Thrumming music filled the room, deep red lights pulsing in time with the beat. Patrons of all races danced atop the glowing floor, their movements surreal and dreamlike in the flashing lights. A demonic DJ surveyed the floor below her with a devious grin as all danced to her tune. Above the floor, encaged dancers swayed along to the irresistible rhythm, their feathered outfits a lustful mockery of angelic purity. Enclosed in softly swinging cages, dancing and singing along to the seductive music, they resembled captive birds more than angels. And this caused no shortage of discomfort for the faux-angelic harpy who had just entered into the club, entirely by accident...

Ammie quickly darted into a corner away from the suspicious glances thrown her way. She tried to catch her breath. Evidently this building was NOT completely abandoned, as she had assumed. And now she'd gone from the frying pan into the fire. She groaned, letting the music cover her noise. Today was not going great. It'd started well enough, at least! She'd come across a particularly lucrative mark just that morning, one of those rich superstitious types willing to pay whatever they could to "redeem their soul", someone quite pleased to be approached by a benevolent angel offering redemption. And Ammie certainly looked the part! All it took was dyeing her hair and wings to look a bit holier, dressing in a fancy white and gold tracksuit, and a bit of illusion magic to give herself a glowy halo. The exact picture of lovely divinity someone like that was looking for. Some fluffy words, gibberish "prayers", and sweet talk later and she was in possession of quite the payday! Her tactics could be very lucrative, but there was a big drawback. A big, winged, sanctimonious drawback who happened to catch wind of her latest con...

It shouldn't really be much of a surprise that pretending to be an angel would piss off real angels, but Ammie hadn't expected one to be so intent on personally foiling her! This was far from the first time Angie had found her, and Ammie was determined not to get caught again. She'd earned this money fair- mostly fair and square, and she wasn't keen on giving it back. Even less keen on being forced to apologize to her mark like a child being punished for taking a toy. Not keen on doing any more "community service", either. Honestly, why was Angie so uptight about rich fops like that being persuaded into giving away some of their large fortunes? Wealth redistribution is a good thing! She always acted so holier-than-thou about it! ...Well, she technically was, but still! Was that really worth hounding her so much? And so when Ammie noticed those big blue wings in the distance, she did the smart thing and ducked into the nearest abandoned building! And apparently stumbled upon a hidden demonic dance club...

Ammie shook herself out of reminiscing. She couldn't get distracted right now, she needed to think! She stuck out like a sore thumb right now, and she really didn't need anyone here to get suspicious. They might kick her out and deliver her right into Angie's many, many hands, or worse, they wouldn't... She glanced up at the swaying cages and shuddered. Luckily, she was quite skilled in acting like she belonged. Quickly dismissing her halo, she stepped out onto the dancefloor. The thrumming music made her feel a bit dizzy, but that was fine. She just needed to blend in for long enough to find another exit, and she'd be fine! Sure, a few patrons were looking at her, but it was fine, it was fine. She glanced around for an exit, but it was difficult to tell what was going on. Everything was coated in that deep, pulsing red light... Her head began to swim as she tried to focus on something, anything that looked like an exit. There were some brighter red lights up there, maybe it was an exit sign? Everything was so fuzzy, it was hard to tell... She had to look closer to make it out... Needed to look closer... Suddenly she felt something bump into her, and a jolt of panic overtook the fuzziness. As the patron danced away without even acknowledging the collision, she finally got a clear look at the lights. Two round red circles over a devious grin, looking right at her...

Ammie scurried away from the DJ's gaze in a panic. She'd been found out, she was gonna get kicked out or worse, this was terrible this was terrible this was terribl- She took a deep breath. She was back in the corner, the DJ couldn't see her anymore... And probably hadn't even seen her back then too, they were just looking over the dancefloor, they had goggles on so it was hard to tell exactly where they were looking after all! Yeah, yeah, that made sense, no use escaping back outside where Angie was waiting when they weren't even noticed... Yeah... Though, maybe she needed to blend in a bit more, just in case. She glanced around, seeing the skimpy outfits the patrons and staff were wearing. She was definitely overdressed... But that was easy to fix! Quickly unzipping her pant legs, she pulled them up just enough to look like just long shorts, and her shirt was easy enough to roll up just above her midriff, now looking like a nice crop top. Perfect! It'd be much easier to blend in like this!

Ammie returned to the dancefloor, far fewer suspicious looks being thrown her way now. She began glancing around for an exit again, feeling much less worried now. She just had to blend in, and she'd be fine. Folding her wings as much as she could, she began to dance, just like everyone else around her. She'd never been much of a dancer, but the music was surprisingly catchy, and she fell into a rhythm quickly. And despite the upbeat music,  it felt strangely relaxing. It was nice, just dancing and swaying to the beat, not having to worry about... About... What was she worried about? Right, finding the exit! She tried to look for the exit as she moved, but the lights made her head feel so floaty... All she could really make out was the DJ, and their glowing red gaze gazing down at her... No, just in her direction! The DJ wasn't looking into her eyes, seeing past her lies, staring deep into her mind... No, it just felt like that... Such bright glowing eyes... She... She... She needed to... Blend in... Yes, right of course... Blend in... She wasn't blending in enough... Still feeling so floaty and dizzy, she scurried away to find more ways to blend in...

As the lights faded from Ammie's vision, she suddenly realized she'd stumbled into a staff only area. The jolt of panicked adrenaline woke her up once again. This was probably the WORST place to be if she didn't want to get found out. Although... She noticed some spare clothes and grinned. Maybe it was her ticket out of here, actually! Hastily, she swapped her usual outfit for a skimpy tank top, very short shorts, tight leggings, and tall leather boots. She didn't like having to get rid of her tracksuit, but eh, she could always buy another one with the payday she was keeping perfectly unconfiscated in her fanny pack! As she prepared to head back out onto the dancefloor, she caught a glimpse of a pair of gaudy fake wings. She grimaced. She really didn't want to be mistaken for one of those caged dancers... But on the other hand, she already had wings, so maybe it'd look less suspicious if she wore the fake ones, just in case. She needed to blend in, after all. They didn't fit comfortably at all over her real wings, but she just needed to wear them until she found her way out. So there was no problem, really.

Freshly disguised, Ammie returned to the dancefloor with a rush of confidence. She blended in perfectly now, all she had to do was act natural. All she had to do was dance. It certainly felt much better dancing in this outfit instead of her long tracksuit. Every movement felt natural to her now, just following the everpresent rhythm. There was something a little different about the music now though, but she couldn't really put her finger on it. She listened closer... There was something in the background that made her feel... Nice... Tingly... Floaty... She liked listening to the music... She liked dancing to the music... Letting her pretty body bounce and sway in time to the nice, floaty rhythm... That was why she was here... Or, wait, no, she was looking for something, right? But it was so hard to see anything... The dancefloor was so big, and she wasn't even sure what it was she was looking for... She looked around to see if she could find it. She looked around and around and around and around and her head felt so dizzy and spinny now! She giggled as she stumbled and danced around, looking for... Looking for... Oh, what was it...? Everything was so hard to look for here... Except those big, pretty red eyes...

The DJ's goggles were pointing right at Ammie, two bright, glowing circles of red that made everything else feel dim... Ammie giggled. She wasn't in danger, she was blending in! The DJ was watching her dance because she was so good at being a dancer! She was so good at following the rhythm and letting her pretty body bounce and sway, bouncing and swaying, bouncing and swaying... The DJ seemed happy, but it was hard to see their face because their eyes were so bright... They were so big, and glowy, and pretty... It almost felt like they were growing larger... Making everything else dim and colorless, except the pretty eyes and the nice music... Ammie was so good at blending in, she was so good at dancing, letting her body move to the music, staring into the swirly red eyes... "That's a good girl~ You love dancing for me, don't you~?" The DJ caressed Ammie's cheek with a soft, clawed hand. Ammie giggled and leaned into her touch. She was such a good dancer for the DJ... The DJ's touch felt so nice... She was-

Something bubbled within Ammie's mind, her muddled flight response screaming from beneath the hypnotic music. Why was... WHY WAS SHE RIGHT NEXT TO THE DJ?! She pushed away from the demon, the sudden burst of adrenaline snapping her out of the trance. The DJ laughed. "Aww, no point resisting now sweetie~ You're my dancer now~ You're so good at dancing to the music~" Ammie giggled involuntarily. She was so good at dancing to the mus- No! No she wasn't! What she was good at, however... Was running. Channeling her magic, she sent a burst of 'holy' light into the demon's face. It didn't hurt her, but it sure as heck flashbanged her. As the demon recoiled, Ammie ran, wildly looking around for an exit. Her heart leapt as she sighted a door, and she ran as fast as she could into it, not letting the surroundings of the club distract her again.

Ammie collapsed against the metallic wall of the room, taking a deep breath. That was so close... She almost ended up in the DJ's clutches... She really didn't want to be stuck up there dancing in one of those cages... She was safe now... Well, hopefully. She shouldn't get complacent. Where was she right now? She glanced up, her head still pretty muddled. She saw, to her dismay, that everything was still coated in that deep red light. Yeah, that made sense, she only ran through one door, of course she's still in the club. Whatever room it was, it definitely had windows if she could still see the lights. And she could still hear the music as well. It must be affecting her more than she realized, because it felt like the room itself was moving to the beat... Swaying softly to the rhythm... Almost like... No. No. No no no no no. She stood up, and glanced out. Out of the bars. Onto the dancefloor far below. The click of a lock suddenly sounded from behind her. She ran over to the door of the cage, but it was no use. As she frantically tried to pick it, the DJ's voice rang out through the club, each syllable vibrating the cage bars. "Please welcome our newest dancing angel, everyone~" The cage began to sway along to the music, sending vibrations throughout the inside. Ammie felt the tingles flow through her body. She needed to... needed to... Dance... Yes, she needed to dance... Needed to follow the music... Needed to let the rhythm guide her... Her head felt so floaty and dizzy again, and she giggled. She was such a good dancing angel!

Time melted away as she danced happily and prettily. Every beat filled her with pleasant tingles and washed away every thought as it tried to appear. There was nothing except dancing to the music like the good dancer she was! She had to dance so everyone could see how pretty she was! It was truly the most wonderful feeling ever! She swayed and danced to the pretty music, following the constant rhyt-Suddenly everything came to a jarring halt. She fell against the cage wall, dizzy and disoriented. It took her several painful moments to realize what had happened... The music had stopped! Why had the music stopped?! She stumbled to her feet and looked out over at the DJ's booth to see what happened. And a jolt of panic from deep within her mind finally snapped Ammie out of the trance. Ah. Right. There'd been an angel chasing her.

The club was thrown into chaos as Angie dismantled the operation with terrifying ease. Ammie was used to the powerful angel being angry at her, but a chill ran down her spine as she saw how coldly furious they were. Which did make sense, really. If she was so angry at Ammie all the time for pretending to be an angel for profit, it would track that she'd be a lot angrier at an establishment that actively mocked and humiliated the concept of angelic purity. Terrified, Ammie huddled in the corner of the cage as Angie went on her holy rampage. The DJ lay motionless on the floor, either dead or just unconscious, and Ammie didn't really want to find out which. If it'd been hard to find an exit before, it'd be practically impossible now with all the chaos and danger down below. Although... Angie was awfully preoccupied dealing with this blasphemous mockery right now... And she certainly wouldn't expect Ammie to leave back out the entrance, would she?

Carefully, Ammie picked the cage lock and snuck out onto the now ruined dancefloor, avoiding the angel's furious gaze. She hurriedly crept over to the exit, but just before she left something on the floor nearby caught her eye. It looked like some of the patrons had dropped their wallets in the chaos... So, of course, she stuffed as many as she could into her fanny pack before slipping out of the club. A lot less flashy than her usual methods of getting money, but in the end didn't she earn it anyway? After all, she did deserve some tips for being such a wonderful dancer...