As usual, Charlie was in trouble. But if anyone knew him, there was no hole he dug that he couldn't climb out of.

Except maybe this one.

This wasn't like the time he pissed off Harley's dad and was chased for nearly ten blocks, or the time he had the tar beaten outta him for trying to scam the Fixer Chicks for the third or so time. No, this time he was in serious trouble, and it didn't seem like thing were going to end well for Charlie the opossum.

It was supposed to be a simple courier mission, all he and Harley had to do was move a few tiny bottles from one side of Eggton to the next for the crime boss Chicadino, to repay some minor gambling debts. Harley would simply stash them in her pouch and no one would be the wiser. Then they'd get Charlie's debt paid, leave Eggton and all their problems would be put behind them.

But unfortunately, the Madamas seemed to want to chuck Charlie over, and they did such by planting an obstacle named Poppy directly into his path.

This obstacle, which appeared to be an innocent and kind opossum, was reasonable single-handily destroyed Charlie and Harley's chance of a new life. When Harley bumped into Poppy, she ended up dropping one of bottles, and Charlie was forced to reclaim it. Unfortunately, Poppy the obstacle had garnered some attention by the time Charlie found her again. Luckily, despite her physical strength and prowess, he was able to confront her and heroically reclaim the vial.

But unfortunately, the Madamas seemed to want to chuck Charlie over again, and they did such by having Fazzi show up exactly as he reclaimed the bottle.

Fazzi, an employee of Chicadino, was a rather odd person. The goat was known to have a rather bent personality, with a voice to match. However, despite seeming quiet and hiding in her large navy-blue overcoat, she was not to be trifled with. Her lucky star power gave her the ability to bend anything she touched at a right angle, such as a piece of wood, or Charlie's hand. She was the one who confronted Charlie over his debts, and she was the one who tasked Charlie with the delivery of the bottles.

Only now he failed, and Fazzi was now standing over Poppy, her arm bent and broken, as she was now talking on her communicator. The goat was about to kill Poppy, yet was stopped by what sounded like Chicadino on the phone. After a few minutes, Fazzi knelt down to Poppy and touched the opossum's broken arm again.

"[So, I've been informed that Opossums are apparently people now.]" Fazzi explained to Poppy as she straightened Poppy's arm, the opossum shouted in pain. "[I can't imagine why, but I apologize nonetheless.]"

Fazzi walked over to Charlie and sighed. "[It also appears I am late…]" Carefully, the goat picked Charlie up, placing him inside her coat. "[So I'll be taking this and be on my way.]" She then trotted off, informing Poppy that Chicadino wished to meet her before the Goat finally left the alleyway.

Charlie waited anxiously as he was carried by Fazzi through the Southern District of Eggton. They had walked for what felt like an hour before Charlie was pulled out of Fazzi's coat, carrying him under the crook of her arm.

"[Mr. Chicadino has informed me that you've failed to deliver the materials on time.]" She muttered, looking straight ahead as she walked, her voice pierced Charlie's core like a stake. "[That's very bad. I assumed something like you would be capable of stuff like this.]"

Charlie's ears flattened as his stomach dropped. "I-I-I'm… I'm sorry!" He tried explaining himself. "I had all the bottles, and… um… me and Harley, we ran into that opossum girl, and we must've dropped one of the bottles by accid-"

"[Tough. Mr. Chicadino is very disappointed you were not capable of doing this simple task.]" Fazzi continued. "[He needs those bottles, and little inconveniences like you are very troublesome for him.]" Fazzi stopped and put Charlie down. "[The bottle, please.]" Fazzi pulled out a small red satchel and opened it, revealing a group of small glowing bottles.

Charlie's stomach dropped lower as realized where Fazzi got the bottles from. "Harley… what did you…?"

Fazzi sighed. "[Your wife is fine, for now, I simply collected the shipment from her and told her that you'd be given a different task to settle your debt.]" Fazzi shook the bag slightly. "[So, if you could…]"

Charlie exhaled in relief as he placed the bottle he reclaimed from Poppy into the bag. Fazzi placed the bag into her coat, and picked up Charlie again.

"So…" Charlie muttered. "What WILL I be doing for Chicadino now instead of delivering bottles…?"

Fazzi said nothing and smirked, which in Charlie's opinion was never a good sign.

It took a few more blocks until Fazzi and Charlie reached their destination on the far Southern side of Eggton. Charlie looked around as Fazzi trotted through what appeared to be an small overgrown courtyard, complete with moss-covered tables, chairs, and a moss-covered fountain in the center. The area appeared to be abandoned on the outside, and the two-story building that Fazzi approached seemed to look very old, the sign bolted to the door was worn and barely readable, and the red paint on the walls was coming off in chunks.

As they entered the building, however, it almost seemed the complete opposite. The main lobby was clean and beautiful with elegant carpeting and fancy paintings hung on the freshly-painted walls. Crimson curtains covered the windows, and the entire lobby was illuminated by a combination of a few gilded lamps and a chandelier that hung from the ceiling. The room gave the atmosphere of an elegant palace, and the colors seemed warm and inviting. To the sides of the lobby were stairs that led to several doors, much like a hotel, and there was a front desk in the center of the lobby.

As Fazzi approached the front desk in the center, she simply clicked her tongue, resulting in a sharp note that made Charlie wince. A few seconds later, a door behind the front desk opened, and a leopard woman walked out. She was a slightly heavyset woman, wearing a red cheongsam dress, proudly displaying the scars all over her arms, legs and shoulders. Her face was what took Charlie back, as it appeared to be a metallic half-face opera mask stuck to her face, the flesh visibly welded to the mask as she talked.

"Fazzi!" She exclaimed happily. "Do what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Is Mr. Chicadino in need of my services again?" She crossed her arms and smirked, the mask pulling half of her mouth into a twisted grin. "Or are you here to collect his payments?"

Fazzi placed Charlie down and removed her hat, the brim bending as she touched it. "[Not today, Madame Portgaz.]" She answered, resulting in Madame Portgaz to wince slightly. "[But Mr. Chicadino requests that you place this… opossum here under your services.]"

Madame Portgaz looked at Charlie, who looked back at her nervously, and rose an eyebrow. "Hm, another one indebted to Chicadino's glorious generosity I see… And a boy too…"

Fazzi shrugged. "[I don't know. Boss has a weird sense of humor sometimes. I assumed that it'd be his wife instead, but Chicadino specifically wanted this one to do it…]" Fazzi reached over and picked up a pen, the writing utensil bending and leaking ink as she touched it. "[I guess you'll have guests for him?]" Fazzi inquired, wiping the ink from the pen on her coat.

Madame Portgaz snorted. "Yeah. I have a few guests in mind who enjoy some variety in their services." She pulled a cigar from her dress and lit it. "How much does he owe you guys?"

"[About 60K at least.]"

The masked leopard chuckled through smoke from her cigar. "Holy sha, half my girls have worked here for years and don't have that much debt." She looked down at Charlie, who was standing silently the entire time. "You're gonna be working here for a while, kiddo."

Fazzi placed back on her hat as she turned. "[If there's nothing else, I'd need to go. I'm running late for another appointment and-] "

Madame Portgaz waved her hand at Fazzi, grinning a half-twisted grin. "Don't worry about it, I got him handled. Tell the big bird I said hello, and that the poucher's in good hands."

Fazzi tipped her hat, bending the brim again, as she walked out the door. Charlie stood there in silence for a moment as he tried to comprehend what just happened to him. Madame Portgaz walked over and smacked Charlie on the back. "What's your name, kid?"

"Ch-Charlie."

"Well, Charlie. I hope you kissed your wife goodbye, cuz you ain't seeing her for a while. In fact, if you get through this, you might not even want to."

Charlie followed Madame Portgaz down a small hallway in the back of the building. According to her, only the lobby and the guest rooms needed to be decorated, anything else was a waste of time.

"So, this is like a hotel for Chicadino's thugs, right?" Charlie asked. "I mean, they can't use the government sanctioned taverns, so they come here, right?"

Madame Portgaz chuckled, "Oh, they come here, all right. But they don't come here for sleep, they're not the only ones who do…"

As they reached one of the back rooms, Charlie noticed as three young women, all wearing ragged lavender tank tops and black long pants, were sitting together washing drying and folding multiple copies of those same tank tops and long pants, which lied in a pile in-between the girls.

"Eh, Lucia!" Madame Portgaz, resulting in one of the girls, a young black Puma with a scar on her forehead, to immediately stand up and trot over to the leopard.

"Hey mama," Lucia greeted Madam Portgaz, before glancing over at Charlie. "I thought you said guests weren't allowed back here."

Madame Portgaz smirked her twisted smirk. "Nah girl, this here is a new member of our little family, so I want you to get him ready."

Lucia bent her long neck down and looked at Charlie closely. "Mama, I highly doubt anyone is going to wanna be interested in a clockbelly like this one..." She muttered. "And we haven't had a guy on our staff in a long time…"

Madame Portgaz crossed her arms. "I don't give a damn." She hissed. "I know at least three of Chicadino's boys that got sad after Chicadino took my last opossum girl, and you know we get male-oriented guests all the time. I'm sure he'll get some work in him. So get him chucking dressed and cleaned already!"

Charlie rubbed the back of his head, still confused over what EXACTLY he was going to be doing. "Um…" He interjected, the two women stared down at him. "Just… what will I be doing exactly?"

Lucia gave Madame Portgaz a sly look. "Aw, Mama. You didn't even tell him?" She shook her head.

The masked leopard shrugged. "I would've thought either Fazzi would've told him, or he'd figure out on his own. I know most you girls did." She walked behind Lucia and began rubbing her shoulders. "I know you don't need brains here, but I'd expect that you'd have some wits on you."

"Mama." Lucia reminded her. "He's an opossum, remember. Thinkin' is what probably what got him here in the first place."

Madame Portgaz sighed. "Eh, Ofelia had wits and common sense… She figured it out." She walked over to the other cleaning girls and picked up a tank-top and a pair of pants, tossing them over to Charlie. "Get dressed." She muttered.

Charlie slowly picked up and looked at the clothes for a few seconds before glancing at Lucia, and then Madame Portgaz, his expression changing from confusion, to realization, to dread.

It was then that, the obvious fact that had dangled around him finally hit him like a sack of bricks. As "punishment" for his failure, and in order to pay back his debt, Chicadino had promptly sold Charlie to a brothel, as a prostitute. He would likely have to service the scum of Flora, most likely simple thugs and Chicadino's men, until he gained enough money to pay off his debt.

"There we go." Madame Portgaz muttered, smiling proudly. "Told ya he'd get it."

Charlie dropped his new clothes as he backed up to the wall and slid to the floor, his hands covered his head as his body began shaking. "No…Nonononnonono…" He muttered to himself. "N-No… This isn't happening… This is chucking stupid… " His body seized violently as he began sobbing.

Madame Portgaz walked past Lucia and headed down the hallway. "Get him cleaned up and dressed, we open up at dusk." She spoke as she left the room. "Make sure to burn his old clothes."

Charlie shivered as he sat in the tub, Lucia scrubbing him with a washcloth, the water quickly became murky and discolored as she began. "My god, I know everyone says you opossums are filthy. But I didn't think they actually meant it…" She took the washcloth and scrubbed behind his ears.

The opossum said nothing, he was still in shock over realizing what happened to him. He knew Chicadino had authority on his life due to his debt, but he didn't know it went this far. Charlie assumed the worst would be that he'd be hurt more, like how Fazzi broke his hand. But no, it appeared that the damn bird basically enslaved him.

AND HARLEY! Charlie wondered what Fazzi said to her about her husband's disappearance. Did she simply say Charlie was doing a different job, or did she tell her that he'd be a prostitute for Chicadino's men now, because of his incompetence? He pictured the look on her face as Fazzi told her either one truth or the other, that she wouldn't see him until he was done, that when he was done, that he might not even love her anymore.

"H-Hey!" Lucia spoke up. "Are you crying again?"

As Charlie watched his lucky trenchcoat go up in flames, Lucia took the time to explain the rules of the brothel. His new uniform was rough and scratchy, and the black pants hugged his thighs. The outfit was obviously made for girls, but it fit his scrawny figure.

"Alright, so we call this place the 'Seventh Heaven', and you always refer to it as such, there is always the chance of there being one of Kit's boys undercover here, and they always got communication charms on 'em." Lucia rubbed the washcloth across her chest and up her neck. "Mama's lucky star can pinpoint the idiots out, but if one of us accidently gives a snitch the info he needs, this place can get shut down and we all get chucked." She turned and glared at Charlie. "And don't you even think of blabbing to the royal guards for protection! I've seen girls try to do that bulsha before."

Lucia wrung the washcloth and let the water pour down her body. "Fazzi always finds them, and they end up seeing a new 'angle' in their lives. It's not a pretty sight…"

The opossum simply nodded his head as Lucia got out of the tub and got dressed. "I won't lie to you, it'll probably hurt."

Charlie looked up at the puma. "What? What will hurt?"

Lucia sighed and looked at Charlie with an empathic expression. "Your first time, it'll probably hurt."

Charlie stood there for a moment before pushing Lucia aside as he kneeled against the tub and vomited. The puma knelt beside him and placed a hand against his back. "W-Why me? Why do I deserve this? I know I'm not-" Charlie hurled again. "-I… I need to get out of here, I want to get out of here. Harley needs me… WHY CAN'T I LEAVE?!" Charlie slammed his fist against the edge of the tub as he broke down in tears for the hundredth time today.

Lucia said nothing, but simply rubbed the opossum's back. Even though he was an opossum, she knew he was right. He didn't deserve this, nobody who worked here did. But it was how it was, and it wasn't the Madamas who controlled their fate. Their god was Chicadino, he made them do as he pleased, and as long as they lived here, that was the way it was to be. So all Charlie could do was take this path, or possibly face an even worse one.

The puma glanced out a window and sighed. "Your wife… her name is Harley, right?"

Charlie looked up at the puma, nodding his head and sniffling. Lucia got up and started to walk out of the room, stopping as she reached the door.

"If you want to survive this, then think of her, remember her name. If she's your wife, and she loves you, she'll understand what you needed to do for her, for both of you." Lucia sighed as she left the room.

"You better get cleaned up, we're gonna open up soon."