It wasn't too often Faraji had second thoughts on getting a mark on his target.

For some odd reason, as he approached Matilda who was completely unaware of of his disguise and presence he found a impending sense of danger approach. That was the same feeling any professional trusted and was discarded at their own peril. It was the same feeling that had saved him a great many of times from certain doom.

However, he ignored it this time as he approached just as his dagger came to-

-A blue streak was caught very briefly from the corner of his eye before he felt like something hit him with the force a runaway wagon down the hill.

Faraji was rattled, vision blurring as he tried to find his opponent, only seeing a panicked Matilda and sudden shouts of guards which were only a brief concern. While he didn't know what was going on he knew very quickly things were going down hill, but how? How had anyone seen anything such as his dagger unless they had sharp eye sight.

It didn't matter. He needed to live, musings could come later.

Again the blue streak came towards him and he only had a moment to grab a small black ball and toss it downwards creating a black mist, shrouding himself from view as he fled. The roof tops would be the best option to ensure he got away, it was unfortunate he had no other faster way of travel and mentally cursed himself for that. That foolish mistake may not only cost him the mission but his own live, the later obviously being more important.

No doubt in his mind Dragon Knights and the like would be on his tail, but what he was worrying and concerned about was that strange blue streak. Faraji knew it was a person, and who ever it was behind it was moving too fast for even his eyes to track properly. Not even Elves with Wind Magic moved that fast.

Then there it was again, that accursed blue streak and a strange whirling sound later the mysterious attacker appeared in front of them as if they were always there.

He stopped in his tracks, coming to a halt as he evaluated the new situation and opponent briefly. To him they looked more like more like one of the many sheltered children in grown men's bodies he had the distinct pleasure of cutting their throats. Blond hair, blue eyes and a strange..suit? He would guess, it was odd.

What caught his attention was his right arm, it had turned into a organic blade of some kind.

"I don't know who you are, but if you come with me I promise I won't kill you. If you resist, I can't promise anything, though I'm tempted as is for the later."

The words would have normally made him scoff but this man was dangerous, that much was obviously and incredibly fast at that. There was also something primal in the lizard part of his brain that wanted him to run the farthest way possible from them, whatever the man was he had powers that weren't like the other races he encountered.

His stance, those eyes, they weren't one of a spoiled Noble or merchant but a hardened warrior.

No matter he would even the battle in his own way.

Before he could begin to even get a spell at the ready, the other man was on him and he frantically tried to ward off the attacks but his speed made it near impossible. Probably more infuriating despite being outclassed was he could tell his enemy was trying to wear him down then outright kill him. If he had to guess, bring him in alive for questioning.

The vampire lost purchase of his position and found gravity doing the rest of his work to bring him down from the building. Only quick thinking and the fact he wasn't too far up saved him as he took things into a roll, rising up quickly to face the mysterious attacker. He ignored the shouts of civilians in the background as they quickly scattered in fear.

A simple barrier spell, though not nearly as strong as the Elves Counter would get the job done of buying some time which he had been preparing to do during the entire bout. Fortunately the Gods who usually hated his guts took pity on him of allowing him to erect a silver, transparent barrier which the oddly dressed brute bounced off of.

Good. It was about time things went his way, but he still needed to get out of here quickly. Now to piss them off; angry opponents were sloppy ones.

"It seems despite all that physical power, you have no natural answer to magic my friend," Fajari's face broke into a sneer. "It's really too bad I wasn't able to put the little one's head on a pike but I could fix that for later. Perhaps hers and Tiffania's since you seem care for them."

His opponent said nothing, their eyes narrowing. For some, odd, stupid reason the feeling of immediate death worsened at that moment. What he didn't know was he couldn't keep the spell up for long due to the experiments done to him, magic wasn't his best point so he preferred only to use it in short burst.

"I do wonder if you'll talk me to death behind that bubble instead of attacking. You do seem to enjoy hearing yourself talk," The other man said. "Color me unimpressed, a bully hiding when something over matches them."

Fajari knew time was running short so best not to keep the banter going like usual. This may be time to use one of those Mist Balls from earlier, but they wouldn't work properly under the barrier so he would have to drop it. A few precious moments but it should be enough to gain some distance.

It was one of his last mistakes.

The moment the barrier was dropped, it seemed was the very moment he was hit much harder then he was before; not only thing but a sharp pain to his right arm as slammed into the side of a building. Grimacing he reached for his right arm-

-Only to see it feet away, twitching and holding the same ball. The pain didn't register until after the fact. It took every ounce of will not to scream as they clutched the stump where their arm used to be.

No, no. He wouldn't suffer from this humiliation. With the last of his wits, Fajari reached for a small needle that was jammed into him.

Rapidly his world faded to black. That at least could be his final victory out of spite; denying them the much wanted information of his employer.

Solomon had never fought against a magic user before so he went to the side of caution even if the Chiropteran in him wanted to rip the other man into pieces without any regards to battle tactics or awareness.

He was honestly surprised he was that angry to start. It wasn't as if he knew Matilda or Tiffania that long to begin with; maybe it was Chevalier left over instincts that wanted something to protect. Solomon didn't really have a clear answer to self diagnosis himself and the moment he cared even less.

The man, in a last act of defiance, had killed himself. It wasn't as if he cared they died, but the fact he had lost valuable information of who the man was working for and why. More curious, when they died they reverted to another form; still in servants clothes but their features were different. Darker skin and slightly, sharper, features.

Odd. A disguise spell perhaps? They weren't Chiropteran so that left shape-shifting out. Sighing, they reverted their arm back to normal once the threat was dealt with.

Heavy wings were heard moments later, Dragons and Gryphons landing on the hard floor as mage knights spread out into the streets. Leon was among one of them, angry as expected.

"Solomon, we needed him alive why-"

Solomon shook his head. "I didn't kill him," He nodded towards the dead man. "He did it himself with a strange needle before I could see and react to it. I wanted them alive too." It was curious of why he didn't use it on him in the fight though.

Leon frowned as he went closer, crouching down. After a moment they stood. "He was hired by someone, and I intend to find out who it was and why."

"As do I," Solomon agreed entirely. "The man wasn't human either."

"Not that it mattered much, you did some quick work on them," Leon saw the detached arm. "Remind me not to get on your bad side either, but considering the bastard more then deserved it."

"Sir, what do you want to do with the body?" Another one of the magic knights questioned.

"Study. Figure out what we can, maybe someone recognizes them," Leon said as they mutely nodded as he and others went to secure the body. The area was more or less secured already. "And Solomon, I can't tell you what to do as you aren't my familiar but could check on Matilda? I want to be with her but I need to take care of this first."

"I already was," Solomon replied thinking back to how he barely made it in time. A few moments late and Matilda would have died; her scared expression had been enough to leave a memory. "Let me know if you find anything so I can better protect them."

I still wonder who sent that man. It had to be someone on the inside.

It was the only thing that made sense to Solomon. In order to pull off the stunt they had, someone would have to know the schedule or at least estimate of where Matilda was and where to find her at the most vulnerable. There was also something else Solomon had thought of: with the disguise it had created a extra layer of distrust and paranoia. After all, who could you really trust?

This, probably, ironically meant he was likely one of the most trusted because of being Othomont's familiar. Add the fact his abilities weren't exactly easy to replicate meant if need be he could prove who he was after all—something that couldn't be said for everyone else.

The security was notably higher when he arrived back, guards posted in every other crevice of the mansion walls in and out. A few went to stop him at first before figuring who he was and letting him inside.

Wales, Tiffania and Matilda were in one of the top floors to the furthest end room while the guards were waiting outside. It was only when Solomon entered the room after getting passed them did he notice no guards were inside; just the three of them which surprised Solomon. Matilda was on a bed while Tiffania was laid down in her lap half way curled up to her and Wales was scowling.

The lack of Tiffania's parents concerned him. For that matter, where was Wales?

To be fair it did happen recently and they don't have instant communication but even still..

Wales noticed Solomon first, and stopped frowning as they made their way over. "Did you get the bad guys?"

Solomon smiled faintly. "I did. They won't be bothering you anymore." Or anyone else for that matter. "Where is your father?"

"I don't know," The little prince look frustrated. "Why can't he be here now? Or Tiffania's mom and dad? It's not fair."

Not fair. Those were words he would unfortunately know all too well in this world before too long and the cruel realities that made this life.

"Sometimes, we can't be with those we care about when we need them. And sometimes, sometimes, Wales, we lose sight of what is in front of us until its too late even when we think we're doing our best to preserve it." Solomon looked a bit wistful at those words before it faded.

He went over and sat down on the bed where Matilda was still quite and seemingly withdrawn for her more outgoing self. "How are you feeling? Are you still scared?"

Matilda shook her head. "I'm not scared." It was a lie. Her voice still slightly shook, her body language tense and her eyes may as well been a recording with how expressive they were.

"You know," Solomon mused. "I get scared sometimes too Matilda. It's nothing to be ashamed of, as its perfectly normal. It's what you do with that fear that defines you."

"But..you're so strong," Wales weighed in, confused. "How could you ever get scared?" Matilda said nothing, just watching him as she gently stroked the sleeping half-elves hair.

"I wasn't always strong," Solomon admitted. "In fact, I was weak once." Weak in many ways but he had paid the price and then some for it. "Even as I am now, fear isn't something that just goes away I just know how to control it more."

"How do you control it?" Matilda whispered.

"Practice and will. I also have to remember what I fight for in the first place." Solomon reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, the action capturing the attention of everyone still awake present. A locket with a old black and white picture. Solomon and Amshel were in the picture, but there was also a older gentleman and a woman in the back complete with a young blond girl around Tiffania's age.

"Is that your family?"

Solomon regarded the new voice belonging to the half-elf who had rose from her sleep, tired but obviously more alert. He smiled a bit sadly. "Was." Amshel was still around, but for all intents and purposes they were dead to each other.

Even if his faith was gone, part of him, deep down still wished there was some sort of After Life where they could have a better life elsewhere. But if there is a heaven, could I honestly say I would meet them?

"Oh.." Tiffania's blue eyes looked downward before Solomon briefly gently patted her head.

"It's in the past now," He flipped the locket closed and put it away. "My point, Matilda, is you have people important to you that care about you a lot. Your father, Tiffania and Wales for example. No one who matters will think less of you for being scared."

Matilda frowned slightly but to his relief nodded. "..Okay. Where did you get that thing with your family? I don't know what kind of magic that is."

It took a moment for Solomon to realize what they were talking about. The picture. Of course they would think of it like magic; this world hadn't developed the technology for even the most crude types of pictures.

"It's a foreign magic from my home. I don't know the mechanics of the element myself." Solomon thought a little white lie would be better then the truth in this case.

Tiffania looked up at him with sad big eyes. "Mr. Solomon, you said your family isn't here anymore. Don't you feel lonely?"

"Sometimes Tiffania," Solomon had stopped correcting Tiffania with 'Mr. Solomon'. It was just a quirk of hers and sometimes she didn't call him that. "But I manage just fine."

"You're not alone though. You have us now," Wales interjected. "Right guys?"

Tiffania merely bobbed her head up and down while Matilda tried to regain her tough act(and failing rapidly) "Right. Someone has to keep a eye on you."

Solomon felt a bit heartened and amused by the trio. "In that case, I can't refuse too much now can I?"

There was still many things that troubled Solomon about what had happened, but for now he'd push them to the back of his mind.

Ending Notes:

Not much to say. Words of advice as the vampire learned and the two Sif that jumped him previously in the anime: don't piss him off.

Power wise, Solomon is basically a supped up Gandalf with more skill, regen and a altered state that makes him more powerful. He's also the fastest thing in Halk; this is a dude who makes a joke out of higher end bullet-timers in the original show when taking off the kid gloves. His main weakness is getting around a bit more of the hax magic some of the First Born have. Even human mages if there's enough of them and they don't act like idiots could potentially kill him with the right spells(I.E. super heated magic fire and such basically)