A Teacher of War

Bag. Check. Spare shirt. Check. Snacks. Double checked. In fact, Jake was already snacking on a energy bar. He was going to need it. Dropping the bag by his side, Jake quickly typed in the password to the warehouse, picking the bag back up and slipping inside at the mere motion of the door opening. It was a ritual he had grown accustomed too in the past while. Check everything, enter smoothly.

He didn't use his red vision to see if she was here, she was going to be here, or at the very least, be here soon. Pyrrha was like that. But ever since they agreed to this training session, once a week, Jake knew what to expect. And he had been putting what she taught him into his methods when it came to his activities. Not that he got himself into trouble as often has he had before. Now he spent his time training everything else. His movements. His powers. He needed to be faster. More agile and adaptable.

He also needed to be stronger, and had gone back to lifting rather heavy things as he had when he was younger. Hoping that the training would increase his natural strength. He hadn't noticed much progress, but, it was a time taking process. At least today, he was most certainly going to learn something. No matter the pain that came out of it.

Getting to the main room, Jake glanced around, throwing his bag to the side before doing some easy stretches. Of course, even if she didn't come by this time, he could always use the equipment around, and at least Ita wasn't here to complain about the mess again. Seriously. How did she fix the floor, the walls... Everything, so quickly. Didn't seem to be physically possible, but somehow, she did it.

Shaking his head, along with the thoughts that could invade at any moment, he let out a breath. "Pyrrha! You here?" He called out... Not to mention the noise complaints she was apparently getting. Apparently concrete being smashed was a loud enough offense that people a block over were complaining. No. No. Stop it. No thinking about other things. Just training.

Pyrrha zipped about the warehouse. Since the day she had offered to train Jake, she herself had decided to train as well. Helping him learn how to fight properly, build up his strength, and even get faster. Seeing someone improve, no matter how small the growth, only made Pyrrha herself want to get better. Being that there were very few things on the planet that could really test her, Pyrrha had to be creative. In the hours leading up to her weekly training session with Jake, Pyrrha had devised an activity to help build her speed, or at least test it.

Earlier that morning she had found a half deflated volleyball and filled it up. Her exercise involved basically throwing or hitting the ball as hard as she could in one direction and then she’d try to head it off with her speed. After starting on the ground she had eventually found herself airborne. Pyrrha had been at this basically all afternoon. When she started out she had trouble keeping the ball off the ground after a couple of minutes. Now, she had been going for about an hour, both her and the ball progressively getting faster and faster.

There was only one thing that could stop her now, and it did. As she was poised to already intercept the ball after kicking it with all the force she could muster up, an alarm clock captured her attention. With a loud thud the volley ball would smack her in the side of the face. “Crap! I almost forgot what today is!”

She floated down to the ground to retrieve the ball and placed it on a rack that was off to the side. “He’ll be here any minute, gotta be ready!” she said smiling to no one but herself be for she’d disappear into the rafters of the warehouse. She tried to open each weeks training session with something different. Today was a sneak attack.

The back door to the warehouse would made an audible click as it closed behind the young man. Little did he know Pyrrha was waiting for him. The young Aeteran would launch herself off the beam she was stalking Jake from. “Behind you!” she shouted out as she drew close to Jake. This was obviously a very silly thing to do, especially for one that planed on surprising their opponent, but that’s not what Pyrrha was going for.

Her plan was misdirection. Well that and to see if she had increased her speed at all from her training. So, she was hoping Jake would turn to where her voice came from while she slipped behind him.

Meanwhile, outside the warehouse, a mysterious figure had been using the shadows to conceal their movement. Jake was their target. The figure had followed Jake all the way to this warehouse. A peculiar spot to be sure. Their keen eyes had tracked his fingers across the key pad. Now all they had to do, was get inside.

No sooner then he had called out for the alien, he got a response. One that caused some surprise. She was behind him, and with how last week went, he wasn't going to stand there. But he wasn't going to turn. Combat meant you had to make a move with every second, not just react. Ducking low, Jake dashed to the side, spinning in motion so that he both got the distance he needed and was able to look behind him...

Only she wasn't there. The moment his brain clicked about how her voice wasn't just behind, it was above. Everything about the fact she could fly and that she was incredibly fast came to him. In his base form, he couldn't hope to stand agaisnt her even when it came to her normal form. "Damn it. You got me." Jake accepted defeat with a tongue click, turning to see Pyrrha behind him. Seems he failed this weeks start. Again.

"I know, I know. I should go to at least form one or two because I'm not fast enough, but it's still sometimes just.. Hard to call it right away." Still, it was a reminder and a lesson all in one. Seems she had made his focus in one direction. No matter how much he moved, as long as his vision was tunneled, she could move circles around him.

"How are you doing anyway? Seen a movie yet?" The boy decided to move to small talk soon after. He was of course, interested to know how the alien was adapting to day to day life. After all, this was his one day that he focused all his time and effort on her and himself.

“Awe. Don’t get to down on yourself. I’ve been working on my speed all day. That’s probably why I got around you.” Pyrrha said as she accompanied Jake to the center of the warehouse. Of course he was right, and it was a lesson she had been trying to teach him for a while now. He had powers. While an over reliance on them could be a problem, there were many situations where they had a practical use. This being one of them. He had even pointed that out himself, which meant he was learning...at least a little.

Pyrrha arched a brow as he tried to change the subject. Draw attention of himself. Movie, movie, movie? She tried to remember the last time she did anything that wasn’t training since being allowed to stay in the warehouse. Hell she wasn’t even sure there was a way she could do that here. “Movie? Nope. We have those here? I should get on that.” Now she was back peddling. Part of the arrangement for these training sessions was that Jake would help get her accustomed to her new home and she would help him get stronger.

She had been slacking. She couldn’t help it. Fighting was everything she knew. She’d try to deflect the question, but it would only prove to help dig her grave a bit more. “I visited the asteroid belt! Did you know you guys have one of those in this solar system? Usually means something was there but got destroyed.” At least that’s what it meant in her universe. She could count the number I’ve times she’d seen one of her own, or one of the tyrants men obliterate a planet. All the left over carnage would continue to circle around it’s start like some morbid grave marker.

When the two reached the center of the warehouse, Pyrrha would step in front of Jake. Her little sneak attack and what Jake had said after, gave her inspiration for today’s training session. “I think today we should try to work on your ability to trigger your power. It’ll be a test of both concentration and reaction speed. You cannot move from that spot you are standing in.” The girl then began to circle him, waiting to see what he’d have to say.

Jake could only sigh at how Pyrrha answered. Of course. She was going to fly in space rather then go to a simple movie theaters... Maybe he should get her a tv. A game console. Let her explore the lazy side of life. That'd be... Something to see. "We'll.. We'll get you there." Still, her being in space was something to listen too. Of course, if she was an alien, other aliens were around... But if they were destroying things. Hmm. He didn't want to think that one moment, the planet could just be... Gone.

But soon it was onto the lesson, not stuff like that, and while Jake was always happy to go between practical and ability, they really hadn't done a lot on ability... He wasn't looking forward to this lesson. "Wait. Did you say reaction? Reaction speed?" The boy spoke as he planted his feet down. Not move... How was he suppose to... Oh... Noo... It can't be that bad. He was only forty percent sure she wasn't going to hit him during this training. That other sixty... Oh yea. That was how it normally went.

"I mean. Even gathering it on a finger is... It's hard to place. Trying to gather this energy inside me and generate it on a finger... A hand, but then trying to do that all over my body in an instant in a way that increases everything... Wait, do you want me to turn it on, turn it off when I need and don't need it? Is that? But then.. Wait. Pyrrha. I don't like this. This seems like a bad idea... Why are you circling me." The boy hurried out, hoping that it wasn't as bad as he thought it... And if it was, hoping it wasn't going to be as bad as it seemed. Oh man. He wasn't prepared for this.

Pyrrha was never one to actually plan anything. She only got the idea for this training session because of what Jake had said. She circled him primarily to stall for time. She obviously didn’t want to hurt him, but there was no point to this exercise if there was no real threat of danger. She could in theory just hold back when she tried to strike him, but she was sure that the young man would catch on. Using her head for something other than fighting was hard. *That’s it!* She thought. A brilliant revelation coming to mind.

Pyrrha had just the thing she needed to get things rolling. Moving away from Jake, Pyrrha would make her way over to the side of the warehouse and retrieved the volleyball she had been using earlier. Sure the volleyball wasn’t going to hurt as much as one of her punches, even if she was holding back, but this way she wouldn’t have to feel bad about hitting Jake. “Keep your eye on the birdie!” she shouted before throwing the ball into the air. The girl would arch her arm back and lay into the ball with just enough force to not cause it to rupture on contact.

She sent the ball rocketing towards the boy. Hoping that when he reacted to it and knocked it away, she would move to intercept it. She’d then send it back at him. It was basically a modified version of the training she had been doing earlier.

While the two trained, the mysterious figure that had been tailing Jake made their way down to the keypad. A shiny metal hand reached up. The figures index finger hovered over the first key in the password sequence. There was a bit of hesitation. Just then a small burst of warmth would overtake the figure. This signaled the arrival of another. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean I don’t normally question orders, but wouldn’t it be easier to just call her?”

“We’ve been over this a thousand times. She wont answer my calls. I have no other options. Now hurry it up.”

Okay.. Okay she was walking away from him. He was wrong. Awesome. He liked being wrong here. Wrong meant the worse was not to come. After all, he could think anything worse then what it was. Following the alien, he saw her pick up a ball. Huh. When did that get... Watching the ball on her say, his eyes widened when she spiked it towards him. Giving him only a moment to react.

Swinging a fist towards it, Jake knocked it away from him, feeling the full blunt of the force it generated because of Pyrrha. About to say something, his eye trailed on the flash that was the alien, chasing after and... "Woah!?" He yelled out as he reflexively swung at the ball again, bouncing it away once more only to have her do it again... And again.

He understood now how this training was working, and he wouldn't be able to keep up with this ball. Eventually, he was going to tire or miss. He needed his other form, but with the rate that this ball was coming at him, he didn't have the time to fo... OH. Yea okay.

Getting close to a minute passed... Maybe more, he had lost track of time and Jake was already begun to slow down... Or maybe he was too slow. Not moving fast enough. He really needed... Bouncing the ball of his forearm, Jake looked for it, prepared for it to come back at him, and when it did, he reacted, swinging his arm out. Without notice, his arm seemed to spark, a red glimmer passing over, but just like that, it vanished and he missed, the ball slamming right into his forehead and making the boy fall flat on his back.

"Ah! Ahhhh." He groaned, sitting himself up and rubbing his forehead. It didn't really hurt. But there was a slight sting. "That ball doesn't seem logically possible. Is it still even intact?" He asked in a joking manner, thinking some humor was needed in his failure.

Pyrrha was not in the least bit happy with how this was going. She thought the ball would be enough to get Jake to actively use his power. It wasn’t Of course it wasn’t. The ball wasn’t going to hurt him if it hit. There was no sense of danger, just like Pyrrha had thought. Just as the young Aeteran was getting ready to call it quits, Jake finally triggered his power. Though it wasn’t to the effect Pyrrha was hoping for. For a moment, there was a small glimmer of hope. Jake had used his power to react to an attack.

The loud thud that followed was not from the young man’s empowered fist colliding with the volleyball. The ball ricocheted of Jake’s face and bounced off into a corner. Pyrrha knew what that felt like and she was a lot more durable that Jake, or at least that’s what she thought. As the alien girl rushed to Jake’s side to see if he was ok, the back door of the warehouse clicked open. Two redheaded figures strode in, a cool blast of air followed them in.

The taller of the two figures approached Pyrrha and Jake. The Aeteran half-breed did not know who these two were, but she had never seen them before. Instinct made her move from Jake’s side to where she was now between the red haired woman and the young man. “Who are you?” Pyrrha said.

The tall woman took a step back, not as though she were scared of the girl with scales, but more perplexed. The girl gave off an energy that Madeline had not felt in a long time. It was quite the curiosity. “You….You’re an Aeteran aren’t you? No that can’t be right. There’s something more there. I’ll come back to you in a moment.”

Madeline and Pyrrha would lock eyes for only a moment, before the queen of Arcadia would simply waltz past the girl. Despite what Pyrrha wanted to do in her mind, she found she somehow lacked the strength to do anything but stand there. Was the tall woman doing this to her?

The queen’s amber eyes would look down on Jake. She felt the need to make some sort of wise crack about how being on the ground was a good look for him, but refrained. She had to change her mindset a little when dealing with the boy. He was Johanna’s closest friend after all, and perhaps a bit more. “It’s been quite some time. A new flame?” she said, tilting her head in Pyrrha’s direction. She couldn’t help it. She told herself she wasn’t going to poke fun at the boy, but she did anyway. “I’m kidding.”

Letting out a sigh, Madeline turned her gaze away from Jake. Her amber eyes scanning the warehouse in its entirety. “You’re a smart boy so I hope to keep this somewhat brief. Johanna obviously doesn’t want to talk to me. She hasn’t quite crossed that bridge yet, as noted by the lack of returned calls. I came here today looking for a little bit of help.” Her gaze shifted back to Jake. Despite her usual air of pompousness, Madeline’s eyes seemed genuine here. “I’ve failed as a parent once already. I don’t want to go 0 for 2 here.”

Jake was about to wave Pyrrha off, after all, the small sting had already vanished. His pride however, not so much. That was a wound time would heal slowly. But he didn't get the chance, not when the door to the back of them opened with a click. Jake was about to assume that Ita had come around, but then, she didn't use the backdoor. She owned the place, she walked in like she did. Though the front.

Turning to see who it was, the sight of the two made Jake audibly groan in annoyance. Thalia, not so much, Jake didn't mind her as much as he minded the Demon lord. Madeline. One mother to the girl he really.. Who was a really good friend. He shifted in place when it seemed that the war goddess recognized what Pyrrha was, as an alien and by her races name, but could also tell something was off. Of course, Pyrrha was a half breed much like him and Ann, but she was just a little more then that too. A different space so to say. Another world.

Ignoring the Jab at him about Pyrrha, he knew the alien would, he waited in silence as the woman spoke. While he really, really wanted to know how they found him, he found his eyes trailing to the smallest one the four here, staring at her with accusing eyes before looking back to Madeline, her words ending in the form of something meant to connect to him on some value, a mother not wanting to fail their child, a girl they both had some care for.

He didn't like her enough to feel it. Standing, Jake started stretching his arms to the side, taking his time to think of an answer, despite having one already. He just wanted to waste a little time. "Well, you already know the answer. She doesn't want to talk to you. She won't want to talk to you, till she's ready. That's Ann. She'll only do what she wants, when she wants. And reminding her that you're around might just annoy her more then it'll help." The boy spoke, more truthful then he wanted to be. Being truthful helped the woman. But in the end, perhaps he was just too nice.

And it was the truth. Sure, he still had no idea how Ann truly felt. But her personality told him enough that what he said, he was sure was the truth. "Now while it's always a pleasure to see the 'hunter' over there... Thalia." The boy nodded to her, making sure she knew that he knew why this was happening now. Sure, she might not care... But still. "Me and Pyrrha are training here. And seeing as you've already got your answer Madeline... Well. Have a good day." He wanted to spit his words out, but he remained calm, had too. While Madeline was a figurehead of the kind of people he disliked. Hated nearly. She was still Ann's birth mother and still a demon lord. One of those deserved an ounce of his respect, the other deserved a taste of possible fear.

He was not sure which belonged to which yet.

Ooh the boy was so lucky that Johanna liked him. She could feel the muscles in her normal hand crying out in agony as she did everything in her power to keep them from balling into a fist. If it wasn’t for Johanna, Madeline just might have committed murder. Taking a deep breath in, Madeline adjusted her posture. She still didn’t want to force the issue to much. Jake was really her only link to her daughter after all. “Boy….We don’t like each other. You hate me for whatever reason. And I really don’t like your attitude, but you are the closest I can get to my child. So for her sake, entertain me.”

Before Madeline could continue, the proud hunter tiptoed in between the queen and Jake. Her mismatched eyes briefly taking a look at the alien girl. “If I may!” the small demon would say to the queen before turning to Jake with a rather large grin. She could tell he was not happy about being tracked down like some animal, especially since the purpose was to lead Madeline to him, but she didn’t care. While she might have been more kind hearted and more open to others’ feelings that the average Arcadian, her loyalty lied with her queen.

“No offense Jake, but you’re pretty easy to keep track of. But that’s besides the point. Please hear her out. It’s not like she’s asking to betray Johanna or anything. She just wants some info.”

Jake frowned as Madeline spoke. Did she not realize that he had already given her the answer she sought. That which she already should have known. If Ann... He wasn't going to repeat it to himself, and he wasn't sure what answer to give Madeline anymore. Not that the answer had already been spoken.

It was then that Thalia stepped in, making light of his inability to not be followed. Something he was already aware of, before going to her queens side, rehashing what he already knew. And yet her words didn't help him. Nothing here helped him. He had come here, to his old hangout, to Pyrrha, because he wanted to be better, and yet here was a reminder that he had so much more to do, to be better. Frankly, it was all starting to annoy him.

"I know, she wants my help. I know you despise the idea of wanting my help." He looked to Madeline, his frown more present then before. "Which is why I know my help is useless to you. I told you. She isn't ready to see you." His words held a bit more bite then he had meant, his heart boiling over with emotion. Annoyance, unsure annoyance. "You're ether going to have to wait your due, wait till she is finally ready to accept everything or whatever. OR. And this. Is a very, Very peculiar or." His body deepened into a slight shade of red, but it didn't seem like he had noticed, but then he wasn't done yet.

"You go to her. You don't give her a choice, you talk to her, because she isn't going to wait for you ether. You're a master of war, so treat her like a battle... I... I don't mean to not give her a choice." He had grown a even deeper red as he had spoke, till his words caught up to his mind, and his skin seeped back to his norm. "Just... Talk to her, face her, and talk, you're her mom, but you're also a stranger and you need to realize that she will treat you like one less you... I don't know. I don't... Know. Okay. I don't even know where I stand with her. I don't know where she stands with me. All I know. Is that I've said all I can. I won't lie to her to get her to meet you. And we're... We're busy here. Okay." He looked to the ground, before hating the idea of looking to the ground in front of this woman, but he wasn't sure where else to look. Not Pyrrha, not Thalia, not the wall, the roof or anything. So he looked to Madeline, he held himself and looked to the woman he had been speaking to, his own body tense, almost ready to leap or attack back at the nearest touch, the first sign of a threat.

Madeline rolled her eyes as Jake spoke. She didn’t inherently hate the boy. Hell, if her daughter found him fascinating, then that was enough to have the demon queen take interest was well. That said, every time he opened his mouth, it just really got under the goddess’ skin.

Thalia had shot Jake an odd glance as he spoke. She was ready to speak on her queen’s behalf once again, but felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, Thalia watched as Madeline moved towards Jake. “I perhaps wasn’t clear when I spoke. I don’t intend, nor do I want you to tell Johanna to see me. While I do not want to wait for her to come around, out of fear of losing her, I also know how damaging it could be if I approached her when she wasn’t ready.” Taking her hand of her little hunter’s shoulder, Madeline would walk past Jake. Moving about the warehouse was probably the only way she could talk to the boy and keep her cool.

“You are the only person she is truly close to. I just want to know what she’s like. What she likes….besides you. I just want to know my daughter so that when I do get the opportunity to finally sit down with her, I don’t fuck it all up.”

By this point, Pyrrha had been struggling to keep up with what was going on. She still couldn’t move or speak for some reason, but she’d get over that in a second. She was still trying to piece together who the two red heads were and how they knew Jake. And who was this ‘Johanna’ they kept talking about? Deciding she couldn’t be silent any more, she began to concentrate on every muscle in her body. The small twinges in her arms and the slight progress she was making, caught the queen’s eye. “I knew it. You really are more than just a plain ole Aeteran.”

All of a sudden Pyrrha had full control of herself once again. Was the queen responsible for her inability to move? “H-how do you know what I am? And who are you? You’re not like anything I’ve met before….Neither of you are.”

A sly smile crept onto Madeline’s face before turning to Jake. “Want to fill her in Jake-ie boy? Let’s just say I get around. By the way, what were you two doing here anyway….before I so rudely interrupted?”

The young Aeteran was left confused. This woman could move between universes? Did that mean then that she’d been to Aetera before?

Jake frowned. Now he was just confused. He wanted his help in knowing Ann? Why hadn't he thought of that, actually, he knew why. Because he barely knew her himself. It was true, it was so painfully true. She didn't let her guard down enough for him to get to know her. They didn't talk about movies, or discuss flowers. They normally just... Moved. It was strange to think about. An even stranger thing to even... Speak about.

That and he was pretty sure if he did speak about her... Likes, to Madeline, she was going to kick his ass. But, he had made a fool of himself now, having assumed something else of the woman, when she wanted something almost entirely a stranger to what he could... Explain.

So it was good, Pyrrha finally seemed to have found herself, because it gave him time to think, and Madeline was easier to explain then Ann. "She's one of those demon lords I spoke about before." And suddenly he realized it wasn't... But then, he didn't want to go into everything else about her. Too long, too annoying. And Pyrrha would have gotten enough from that simple description. It meant she was strong. And that, was very true.

"The idea that you'd... Hmm..." He frowned at himself now. What did he tell her. What. Did. He. Tell. Her. Honestly, he wanted her to leave. Having made a fool of him enough that he simply didn't want her around to continue. He was sure she found some pleasure in it. And that annoyed him all the more as well.

"Honestly... She's secretly kind. Have to really dig deep under skin and you can't point it out, but she is, she really.. Is. She likes stealing, not for the money, but for the thrill. And challenges. But you could already guess that. You most certainly, can't tell her what to do. At all. Not even a suggestion. And she likes something I never want to revisit... I hate that clown." Stubborn, dangerous, kinda beautiful to look at. That was the Spider. Compared to him, a fool, a pigeon.

Shrugging in finality to what he said, the boy walked over to the ball, seeing some rather small changes to it then before. Mostly damage from the force it had been put though, yet somehow, still whole. Really. This thing just denied logic. "Honestly, for all the thought you put into our trust... Well, I guess she still doesn't trust me a whole lot if I'm being honest.. And if you have to know. Training. Once a week training, and today, training a stupid power that doesn't do enough for me. Okay."

“Queen…Demon Queen Jake. And Im pretty sure there should be a goddess in there somewh-” before Madeline could finish, she felt a rush of air wash over her. Upon hearing ‘demon lord’ Pyrrha had shot into overdrive. She zipped right up to the queen. Both her hands came together in a pleading motion. “That must mean you’re really strong!!! Can I fight you? Please, please, pleeeeeeease!”

Madeline stared down at the alien, whom she’d flash a playful smile at. “I like you! But gimme a sec. Me and the boy were talking.” Sooner after Jake had explained the enigmatic queen in the daftest way possible, he went on to answer her other questions. Which to be honest wasn’t much to go on. That was it? That was all Jake knew about Johanna? “Damn she really is a loner” she mumbled under her breath.

Stepping away from Pyrrha, Madeline made her way towards the center of the warehouse. The exact spot where Jack had been just moments ago. With a simple shrug of her shoulders, the queens heavy black coat would fall to the ground. Despite wearing something akin to casual clothing, all the extra accessories Madeline sported made it look like she was ready wage war. She had already mentally agreed to fight the Aeteran, no, the Aeteran Half-breed. The girl was such a strange thing. It actually got the goddess of war excited.

Jake saying that the two were here to train, was just icing on the cake. “So that thing you did on the roof….Was as much a one off as I thought. And She’s trying to help you activate your powers without thought.” Her amber eyes glanced over at the ball in Jake’s hands. “Cleaver. Using the ball as a makeshift enemy. Doesn’t look like it paid off thought.”

“That’s not true! Just before you came in here, he almost had it!” Pyrrha said in defense of her student, but that the same time looking like she didn’t want to offend the queen. Madeline cracked a smile, followed by a laugh. “Tell me something, both of you. What’s the purpose of all this training?”

Without hesitation Pyrrha pumped her fist, there was a slight fire behind her eyes. “To get stronger!”

The demon queen slightly nodded her head before looking over to the boy, waiting for his answer.

Jake sighed at the way Pyrrha seemed to click with the demon of war. Of course, he had suspected as much. Both were fighters. And one wasn't him. That seemed to be enough for the demon lord to like anyone. But he was more focused on the fact she was shredding her extra clothing, plopping it on the floor and leaving Jake more annoyed then he wanted to be. Why... Right. Pyrrha. Of course.

If the two of them were going to fight, then it seemed today's session had ended sooner then he had hoped. All because she came to him, with a misguided hope that Ann had put her trust into him on a level he yet to have seen yet of the young girl that was Ann. Dropping the ball and walking to his bag, he had planned to ignore any of what the demon lord was saying, till she posed a question to the two of them.

What was the purpose of this training.

What was his purpose to train. He already had an answer didn't he, much like Pyrrha, who was able to answer with earnest right away. To get stronger. But her purpose was to get stronger for the sake of getting stronger. His... His was to get stronger because he didn't want to be low. He didn't want to be dismissed easily. He wanted to hit anyone who considered themselves above everyone else. And he wanted that hit to hurt.

Narrowing his eyes, he turned towards Madeline, almost a smile faintly appearing on his face. "To get stronger!" His words were true. Truer then the fact he wanted to get to know Ann more. Truer then his want to know exactly what he was in the world the two of them shared. Truer then wanting to get the trust that Madeline had hoped the two shared. He wanted to get stronger. So he could show everyone. That he was here. And he was a threat.