Angel threw off the blanket and stumbled off the couch. Since his mom’s apartment had been caught in the earthquake, he’d given her his room until they could get everything figured out.

He threw on a pot of coffee. It wasn’t the best, or even all that good, but it got the job done. Only working part-time as a bus driver didn’t leave him much money to spare, after all. Besides, he wasn’t that big on the flavor of coffee either way. He just needed the caffeine.

Well, he needed the caffeine and the warmth. The cold air bit at his ears the moment he left the apartment. Early mornings in January were frigid.

The meetup with Ren and Marcy is at 9:00… that leaves me two hours. Not thinking about where he might end up, Angel hopped on the bus. Only a couple other people were onboard this early, being a mother and her son. The boy was rowdy, moving as much as he could while his mother tried her best to keep him in his seat. The boy was six years old at most.

“Mooooom!” The boy pleaded, pulling at his mother’s coat. “I don’t wanna go home!”

Angel couldn’t help but laugh a little. However, his mood soured as he turned back toward the window and saw where he was. He wondered why he signaled for the bus driver to stop.

It felt like an eternity since Angel was last at his mother’s apartment. The entire area was abandoned now. The rubble was gone, yes, but so was everything else. The buildings in disrepair and the massive hole in the pavement only added to an odd sense of dread the area brought. Somehow, it felt like the same dread he had when he faced that first demon. 

That demon didn’t seem much stronger than the demon at the dry cleaner’s, but Ren made it seem like the demon behind a cavern that big was supposed to be extra powerful.

Even after everything, Ren still seemed like he was hiding something - some key element that he had no business hiding… If Ren wasn’t able to fully let Angel in on this, how was he supposed to do what he needed to? That’s right. There was no way he could.

Angel let out an exasperated sigh as he thought to himself, The apartment where I grew up… gone just like that. Angel kicked a rock down the hole, watching it hit the ground. Even something like this can be forgotten so quickly.

Just then, a voice came from behind the young man. It was a familiar and startling voice. “Angel, what are you doing here?”

The cold of the winter morning made Angel’s lungs sting as he began to panic. After a few seconds, he was able to just muster up enough courage to turn behind him and see… nothing. Nobody. Dallon had messed with his head again. Nobody else was here.

What a joke.

* * *

“It’s a shame what happened to that coffee shop.” Ren took a bite of his breakfast: a cup of coffee, a slice of french toast, and some fruit on the side. “That place had the best coffee in the city.” From the looks of it, he was wearing the same suit as yesterday. 

“It was alright, I guess.” Angel took a big bite of his omelet. “Too sweet though.” 

Ren looked at Angel with an eyebrow raised. 

Nearby, the bell of the diner made a little ring. It looked like Marcy had finally arrived. “Sorry I’m a little late. My roommate had to give me another lecture about ‘responsibility’.” She set down her bag under the table and took a seat by Angel.

Ren nodded, “That’s alright, I’m sure the waitress can get your order when she comes around again.”

“My order?” She gave him a confused look. “No, I’m alright. I grabbed something before heading out. I figured we'd just be talking about what happened yesterday.” 

Angel nodded. Honestly, I thought the same thing. “Well, that was the plan, at least. When I got the idea to meet at this cafe, I didn’t realize how much Ren liked his breakfast.” 

“I was just trying to be polite.” Ren took a napkin and cleaned himself up, as if there was anything to clean. Even at a small diner, he carried himself in such a proper way. “Oh well, I suppose I can use this opportunity to go a bit more in depth with an explanation…” 

Ren went on to explain what he had told Angel before, what we had gathered from our experience against that last demon, and shared some of the history of the Yoshimaru family with Marcy. Then he got into the meat of things. 

“My worries seem to have been justified… Because that first chasm was opened so forcefully, demons will be springing up around Liberty City for a while. That first chasm basically loosened up all the soil in the area, which makes it easier for all the worms in the area to move around. The extermination will take a while, but we’ll be taking care of it as things come up.” Ren tries to give Marcy a reassuring smile. “So there isn’t much to worry about.”

“So when can I join?”

Angel’s attention shot over to Marcy. “Look, we’re not asking you to join or anything. Just figured you should know what was going on.”

“Are you kidding me? You’ve gotta be. You tell me all these things - things that sound like they’re out of some book - and you expect me to just keep on going about my business? Just ignore it? Hell no - there’s no way I’d pass up an opportunity like this!” She pointed at her patch and added, “Besides,  I don’t know what else I’d do with this thing.”

The patch gave Marcy a glare, though she didn’t seem to notice. Ren did, however, and was silently intrigued.

He leaned closer and nodded. “Well, then that settles things, doesn’t it? It looks like we’ll have one more person joining us in this extermination. With my best estimates, I’d say we can get this done in three months maximum, even with each of your prior commitments.”

Quick… Angel stared at Ren for a moment before swallowing the bubbling feelings inside of him and shoving them down with more of his omelette.

Meanwhile, Ren took out a card from his suit and handed it to Marcy. It was a business card of sorts with his phone numbers written in a fancy style. “If you find a demon prowling around the city, find the nearest phone and call us. Both Angel and I will do the same if we’re to find one. Even if I might be able to handle a demon on my own, the two of you could use some practice if you ever plan on committing to this.” 

Well, from the looks of it, everyone present was set on this. Angel was determined to protect people from the same threat that had hurt his mother, Ren wanted to rebel, and Marcy was far too interested to just ignore it. Their dreams had been so intertwined that they couldn’t be torn apart. 

* * *

“So… Angel.” Marcy sat directly across from Angel when they got on the bus. “I’ve seen you around the library, and my friend said she used to know you. Seemed to have a high opinion of you when I brought you up again yesterday night.” 

A high opinion? Angel supposed she was trying to seem casual, but he could see just as well as anybody that she was uncomfortable. “Well, I’m glad she does.” He tried to remember who she was talking about and vaguely recalled seeing her with someone yesterday. “She worked at the bodega on Pine Avenue, right?”

“Yeah, Liberty City Deli.”

“Yeah, I thought so… Been a while.” That’s where I met him, wasn’t it? A lump was forming in his throat and an anxious feeling filled his body. “It was by my Grandma’s old place. Used to take me there when I was little. Got some good sandwiches.”

Marcy took a deep breath before trying to reassure Angel with a smile, as she was able to tell he was just as nervous as she was. “Look, I know your deal. I’m sure you know I do anyway… Kinda hard not to, we went to the same high school before everything happened.”

Yeah, I saw that coming… He could tell what Marcy was trying to do, but that anxious feeling only got worse. That stain would keep on creeping up unless he made people forget, after all.

“But hey…” Marcy’s smile got a bit more genuine. “... You saved my life, and you’re risking your life to help people. Even if you did something stupid, I’m sure you had your reasons. Maybe some West Side Story type stuff, right?”

That got Angel to crack and laugh a little. “Yeah, could’ve been. Like Romeo and Jullliet, right?” He nodded and joked, “Yeah, I had a forbidden love once… her name was Natalie Hahn. She was from a whole different world; There was no way we could be together, it just wouldn’t ever work.”

“Natalie Hahn… I think I’ve heard that name before…” Yes, she had heard it at least a few times before.

“She’s an actress on TV. She plays the grandmother on ‘That’s Jones’. Absolutely stunning.”

Marcy was a bit dumbfounded for a moment before bursting out laughing. Angel was just glad the joke seemed to land. “The grandma? Really? That’s crazy!”

They continued to joke around for a little while. It was relieving for both of them. However, eventually it was time for Angel to leave. “Well, this is my stop. I’ll see you around.”