She could hear thunders roaring in the distance, hidden behind the lumps of the gray clouds that were shrouding the early awakened Krimson City. The skies looked unnaturally dark even for Kenna's standards and her favorite color was black. November had come sooner than she'd anticipated and she did not like a single bit.

That morning, the rain was falling in a chaotic frenzy that if you turned the dishwasher on it was just impossible to hear anything except the little voices in your head, that the street below was submerged in a small flood, burying half the wheels of her neighbors' cars and the park right across the street.

She stood by the windows, absent-mindedly watching the beat of the water against the window pane and the gusting wind outside that blew the newspaper man to his feet. Her hands shoved deep inside her pockets and still, coldness somehow managed to seep in through her oversized sweater and sweatpants.

And Kenna sighed. Perfect. Just perfect.

She was behind on her bills that she couldn't afford to replace the damned heaters in the moment, she was starting to regret having had bludgeoned her boss in the head for harassing her at work. Well, not that she supported sexual harassment in a general sense, per se, but this world had never been kind to women. You got harassed and they'd expect you to grin and bear it and swallow your dignity down your throat, you got harassed and the only justice they served you was by relieving you from your job if you decided to press charge against them. Either way you were fucked; either way, no one would care.

So she took justice into her own hands. Despite poverty, at least she walked out with her dignity intact. Starvation and hypothermia were problems for another day.

Feeling that she desperately needed her first batch of coffee for the day, Kenna strode to the kitchen without further ado. The rain was starting to bore her and it didn't look like the shower would stop any soon.

One of the flaws from residing in the suburbs was how dingy their flats were. The one she lived in now was a far cry from picturesque and the rent control was a freaking steal for a low-rise building that didn't even come up with air conditioner units, though she had learned to grin and bear it. Sock foot nonchalantly pushed small unpacked boxes from her way where it hit the walls with a small thud and Kenna jokingly mused it was a good thing the walls didn't collapse because of it. This place was as rickety as her neighbor's 1980's Corolla.

Kenna's studio apartment was fitted up with the standard suburban housing from its landlord with minor breakdowns on the bathroom equipment and the obsolete plaid couch nobody asked for. She had long ditched the bed ramps and placed the mattress on the floor instead to save space, her tiny drawer couldn't even fit half of her clothes thus she kept some in the boxes. Although they could rot for all she cared. Kenna only gave a damn for the replica painting of Holst's The Kiss, something that she "borrowed" from its previous owner for years now, and her trademark studded combat boots.

Kenna was about to reach for the cupboard when the power winked out, and it looked like the whole neighborhood was affected by the outage. Her movement immediately halted though it wasn't because of the darkness of the room that caused it. Kenna wasn't the only one in the room. She knew; she could feel it, years of experience had sharpened her senses though just how ironic it was that they had her at disadvantage at her own home and the fact that she left her gun in the bedroom.

She cursed inwardly, a deft hand slowly grabbing for the kitchen knife in the drawer without making much of a sound. Kenna was clearly unprepared but she wasn't going down without a fight. Whoever this person that had the audacity to invade her privacy was in for a surprise.

"There's no need for that, Kenna. It's only me."

Kenna's whole body froze as if time had stopped. She's finally found me. She still had her back turned from her but even without relying on her eyesight, Kenna knew well whose voice it was. She placed the knife back on the counter and whirled around.

Standing before her was a woman, dressed in long blue jeans and her favorite button-down white shirt with a soft black leather jacket that probably had been Kenna's. She had this calm and collected look kind of face with her short brown hair hung loosely below her ears, a style that she had rocked pretty much ever since she was sixteen and those steel blue eyes which looked nothing like her own hazel ones despite their blood ties. Her gaze was formal and dignified but familiar despite their estrangement for years.

"Hello, sister."

"Juli," Kenna replied, cold and stern. Maintaining her ground even when she was speaking with her. She trailed her eyes around her to see she was unarmed which was quite an unusual fashion for the likes of her.

"It's… been a long time," Juli said and she noticed for the first time just how weary she looked, something that probably applied to Kenna as well. Well, at least, this was something the two had in common regarding their appearance.

"Yeah, it sure has."

"You look…"

"Like I just came straight out from 'Nam?"

Juli shrugged. "I was about to say bone-tired, but that could work."

And then there was a strained silence between the two siblings and the air suddenly felt heavy. It was quite strange, meeting her again after such a long time.

Juli had been her everything and the only person she could rely on when the chips were down. They had been through hell together back in their adolescence and one of them was their parents' unshakable obsession for Christ that they hardly had time to play around like normal children would, every weekend would be one church service after another. And as the only surviving daughters in the family, their share of fate and misery was quick to form a bond between them; they confided in each other when their others siblings chose to neglect this matter, took the matter into their own hands and fled even though it landed them in the juvy a couple of years before MOBIUS scooped them off of their feet.

You could say Mobius had their part saving their asses from the streets, but again, the devil could quote for his own purpose. And between the rock and a hard place, they didn't have much of a choice. Although Kenna felt she should have known better; she should have seen it coming before it had torn them both apart.

"So, what do you want?" Kenna questioned in askance, making her drooping eyes narrowed.

"Hmm," came Juli's voice once again, though this time, Kenna could hear a slight disappointment in it. "Even after all these years, that is how you talk to your sister?"

Kenna crossed her arms over her chest and the look on her face was far from cordial. She was being a major prick to the only surviving family member she had and she knew it, but her feelings were confounded in the moment.

In truth, she was thinking. Of all the years she disappeared from Mobius' grasp, Kenna had been watching over Juli ever since and not once she made a single attempt finding her. It would always be some Mobius Agents following her tails which she easily warded off from, but never Juli. Until now.

This was highly unusual. Kenna could be falling into the most cliché-st trap in the history of mankind, yes, but she couldn't shake that nagging feeling that something was clearly up. And she was in means to find out.

Kenna shook her head and gave a dismissal wave. "Let's just save the niceties for the honeymoon, sis. I know you wouldn't have put that much effort tracking me down if you didn't need me for something."

Juli raised her eyebrow at that. "So you knew?"

"Of course I knew. The question is why. It's been years since I had a Mobius recon team on my six, what the hell are they trying to throw at me now, huh? I thought I made it clear I'd gauge the Administrator in the eye if they try to take me back!" Kenna spat, all the hatred she harbored for the power-hungry wacko just slipped out without giving a second thought.

As if on cue, two men in suits suddenly appeared from Juli's sides and into the lighter part of the room, both wearing their sunglasses on despite the dimness. They looked somehow devoid of any human feelings as well which for as long as she remembered, everyone at Mobius was pretty much functioning like a bunch of cyborgs.

Kenna was nothing but shooting daggers at them. How dare she, she thought, having the audacity to bring these two psychos at her door. She could feel her hands balled into fists.

"And you brought your lovely goons with you... How delightful," Kenna's glare dissipated as she gave the two Mobius agents a sinister smile, the kind that would scare the devil off. If their intention had been to intimidate her, two could play that game.

"This isn't like what you think, Kenna. These are just procedure. I promise you they aren't here to jeopardize you," Juli explained, sounding like she was on the edge of her composure.

"Jeopardize me?" The woman with the long raven hair scoffed. "You know damned well I can take 'em out clean before they can lay a finger on me."

"I know," Juli nodded once. "But there's no necessity for violence here."

"Then why are you here, Jules? And don't throw me that 'because I wanted to see you' bullshit, we both know better than that," Kenna demanded. All this digress had her emotion revved up too high. "What the fuck is going on?"

Juli clenched her jaw, she clearly seemed to hesitate about this approach but quickly overcame it. If anything, she was always so good at hiding her feelings like an on and off a light switch and her shrewdness was legendary, no wonder she made a notable reputation for herself at Mobius. But this, something must have troubled her deeply to cause her this disconcerting.

"Something happened, Ken. I— we need you back. We need your help."

Kenna's shoulders tensed. Somehow, deep down, she knew. She fucking knew they wanted her back, but for what? If only she wasn't on the cusp of her curiosity, she would have gone ballistic.

"For what?"

"Remember Lily?"

"The Castellanos girl?" And Juli nodded, her face tensed. And Kenna sensed she wasn't going to like what she'd hear next. "Yeah, I remember her, alright. What's with her?"

"Something happened to her, Ken."

Fear crossed her face. "What do you mean something happened to her?"

Juli made a once-over over her shoulders before sighing. "This isn't my place to say anything at the moment, but this is crucial," she determined, earning her questioning looks from the two Mobius agents behind her. "Lily is in danger. Union is collapsing and none of the agents nor the independent contractors we sent in could find her. I don't know how much longer the STEM Machine could sustain the fall, but we need to get her out of there. We need to get everyone out."

Shit. Kenna's mind instantly propelled back to the days when she was still under Mobius' wings. That little girl. That sweet, innocent soul whose future got deprived for a mad man's arrogance now had to endure such catastrophe. She could still recall the first time she met Lily and loved every minute she spent with her. And Myra… good god, how could she ever cope with such news?

"Jesus Christ, Jules…" Fuck, this was a lot to take in for her. She wasn't even a part of them anymore, but even the news made her jaw unhinged from its place. "Shit, what did you guys do?"

"She just went loose. I don't know how, but one day she just stopped transmitting all signals from inside the STEM and Union has been slowly descending into rock bottom ever since," Juli explained and Kenna took heed. She found that she was even more appalled by the situation than she had expected.

"Shit. How's Myra taking any of this?"

Juli pursed her small lips, she looked concerned. "Bad. She's inside the Union now. She was the first to go in when the anomaly began."

Kenna cried in disbelief and tossed her hands mid-air. "Oh, yes, send in the mother. What a brilliant idea, you rapscallion bastards. Why don't you get her father as well and throw in a one fucking Castellanos reunion instead?" She suggested sarcastically and then proceeded to grab a mug from the cupboard and the saucepan from the drawer. Just in case the power went back on, she could dash off to make her coffee.

"We already sent Sebastian in."

Kenna turned to face her, a put-upon face of shock. If her eyes would pop any further, they would have been coming out of her head. "You did what?! "

"Listen, Kenna," Juli stepped closer towards her, a look of determination crossed all over her face when she spoke. When she stood before Kenna, they were about the same height making it easy for her to maintain eye contacts. "I didn't like it either, but I had no choice. Sebastian is familiar with how the STEM machine works, he was my best bet. You know me, I would have saved her myself if I could."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Excuse me?" She asked, bewildered.

"Why didn't you do it?"

Juli flinched in her place. Her eyes shooting plead for her to drop the subject, and then it just clicked in Kenna's mind.

Beacon. Of course.

Kenna might not have been there to hear the story first-hand from her, but from what she could gather from all the information she recovered through a backdoor access left by an insider at Mobius was enough to send chills down her spine. She'd read the gory, explicit details about what happened, how a madman twisted and altered the world and minds on his own whim. It was downright insane. The fact that Juli could even stand on her feet after having had to undergo such incident was astonishing.

"You don't want to go back. Shit," She answered on her own, she thought she heard sympathy lacing her own voice. Kenna almost wanted to reach out and hug her. Almost. "He made you do it, didn't he?"

At her words, Kenna could see the two men seemed like ready to pounce. Her sister, on the other hand, was striving to hide behind her facade.

"I don't want to talk about it, Ken," Juli admonished as she looked the other way. Surely this was a rough subject for her.

"Of course not. You know, we could have avoided that if only you had listened to me."

"And what? Ran away with you? Hide and constantly on the run for years without a certain future?" she snapped. "No, it's not that simple. I'm not you, sis. I wanted to live, I did, but this isn't how this world works. The only means to live is surviving. That is the only choice we have."

"Had. I'm walking on a tightrope, but at least I'm free from those corporate bullshits. 'The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave.' Proverbs 22:7, remember? And I ain't no one's slave anymore," Kenna countered. Never had she seen the day that she would use a Bible verse in an argument.

"Look, Kenna…" Juli sighed again, it was obvious she didn't have the energy to dispute about this matter. For the first time that night, she fixated right through her eyes, almost humble for her standard frankly. "Please, I'm not here to dwell on the past. I know I never asked you to do me a favor or anything, but… this is different. This is a matter of life-and-death situation. Her life hangs in a balance here, I can't let this kid die in vain, sis."

"Sending me inside the STEM under this circumstances is as good as sending me to the chopping block, Jules."

Juli stepped forward towards her sister, holding her gaze just kindly. As if afraid she would say anything wrong. "I know. I would have sent someone else but you, but I'm running out of options. And if anyone could do it, it's you, Ken. You know Union by heart; you helped us built the world and you were one of the best agents we ever had. I'm asking you to set aside your hatred for Mobius and try to see the bigger picture here."

Kenna was silent. She was surprised that she actually mused the offer over.

"If I were to do it, what's in it for me?"

Well, for a prize.

"Money, obviously. Courtesy of the Administrator himself. Enough to buy you a ticket out of this cesspool of a town."

"Can he pay me full in advance?" Kenna inquired offhandedly. She was thinking about her overdue bills and the $400 debt she owed to her neighbor downstairs that she had been avoiding to use the stairs for the past month.

"No," answered Juli. "But we can give you a quarter if you'd go with us to the facility right now," gesturing her head towards the door behind her.

Kenna hummed in acknowledgment, drumming her fingers furiously on the counter as her mind went gyrating. "And what about you? I mean, what will you do?"

Juli gave her a sad, warm smile. "You don't have to worry about me, sis. I can take care of myself."

At that, Kenna flashed her a cheeky grin. "Yeah, well, I have no doubt about that."

The rain had become mere drizzle now, like soft feathers falling from the sky. At this rate, Kenna could see the sun had started to creep in behind the mass of clouds that she didn't even realize the power had gone back on. The rain would stop anytime soon without a doubt.

Somewhere in the back of her head, Kenna knew going back was a huge retrograde for her conviction, but at the same time, she just couldn't ignore her sister's call for a plea. Call it a familial sentiment, but even with their fallout, Juli was still her younger sister she needed to look out for. She was the only one she had in this world.

"So, will you do it?" Juli asked, hopeful.

Well, I guess this is it, Kenna thought. Back to the devil's doorstep once more.

With that, Kenna set her decision straight.

"Alright, sister. I'm in."