How… How was someone so massive so… good?!

"You are… by far… the most…" Carmilla had to pause between her panting, struggling to come up with the proper word to describe exactly what she meant. "Diverse… lover I've ever had…" Her entire chest was heaving as she tried to recover from their activities.

John simply chuckled from his spot on the bed.

They had started in the office, and they'd gotten well into their passion for half an hour before John had heard Odette and Clara approaching the office.

They'd promptly scrambled to redress, unfortunately leading to some close calls when Odette had noticed her mother's pants seemed to be wet. A quick excuse about a spilled tea and neither of them questioned anything.

Upon which, Carmilla and John had moved their activities to her bedroom. And the behemoth had wasted no time in ravishing her once more.

And she him.

And so on.

The Overlord was honestly surprised by how skilled her lover seemed to be.

Carmilla could definitely say one thing. John hadn't been lying, she was truly exhausted. She had aches in places she didn't even know she had, and the ballerina was positive she was going to be walking funny for a few days.

"I did warn you." John replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"How can one be so rough and yet so gentle?" Carmilla couldn't help but to ask once more, rolling her tired head so she could look up at him, her words coming out slow due to her heavy breathing. "I've never felt such a thing."

"Comes with practice." John assured, before an amused chuckle escaped him. "Both in and out of the bed."

"Well, I would like to feel it again some time." Carmilla admitted freely. She had honestly expected for him to satisfy himself and then leave, as most of her partners had. Instead, she was genuinely unsure of how many orgasms had actually happened during sex.

If this was the kind of skill she could expect…

"You're pretty damn good too." John returned the compliment, grinning slightly as he glanced over at her. "But isn't this just a bribe?"

"This time? Yes." And a very… rewarding bribe it was. But… "But I never said that it couldn't happen again." Carmilla couldn't help the cheeky smile on her face as she met his gaze.

"Fair enough." John seemed to agree with her point, a small smile on his own face as he glanced down at her. "You suggesting some kind of arrangement?"

"Only if our current one still stands."

John lost his smile at that, frowning at the ballerina for a moment before rolling his eyes and letting an annoyed sigh escape him. "I'll be at the meeting. Didn't we establish that already?" He let his gaze fall upon Carmilla once more, and when he spotted the look of amusement on Carmilla's face, he chuckled. "Ah."

"You're surprisingly clueless at times." Carmilla noted, sitting up off the bed so that she was closer to his eye level, letting the cover fall away from her chest.

She didn't miss the way John's eyes instinctively glanced at her breasts, but he ignored it as he offered a small smile to the ballerina.

"Can't win 'em all." He reasoned with a slight shrug. "Might want to put the girls away, though, or I might get a different message again." He teased.

Carmilla merely raised an amused eyebrow, flashing him a small smirk in response. "Who's to say I don't want more?" She shot back, though she admittedly hoped he recognized the joke for what it was.

Her legs were completely numb after all.

Something John seemed to recognize.

"Woman, you ain't even got the energy to get up out of bed, let alone go another round with me." John called her bluff quite bluntly, a small smirk overtaking his own face as he shook his head.

"Who's to say I don't want to be pushed to my limits?"

"Maybe another time." John assured with a small chuckle, more than happy to appease her wish at a later date. "You sure your kids don't know what happened though? I mean, I doubt they're stupid, and your pants stain was a bit too specific for it to have just been spilled tea."

"Oh, I don't doubt they know." As John had said, Odette and Clara weren't stupid. They'd probably known the moment they'd noticed the stain. They just weren't too keen on the details. "Do you truly believe I'm the only one of our family who gets some relief? They've caught me just as much as I've caught them."

"Fair enough, comes with the territory." John responded, nodding his head in agreement, before chucking. "I'll tell you, living in a house full of hellhounds? You know how many times I've heard howling every time one of them wanted to invite some lucky guy or gal over?"

Carmilla couldn't help but to roll her eyes. That pain, she understood. "I once caught Odette with a man in my office as they'd finished. The only reason the man still lived through the day was because Odette refused to move from my path."

"Oh, not that." John visibly winced at that, a grimace on his expression before he let a chuckle escape him. "You know, if I'm anything to go by, I'm gonna have my hands full when my boy's a teenager."

He had a fond smile on his face as he spoke, but it slowly morphed into a sad frown. Something Carmilla took notice of.

"Though I understand the frustration, wouldn't you want your child to explore?" Carmilla couldn't help but to question, tilting her head slightly in confusion. As much as she hated when her children got a bit more daring, she was glad they were still finding their independence."

"It's not that." John admitted, shaking his head as a sigh escaped him, bringing his hand up to softly massage his forehead. "My son, Leo, is growing a lot quicker than a normal kid. Even a demon one. He's only a year and a half old, but you'd be forgiven for thinking he's five."

At that, Carmilla's eyes widened in shock. She knew he had a child of his own, but she had assumed that the child was either adopted or had died with his father. But from her own research, not to mention Flow's words, John had been dead for four years.

If his son was only a year and a half…

Of course, if it were anyone else, Carmilla would write it off as boisterous lies. But by this point, honesty was the only thing always guaranteed with John Gallagher. But still…

"If your son is only a year and a half, that would mean he was conceived while you were in Hell." Carmilla muttered, more to herself than the behemoth sitting next to her. However, her next words were directed at him. "Is his mother a Deadly Sin? Lilith herself? A fallen angel?"

A mirthless chuckle escaped John in response as he shook his head. "If any of those were the case, I don't think I'd be as scared. His mom is a sinner, same as me."

"I am slowly learning that no one in Hell is like you, John Gallagher." Carmilla couldn't help but to retort with a playful grin. "You can kill angels and sinners alike, have single-handedly held off two Exterminations in your home, and have a personal deal with the first man. A child honestly seems par for the course."

John raised a brow at Carmilla in response, before breaking out into laughter. Carmilla couldn't help the small jolt of surprise that ran through her as she felt the bed actually vibrate due to the behemoth's amusement.

"Of course it is." John muttered as he came down from his laughter. "Anyway, it's more about how fast he'll be a teenager. If his current growth rate is any indication, he'll look like a ten-year-old by the time he's three."

"Isn't that good?" Carmilla asked, raising a brow as she looked at the behemoth. "It means he won't be vulnerable as long as most children are."

"I know." John gave a small smile as he met the ballerina's gaze, nodding in agreement. "But the thing is… he's my first. And Hell or not, I'm not ready for my boy to become a man that quickly."

That, Carmilla understood all too well. She still remembered the days that she would take Clara and Odette through the park. She remembered every morning when they'd be sitting in the kitchen, chatting away and eating breakfast as her children told her all about new things they'd learned and new interests they'd found.

She missed those days, just like any parent. The days when she would pick her children up in her arms and shield them from the world. The days when laughter was abound and her children were always filled with joy.

But the world didn't work like that.

"My advice? Enjoy the time you have left." Carmilla offered, unconsciously bringing a hand up and resting it on the behemoth's forearm. When he raised a questioning eyebrow, she elaborated. "You can't stop your child from growing, but you can make memories while you have the chance."

John's gaze lingered for a moment, staring at her as he mulled over her words, before a small smile took over his expression.

"I appreciate that advice." John spoke with a slight nod. "Thank you."

It wasn't often that Carmilla Carmine received genuine, heartfelt gratitude. Admittedly, the Overlord was very unused to it.

Nonetheless, she maintained her composure, and offered an ever so slight nod of her own in response. "Of course."

"You know, we have our differences, but you ain't so bad." Carmilla could almost hear the sincerity in his words. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but to take the chance to tease him.

"You could've said that before ravishing me for two hours."

"You talk like I forced you into it."

"No, I was willing. You still ravished me, though."

John gave a playful eyeroll, and Carmilla let a small laugh escape her at the demon's expense.

"Don't worry, though." She added as she allowed herself to lay back down on the bed, resting her head on a pillow as she closed her eyes and let a content sigh escape her. "You were still far better than any lover I've had before."

Having said her piece, Carmilla had fully intended to simply relax now that her stress was gone for the time being.

It was quiet for a moment, until her eyes shot wide open as she felt the bed sink under her, and she found herself looking into a pair of piercing blue hues that were inches from her own face.

Hues twisted in amusement.

"Think you got enough in you for another round?"

Carmilla simply stared for a moment, before she smirked. An oversized hand tossed the cover off, and she spread her legs as an invitation.

"Perhaps."

"Okay, I just got off the phone with John." Vaggie announced as she turned back to the others still gathered in the lobby.

Considering John had been gone for well over two hours by this point, Bee and Vortex had long since left, though Vortex had instructed Charlie to make sure John called him after he received a phone call.

After two hours of nothing, Vaggie couldn't help but to worry for the behemoth's well-being, even despite knowing he could take care of himself. When Charlie had started to worry as well, and Leo had grown restless, the moth had been half tempted to march out and drag him back herself.

It had taken Charlie advising her to call him instead that had changed that decision.

And once he'd filled her in (Vaggie had to resist the urge to find and strangle Carmilla Carmine), John had assured her that he was on his way back to inform everyone.

Well, mainly Charlie and Vaggie herself.

"What's he have to say about that Angelic Security thing?" Angel asked from his spot next to Vanessa on the sofa. Charlie currently sat with Leo on the other, having been dragged into a game of Mario Kart with the two children.

Well, child and teen if one wanted to be specific.

Sidenote, Vaggie wanted to know where the hell Charlie had found a game system with the same functions and none of the drawbacks of a VoxBox.

"He said he'd tell us more when he gets back, but for now, all we need to know is that it isn't anything bad." Vaggie answered as she came to a stop next to the couch Charlie and Leo occupied, propping her arm on it and relaxing against it as she met the spider's gaze.

"Vox is involved and John said it isn't bad?" Vanessa commented off-handedly, shaking her head in amusement even as she easily maintained first place on her game. "The world is ending."

"And what about Carmilla?" Charlie asked, turning towards Vaggie and completely ignoring the game for a moment as she raised an eyebrow. "If she didn't give him any trouble, why'd it take him so long?"

At the question, Vaggie help neither the way her eye began to twitch, or the way her hand suddenly clenched atop the back of the couch.

She didn't miss Charlie's brow furrow in confusion, nor the concern in her eyes, and she definitely didn't miss the weird look Angel gave her when she did it. But nonetheless, it took Vaggie only a moment to regain her bearings, even if her frustration was still evident.

"Because they slept together." If it weren't for the child in the room, the words that a accompanied her annoyed sigh would've likely been much more vulgar as the moth brought a hand to her head. "Apparently, that's what they've been doing for the past two hours."

"I could've gone all day without hearing that!" The game was now lost on Vanessa as well as the succubus recoiled in disgust, covering her eyes as if she was about to claw them out at the mental image in her head.

The only person left in the game now was Leo, who was looking at his fellow players in confusion and slight disappointment as he took first place with a small frown.

"Are we still playing?" He asked, glancing at the two with a furrowed brow. At the sound of his voice, Vanessa immediately jumped back into the game, frantically trying to take first place.

Charlie began to play once more, but her attention was still more on Vaggie than the game itself as the utter shock ran through her at the moth's revelation.

And why wouldn't it? John had left determined to learn about a possible looming threat, and had ended up screwing his source for the next couple of hours.

Not even mentioning that it hurt.

Vaggie knew it shouldn't. After all, she and Charlie were still together, and the moth wouldn't give Charlie up for the world. Not even mentioning that John had no such feelings for Vaggie herself, and he did have the right to sleep with whichever willing adult he could find.

But it didn't change the fact that Vaggie's feelings for him were very real, complicated or not, and it genuinely hurt to know that he'd spent literal hours fucking somebody else.

Perhaps it was because there was a part of her, deep down, hidden behind her love for Charlie, that wished for John to desire her that way. To like her that way.

To… to look at her that way.

But unfortunately for the moth, there wasn't a single shred of blame to be assigned to anyone. She was with Charlie, and she wouldn't ever change that, and John was a single man who'd never so much as looked in her direction like that.

Considering Vaggie's original disposition towards the behemoth, she wouldn't be surprised if he was repulsed at the idea. Why go for the girl who wouldn't even spit in your direction for nothing more than simply not knowing you?

Despite every single fact, though, the moth couldn't get rid of the hurt she felt in her very core. She almost felt betrayed, and a part of her wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or scream.

Unfortunately, neither was nor ever would be an option until she was alone and well out of John's hearing range.

"Wait a fucking second! John fucked Carmilla Carmine?!" Of course, leave it to Angel to not give damn about what he said, and Vaggie made sure he knew that comment wasn't appreciated when she shot him a seething glare. "What? The kid's definitely heard worse out of his dad's mouth."

"Yeah, fuck doesn't begin to cover it." Leo commented off-handedly with a shrug, earning him looks of completely and utter shock from everyone at the way he so casually swore. A few seconds later, however, his eyes flew wide in panic as he seemed to realize what he'd said, and immediately turned face Vaggie. "I didn't mean to say that out loud, please don't tell Dad!"

"Calm down, killer, I'm not gonna say anything." Vaggie assured with a playful eyeroll, ruffling the sinnerborn's hair before pointing towards the TV. "Might want to focus though, Vanessa just passed you."

"What?!"

"Hah!"

Vaggie let a quiet laugh escape her, shaking her head in amusement at the resident children's antics. At least there were some distractions from her currently warring emotions.

"Getting off of that topic, did he tell you anything else?" Charlie asked, sparing her girlfriend a quick glance before refocusing on the game to appease the child next to her.

"Not too much." Vaggie answered with a shake of her head. "He did mention that the Overlords were interested in him, but he wouldn't tell me why. He said he wanted to see our reactions."

"Oh boy." Was Charlie's simple response, shaking her head with a small smile on her face.

"I'm still stuck on the whole Carmine thing." Angel admitted, shaking his head in disbelief. Vaggie couldn't help but to roll her eye at the spider's lack of care in the slightest.

"Well, stay stuck on it!" Vanessa piped up, glaring daggers at the spider as she narrowed her eyes. "I do not need that image in my head!"

"Yeah yeah, John's your brother, anyway," Angel waved off the succubus, but Vaggie didn't miss the amused smile on his face as he eyed his companion. "You're telling me you ain't curious?"

"Nope." Vanessa immediately answered without a moment's hesitation, shaking her head vigorously in an effort to keep out any unwanted thoughts.

"And anyone who is can ask when Leo isn't in the same room." Vaggie made sure to enunciate her words, making it clear in no uncertain terms that any further talk of John's sex life at all was completely off the table for the moment.

Angel raised an unamused eyebrow in response.

"And if I don't?"

Vaggie's simple response was to brandish her spear.

Luckily for the spider, it would seem that luck was on his side, as a few seconds later the entire Hotel was shaking all around them. Accompanying that was the sound of something slamming into the ground outside.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who it was, as a few seconds later, the lobby doors were opened and the familiar massive frame of John came through the doors.

"Thank god!" Vanessa threw her hands up and heaved a sigh of relief as the behemoth approached, gaining a look of confusion in response as the succubus threw her hands towards Angel. "This one wants to keep talking about your sex life, and I don't want to hear it!"

At that, a look of realization dawned on the behemoth, before he threw his head back and let a laugh escape him in amusement.

"Well don't worry, you won't hear any of the details." John assured her, chuckling slightly and he turned his gaze to Angel. "Anyway, turns out Angelic Security isn't the start of something bad."

"Vaggie said something like that." Charlie answered rather than Angel, forgetting the game for the moment and setting down her controller as she turned to look at John. "So what is it?"

"Damn thing's a peace offering." John answered with a grin as he turned to face the Princess. "The Overlords know they can't do jackshit to me, so they want to make me an ally."

"Hah!" Angel let a weird laugh/snort combination escape him, shaking his head in amusement as he returned the behemoth's gaze. "They want you to be their friend?!"

"That's the gist of it, yeah." John answered with a nod. "Carmilla wanted me to come up to their next meeting, at least give them a chance to make a case for why I should ally with them." He elaborated further, shaking his head slightly as an amused sigh escaped him.

"Why do they want to be your friend?" Vaggie asked, raising an eyebrow as she pushed away from the couch and stood up straight. "What do you have to offer them?"

"Like I said, it's not about what I can offer. Its what they can do to… 'placate' me." John answered, looking down at the moth with a small grin. "They're wanting to nullify me as a threat, and since force isn't an option in the slightest…"

"They want to go the peaceful route." Vaggie finished, figuring it out for herself, before letting a small chuckle escape her. "Wow. You've got every Overlord in Hell scared out of their mind."

"I wouldn't go that far." John disagreed with a shake of his head. "Funny enough, that was the reason Carmilla made her offer."

"Wait, offer?" Angel asked, his multicolored eyes flying wide in surprise at that one. "What offer?"

"At first, I wasn't gonna do it in the slightest." John began as he moved away from behind the couch, walking over and taking a seat on one of the recliners. "Me and Carmilla got into it pretty bad, actually. Next thing I know, she's offering sex in return for coming up to their next meeting."

"Please tell me you didn't make a deal, John." Charlie couldn't have helped the concern if she'd tried, Vaggie knew that. The moth couldn't help her own relief either when John simply chuckled and shook his head.

"No powers, no shaking of hands or anything." John assured them with a small smile. "All she's got to go on is my word."

"So you're not going then?" Vanessa asked, only for the behemoth to shake his head in response.

"I'm a man of my word, Ness. You know that." John reminded the succubus with a small chuckle. "I'm going, especially considering what I got out of it."

"Tex wasn't kidding, you really are a whore." Angel commented with a laugh, earning him a middle finger in response.

"Do you think it'll create any problems for the Hotel?" Vaggie asked, a small bit of concern welling up inside of her. If the Hotel were to come under fire from any of the Overlords, that would make things a thousand times harder than they need to be.

Luckily, John shook his head, offering a reassuring smile to everyone as he did so.

"What are they gonna do? They're all too scared, and for the time being, they can't attack so long as Leo is here."

"Why?" Leo asked, alert at the mention of his name and curious as to why he was important in the matter.

"None of your business." John answered, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at his son. "All you need to know, little buddy, is that no one wants to mess with you." He offered the boy a small wink, and Leo smiled eagerly at the small praise.

Though, Vaggie knew it was actually for a different reason, she wouldn't ruin the moment in the slightest. In fact, she had a small smile on her face.

It was always nice, in her opinion, seeing how nice John was with his son. A sinner in Hell, and he breaks every single expectation one would have for the child of a demon. Not even mentioning how wholesome it was.

"So did you have fun, at least?" Angel asked, a cheeky grin taking his expression over as he glanced at the behemoth. "Come on, details man!"

"Not in front of my son, hell no." John refused, shaking his head with a slight chuckle. Leo looked ready to question why, and Vaggie placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head when the boy turned to look at her.

"You don't want to know." Vaggie advised with a small smile. "Even if you were old enough to understand, you still wouldn't." She added with a small chuckle.

"Hey, while it's in my mind, did Bee and Tex have anything to say while I was gone?" John asked, glancing at Charlie and Vaggie with a curious smile.

Charlie let her eyes go wide as she remembered what Vortex had asked of her, and nodded her head in response. "Vortex said you needed to call him." The Princess answered, causing the behemoth's brow to furrow in confusion. "He said it was important."

"If it was important, why didn't he tell me when he got here?" John couldn't help but to ask, a dismayed expression on his face. "That don't sound like Tex."

"Well, he did get a phone call from someone else while they were here." Vaggie informed the behemoth, causing him to turn his gaze to her. "He tried to sound happy, but he definitely didn't look it by the end of the phone call."

"Huh…" John nodded his head in understanding, before standing to his feet and pulling out his phone without a word.

They all watched as he turned and absently made his way down the hall, swiping away at his phone as he made his way down the hall.

As the behemoth disappeared from sight, Vaggie couldn't help the feeling of dismay that swept over her.

Just like that, John was gone. And Vaggie couldn't do anything about how much it hurt.

"Hello?"

The first thing John noticed was just how worried Vortex sounded. It was very unlike the usually laid back hellhound he called brother, and while the behemoth found himself suffering a short internal struggle over his next words… well he wasn't usually one to beat around the bush.

"Hey Tex, it's me." John greeted the hellhound, his brow furrowing as the audible concern in Vortex's voice caused him develop concerns of his own. "Charlie said you wanted me to call you. Is everything good?"

"Uh… well… look, first, how's that Angelic Security thing going?" Well, that sounded much more like Vortex. When the hound was uncomfortable, he had a knack with trying to either move the conversation away from the subject, or just outright punching someone if they pushed him.

Considering option two wasn't exactly an option at all at the moment, John figured he'd humor his friend for the moment.

"It's a peace offering." The behemoth answered with an eye roll. "The Overlords are scared of having me as an enemy or a loose cannon, so they're trying acts of goodwill as a peace offering."

"Wait, so that Angelic Security thing actually works?" Vortex questioned, his worry replaced with confusion and surprise.

John simply chuckled. "Not as advertised. Probably ain't actually killing any angels."

"Aw… well shit."

"Alright, enough avoiding the conversation." John's expression changed to match the stern tone of his voice as he moved the conversation back to its original topic. "I know you Tex, so you're either terrified of whatever you're gonna tell me, or you're scared of my reaction."

"Yeah… it's a bit of both honestly." Vortex admitted with a sigh, and John could almost see the hellhound rubbing his head in much the same way the behemoth himself would. "Uh… oh Satan, this shouldn't be as scary as it is-"

"Gimme the phone." The familar voice of Bee took over the phone, along with the sound of said device changing hands, before John found himself speaking to the Sin herself. "You there, big guy?"

"Yeah." John answered. Hopefully Bee could give him the answers Vortex was too scared to give.

"Okay, so did Vortex ever mention Loona?"

After a few moments, John's eyes widened in recognition at the name, before he nodded his head despite talking over a phone rather than in person.

"I think Tex mentioned her here and there back at Lu Lu World." John recalled some of the conversations they'd had. "Some anti-social hound, right?"

"Yeah, and did he mention her occupation?"

"No."

Well, the way Bee sighed in response to that certainly didn't put him on edge at all.

"She's an assassin. She works for some company in Imp City, Immediate Murder something." Bee explained, and John found himself raising an eyebrow at that.

"No offense, Bee, but how exactly does that matter to me?" Sure, John didn't like that particular fact, but as Carmilla had said, not everyone had his power. Everyone had to survive where they could, and this company was clearly too far away from the behemoth's life in general.

So considering how worried the two of them were, John was admittedly getting more and more antsy with every second that ticked by.

"Well… the thing is… they um…"

This time, John could no longer hide his annoyance.

"Spit it out, already!" John was a little louder than he'd intended, but he was confident that the message had been received as Bee let a small sigh escape her.

"They specialize in assassinating humans."

The moment the words left her mouth… every single bit of John's forward momentum came to a sudden and screeching halt as the behemoth froze.

There was no way he could've heard that right. He knew that demons snuck up to the living world all the time, even sinners, but making an actual business out of killing them? That had to attract attention, if not from Lucifer himself, then definitely from Heaven.

And yet, he knew Bee. She didn't fumble with her words, she said what she meant.

Which begged one simple question…

If Heaven was so dead set on killing demons every year… why wouldn't they do anything about demons killing humans?

Or did they really not notice? Or perhaps they simply didn't care.

They didn't care that Vortex's mom had been a hellborn demon, so John supposed they wouldn't care about demons killing humans either.

A bit of a leap in logic, but at this point, John wouldn't put it past Heaven. Especially not where a certain gold-dressed prick was concerned.

"John?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." John assured, shaking himself from his stupor as he refocused on the conversation at hand. "So are you asking me to take care of that issue, or-"

"Well, actually, we were going to ask you to be… a bit more forgiving about it. Vortex really cares about this girl, and he doesn't want you to hurt her."

"Then what's the point in telling me anything?" John couldn't help but to ask. "If he's that scared that I'm gonna hurt the girl, then why-"

"Huh?" The questioning tone in Bee's voice cut John off as he listened. It sounded like Vortex and Bee were once again talking to each other. "Babe, are you sure? I can… alright, here you go."

John heard the familiar sound of Vortex's voice as the hellhound let out a sigh on the other side, while the behemoth simply stood with an eyebrow raised in confusion.

And then Vortex spoke.

"I… I needed to tell you. Their next hit is a list of five people."

"Okay…"

"She uh… she didn't give me all names… but the main priority is…"

"Oh for fuck's sake, spit it Vortex!" John finally snapped, the familiar guttural gravel in his voice as he let his frustration take hold. "What's the big deal?"

"John… their primary target is your girlfriend."

Considering John was single, he found himself rolling his eyes in annoyance at Vortex's continued suspense.

Then the cogs in John's brain pieced it all together.

This friend of Vortex's, this Loona, worked for an assassination company that specializes in humans. And their next target was John's girlfriend.

John only had one living girlfriend. Let alone one girlfriend who'd ever been human.

Maddie.

They heard it before they felt it. Loud, thunderous booms rocked the Hotel, and Vanessa felt her ears begin to vibrate. They came at such a rapid pace, almost everyone knew who it was immediately.

"He must be excited-" Angel seemed to have been going for a smart comment. However, he spoke too late as the booms reached their apex.

Vanessa watched as the familiar massive frame of John Gallagher came barreling out of the hall like a freight train, bolting straight to the door without stopping once. He moved with a swiftness that belied both his powerful footsteps and his lumbering size, and Vanessa let a scream escape her along with everyone else as the behemoth refused to slow his pace, causing him to completely demolish the Hotel entrance.

"JESUS!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"HOLY SHIT!"

"¡MALDITO INFIERNO!"

Leo immediately jumped towards Charlie, wrapping his arms around her waist as the Princess immediately shielded him from any possible debris. Vanessa found herself being tugged back, and found Angel's form shielding her as well.

Pictures fell from the walls, clattering and some of them shattering upon the ground as tables and decorations hit the unforgiving floor.

Vaggie immediately brandished her spear, holding a defensive position as she instinctively aimed the weapon towards John.

"What the fuck?!" Angel shouted as the shaking stopped, immediately sitting back up and turning to face John in disbelief, while Vanessa found herself staring at the behemoth herself in shock.

Why would John barge through the entrance like that? Why was he in such a hurry when he's only just gotten back? These questions flew through Vanessa's mind at the speed of sound, as she watched the heaving form of someone she'd come to see as an elder sibling.

John was always so gentle. It was the one thing that was always consistent with him. There was always little to no pressure any time she'd felt his touch, and despite the large size of his hands compared to the average demon, he did everything with such grace that one would think it's some kind of illusion.

And yet, the beast currently standing outside of the destroyed Hotel entrance was the very same man.

"What the hell was that?!" Husk's familiar voice rang out as he came running down the opposite hallway, taking not time to spot the damage to the entrance as John immediately bolted off once more. "What the fuck happened?!"

"John just came rolling through like hell on wheels!" Angel answered, his voice it's more natural deep timber, standing up off the couch as Vanessa still watched in stunned shock as John sprinted further away and pushed his massive frame into the air as if he weighed nothing.

That… that couldn't be John. Right?

Vanessa felt her throat was closing, air seemingly growing harder to gain as a familiar sense of dread swept over her.

Something was wrong. That wasn't John.

Well, it was. Just not the John she knew.

The John that Vanessa had come to know in the last three months was a big softie. A gentle giant with a big heart.

The John that Vanessa had come to know was someone she could talk to. Someone who didn't judge her, who didn't make her feel like a burden, like a pathetic little girl who couldn't even protect herself.

The John that Vanessa had come to know would tease her, would make jokes with her. He'd sneak up behind her and tickle her or scare her, and then make up for it with video games or movie marathons.

The John that Vanessa had come to know… was the one she called brother.

The John that had just bulldozed an entire hotel wall and left nothing but rubble… Vanessa didn't see anything resembling the man she knew.

She really, really wanted John right now. To calm her down, make her feel better.

She felt… vulnerable.

The unfortunately familiar sense of panic was beginning to build.

She needed John right now.

"What the Devil was that?!" Alastor's familiar voice lacked it's usual radio filter, a genuine expression of surprise on his face as he manifested himself into the lobby.

"John went fucking psycho and demolished a wall!" Vaggie answered, muttering to herself in Spanish as she turned towards Charlie. "What the hell did Vortex tell him?!"

"I don't know!" Charlie replied, shaking her head frantically as she looked at Vaggie in absolute bewilderment. "I didn't think it was something that would make him do that!" She gestured towards the now destroyed wall with wide-eyes.

The whole conversation may as well have been white noise in Vanessa's ears.

The succubus gripped her head as she found herself hyperventilating. Only one clear thought was in her mind.

She wanted John.

She wanted John.

She. Wanted. JOHN!

What happened next, Vanessa could only describe as something surreal.

A large, purple smoke seemingly materialized out of absolutely nowhere, encompassing Vanessa in less than a second and covering her vision in complete darkness.

It was a little difficult to really understand what was going on at first as the succubus suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness, the darkness fading as quickly as it arrived as Vanessa found herself staring up at the familiar red pentagram across the sky of Hell's pride ring.

Wind blew in her ears like a roaring tornado, and the succubus found herself flailing around in an attempt to at least figure out what was going on.

Her heart sunk as she found herself catching a glimpse under her, only to find herself facing the quite far off but rapidly approaching desert ground.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

An ear-piercing scream that barely broke through the wind in her ears was the only thing Vanessa could think to do as she found herself in free fall. Even when she felt herself impact with something not long after, it was all the succubus could do.

And then her momentum suddenly shifted, the sound of grunting in her ears as she felt a mass slam into her utterly hysterical form.

What had even happened?! One second, Vanessa is sitting on one of the lobby's couches, and the very next she finds herself in free fall in the middle of the desert.

She didn't even really process when her feet touched the ground, her hands coming up to grip a pair of large masses that were currently touching her shoulders, instincts pushing her to tear them off.

And then… a familiar voice broke through the haze.

"VANESSA!"

The familiar graveling rumble tore through Vanessa's ears as the succubus found herself snapping to attention, her gaze snapping around to take in her current situation more clearly.

She was… on the ground. And she wasn't hurt.

A few panicked breaths escaped her as Vanessa slowly turned her gaze forward…

And found herself staring at the terrified and utterly stunned face of John Gallagher.

"J-John?!" Her nerves were utterly fried, and the teen found herself pushing away from John, causing the behemoth to release her as he stood to his feet. "What the fuck?!"

"You're asking me?!" John asked in disbelief, swinging around and gesturing to the rocky terrain around them. "I left you at the Hotel, where the fuck did you come from?!" The utter astonishment on the behemoth's face would've been utterly comical in any other situation.

"I don't-!" Vanessa immediately went to respond, but her current state of stress made that rather difficult, fumbling over her words as her eyes bounced between looking at the behemoth in front of her and looking up at the sky where they'd come from. "I-I-I don't know!"

"What do you mean you don't know?!" It was clear that even the behemoth himself was currently freaking out. Whether because of the situation at the moment, or whatever had him in a frenzy at the Hotel. "People don't just pop up out of thin air!"

"Gee, you think?!" Vanessa couldn't help the spike in anger as she turned her frantic gaze to the goliath. "One second, I'm at the Hotel, and the next, I'm a hundred feet in the air! How am I supposed to know what happened?!"

"You did it!"

"No shit!"

"Oh for fuck's sake, I don't have time for this shit!" John snapped, throwing his hands up in exasperation before once again scooping Vanessa back up into his arms. "Hang on tight!" He advised, ignoring the succubus' struggles as he crouched down low.

"No, I'm not- AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Vanessa's words were cut off once more as John's powerful legs pushed off the ground, rocketing them into the air, and clearing far more height in a second than what she had suddenly teleported to.

She had no time to really think or do anything, hanging onto John for dear life and screaming at the top of her lungs as the two soared through the air at tremendous speed.

When they reached the apex of the jump and began to go back to the ground, Vanessa's grip around the behemoth's neck tightened even further.

Whatever Vanessa had just done would have to wait, clearly, because John was obviously in a rush or he'd have taken her back to the Hotel.

She could only hope that wherever they were going, all this jumping would be over soon.