An hour later, driving in her sports car as fast as she could without being pulled over, Andrea left the crime scene early, since there was no reason to hang around any further.

The motive was clean-cut: it was a joint project gone wrong, but who in the world would take a shot at the Angel of Death and the Killer Queen? She turned on the satellite radio to clear her head; it was a nightly FM radio show called “The 1300,” which talks about current events all over the world:

“Hello, everyone. My name is Marguerite Fuchs, and this is October 7, 2014 version of ‘1300.’ Our top story of tonight we are less than one month away from the fifth anniversary of the tragic event which happened in England claiming 247 lives and injuring thousands.

“Now being called as the Holy Hire Bombing, in which a group of Oleander Syndicate members was pursuing a suspect. In many reports, one of them armed with an electrical weapon, shot at the supposed missile to disarm it. Unbeknownst to the Oleander Syndicate members, it was a Mark 77 bomb containing napalm, only to trigger it, causing an explosion.

“The horrifying event was caught on film as the city of London was showered in a mixture of white smoke and fire on November 9th. Mainly, the napalm bomb took out many who were conspired to take part in another global war on terror.

“Thankfully, the global expansion of terror was halted after the incident occurred, causing unidentified operatives to escape. Unfortunately, the members of this ‘elite squad of the Nether’ have been disavowed by governmental officials, and no further information about them has been released to the public since then.

“Three days later, an intricate leak was discovered. A whistleblower who has claimed to work for the Oleander Syndicate for many years broke their silence. Although their names and likenesses were never leaked. However, who they were, caused a bigger stir amongst the public. It turns out that the Oleander Syndicate members were ‘Nether-users’ themselves, and they have acted independently to protect their own interests.

“Hours after the leak, many national broadcasters over the world wanted to question the Oleander Syndicate in Spain and their current grandmaster Dolph Eichner, only to be met by no answers.

“It has been five years almost to the date of the bombing. An event that changed our world about humanity and understanding, just to name a few alike, causing constant awareness and knowledge without murder with the Iraqi war finally ending.

“Many believe the people who are responsible for expanding and prolonging the war Oleander Syndicate are only be forging bad memories of oppressed those with demonic heritage who in large part have been wholly misunderstood and had no other options to act accordingly due to society’s misconceptions of them and benefiting on their blatant ignorance.

“While the former faculty of the Oleander Syndicate was not on file and the former operatives of the Oleander Syndicate who have taken a code of silence, most say it is a new regime who questions the modern practices of the current grandmaster.

“However, since the past year, an angelic figure that goes by the name Memento Dark has been making appearances throughout the world as of late. To many, he has become the real symbol of hope and equality. Though not many people agree of such vigilante tactics. Many people can defend that what he is doing is necessary to keep many of the overzealous and the discontent in check.

“Strangely enough, the Assistant District Attorney Jocelyn Shane has assigned the 20th precinct who handles such cases with demonology attached, has awarded them a priority to hunt down and capture Memento Dark. However, it has been three weeks, and there hasn’t been any development.

“While many are divided in two when it comes to Memento Dark, they could at least meet in the middle and agree about this shadowy figure: Memento Dark is indeed making a difference in these desperate times of understanding.”

Pulling up in front of her father’s precinct, she parked the car and got out. Sprinting towards the entrance, she made a beeline to the elevator and took it all they to the 12th floor. Then she got off the 12th floor and made her way up to the rooftop. On the rooftop, they were four searchlights on every corner. She went over everyone and turned them on.

Standing by a searchlight, a royal purple/royal blue-winged diara 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 descending from the dark sky.

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. I’m gonna get my own little office in a few weeks,” Andrea posted as she approached him. “You really have started something in your rookie year, Memento Dark. Going one-on-one with Oleander Syndicate on different occasions, putting the Red Arrow on notice…”

“But…” Memento Dark contradicted.

“Everyone is still restless… And it’s getting harder and harder to contain this civil war inside the coalition as they are recruiting more people day by day,” Andrea sadly reporting.

“As much as I detest murder, it was only a matter of time before somebody would try to make a name off Eichner. Even his sister is not death proof, and she realizes that now,” Memento Dark commented.

“And that’s the problem. There is always going to be someone bigger and better coming up the ranks. Testing us, trying to make a name for themselves,” Andrea ranted.

“Of course, there is always going to be somebody better. That’s why we must stay focused. Nobody ever thought a bunch of ‘fairies’ would defy them and not only live but win. That gave humanity a chance 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 to the question, but as he knows all too well, any response to her question is a wrong one.

Afterward, Andrea spoke about the crime scene, “so I have looked around the warehouse. The seven men who were protecting Hu were former military, SAS, Spetsnaz, even United States Marine Corps. One of them even served as a CTO in England four years earlier. I would guess it was Xerxes wanted to stamp out any threat to his new regime.”

“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.”

“I guess everybody who wants things to go back to the way things were,” Andrea lectured.

“It won’t be too easy for them. More than ever, humans are more efficient in stopping daemonic threats without murder. And there have been more positive interspecies 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 Oleander Syndicate 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, you 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 family very well. But that is another story.

“So, where is Rahkaze?” Andrea asked.

“He is getting ready for his trip to Madrid two weeks from now,” he proudly announced. “they invited me too, but I’m needed here. Besides, there’s nothing out there for me.”

“I think it will be a change of pace! I’m meeting up with Chole when we get there. That is another one who needs to take a break from it all…” Andrea wondered.

“It’s been a while since I have seen her in person…” Memento Dark reminisces.

“And that’s the point, go with your brother and be ‘normal’ for once,” Andrea baited.

And it was a good idea. Memento Dark hasn’t seen Chole in five years ever since the incident in London. Since then, Chloe has dived into her studies relentlessly after leaving her old life behind. What she was looking for or trying to achieve, who really knows. But it was time for Chloe to see her old friends again.

“I’ll think about it…” Memento Dark waivered.

Memento Dark spread his wings and ascend to the sky. He knew his night was far from over. On the other side of town, he would try to find some answers.