Meanwhile, Andrea was on the rooftop of her own precinct that she worked, the 20th precinct. Standing by a searchlight, a silk moth caterpillar demon came out of the shadows, wearing armored dark purple archery gear with a hood. He was dressed in a pair of reflecting goggles covering his eyes. Andrea turns around to see her dear friend and colleague as Memento Dark walks towards her.
Andrea critiques the new look, "Ah, so I see you have ditched the old rags that your mother gave you. Quite nice. It makes you look like you are serious about saving the day and all that."
Memento Dark couldn't help but laugh a little as he fired back, "well, Goth Punk Detective. I have to stay current."
"Oh, I forgot. It's Goth Punk Lieutenant in a couple of weeks," Andrea posted. "You really did have one hell of a rookie year, Memento. Going one-on-one with Empress Sabretooth, putting the unholy six of New York on notice…"
"But…" Memento Dark contradicted.
"The unholy six are done. And Bernard 'Breezy' Evans died on his way to the hospital, leaving Lorelei Kenny in Bellevue."
"As much as I detest murder, it was only a matter of time before somebody would try to make a name off them," Memento Dark said.
"And that's the problem. There is always going to be someone bigger and better coming up the ranks. Testing us, trying to prove the world," Andrea ranted.
"Of course, there is always going to be somebody better. That's why we must stay focused. Nobody ever thought a couple of bugs and couple of magicians would defy the will of a God or in many cases, demigods and not only live but win. That gave humanity a chance to become better. It gave everyone the opportunity to become better. Even them," Memento Dark lectured.
"Well, you know what they say. The best help or the best things in life, you don't really want, or you don't really plan for. The only question is, are you going to take it?" Andrea asked. Memento Dark had an answer for the question but as he knows all too well any answer to her question is a wrong one.
Afterward, Andrea spoke about the crime scene, "so I have taken a look around the warehouse. The seven men who were protecting the unholy six were former military; SAS, Spetsnaz, even United States Marine Cops. One of them even served as a CTO in England five years earlier. I would guess it was the demon hunters with their master wanted to stamp out any threat to his new University he is reopening a couple of days from now."
"At first sight, the public would think so," Memento Dark counterpointed. "Looking at the scene, there was only one killer responsible. But it wasn't out of revenge. It was a reckoning. Let's be honest, over the years, things have become way too comfortable. People are enjoying this somewhat cease-fire, and nobody wants to jeopardize it."
"I guess everybody who wants things to go back to the way things were, are just trying to regroup and its back on that pale horse again," Andrea lectured.
"It won't be too easy for them. More than ever, humans are more efficient to stop daemonic threats without murder. And there has been more positive human/demon/selphiel relations than it's ever been thanks to the incident in England."
This revelation shocked Andrea, "Let me get this straight, are you happy that the demon hunters failed?"
Memento Dark shook his head and disagreement, "Nobody won, Andrea. And that was the point. We all lost. We were all broken. And we had two choices. I'm just glad everyone made the safest choices."
This made Andrea giggle as she playfully punched Memento Dark's arm, "you sound just like your mother. What's next, your gonna watch what I eat?"
"No, that's Chloe's job," Memento Dark chuckles.
Memento Dark and Andrea Mercy are the best of friends. In fact, Andrea knows the identity of Memento Dark and his older brother, Sidewinder. But that is another story.
"So, where is Rahkaze?" Andrea asked.
"He's around. But he is getting ready for his trip to Germany."
"You're not going?"
"I'm needed here. Besides, there's nothing out there for me but ghosts waiting to expire. Supposedly, Claire and Aurora will give the invite to us in person. But that's just speculation."
"Maybe they might give him that degree that he already earned," Andrea suggested.
"Even though he was trained to be a demon hunter, he refuses to be one," Memento Dark explains.
"Man, do I really want to be a fly on that wall tomorrow," Andrea laughed out loud.
"They were plenty of issues before any of us ever went to the Demon Academy. Unsettled differences that finally caught up to the hunters," Memento Dark admitted.
"Oh, your brother will be okay. Yeah, he can put his own tail in his mouth and suck down his own gas, but he'll be fine," Andrea encourages as this puts a smile on Memento Dark's face. "As for me, I'm not worried. There was nothing lost. Nothing to gain. They have only themselves to blame."