slip, pink slip!" Sargent Blue Feet squawked.

"I told you, we're not giving him a pink slink!" Sigh. "When are you going to the Soulcritter Café Palace?"

[At the end of the week. Please, don't take more days away from me, I'm swimming in bills enough as it is!] A page from his communication log cried.

"I won't dock your pay, don't worry. Now, finish this job, so you can head on home." Another foot stamp.

Leaves pushed away, the hyena groaned. He swears, everyone expects him to get buddy buddy with every single person he ever meets! Do friends pay the electric bill? No! Do they pay his rent? Never! Will they be there for him if Mr. Tux gets stuck in a bookshelf? Probably not. Who needs others anyway? Sweeping for what felt like forever, he yawned up a storm.