"....smell mana?" Jaden asked.

"Yes." Dom replied.

"I... always thought that was a weird thing with dhampirs." Jaden then said.

"Nope." Dom responded.

"It's literally something you inherited from me." he confirmed.

"...wow..." Jaden mumbled.

"I wonder if that explains some of the self-loathing I used to feel..." he then wondered aloud.

"I... yeah, I guess so..." Jaden replied quietly.

"Anyway, continuing on." Dom chimed in, clearing his throat a bit.

"I could tell that I was being followed, so I shifted course and took them down another path. I knew there was an abandoned cabin that was a bit close to where we lived, but I needed to keep up the illusion that I was unaware they were there, and too drastic of a change would have aroused their suspicions." he reasoned.

"....hm." Jaden muttered.

"So I went to the cabin and stepped inside... which was then they struck. I was ready for them, however, and managed to avoid some of the damage they would have dealt to me." Dom continued. "That being said, 4 hunters against 1 is NOT a fair fight, and they were prepared for anything and everything." he said further.

"Meaning what, exactly?" Jaden asked.

"Well, to cut a long story short, one of them had... well, bombs, essentially." Dom responded. "Which meant that they were willing to blow up our house, and us inside it." Dom told them. "However, I needed to stop them. They were a bit much for me, so I did the one thing I could think of... I got close to the one they had designated as the carrier for them... and... I set them off prematurely." he regaled.

"...so you blew them up, as well as the cabin." Jaden said quietly.

".....if I were to wager a guess, the resulting explosion caused your mother to make the decision of hastily fleeing with you." Dom surmised.

"Which... to be fair, was what I was hoping for."

"Well... I DID survive the explosion, obviously." Dom replied. "But... barely." he said.

"From what I recall, I was trying to get to the actual house, but I collapsed on my way. I was ready to die then and there." he told them. "But... I was saved." he then said.

"By whom?" Jaden inquired.

"....I can't remember." Dom admitted. "I was not in the right state of mind, and when I came to, they were gone."

Jaden looked at Sydney, and thought for a moment.

"...hm." he mumbled.

"That... yeah, that would make sense." he admitted.

"...well, glad YOU two seem to know what's going on." Dom commented.

"Regardless... yeah, that's what happened." he sighed.

"I'm sorry it came to that." he apologised.

"...." Jaden was just silent, before shaking his head.

"....." Dom was silent for a moment.

"As long as I'm allowed to." he said.

"...what does that mean, exactly?" Jaden asked.

"Well... it can mean two things." Dom admitted.

"If I can talk to my boss and have it that I'm stationed here." he told them. "But... it's Sydney's house." he went on, gesturing to the vampire.

"I leave when she kicks me out."

"Trust me, even with MY sense of smell, there was guesswork involved." Dom responded.

"And technically, I don't even exist." he added.

"I'm sorry?" Jaden muttered, clearly confused.

"I'm on a special force that works for the Council. We do things for the Head that... well... need to be done, and they need to be done quickly, and quietly." he continued.

"So... you're in a Special Ops team? Like a stealth operative?" Jaden asked.

"Basically." Dom confirmed.

"....not gonna lie, that sounds badass as all get-out." Jaden admitted quietly.

Dom and Jaden watched Sydney go into the portal, before they looked at each other.

"I suppose we have catching up to do." Jaden said.

"...suppose so." Dom agreed.

And so they did. They talked for a few hours, before the subject of Desiree came up, and more discussion was had, though it was more about her. They decided that, since Dom knew about Desiree's father, it may be beneficial for her and him to meet, though Dom stressed it would be on HER terms.

They then parted ways, and Jaden returned to the place he shared with Desiree.

"...hey, Desiree?" Jaden called out, looking around as the portal he'd made closed behind him.

"You home!?" he asked, wondering if she could hear him or not, assuming she was home, still.

Jaden was silent, before nodding.

"Yeah." he said.

"It was... interesting. And enlightening." he went on.

"Though the most interesting part has to do with YOU." he continued, before pausing.

"All right, I worded that poorly." he admitted. "However, some things came up, and you'll be interested to know them." he told her.

"Got time to sit and listen?" he asked.

"Right." Jaden said.

"Well, I learned something." he told her.

"I learned that we have more in common than I thought, though YOU were probably aware of it for a long time." he commented, sighing quietly.

"I have... well... a hunter trait." he said.

"My ability to effectively smell mana is... a hunter's trait." he went on.

"I'm the son of a Hunter."

"....I see." Jaden replied.

"That's fair." he said. "I can understand your reasoning behind that." he told her.

"Anyway, that's not even the most surprising this." he then said.

"Yes, I learned that my hunter's trait came from my father." he continued, before pausing a moment, bracing himself, and then sighing quietly.

"....and I learned it from the man, himself."