The Good Boy, Bad Girl, Evil Mom and a Little Heart (WOOF)

Thalia almost seemed to light up with glee as Jake questioned why she was covering her eyes. No one had ever bothered to ask that question before. Heart looked at the boy, or rather the general direction she heard his voice come from. “Oh well you see, the thing is, my eyes are very strange. If I stare at someone they get all stiff and paralyzed and stuff. I cover my eyes so no one gets hurt unintentionally.” she said with a little to much pride and enthusiasm. As Thalia finished explaining why she was hiding her eyes she soon realized she didn’t need to hide them at all. “Wait a minute! You have wings! I don’t need to cover my eyes!” she shouted with glee.

The tufts of hair slowly sank to the floor and she finally gave the boy a good look over. “Oh! Hello there! I can see why she likes you!” Thalia said, referring to Johanna’s invisible affection for the boy. “If you couldn’t tell shes a lot like mom. Really bad at showing emotion.” Thalia’s mismatched eyes then shifted over to the arguing mother and daughter. They shared a very similar expression as they glared at the tiny demon.

Madeline and Johanna then locked eyes once more. “What I want is to have an opportunity to get to know my own child. Teach you about who and what you really are. Showing you your real home.”

Johanna stared at Madeline. The demon was making a genuine case but the ashen haired teen still didn’t want to believe her. Looking past Madeline, Johanna looked at her parents. “What about you? Have neither of you got anything to say?!”

Alexander and Jessica stared at their confused and angry child. They didn’t know what to say. They had already pushed her away by hiding their past form her. But now that it was out of the bag, that they had been hiding Johanna’s past from her as well….Well there really wasn’t much to say. “We…We never intended for you to find out this way. We wanted to tell you. We rea-”

“Oh go to hell! I can’t believe you two!” Johanna took a few steps back and grabbed her head. She felt ill. She needed fresh air and she needed to think. The beating of her heart, the swirling mass of confusion running through her mind, and the headache it was all bringing on, Johanna knew she couldn’t stay here any more, at least for the moment. She looked over to Jake, then to the tiny demon at his side, then to her traitorous parents, and then finally to her real mother. With a shake of the head, the girl leapt through the open window and quickly began to swing away from the small clothing shop.

As Johanna made her escape, Madeline had taken a step in the teens direction. Her hand reached out as if she wanted to stop the girl from fleeing, but she let her go anyway. She slowly turned around to face the girls parents. If she hadn’t formed a contract with them long ago, she’d reduce them to ash right where they stood. “You couldn’t just let me do this could you? What have I done to either of you that warrants this kind of treatment? I gave you both the all the power and success you ever wanted. All I asked in return was for you to watch over our daughter. And now you sabotage the first chance I get to meet her.” The demon let out a sigh and then proceeded to step out of the shop. She was going to chase her daughter, this meeting wasn’t over. She could still get through to the girl, but Madeline knew all to well not to push things. She’d allow Johanna a moment to collect herself before giving pursuit.

Thalia stood inside the shop not sure what to do. Too many emotions had been displayed and mixed up in these brief few moments and everyone needed a chance to collect themselves. She gave the boy a small pat on the back with her hair. “You should go to her. She’ll need someone to talk to.” And with that Thalia moved past the boy and exited the shop to be at her queens side.

"Oh?" Jake at first responded to hearing the reason as to why the small imitation explained her eyes. Most certainly not like his. But when she suddenly had her epiphany that she could look at him, Jake tilted his head in confusion. Because of his wings?

Whatever it was, she dropped her hair and let Jake look at her eyes clearly, they were certainly unique, but compared to the turquoise color of Johanna's, they were no competition. He did however, stammer at her words, why did these two keep thinking Johanna liked him? "I wouldn't go that far..." Talking about Johanna, Jake shifted his attention to the mother daughter duo.

And it wasn't a great conversation to listen too, not did it sit well for him. He didn't want to lose another friend, not this soon, nor did he think a realm Johanna never even knew existed till this very moment was her home. It was pretty clear Johanna was pretty lost as to what home was. And that was when she did the one thing he expected her to do at some point. Run. And he didn't blame her, hell, he wanted nothing more then to follow her.

But he didn't leave yet, mostly because he was worried without Johanna, Madeline would let out her wraith on someone who wasn't tied to Johanna in a great many ways. Luckily, the demon woman left first. "Yea... Thanks..." Jake responded to Thalia, stepping to the broken window before turning back to the small demon. "Thanks for the compliment about my wings... Umm... Your hair is quite pretty too." Feeling he needed to offer a compliment back as respect to not saying thank you earlier, not that he had to lie, her hair was quite pretty.

Jake nodded his head, giving a final strained smile to the small demon before turning and running out the broken window he had made, jumping up to a nearby building, Jake would turn his red vision on. Able to catch a fleeing girl swinging between the buildings. Jake also looked to Madeline. He didn't need the war goddess following him, because without his vision, he was pretty sure he'd never  be able to find Johanna, so it wasn't likely she'd find her on the demons lonesome.

Happy with himself, Jake lunged into the air and weaved out of sight with his wings, high into the sky, his red vision however, able to keep the white haired girl in sight, and so he followed her, knowing that when he caught up and he would catch up, he was probably going to be taking the blunt of her anger, being the only person around hopefully, which in the end was something he could easily understand with her situation. That or she would make a bunch of rude jokes about the fact he was nearly shirtless. Whatever it was she did to get the stress of this situation out, Jake could withstand it, he would.

Johanna’s parents remained inside the small shop not sure what there was for them to do. If Johanna didn’t want anything to do with Madeline, then she most certainly wanted nothing to do with them. Meanwhile, Thalia joined Madeline outside on the sidewalk. For someone with just prestige as Madeline, it was odd to see her sulk. Little Heart was probably the only other being to ever see Madeline like this. The little demon knew that her queen wasn’t happy. “You gonna go after her?” the petite demon said reclining back into her hair as it formed a makeshift chair.

Madeline stood silent for several seconds, her gaze fixated on the sky. Things did not go how she had hoped, but they did go how she figured they would. The revelation that your life was not as you thought was a lot to take in. The demon queen took in a deep breath and stared down at her palm where she held the stones she had removed from the mini figures Johanna had stolen. “Soon. She needs a few minutes to cool down and process.” she turned to face the small demon. A slight smirk appeared on her face. “I’m truly envious of that hair.” she said in a vain attempt to change the subject.

The wind rushed over an angry Johanna’s face as she swung from building to building. She was angry, confused, and hurt. Of all the emotions she was feeling, the prevailing one was anger. More than anything, she was angry that she had been lied to not once, but twice by her father and the woman she grew up calling mom. Unfortunately there was no such thing as a flying dumpster, so eventually Johanna landed on the roof of a tall building. She sat down on the edge and just looked out at the city. It wasn’t long before everything took it’s toll on the ashen haired thief and tears began to streak down her face.

She did no talking, no thinking, she did nothing but sit there and let the tears flow for several minutes. It wasn’t until she heard the flap of wings and a soft thud on the roof behind her that she actually moved. Whipping the tears from her eyes she partially glanced over her shoulder. “Took you long enough. The wicked witch send you to talk me into coming back?

Jake watched her as he got closer, he couldn't fully see what she was doing but sitting on the edge of the building, his red vision telling him nothing except for the fact she was a healthy, living breathing person. That simply left him to his imagination, and even that couldn't be bothered to try and assume what she was doing.

Arriving on the roof, Jake looked as Johanna looked back at him, waiting for any kind of remark. The words that came from her mouth surprised him however. "What? No!" Jake let his wings fold into his back, walking a bit closer towards Johanna, but keeping his space, for she might want to be left alone physically.

"Ann, I'd fly you all the way to Chicago if you wanted me too." Jake wanted to step closer and sit beside her, but he refrained himself. If she wanted him anywhere near her, she'd be the one to decide that. "Look, I..." He licked his lips, trying to figure out what to say, not exactly sure what could be said. "I know what you're feeling. My mom never told me what I was, hell, I learned because I got trapped in the pit of Ravens. And I can try to explain any questions you might have about demons, whatever you need. Cause I know it can be a hell of a lot to take in, worse for your situation then it ever was for mine."

Jake held his spot when he finished talking, waiting for the eventual release of anger, or a barrage of questions... Johanna was about as predictable as a cornered dog. She'd ether lash out, remain silent or do something. Jake couldn't tell, he could never tell with her.

Johanna let out a small snort of arrogance as Jake mentioned flying her to Chicago. “I’m pretty sure I could swing faster. Beside I could just break into your friends shop and use that teleport circle thing.” Her gaze turned back to the city before her as Jake tried to comfort her and offered his help. Johanna didn’t need it. Sure she was initially confused, hell she still was, but deep down she knew that Madeline was telling her the truth. There was no explaining it, but she just knew. And that was what got to her the most. Realizing that everything she had just heard was true and there was no escaping it.

Johanna had been put into a very awkward situation that she didn’t want to be in. “You know what really hurts the most. It’s not that I was lied to or anything else. What really hurts is that I know its all true.” She looked down at her hands and twiddled her fingers. She looked at them as if she was looking at them for the first time. Her whole world had just been flipped upside down and she felt lost. Like she didn’t know who she was any more.

A few moments passed in silence as the wind blew across the rooftop. One could get lost in the view from this high up, and that’s exactly what Johanna was doing. Anything to keep her mind off of having to think about what had just transpired. She wanted to enjoy this peace and quiet for as long as she could. In the back of her mind, it was only a matter of time before Madeline showed back up. Johanna rose from the ledge of the building and then walked over towards Jake before plopping down in front of him. For all the craziness that had just transpired and for all the craziness still to come, there was one thing she couldn’t get out of her mind. “How the hell did you wind up in all this?”

Jake watched her, amusement on his face at her words, amusement that lasted for only so long. Jake could only offer his presence as Johanna spoke, and how she said what sucked was that it was all true. Jake had to agree. It was true her parents lied to her. It was true her mother was some sort of self proclaimed demon god of war. It was all true.. And that could suck. At least the lie wasn't as confusing as all this was.

Eventually, Johanna stood from her place and came over to him, sitting down right in front of him, which only made Jake sit down in his spot so he was level with the newly found cambion... Seems there was never going to be a normal when it came to friends. If metas could be considered the norm when demons and angels were a thing. "How? Hmh." Jake wasn't sure how much Ann would care for his story, not sure if she only wanted to hear the small or long version. Maybe wanted it so she could just distract herself.

"I found my friend... With some vampire Queen called Isis. Stuff happened... He..." Jake shut his eyes. Sammy... There were quite a number of things wrong with the cambion Jake considered a friend, a live saver. "I needed a good memory. So... I went to where we first met. Cause despite how that night ended... It was fun. You know? Nice." Jake looked away as he spoke his words, feeling a little foolish telling Johanna about it. But what was he going to do? Lie? That wasn't him... Not most of the time.

"Then Thalia found me, looking for the thief who stole those idols of Madeline's... I still have the one you gave me, so she thought I was the thief. Madeline seemed to already know about you however, she even has all your gems from the idols... One thing led to another, I thought she was here to hurt you.. So I jumped head first into the building... Well done on my part huh?" Jake finished, looking in the direction the two had come from, wondering if the demon Queen was on her way right now.

"My mom is insane, your's has a huge ego... Great how moms are." Jake laughed to himself. This situation was stupidly screwed. But this peace wouln't last forever, even if he wanted it too. Madeline wasn't someone who seemed to like waiting. She was a Queen after all, it was her who made others wait... Well, at least that was what he could gather from books, movies and such. Only royalty he met before now was a princess. Funny how life works.

Johanna didn’t care much for the details, she never did, but still she listened intently to every word Jake said just to keep her mind busy on something else. She was genuinely happy to hear that the boy had found his friend. Though the way that story abruptly ended, gave off the feeling things didn’t go entirely well. Or at least there were bits Jake didn’t want to talk about. A small chuckle escaped her when Jake mentioned he had gone to the museum because it was a good memory from him. “So what they say is true. Criminals really do visit the scene of the crime.”

“I don’t know, my mom doesn’t seem all that bad. I’d probably know better if she had never abandoned me in the first place, but hey!” Johanna’s words carried heavy sarcasm. Still she did have to wonder what her mom was really like. She didn’t seem like the ‘good’ type. Johanna began to think that maybe Madeline was where she got her rebellious streak from. Silence once again overcame the rooftop for a few seconds.

This silence was broken by what sounded like sparks flickering to life. Finally a fiery ring burst open and out tripped the small demon known as Thalia. Heart landed with a small ‘oomph’ as her body collided with the rooftop. She quickly leapt to her feet and brushed herself off. She could tell almost immediately that she was not welcomed, but she stayed anyway. Seeing as how the two teens were sitting across from one another, Thalia moved to a space next to them and lowered herself down into a cross legged position. “So befo-”

“What are you doing here? How did you even find us?” Johanna interrupted.

“First of all rude. Secondly I’m a hunter, I track things, I’m really good at it!” she said with a sense of pride as she puffed out her chest, before quickly sinking into a more timid pose. “Thought if I were to be entirely honest I didn’t really track you down. It was more like I felt you out! Like something about me was drawn to you!”

“That’s great, now leave.” Johanna retorted with a less than enthusiastic tone.

Thalia pouted at the stubborn girl. It was a wonder that Madeline was able to keep her cool. “I refuse. I want to sit here and get to know the two of you. I rarely get to actually sit down and meet people, so this is kind of fun! I can’t believe my queen has a daughter!” she said, her eyes full of joy and optimism.

Jake smiled at Johanna, finding it funny. He was never really the criminal in that situation... Then again, he was now the only one with a idol that contained a very pricey gem now. Not that he'd sell it. He liked it too much... Well, now that he knew who it was off. Maybe he liked it a little less.

He leaned back when Johanna did her best to... Defend Madeline? Jake put it up to the whole fact of confusion and curiosity. Something that was offset by the waves of sarcasm that came with each word. "Yea. Would have helped." The boy spoke back, closing his eyes again as silence overcame the rooftop once more. Peaceful silence. Nice silence.

Nice silence that was then ruined by a sound Jake was beginning to dislike, as his eyes snapped open to the small demon that had appeared. Who waddled over and sat beside the two teens, she herself looked like a teen, a teen much smaller then the two half breeds. But Jake knew appearances looked deceiving. But, Jake went back to closing his eyes, facing the general area of Johanna as she told Thalia off.

Only the seemingly shy, timid and sometimes downright crying demoness would not leave the two alone, something Jake had to admit was stubborn... Well, if she was a imitation of Madeline, then of course she'd be stubborn. The family seemed like a bunch of stubborn demons. "Yes, and it seems if you could find us however you did, then your 'queen' will be close behind." Jake opened his eyes, looking intently at Johanna.

"So. What exactly is your plan? Your Mom wants to take you to her realm. Your mom seems to have quite a number of plans to do with you. But... What do you want to do?" Jake wanted to get Johanna to figure this out before Madeline made it here at least. He also tilted his head to Thalia, his eyes narrowed as if to say don't talk. This was for Johanna to figure out herself. It wasn't something Jake could have a say in, nor anyone else. Even if he so badly wanted to have a say in it.

"I mean, we could have a good ol fight with her. Nothing says settling differences between demons like a good ol fight." Jake joked, but kept his mouth shut and lowered his head in shame right after, knowing that the joke was ill humored.

As if almost on queue, like she was waiting for her moment, Madeline arrived just as Jake finished listing off his suggestion of fighting her. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Before Johanna could even speak, the goddess of war shot a glance her way. “I know you’re feeling an incredible amount of anger right now. Especially towards me.” Madeline took a small step forward before continuing. “I truly want to get to know you. I want you to get to know me. I want this to work out. If venting your frustration via a brawl will help with that, then by all means.”

Thalia’s head quickly snapped around at the sound of Madeline’s voice. A small frown appeared as she was hoping to have some alone time with Johanna and Jake. “Couldn’t you have just waited a few more minutes?” she asked with puppy dog eyes, only to be met with an unamused glance from her queen. “Ok never mind, I’ll just go over here then.” Thalia said, grabbing the bottom half of her hair and cradling it like she had back at the museum.

Johanna rose to her feet almost instantly. If Madeline hadn’t opened her mouth to speak, the young teen would have lunged at her. She still might have, but she had to think of Jake. She didn’t want the boy getting hurt on her behalf. All that said, the prospect of a fight obviously enticed the ashen haired girl. She needed desperately to vent and this building anger within her wasn’t healthy. Madeline presented a decent proposition. Perhaps a fight was what Johanna needed to get over this odd mix of feelings.

Johanna wanted to speak, but her emotions got the better of her. With a yell in Madeline’s direction, Johanna leapt at her supposed mother.

Madeline’s face lit up. Finally something the two could bond over. The demon queen could see it in her daughter’s eyes. The teen craved battle much like her mother. This was going to be most enjoyable.

As Johanna’s hand came flying forward, Madeline raised her metal hand and caught her daughter’s fist with a great deal of ease. “That’s it. Let it all out. Show me that power you’ve got locked away!”

While mother and daughter clashed, Thalia slowly slinked over to Jake’s side, her bundle of hair still resting tightly in her grip.

"My... Big... Mouth." Jake let out a sigh when the Queens voice broke the semi okay peace of this rooftop. Slowly standing himself, Jake froze at Madeline's words. He had been joking when he said a fight would solve it. A fight would not solve it... Well. Okay, a fight for Johanna and a being who called themselves a goddess of war would indeed solve it, but in this case, Jake wasn't so sure it was a good idea.

Stepping back at the sound of Johanna letting out a battle-cry and charging at her mother, Jake stood on the sidelines, knowing he was unwanted, unneeded. Yet he couldn't help but cringe at what was to come. He knew Johanna, she had a knack for knowing what he would do next, she was about as strong as he was, a lot of durable beings would feel something from ether the girl or boy. But this being? This Madeline. Jake felt like you were not the Queen of a realm by being moderate. No, Jake had to assume she could be along the level of Malphas. And Malphas... Malphas made beings like him and Johanna pups trying to fight lions.

So as he stood on the sideline, while mother and daughter fought, Jake could only watch in pain and quiet suffering. Because he didn't want to watch Johanna get hurt badly, his hand shook, and he could only clench it to try and stop the shaking. He needed something to distract himself. Thalia moving herself close to him gave him the opportunity to do so. "Hi. Ever been sidelined? I've never been sidelined when it comes to fighting.. I fight. You know, I always fight. Cause that way I can protect people. Or hunt.. You said you hunt? I like hunting. I hunt demons mostly, just strays, easier to find." Jake didn't catch his breath, rapidly sprouting words to the smaller demon as his eyes turned back to the fight, he felt like his entire body was shaking.

If Thalia was to notice, a red like spark would form and bounce off Jake's clenched hand, evaporating mid air before it made contact with anything, but the red sparks would keep forming, slowly at first, but faster as the seconds past, moving up his arm and back down, like it couldn't decide where it wanted to stay. Jake, unknowing of his ability acting up, kept his eyes on the fight and his ear to Thalia, needing a distraction.

Thalia shook her head in response to Jake’s question after he realized she had snuck up next to him. “Can’t say I have. The other knights like to push me really hard. Some almost to hard.” she said with a pout. She thought about how Spade and Diamond weren't particularly found of her. A smile did come back to her face as she thought about the training Club and Madeline put her through. “Madeline’s pushed me hard to be stronger. She personally trains me. And Club too! Oh you’d like Club. Big fellow, really big!” she said, using her long hair to indicate his height.

She then turned back to watch the small scuffle between Madeline and her daughter. Heart couldn’t figure out why, but just from watching this fight, she could tell Johanna was much stronger than she was. This brought a small frown to her face. If Johanna ended up getting over her rage and accepted Madeline as her mom, then were would that leave little ole Heart? Surely Madeline would favor her child over some cheap knock off. Her eyes suddenly lit up when the boy talked about hunting demons. That was her specialty. No matter how big or strong, Thalia could track and bring down even the toughest of demons. “Hey! I hunt demons to! Mostly the ones that fled home during the great war, or survivors of the usurpers army, but I hunt ‘em.” she said with a small flex.

While Jake and Thalia got more acquainted on the side, the battle between Madeline and her daughter was just getting into full swing. Despite Johanna’s ability to fight, she was so frustrated and angry that she was basically letting her emotions do all the fighting for her. She wasn’t holding back, she wasn’t going to. She wanted to make Madeline hurt. Unfortunately for Johanna, Madeline was a much more experienced fighter. Though she was unrivaled when it came to weapon proficiency, she was also a very good fighter. This was evident by the fact that every angry punch and kick that the ashen haired teen threw, was easily either sidestepped or deflected with ease. “Oh come on dear. I know you’ve got to be better than this. HIT ME!” she shouted.

Johanna stopped mid swing as she heard the words her mother spoke. Her eyes narrowed. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, the thrill of the fight fueling her anger. The teens hands clenched tightly. Her arms raised quickly and a small barrage of webbing shot out from her wrists. The attack came as a small surprise to Madeline. Johanna then shot a strand at the roof access door and pulled herself to it. She crouched down low on the side of the small outcrop and then launched herself at Madeline, with one leg outstretched.  

Madeline on the other hand dodged most of the webbing before using her right arm to summon a shield to block the remaining shots. Just as her amber eyes peered over the rim of the shield, she felt a hard impact on her side which caused her to stumble a bit. A smile crept on to the demon queens face. Johanna’s tactic was pretty good. To be honest Madeline was beginning to wonder how long it would take for the teen to land a blow. “Not bad. You finally managed to land a hit. Can you do it again?” she said, almost goading the girl into attacking her again.

The goddess of war noticed her daughter’s fighting style and measured her strength in the small amount of time they had been fighting. From the moment Madeline had laid eyes on her daughter, she could feel the power emanating from her, but here in this moment none of that raw strength seemed to show itself. So while on the surface it looked like Madeline wanted to have her daughter take her aggression out on her, she secretly was aiming to draw out her daughter’s latent power. If it didn’t happen soon, the goddess would have to force it out.

Jake broke his focus on the fight to the demon beside her. Knights? Seems Jake had quite a bit he could learn about these demons. He also began to... Well, enjoy Thalia's company. Namely out of the need to have some while the best company he had in years fought her own mother.

But at least this company allowed him to be sufficiently distracted. Jake remembered Madeline saying something about being defeated or something, and now this talk about this small, timid looking demoness hunting other demons... It brought a mix of interest to mind. "Tell you what. If we're not hating each other by the time this is all over, track me down sometime. I'd love to go hunting with you. And meet this Club." He gave Thalia a smile, one that was more relaxed then the one he had given back at the shop, even the red energy that swarmed his arm seemed to die down a little, as if the fight it had was drained, but all too soon his smile faded into worry as he looked back Johanna and Madeline, and the red energy found new strength to continue it's strange swarm of his arm.

The fight was vastly one sided, with Madeline able to keep out of harms way. Well, fight was the wrong word. Madeline simply dodged, and kept goading. Johanna wouldn't be satisfied with that, she couldn't. He remembered during there fight, Johanna needed him to keep fighting. Dodging just didn't do it for the girl. Of course, Ann was lead by her anger most of all, but still, Jake couldn't get it out of his head. The war goddess wasn't exactly fighting back. Why? Was she too powerful for Johanna, that one hit would be too much? Or did she simply want to see how well Johanna could do. Was it worry... Or a test.

He frowned deeper, hating every second that passed that he couldn't do anything, leaving him only to his thoughts and the happily accepted words of the small demon beside him... "Why are you a imitation... look alike.. Clone of Madeline?" Jake asked as he realized it. Why was there a clone of Madeline? If he couldn't get at the fight, he was simply left with information to gather and pass the time and this... This seemed like a interesting bit of information.

Thalia perked up at the boy’s proposition of hunting together. “Jolly Cooperation!” she flashed him a smile but then took a step back when he asked what made her an imitation of Madeline. Chat’s with anyone other than Madeline or the other knights came so far and few in between that she totally forgot her origin wasn’t known to anyone outside of Arcadia. “That’s exactly it. I’m a clone. Some old demon got worried that Madeline would never wake up after she beat the usurper so he made me to be a sort of stand in, only things didn’t go as planned. I’m no where near the queen in terms of strength. And most of the other demons see my existence as disrespectful towards Madeline.”


Johanna took a look at her mother. She was only getting angrier and angrier with each passing second. Why wouldn’t she attack? Why wouldn’t she go on the offensive? It was beginning to tick Johanna off. “Wasn’t it your idea to fight? I haven’t seen you do much of it. I thought you were supposed to be a goddess of war!” Johanna tried her own had at goading.

The demon queen stared her child in the eyes. “Cheeky little thing aren’t you? I’ll fight back soon enough. Wouldn’t want to end this little scuffle too early now would we?” the sly smile and words from Madeline got underneath Johanna’s skin. The ashen haired girl let out a growl of frustration and anger and rushed her mother once more. Her flurry of punches met nothing but the air and then suddenly before she knew it, She was no longer looking at Madeline, but rather she was on her back looking at the sky.

Johanna had been so focused on her mother’s face that she was completely oblivious to her surroundings, and the queen took advantage, by simply tripping her up. Johanna took in a deep breath before doing a kip-up. She was staring down Madeline in no time and ready to go again. And so they did, though the fight proved to be more of the same. Johanna throwing wild angry punches and Madeline simply dodging or deflecting the blows. “Come on child where was all then ingenuity you had just a moment ago? Throw some curveballs my way!

Jake looked at the small demon in a new light as she explained her origin. She had a lot to live up to, a lot to do to be respected, that much Jake could tell. "Well. As a mutt of species, I reckon you're pretty cool. And I guess if you can't be the clone of Madeline. Then yea. Be Thalia. Nothing wrong with Thalia." Jake smiled, before returning his eyes to the fight, which had returned to it's previous outlook. Only this time, it seems his thoughts were right. Johanna hated what was happening. And that led to her being tripped.

Jake glared at Madeline, feeling his own annoyance rise at the fact she would not fight. All she was proving to do was further antagonize her daughter. As if she was waiting... Jake looked to his back. As a Nephalem, Jake became more, gaining powers he always had but never knew of. Johanna in all rights, seemed like a meta only. No demonic traits, except for that black cat in her world of anything goes. But she was a cambion. And she was among her own. Being pushed and pushed. His eyes widened as he realized what it was Madeline was doing.

"She is trying to unleash whatever power Johanna has that has yet to be realized." Jake said out loud, loud enough for Thalia to hear. However, his realization only left a grim look on his face. What if Johanna didn't push past, what if Madeline went too far to try and bring this out. Why did she want to bring this out? To show her daughter what she was? Jake didn't need to deal with that again, because Johanna to him was the spider. A arrogant, yet sometimes kind thief. But Madeline didn't know that, Madeline hadn't even met her till today, and already was she trying to shape her into something else?

Whatever Madeline's reason, Jake felt himself balancing on his toes, his muscles taunt and ready for action, but clearly he looked worried and afraid. He really didn't like being sidelined, where all he could do was stand around, or risk the wraith of the mother/daughter duo. He was certainly not welcomed, but he would make himself so if the demon Queen went too far, that much he could promise everyone on this rooftop, that he could promise himself to do.

Thalia looked to Jake as if he inspired her. “Such a kind soul.” she said in a soft voice. Jake’s kindness made the little demon wonder if there were more in the world like him. She would totally love to meet them, that much was for sure.

Meanwhile Madeline and Johanna continued to do the same song and dance. The queen knew it was just as boring for her daughter as it was for her, but there was no way this would be a fair fight without Johanna getting over her rage. Though the demon queen had never met her daughter before, she could tell by Johanna’s earlier display of skill, that the girl was not like her mom at all. Where Madeline thrived on the fight and gained strength from it, Johanna excelled at using her whole body as one cohesive weapon.

Madeline’s daughter was at her best, when her mind was clear and she could focus on thoughts of the fight at hand. Right now the ashen haired teen was consumed by her rage and it was clouding her mind. This is why Madeline was able to just simply dodge and deflect the whole time. Madeline’s strategy was two fold. Get Johanna to clear her mind and to get that power within her to awaken. Jake had half of it right. Madeline wanted Johanna to get stronger and so far it was working. Slowly, but it was working nonetheless. This was evident by the fact that as the small skirmish dragged on, Johanna’s strikes began to sting more and more.

Johanna on the other hand was starting to get over her anger. The will to fight was making her slowly get over whatever it was she was feeling. Like the few times in recent memory, Johanna’s body was reacting to the fight. The young thief slowly began to focus more on her moves rather than the hatred and anger she had been feeling. This took the form of another surprise attack from Johanna. The teen took a massive swing with her left hand knowing that her mother would dodge it. When this occurred, Johanna allowed the force of her swing to carry her body somewhat forward. She then pivoted on her left foot which spun her body. Using that momentum, Johanna unleased a sort of spinning axe back kick.

It took Madeline a moment to realize that Johanna’s attack wasn’t over when she punched. Her amber eyes shot wide as she caught the sight of the kick at the last minute. She brought her arm up to block the blow. The resulting collision between Johanna’s heel and Madeline’s arm was enough to cause the roof beneath the demon queen to crack. “Feeling better?”

“Nope!” Johanna spat before performing a quick flick of the wrist. Web extended from her shooter and attached to Madeline’s face. What game next brought a sinister smile to the goddesses face. With a forceful tug her head was yanked forward and was met with Johanna’s knee.

"Hmmm." As the seconds passed, Jake felt his body get less tense, felt his muscles relax, and without his knowledge, the red energy faded from view. The fight didn't seem to be getting more dangerous, nor did it seem Johanna was on the ropes anymore. In fact, she seemed to be getting better. Her mind must have calmed, focused entirely on the fight. That was good. Very good.

Jake could only smile and step back. Seems he really wasn't needed. Somehow he hated that he had to say those words. Because he really wanted to be here for Ann, but how the fight was panning out, Madeline would get what she wanted, and Johanna would get what she herself wanted. Maybe. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Jake would turn to Thalia. "I don't know about you. But it is starting to look like the fight has cooled, and might end soon." He kept his eyes closed as he spoke, even with his thoughts, his words. He still looked deadly worried.

Now, as long as nothing came at this moment to attack Madeline or him. It did indeed seem to the boy that the fight would be over soon... Of course, there was the chance Madeline could want more, but he couldn't foresee that. But he had rightly calmed down from his tense self, and he wasn't sure if he was really happy about that, or gravely disappointed.