First of all: thanks for the reviews/follows/favs. :) It's nice to see people enjoy this eh.. crappy piece of fanfiction. At least it feels crappy to me since I'm not comfortable with writing in English.

Now on to the first chapter. Enjoy. :)

Seattle had been Yana's home since two years and she enjoyed every minute of living here, of course, leaving out the recent events involving the D.U.P..

She was 21 and had a small apartment that was far away from downtown and all the turmoil caused by the sheer amount of people walking the streets – she never had been fond of being around many people at the same time. She preferred having her peace which was hard to achieve if you lived in a big and bustling city. But well, it worked. While she wasn't spending her time at home watching some crappy TV show or reading a book, she would be with her best friend or working.

Yana had a job at a small store selling baby wear and all kind of accessories a mother would need. Sometimes she felt out of place. She was still quite young and had zero experience with kids, unlike her co-workers who were all married. Most of them had kids themselves as well. All that plus the fact Yana never had a real family herself weren't really the best conditions for the job but she managed. While she felt insecure in the beginning, she started to get accustomed to the job and by now no one questioned whether she was capable of it or not.

Right now Yana enjoyed her break at a nearby Latte Owl. Cappuccino in one hand and a book in the other, she sat near a window and stared outside. Normally she would have taken the beverage to go but since the D.U.P. came to the city her need for walking the streets in her breaks had decreased. And that only because three Conduits managed to escape and Augustine was keen on finding and imprisoning them again.

Augustine.

Since the meeting five years ago Yana hadn't seen her mother again and she didn't even want to. And now? They probably would run into each other again sooner or later because out of all cities there were, the runaway Conduits were supposed to be right here in Seattle. In the first few days, when the D.U.P. started to lock down the city, Yana had wished this was all just a bad joke but she had to acknowledge it wasn't once the first scan stations were opened and no one was allowed to leave the city anymore. And it wasn't just that people weren't allowed to leave. They weren't even allowed to get inside the city. The best example for that was her best friend. She was attending her oldest brother's wedding in San Francisco. Due to the recent events her stay there became longer than anticipated. No one had the slightest idea when things would become normal again exactly.

Yana had the feeling this would take a fairly long time.

There was enough evidence that at least Abigail Walker or Fetch how the news called her was in Seattle.

Yana didn't mind. Well, meaning that she didn't have a problem with Conduits in general, just the way the D.U.P. handled them and made them look like they were utterly evil. Not to mention that a lot of people believed what they were told. With a sigh Yana turned her attention back to the book. She should have known how things would turn out sooner or later. That her mother would be closer to her than she wished for. After all, Curdun Cay wasn't too far from Seattle.

The prison was located somewhere up north, a few hours by car, behind trees and mountains. It was made for Conduits and that meant that it was built in a way that made it impossible for them to escape.

Yeah right. That's why there were Conduits on the loose. Well, they weren't in Curdun Cay when they escaped but on their way somewhere else. Whatever reasons there were to transport them to a different location in the first place. Especially if it wasn't as secure as the prison made exactly for people like them. Prison. That sounded so wrong. None of the Conduits did anything wrong. They were just... well, not entirely human. Yana had seen how people, who were claimed to be Conduits, were taken away. The sheer amount of fear clearly visible in their eyes. None of them believed what was happening to them and no one had the courage to help them.

Conduits weren't welcomed. Of course there were people who didn't have many problems with other people who were able to shoot fire from their toes but well, those were few and the worst thing – with all the 'we-hunt-down-Conduits' thing – was that everyone who sympathized with them was just as welcomed.

The D.U.P. and its propaganda did a really great job at that.

Another sigh escaped Yana's lips as a D.U.P. truck drove down the street with a fast pace. Something seemed to have happened.

"Hey Joe", she turned towards the barista. "Can you make me a small cappuccino to go? I should be heading back to work soon."

The short black haired man looked at her with a shake of his head. "You know, all that cappuccino you down in a week... I can't even drink that much in one month. Don't you think this is a little unhealthy? You should drink less of that stuff."

"Never", she laughed.

Joe was the owner of the store and he was here nearly every day or at least it felt like that. For the customers he was more than just the owner however. He was a friend. Someone who would listen to your problems like a therapist with the difference that you just had to pay for your drinks and cake. He seemed to always have a good advice, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed to be. Yana found it amazing that he wasn't going crazy over the time.

There was so much stuff Joe had to listen to. Talks about the weather, the recent shopping sprees of various wives and relationship problems in general.

In fact Yana had 'used' Joe in the same way. He was one of the very few people whom Yana had told about her mother and what had happened in the past. And so he also was one of the few people who knew that, if Yana hadn't taken her father's surname, she would indeed be named Yana Augustine. And that was a creepy idea.

Another armored truck drove down the road as Yana put the book in her bag. Something bad must have happened but neither Yana nor anyone else could hear a sound. The sirens simply vanished in the distance. Whatever it was, it was far away.

"Augustine on the rise", Joe couldn't help but to snort. "I really hope she'll leave the city soon. All those checkpoints and patrols… I don't even want to start on the cameras", he shook off the unwell feeling building up inside. The thought of being exposed to the constant surveillance of a lunatic was frightening.

Yana walked over to the bar. "Yeah, I understand your point but we can't do anything besides hoping she'll be gone soon."

"As long as those freaks run free? I don't think so."

"Conduits Joe, Conduits", she reminded him.

"I know: you don't mind them because they don't do anything wrong", before Yana had the chance to say something Joe continued. "You might be right you know, but because they're here I have to go through three controls on my way home", just because he lived on the opposite side of the city. Yana was lucky she didn't have to stand in a line in order to wait until she could put her hand on a scanner. "Everyone in this city is annoyed because of that. I'm just asking myself how long this will continue..."

"Hopefully not for long anymore – at least if you ask me, not that I have anything to say on that matter."

"Well, under… different circumstances I would say you should talk to your mother but that's not an option."

"You're right. It isn't", Yana said while grabbing the cup Joe handed her. "And there are various reasons for that. Number one would definitely be that she won't listen to me", that would've been too easy. Besides, Yana really had no need to talk to her mother at all. If she was lucky she didn't even know Yana was living in Seattle. The sooner Augustine was gone the better. Joe was right: most of the people were annoyed with her and the D.U.P. in general. A lot of stores were closed. There was no need for bars when no one was in the mood to party. Of course there still were some bars that opened but there were only a few customers in the evening hours.

The whole city seemed to be dead in a certain way.

Things needed to change fast.

~ooo~

It was an understatement to say that Reggie was stressed out. It was more than that but there were actually no words to describe all the feelings that went on inside of him and all that just because of his little brother.

The moment Delsin woke up and saw what Augustine had done to the tribe, the younger Rowe had decided to follow her in order to get her powers. Reggie understood that he wanted to save his friends... his family so to say, but Reggie was afraid of all the things that could happen. What if Delsin didn't pay attention for a second? The D.U.P. could get him anytime and that meant he would be taken to Augustine and then to Curdun Cay.

All it needed was one rash action and that was exactly what Delsin had done:

the brothers had been in Seattle for about half an hour and Delsin had marched right into a mobile command center of the D.U.P. which, of course, was a bad idea. Needless to say he had made a lot of new friends who now were after him. It had been Reggie's idea to some extent. He had to acknowledge that but it didn't mean Delsin was allowed to go off and cause confusion – which he could do best.

After Reggie had given him some coordinates of various core relays Delsin had vanished and since Reggie was nowhere as fast as his brother, he could just wait for him to return. But there was another downside: Reggie tried to call Delsin since what seemed like hours. Either way Delsin had fallen into a hole, drained the relays and fell asleep or he was fighting against more D.U.P.'s who probably had already sent around pictures of him, so everybody knew who they had to look for.

A small growl escaped his lips as Reggie stuffed his phone away and continued his way to... wherever. Being unwary of his surroundings – who could blame him for thinking about his little brother right now – he suddenly collided with something or rather someone else when he turned around a corner.

"Shit!" The moment Yana and the man ran into each other she dropped everything on the floor. An almost sad look went to her cup laying on the ground with the Latte Owl emblem on it. Her blue eyes followed the spilled cappuccino flowing down the walkway before she looked up to meet eyes with the person she ran into in order to make sure he or she was okay – it could have been some old woman after all.

But instead of a nice old lady who was in a deep shock, Yana laid her eyes on a man who looked at her just as worried as she looked at him herself.

"Are you okay?"

His voice was deep and had something very soothing about it. It took her a moment before she answered him. "Yeah... I'm fine. Sorry, I... I didn't look where I was going."

"Same goes for me", Reggie had to smile. She looked distressed somehow – in fact most of the people around did and maybe it was just his imagination but she looked even worse. His eyes turned to the ground before he knelt down and started to pick up Yana's things. She still was a little perplexed because of this whole situation. He was so... calm. Everyone else would've shouted at her, asking if she couldn't watch out and he even took some blame upon himself. Plus the fact that his jacket was now adorned by a dark stain of her drink. As he stood up she finally noticed the inscription on it which made her flinch:

she had just run into a cop.

"You sure you're okay?" He asked again as she handed the bag to her.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm just... you're a cop... I mean... you're an officer. Sorry."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to arrest you because you spilled your coffee on my jacket", he tried to reassure her.

"It's cappuccino, not coffee."

Well that was a reaction he didn't expect at all but it shouldn't bother him. There were other problems he had and if he was honest with himself he found it quite amusing. He declined her offer to pay for the cleaning. Not only because his jacket was the last thing he worried about but also because it wasn't entirely her fault – which she still didn't accept. Just as stubborn as Delsin in a certain way. She said a few more apologies before she continued her previous way, mumbling something about her work and hurrying to get there.

Yana was already on her way when Reggie began to take a step forward only to notice something lying on the ground in front of him. It was a set of keys and a staff card with a picture of the woman who stood in front of him minutes ago but now was already nowhere to be seen. She probably hadn't noticed the keys were missing but he was sure she would. The search for his brother had to wait for now, Reggie had to give the keys back to its rightful owner first.