BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP

A tired groan emanated throughout the small bedroom as Maddie tiredly raised her head, her fatigue making it difficult for her to find and slam her hand down on the infernal device making so much noise.

"Shut up…" The blonde muttered, her hand smacking against her nightstand a few times before finally landing atop the clock with a harsh crack.

The woman lifted herself up, smacking her lips and gagging in disgust as she felt a strand of her bed head hair within her mouth.

"Blegh, ew, why?" Maddie muttered to herself as she pulled her hair free of it's toothy prison, running a few hands through her hair and trying to brush it back out of her face.

A high pitched moan escaped the mouth of someone much smaller, a child, no older than three, that was sitting in the bed next to her. The blonde turned her attention to the source, and a loving smile found its way on her face.

"Mo…Mommy?" The small girl slowly brought a pair of small fists up to rub her eyes, before looking up at Maddie with a tired gaze. "Do I have to get up too?" She mumbled more than spoke, and the woman let a small giggle escape her.

"No, go back to bed, sweetie." Maddie assured her child, leaning down and planting a small kiss atop the long blonde hair that covered her child's head.

The child mumbled something incomprehensible, before letting a yawn escape her as she laid back down and went back to sleep.

Maddie let a small sigh escape her as she twisted herself off the bed, standing to her feet and pushing her arms out to stretch as a tired yawn escaped herself.

These six o'clock awakenings weren't doing her any favors in the energy department, but she supposed that's what a good breakfast was for.

A pair of quiet but audible footsteps entered Maddie's ears, and she turned around and glanced towards the doorway to her and Amara's bedroom to find a familiar form of an older man in the hall.

The frame of Bryan Gallagher was as imposing as ever. Skin that was rough from both age and work was covered by a plain shirt, dark gray, with a breast pocket that contained a pack of cigarettes and a lighter as always. A pair of faded blue jeans covered his legs, nicely complimented by a pair of work boots, and despite a visible gut, one would be forgiven for assuming it was a beer gut if not for how how well sculpted the man's arms alone were.

A hard worker through and through, as every Gallagher was.

The man's age had begun to show a little more. At a little over sixty, stress and work had halfway turned the man's hair to an almost gunmetal gray, and his eye sockets were beginning to sink ever so slightly, creating visible rings around his eyes.

But nonetheless, the man moved with the familiar grace of a cat but the rough movement of an old and weary man.

Nonetheless, he was as strong and as stout as an ox, and his habit of quite literally falling off roofs hadn't stopped, as he'd gained both his third and fourth in the last four years. Tough as nails and a very blunt tongue, a rough appearance belied the kind and comedic man he'd always been.

"Arcee still asleep?" His voice was gravely with age, but its deep pitch was still as smooth as a river.

Maddie smiled at the nickname. Ever since Amara had made it clear that her favorite superheroes were always and forever her favorite superheroes, something Maddie still questioned if it was technically accurate, Bryan had taken to calling his great granddaughter Arcee after the character.

As expected, Amara had absolutely loved the name.

"Yeah." Maddie nodding, glancing at her daughter once more even as she moved away from the bed and retrieved the clothes she'd set out the night before, before glancing at Bryan. "Give me just a second to get dressed. James and Shiela are off of school today, right?"

"Yep." Bryan's voice was as quiet as ever, making sure not to wake Amara as he answered as he jerked his thumb in the direction of the living room. "Debbie left the mail on the table."

"Did my package arrive?"

"I don't know. There's a big ass box out there with your name on it."

Maddie couldn't stop the snicker that escaped her. Bryan wasn't one for reading in the slightest, and his knowledge in mathematics didn't go past addition or subtraction, and good luck if you put any electronic past a flip phone or a calculator in front of him. Despite those limitations, the man has built or helped build ninety percent of the buildings one saw within fifty miles.

"Thanks, give me just a second to get dressed."

"Alrighty." Bryan nodded, turning away and stepping off of the first and only step out of the hall and into the kitchen. However, he stopped before he was completely out of sight. "Again, is pink really a good idea?"

Maddie simply raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather me wear my skirt?"

The man barked a laugh that startled Maddie, shaking his head as he turned away and retreated out of view as Maddie instinctively checked to make sure her daughter was still asleep.

Unsurprisingly, she was.

Both Bryan's wife, Debbie, and Maddie herself had gotten onto the old man about it. Unlike Debbie, however, Maddie recognized a pointless pursuit when she saw it.

There was no convincing someone when they were set in their ways.

No wonder John had always been so stubborn.

With a small laugh at the memories, Maddie stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and immediately changing out of her night clothes and into her work clothes.

Despite the Gallagher couple's reassurances, Maddie had refused to let herself be a stay at home mom when Amara was born. Though she'd admittedly love to spend every second with her daughter, it was Maddie's job to provide for her child. No one else's.

A sentiment she felt as if only one other person had truly understood.

Once she was dressed and had brushed her hair, she stepped out of the bathroom, tossing her clothes upon the same chair she'd used to set out her work clothes. She made her way back over to her side of the bed, a side Amara now half occupied as she snuggled into a pillow, and picked up her necklace from atop her nightstand.

The woman found herself flipping open the small locket at the end of the necklace, and a bittersweet smile formed on her face as she took in the picture.

It was an old picture, taken when Maddie was sixteen. She still remembered how the picture had come to be.

John had managed to talk Peter into sneaking Maddie and himself over to New York for a quick visit. Maddie had wanted a picture of John and herself under the tree.

It hadn't gone as intended. She'd originally wanted a picture of her and John hugging under the tree. Instead, she stared at their laughing faces as they sat against the tree, John tickling her without any remorse.

She found her eyes focusing on that smile, that smile that she missed so dearly.

Losing John had been hard, what with finding out she was pregnant only a month later when she'd realized she'd been late, and the woman still wished that the boy she'd fallen for as a teenager was here.

But she'd always have a piece of him with her. Both in the form of the small tag attached to her necklace, one which resembled military dog tags with the notable difference of a single thumbprint, and in the form of his daughter.

Amara Jane Gallagher.

She wished that John had gotten to meet Amara, and to this day, Maddie made sure to regale her child with pictures and stories of the man her father had already been as a young boy.

A man of great courage and conviction, unafraid of getting dirty and the strength and willpower to save a thousand lives. Both figuratively and literally.

With a sigh, Maddie flipped the locket closed, before throwing it around her neck and clipping it together.

Once she'd slipped her boots on, steel toes as John had once recommended, she'd wasted no time in leaving the bedroom and making her way out through the kitchen and to the living room.

Though, not before giving her child one last farewell kiss.

"You said we should be finishing up the barn today, right?" Maddie asked Bryan, glancing at the man sitting in his recliner, picking at his short, stubby nails as she sat down and grabbed the hair tie on the coffee table.

"Yep." Bryan nodded with a small smile, glancing over at the blond as she began to gather up her hair behind her head. "Just gotta get the sheet metal on up top, and the we'll be done."

"Well, JB is paying thirteen bucks an hour." Maddie pointed out with a shrug as she applied her hair tie, keeping her hair up in a ponytail as she quite literally tucked the loose strands into her shirt.

The blonde had unfortunately learned that this particular setup was far more preferable to tying her hair into an uncomfortable bun.

"Yeah." Bryan nodded his head in acknowledgment as he turned his gaze back to the TV, watching his favorite show.

Maddie could admit that she'd come to appreciate the old westerns that Bryan absolutely adored, and had found surprising favorites in the form of Gunsmoke and Bonanza.

Now that Maddie was dressed, and realizing that Bryan really had nothing more to say since he was more focused on his show, she stood to her feet and made her way over to the kitchen table.

Upon seeing the large box that the old man had told her about, Maddie immediately grabbed her pocket knife from where it sat on the counter, flipping it open and slicing open the tape before folding open the flaps.

She pulled out what may as well have been a ball of bubble wrap, and she slipped her knife into her rear pocket before proceeding to rip apart the now useless material.

She wasn't the frail girl she used to be. Two and a half years of working construction with Bryan had helped her build some muscle. Tack onto that her determination to stay fit and in good health, and the woman Maddie had become was quite the improvement if she said so herself.

She pulled away the remaining bubble wrap as if it were the remains of gift wrap, and a small smile once again overtook her face as she laid eyes on her newest possession.

Or rather, Amara's newest possession.

It was a small teddy bear, custom made, that Amara had helped her design. A small cloth flannel was sown over a white patch that acted as an undershirt. A blue sewn on cloth mimicked a pair of jeans as well, and a small little pair of rubber cowboy boots were on the ends of the feet.

Amara had been asking her for a teddy bear, and Maddie had thought that designing one would be a fun activity to do with her daughter, so she'd saved up the money to buy custom one at a reasonable price.

What she hadn't expected, however, was for Amara to run off when asked what she wanted the plush to look like. And the return moments later with a picture of her dad.

She flipped the doll over, and smiled at her own small addition to the bear. On the back, in big gold lettering, was a quote John had made once.

Everyone is special to somebody. -Daddy

Even if Amara was old enough to fully comprehend what was written, she knew enough to know exactly what the big bold letters spelling 'Daddy' meant.

"What do you think?" Maddie asked aloud, glancing up at Bryan with a smile as she turned the doll to show him. The old man glanced over when she spoke, and the cracked skin and gray hair of his eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw the teddy bear in her hands.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Bryan commented with a laugh, standing to his feet with a broad smile on his face as he walked through the conjoined rooms, coming to a stop next to Maddie as he eyed the bear. "Is that supposed to be John?"

"Amara designed it." Maddie admitted as she too turned to look at the plush toy, smiling at the small stitched face of the bear. "I thought it would be a fun little activity, design it with her. But when I got around to finally doing it, she grabbed the picture of John off the fridge and said to make it look like Daddy." She explained as she glanced up at the man once more, who barked out a hearty laugh in response.

"Little junebug never got to meet her dad, and she looks up to him already." Bryan commented as he came down from his laughter, still studying the plush in fascination. "The shit you can do these days…" As someone who was self proclaimed 'computer stupid', the Gallagher patriarch was not afraid to allow his amazement to show at the things in life that Maddie had found normal.

"You know she plays those computer games of him?" Maddie revealed, gaining Bryan's attention. "She even wants to go see that movie coming out. Says she wants to see if they 'did her daddy justice'."

When John had died, everyone whom had a central part in his life had agreed to sit down and decide whether to reveal the truth to the world.

That John Gallagher and the Juggernaut had been one in the same.

It had taken a while, as everyone was still pretty divided on which one John would've wanted. Considering he'd never actually discussed it, even while on his deathbed, had made that difficult.

To make a hard decision even harder, everyone knew that if John had wanted his identity revealed, that would include even the gory details of some of his missions. He wasn't one to shy away from the truth, no matter how much he may have hated it, and he'd have wanted to make sure the world knew that his job hadn't just been fun and games.

Eventually, Maddie herself had made the deciding vote, and despite some initial backlash towards the gruesome and violent details… John had become an icon.

The U.S government even had the house labeled a historical site due to John's relevance as the first public superhuman, even if his real identity hadn't been known, or even his existence truly.

In that time… well media was media, and in the four years since John's passing, many companies had tried to adapt the Juggernaut in various ways. He even had a highly rated video game that Amara loved to play.

Juggernaut: Engine of Vengeance.

Granted, James was mostly to blame for that, but Maddie still allowed it to pass if only because it was a game about her father.

Otherwise, T for Teen would've been a very hard no.

It was hard, sometimes, for Maddie to go somewhere and see some kind of reminder of her lost love. But it was made somewhat easier with the fact that most of the world viewed him as a hero. Not in the sense of a superhero… but as if he were a military veteran.

Sure, there was the occasional hater- and Maddie had done it again, if the rough hand around her shoulders was any indication.

"You know he'd have loved this little thing, right?" Bryan asked, giving her shoulder a reassuring pat as he offered her a comforting smile.

Maddie nodded her head in agreement. He certainly would've.

"But not as much as he'd have loved Amara."

"Alright pal, you know how this part works, right?" Blitzo asked, sitting in his office chair with his usual shit-eating grin as he stared at their latest client.

Business had been a bit slow lately. I.M.P hadn't gotten that many contracts in the past few months, and they were taking any customer they could get.

Ever since the whole D.H.O.R.K.S debacle, they'd been a lot more careful on missions. If a human government was actually keeping an eye on demons, then keeping a low profile was absolutely nonnegotiable.

Which sucked. Because even Blitzo didn't do 'low-profile'.

The client, snake sinner of some sort, let a small sigh escape him as he shook his head in frustration.

The sinner was different from others of his kin. Most snake sinners looked more like half-snake half-human monstrosities. However, this one was a bit different.

His body seemed relatively normal, dressed in a pair of pristine blue jeans, ornately designed shoes poking out from under them. Upon his chest, the sinner wore small green vest atop a silver shirt. And when Blitzo said silver, he meant pristine, metallic, and shiny.

Instead of a regular neck, however, it looked as if somebody had haphazardly attached half of a snake onto a person's head. Because from the neck, two feet up to the top of the head, there was nothing but a rattlesnake. And swaying behind the man was a long, tan colored tail that ended with a rather large rattle at the tip.

"Am I actually going to get what I paid for, Blitz, or am I better finding someone else?" The client asked, a pair of burning yellow eyes staring down Blitzo's own as the sinner raised an eyebrow. "Because contrary to your belief, you're not my only option."

"Sure hun, so who are we killing?" Blitzo completely wrote off what he was positive was a bluff, cupping his hands together atop his desk as he grinned at the snake. "I don't have all day, and I do have other clients."

"If this is the way you act, I doubt that." The client retorted, grinning in slight amusement when Blitzo's own smile became a little more forced with irritation.

"Alright, Buddy, so you're a smartass, huh?" Blitzo asked, regaining what little composure he had as he stood to his feet, raising an eyebrow as he tried to look somewhat confident. "Well, daddy can work with smartass, so whatcha got?"

"Five targets." The sinner answered, raising an unamused brow of his own as he turned away from Blitzo, scrutinizing every single aspect of the dingy office.

The moment the words left the sinners mouth, Blitzo's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. With the rate they charged, that was actually quite a bit of money in one go. Plus any complications that could incur additional fees.

But…

"I don't know, that seems like quite a lot of people you want dead." And way too good to be true. "Can I ask why you hate them all so much?"

"That's not what I'm paying you for, is it?" The snake asked without missing a beat, turning to look at the with an amused grin. "Sorry, but I'm not like your other clients. No, your only business is who to kill."

Okay, condescending. Blitzo didn't like to work with condescending.

"Well, we have to know what we're getting into, wouldn't you say?" Blitzo retorted with a small chuckle, walking out from behind his desk. "I mean, if we go to kill your piece of shit target, and we don't know everything, that kind of causes way too many fucking problems."

"But aren't you the best assassins?"

Blitzo knew what the client was doing. After all, he'd done it many times to many people. Trying to stoke an ego, manipulate someone.

It didn't change the fact that is was working.

"Fuck yeah!" Blitzo answered, nodding eagerly with a grin. "We can kill any stupid human, because we're the fucking best!"

"Sure." The snake didn't seem to believe it in the slightest, but if he had any qualms about it, he left them unaddressed. "The names are Peter Wyling, Rachel Lauren, James and Sheila Guthrie, and Madison Thompson."

"Okay…" Blitzo was quiet for a moment, waiting for the client to provide more information. When the sinner remained silent, the imp raised an eyebrow. "And what else do I need to know?"

"Madison is the priority." The snake answered, once again turning away and examining the office as he continued to speak. "Kill her, and I'll still pay the price of three so long as you bring back proof."

Well, any complaints Blitzo may have had were quite quickly shut down after that.

"Why didn't you just lead with that?!" Blitzo asked, a broad grin on his face as he pulled the sinner into his side as if they were best friends, ignoring the look of confusion on the man's face. "Fuck, if you're that kind of man, we'll just kill the other four for the hell of it."

After all, the price for three people would definitely pay the bills and leave enough for a hefty payday for Blitzo and his employees… but mostly for Blitzo.

"Now, hold on one second." The man's words were calm, but it was clear he wasn't a fan of physical contact considering the way he quite literally elbowed Blitzo in the throat, leaving the imp struggling to breathe. "Here's your first lesson." The sinner spoke as if he were talking to a disobedient child, crouching down in front of the assassin with an unamused expression, staring yellow hues staring into pained eyes. "If you encounter Peter or Rachel, they become the priority if you want to escape."

"They're just humans, asshole!" His words were far less angry than he'd have liked, considering the wheezing currently accompanying it at the moment. "For fuck's sake, they aren't gonna be a threat!"

"That's where you are wrong." The sinner stood back to his feet, paying no attention to the struggling and recovering imp below him as he spoke. "If you do not catch either of them by surprise, you will. Not. Win." The snake took a few casual steps away, turning to face Blitzo with a raised eyebrow as he did so. "Your only hope will be to escape if they catch wind of you. Because against them, especially Peter, your entire team is hilariously outmatched in a straight fight."

"Sure." Blitzo's throat was a little scratchy, and the only thing keeping him from killing the client right now was the allure of a nice paycheck. However, he was no longer interested in any further information or conversation. "Now get the fuck out before I kill you instead."

The sinner stared at Blitzo for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders, turning away without a care in the world and make his way to the door.

However, as his hand came to rest upon the handle, he paused.

"One more thing." He added, turning back to Blitzo once more with an expression of complete seriousness. "If Peter armors up… run."

And with that final warning, the sinner left the room.

Leaving Blitzo alone.

"Asshole."

LATER THAT DAY

"Yes, Goddammit! She's right here with me." John growled in frustration as he spoke to Charlie over the phone. "I don't fucking know! I was coming down when she smacked into me, and she says all she remembers was wanting me."

Vanessa walked alongside the behemoth, watching as he spoke to the Princess. Considering his method of departure from the Hotel, and the fact that the succubus now seemed to be stuck with him on this little impromptu trip, if obviously hadn't start off very well.

In short, John and Charlie had ended up screaming at and over each other for a solid five minutes before Vaggie had cut in and told them both to behave.

"How the hell am I supposed to know, Charlie?" John asked in an annoyed response to whatever the previous question had been from the Princess, running a hand down his face as well. "It's probably an ability she got when she died." He went silent for a moment, before rolling his eyes in exasperation. "I don't know, maybe because Valentino owned her soul?" He spoke in a sarcastic tone, and Vanessa honestly wasn't sure why the behemoth seemed to be so agitated out of nowhere.

This really wasn't like John at all.

"Look, we're in Imp City, alright? I got something really fucking important that I need to take care of, and I don't have anywhere near the time to come all the way back." After another few seconds of silence, John lowered his head with another frustrated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, Charlie, this ain't a negotiation. I'm getting this shit done, so unless you've learned how to spin up portals between the Hotel stuff, Ness is stuck with me." After a few moments… well, Vanessa counted it as a win when the agitation left him, though she also considered the guilty look a loss.

How come every time John looked so guilty, Vanessa always lost the will to stay mad at him? Well, the succubus refused this time.

Even if she had to force herself to be mad.

Because until John explained why he'd demolished the Hotel entrance and gave her and nearly everybody else a heart attack, including his own son, he deserved every bit of ire directed at him.

"Look, I know I scared Leo, alright?" John admitted with a shake of his head. "You don't think I feel bad for that? Believe me, I wouldn't have barged out like that if I had been thinking straight, but I'm telling you, this is important."

Vanessa could only roll her eyes, crossing her arms and refusing to look at him even as she walked alongside him.

Though, when she caught site of a homeless demon on the street corner, blatantly playing with himself under his unbuttoned pants and underwear, she did take a step closer to the behemoth.

"Yeah, I know I owe everyone an explanation, but- oh for the love of god, can you just stop?!" John snapped once more, and Vanessa genuinely feared that another screaming match was about to commence.

Until John promptly growled and pulled the phone away from his ear, unceremoniously ending the call.

"Why can't you just tell us what it was?" Vanessa asked, turning to the behemoth with an angry look of her own. "You nearly destroyed the Hotel."

"Oh for the love of- not you too!" John groaned in defeat, throwing his hands up in the air in annoyance. "For fucks sake, when have I had the chance? I'm finally thinking straight again and everyone wants to keep interrupting me with questions."

"I didn't." Vanessa reminded the behemoth with a scowl, once again refusing to look at him as she continued to speak. "You just picked me up and scared the crap out of me."

"Look, I'm-" John paused when Vanessa pulled away from his shoulder with a huff, causing the behemoth to pull his hand back before letting out a sigh. "Look, I am sorry for jumping with you, like that."

"Real good job showing it." Vanessa retorted with a sardonic laugh. "I just teleported out of the city, I'm not even sure how I did it, and the one person who would usually be there to help is more concerned with scaring me half to death and then ignoring me for the last ten minutes."

"Look, Vortex got a call, alright?" John finally relented with a sigh, rubbing his finger against his temple in an effort to reduce his stress as Vanessa finally looked at him. "Some assination company is targeting Maddie and four other people."

Well, that, certainly changed things.

At first, Vanessa genuinely wanted to believe it was a flat faced lie just because she was mad at him. But as she saw the serious expression on his face and remembered that this was John fucking Gallagher she was talking to, she uncrossed her arms as her eyes widened, concern immediately beginning to override her anger.

"You don't mean a living person? Are you saying that some demons are going after your ex?" Vanessa asked in disbelief. When John nodded his head, glancing down at her, the succubus felt her heart sank.

There were companies like that? Dedicated to going to the living world and killing humans? Living people?

People who didn't even know they'd done anything wrong… or maybe did absolutely nothing wrong at all.

"Why didn't you just say that?" Vanessa asked, her brow furrowed in bafflement.

John's first response was a mirthless chuckle.

"Yeah, I'll remember that next time I'm panicking over the fact the the woman I care about most is being targeted for death by demons." John responded, sarcasm practically oozing from his words as he looked down at Vanessa. "It doesn't help that she's the main priority. Considering there's four other targets, I got the feeling they are all people I know."

Well, that certainly explained why John had left the way he did. It didn't excuse it, but it certainly explained.

Still…

"You should've at least told Leo-"

"I swear to god, if you tell me the same thing, Charlie did-"

"You'll what? Hit me?"

She wasn't usually this mouthy, even Vanessa herself could admit that. But despite knowing and understanding his reasons, it didn't change the fact that he'd probably just scared his child half to death, possibly traumatized him.

The succubus still wouldn't say John was a bad father… but it wasn't exactly some inconsequential fuck-up either.

And maybe she was still mad at him for scaring the life out of her.

Maybe.

John turned to look down at her, holding her gaze with a displeased look on his face… before suddenly smiling.

"Glad to see you're not as scared anymore." He commented, causing Vanessa's eyes to widen in surprise at the unexpected compliment.

Before her eyes narrowed.

"You're still in trouble."

"Yeah, yeah." The behemoth waved it off, causing Vanessa to sigh as she realized that John really didn't care about her anger.

Something which honestly irked her even more, but she supposed her annoyance with John at the moment would have to wait in light of current events.

"Should I be worried about getting dragged into some kind of trouble?" Vanessa couldn't help but to ask for her own peace of mind. She found herself feeling a little better when John shook his head.

"There might be trouble, but you won't be a part of any of it if I can help it." John assured, offering the still apprehensive succubus a similarly reassuring smile. "I told you I'd protect you."

Vanessa stared at John for a moment, before she finally relented, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "I'm still mad."

"I'm not to sure I'd feel better if you weren't." John admitted with a chuckle, only serving to annoy the succubus even more.

She took it back. She did not want John right now.

"Tex and Bee are meeting us there." John began, glancing down at the succubus with a blank look as he did so. "Since you're mad at me, you can hang out with them when we get there."

Well, that admittedly sounded far better than being around the behemoth at the moment, so Vanessa wasn't going to complain on that front.

"At least they aren't gonna destroy an entire section of a building-"

"Do not put that shit on me right now!" John finally snapped, stopping dead in his tracks as he spun around to face the succubus. Vanessa actually found herself jumping at that sudden shift in tone, admittedly. "I'll be the first to admit that I fucked up, and the last thing I need right now is to get distracted because of it-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." The childish part of Vanessa felt a small sense of accomplishment at her words, as she watched John's lips tighten and his eyes go wide in fury, but it didn't last long as he flicked a dismissive hand at her.

Her eyes widened and she did feel a smidgen of regret when John's pace grew faster, moving at a brisk walk.

"Hold on- wait up!" Her words fell on deaf ears as she rushed to stay with John, a task which was much more difficult than the succubus would like when one considered the size difference. John's quick strides were much harder to keep pace with compared to her much shorter legs. "John!"

"What?" John asked, his tone flooded with feigned ignorance, as he glanced back at the succubus with a raised eyebrow without even stopping. "You're mad at me, and you're pissing me off. I'd say a bit of distance would be good." He didn't even blink, turning to face forward once more as Vanessa continued to struggle just to keep up.

"Hey- John!" It was clear the behemoth wasn't listening, and Vanessa felt a small pang of shame as she realized that she had indeed egged him for nothing more than her own amusement.

It was entirely overshadowed by her anger, however.

The succubus felt her fanged canines tugging against her bottom teeth as she came to a stop, glaring at the back of John's head as she found herself quite literally seething in anger.

Important or not, and provoked or not, John was acting like a literal child, and Vanessa was sick of it.

She didn't know what exactly urged her to do it, but the next thing she knew… she was quite literally ripping a public mailbox next to her from its foundations and throwing it at John.

She watched the large piece of metal slam into John's head with an audible bang, folding around him as the behemoth came to a dead stop, every muscle going stiff as he stood in place.

And Vanessa… she let it all out.

"You're being a FUCKING DICK!" Vanessa yelled as loud as her lungs would allow as John slowly turned his stunned gaze to face her. "What is wrong with you?! I get it, people are in danger, but you couldn't have stopped for five fucking seconds to open a damn DOOR?!" She wasn't even sure when she'd lashed out and grabbed until she was quite literally watching a car bumper fly at the behemoth. "You couldn't have stopped and told us the situation?! You couldn't have not scared the hell out of everyone at the Hotel?!"

"I-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Vanessa screamed, completely glossing over the fact that she'd interrupted him once more as she marched towards him with purpose, her thin fingers raising and pointing aggressively at him. "You know better! You've done so much good for EVERYONE! And then you hear one thing and stop giving a damn about ANYONE ELSE!"

"I wouldn't-"

"YOU DID!!!!" Vanessa found herself looking down at John, her finger poking harshly against his chest as he looked up at her in shock, and the succubus couldn't help the hurt she felt at the behemoth's carelessness. "I TELEPORTED HALFWAY ACROSS HELL!! I WAS TERRIFIED!! AND YOU DIDN'T CARE!!!" All of it translated straight to anger as she actually began to feel tears budding in her eyes.

John actually had the decency to look ashamed, but whether he was or not didn't matter to Vanessa as she continued.

"THE ONE PERSON WHO ACTUALLY GIVES A DAMN!! AND I COULDN'T RELY ON YOU WHEN YOU WERE THE REASON IT HAPPENED!!!!"

Suddenly, a massive tail swung down into view, covered in barbs and ending with a tip consisting of massive serrated blades that were dripping some kind of black substance.

The blade slammed into John's chest, pushing the behemoth back with a small grunt as he continued to stare at Vanessa in disbelief while the succubus simply sat, panting in her rage. In her pain.

John had always cared before. He was like the big brother she'd never had, and intended or not, she had told him as much. And the one time he's responsible for her anguish, the one time… and he couldn't even be relied on to even try and fix it.

When he did it, it didn't matter, did it? He had a good reason, and it was important, so why should he care if he hurt someone?

She watched as the realization slowly dawned on John, and he kept his gaze level with her own as he looked up at her with a genuinely guilty expression.

But Vanessa didn't care. Not right now.

"Ness, I-"

"Save it!" She wasn't interested in hearing any other excuses John had. Part of her felt a little bad, making it all about her, but after everything she'd been through… was it really so wrong? For her to hold John accountable for his actions? "You don't care!"

A thousand replies could come out of his mouth, but it would seem that John had realized simple words wouldn't be enough this time. And what could he say? He'd already explained why he'd done it, and all it really showed was that he cared more about someone he hadn't seen in four years than the ones whom had come to truly care for him in that time.

In Vanessa's eyes, it didn't matter his intentions. Not when there were clearly things that mattered far more to him than anyone at the Hotel.

Even Leo. Even… even her.

She could still feel her forgotten tears falling, and she brought a hand up to her face, determined to wipe them away and erase all existence of the infernal liquid.

She marched past John, actually shoving him to the side as she moved ahead, all the while trying to wipe her tears.

Once everything had finally hit her, and with John's continued resistance to even accepting responsibility for his actions…

Well, despite being with the safest person in Hell, one she saw as family… Vanessa had never felt so alone.

And then John's voice spoke up once more.

"You're right."

Vanessa couldn't help but to roll her eyes as she spun around to face him, looking at him with a look of irritation as her brow furrowed in annoyance.

When she didn't say anything, a sigh escaped the behemoth as he ran a hand through his chaotic lockes, shaking his head with a shameful expression.

"Vortex told me that Maddie was the target." John began, refusing to meet Vanessa's eyes even as he began to reluctantly approach. "I heard that, and I just… took off. I wasn't thinking about Leo, you, or anyone else at the Hotel. I just… reacted."

"And that makes it better?"

"No." John answered with a shake of his head, coming to a stop next to her as he looked off in a random direction. "And when you ended up teleporting right to me, I just got annoyed instead of sitting there and helping you like I would've."

"Glad to see we're on the same page." Vanessa commented sarcastically, turning away from him since he couldn't even look her in the eye, crossing her arms as she did so.

John didn't address her words, and instead gave a small gesture of acknowledgment, shrugging one shoulder. "Look, all I can do is actually explain myself and apologize, alright?" He finally brought his gaze down to look at Vanessa. When she refused to look at him, he found his finger going to hook under her chin so she'd look at him. However, he realized that wasn't a good idea when the succubus jerked away and harshly slapped his hand. "I… I am sorry."

"Then prove it." Because words weren't going to do it for Vanessa. Not this time.

John continued to stare at Vanessa for a moment, before he let a defeated sigh escape him. "Let's go." He instructed, waving her along.

It wasn't until he turned the corner at the end of the street that Vanessa huffed, rolling her eyes in frustration as she moved to follow after him.

It never even occurred to her the she'd been looking down at John instead of up during the entire time she'd let him have it.