Basically, this is just going to be another filler cause I want to give you readers a glimpse of Kenna and Yukiko's friendship and how much they put their trust in each other. Because, I'm sorry, but how the developers treated her character was just appalling. Yukiko Hoffman was by far one of the best characters in the entire series, and I'm here doing her justice. Enough said.

Of course, I would like to thank moi Madeline Axelle! Without her, well... I dunno what I'd be without her. I love you gal! Do throw away that angst and good luck keeping up with your prompts! And to my baby bro, thank you for all the help and advices. You are awesome and I love you :*

Lastly, enjoy. If you like leave a review, if you don't leave a review.

Her footfalls echoed throughout the rickety staircase, loud and menacing just like the claps of thunder as she raced towards the upper level with every ounce of strength. Her mind was focusing solely on that scream of distress, the one that set the fire inside her running.

She tumbled on the last stair and fell on the hardwood floor on her shoulder. She swallowed the pain like a bitter pill, refusing to let anything hinder her from her objective and rose to her feet.

"Juli!" Kenna bellowed, swaying her way towards the door, the one with the plaque 'Juli' with an angel ornament on it where her sister's scream only grew louder. She tried the doorknob but appeared to be locked. She banged on the door and shouted. "Juli! Juli, I'm coming!"

Kenna could hear movements from the inside of the room, someone was thrashing something. The sound of the bedside lamp shattered on the floor and she knocked out the door using her good shoulder.

"Juli, I — " whatever words Kenna wanted to say died in her throat upon entering the room. There was no one there.

"Juli?" she tried again, swiveling her head around the room when the door abruptly closed behind her. Kenna turned around, appalled. She went to the door once more with measured caution only to find it locked.

And even in her own dream, Kenna could sense terror clouding over her even before it greeted her. She just knew. As fire alight from the door handle and onto her hand, she shrieked. As fire scraped and devoured her flesh like termites chewing on wood, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Th e old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

The person — a man, murmured in her ear just before her vision blacked out.

Kenna awoke with a gasp, her thoughts like a train wreck. She was visibly pale under the dim lights of the room.

What was that? What in the actual fuck was that?

Of all the places that her dream could have taken her, why insisted on taking her back there? And not to mention, why would even her head twist things up like that? Worse, Kenna somehow could still feel the heat from before, like pin-pricks on her skin.

It riled up her and now she felt worse than the first time she landed in the juvenile center, completely battered after a row with pretty much the Titan of a person for having tried to mug him. In Kenna's own defense, she hadn't known it belonged to him or she would have had avoided the incident completely.

But back to the matter in hands, Kenna was full blown pissed. It was as if this place was taunting her, rubbing the most personal and deepest part of her life on her face and laughed at it.

Whatever level of hell that she'd been thrown into, she would want to meet whatever creature was guarding it, gave it a piece of her mind and threatened Charon to escort her out, thank you very much.

Because seriously, fuck Union.

"Must have been quite a dream." said a voice from across the room. Kenna tilted her head to the side to see Yukiko Hoffman neatly aligning papers and slipped them in inside a manila. Her straight jet-black hair, even darker than Kenna's, glimmered in the stark windowless room like the sea in the night.

Kenna sat up on the couch she'd sprawled on and sighed, still feeling miserable. Placing the heels of her gloved hands on her eyelids, she let the adrenaline in her veins to slow down. Again, Kenna took the comfort knowing that that part of her life had ended. That it was only a dream — although a patently cruel one, but a dream nonetheless.

"Was it that obvious?"

"You were pretty much thrashing around and mumbling incoherently in your sleep, so yes," the woman shrugged, her attention was still glued to the papers before shifting to Kenna. Her eyes narrowed. "And you look pretty pale, Kidman."

Kenna sat up straighter.

"I'm okay," she lied. "Just some stupid dream. Weariness must have caused it."

"Figures. You had nearly stumbled on your way to the couch before hogging it, anyway. I would have kicked you out if you had snored any louder."

Kenna couldn't help but chuckle. "Rude. You know, I could have stayed awake if your coffee hadn't tasted like crap, Yukiko."

Hoffman pouted as she raised her mug and sipped. "I don't know, it tastes fine to me," her face twisted into a grimace. " Ish. "

She merely rolled her eyes. "Now I know you're just teasing me."

Kenna reached out for her discarded jacket on the floor and wore it. She then made her way to where Hoffman was sitting.

"I've gathered everything you need regarding the Stable Field Emitter. Schematics, map points, security codes, they are all in that file," Hoffman handed her the file, Kenna noticed the psychologist's scrawl on the cover. "And these are the dossiers for Theodore and Stefano. Just as you requested."

She gestured towards the other two manila folders on the desk table where both covers flipped open. Her eyes instantly found the photograph of Stefano, clad in a black and white suit and she simply stared, distracted.

Kenna quickly shifted her attention to Theodore's dossier and skimmed over the texts when she could feel Hoffman's eyes on her. Her head was still too jumbled to even peruse some of the contents into her head.

"Yeah, I think they should be enough to help out," she decided to regard them later. One where her head had returned to her body, preferably. Well, not literally. "Thanks for the help, Hoffman. I owe you one."

"More like more than one, don't you think?" she alluded humorously and Kenna grinned.

"What was that? I thought once upon a time you said that generosity is the virtue that produces peace."

Hoffman laughed and gave her arm a nudge. "That's Buddhism. And don't test me, Kidman."

Easy to say that Hoffman was probably one the few individuals that Kenna actually considered the "good guys" in her book despite standing under MOBIUS' umbrella and their moral depravity. She was reasonable and cool-headed, never hesitated to help the others mainly because her position as one of the company's psychologist, though, there were countless of times that Hoffman actually helped out of pity, not duty.

She had aided Kenna back then when she went through some difficult phase in her life, providing advices that would give a "conciliatory" yin to her "troublesome" yang. Hence, she respected the living hell of the woman.

"Can I ask you something, though? Why Theodore? I mean, what does he have anything to do with all of this?" Hoffman enquired.

"All of it," answered Kenna as she hoisted herself up on the table. Careful enough not to bump on the computer and Hoffman's brewing mug. "He's bat-shit crazy. He's the reason why this all started in the first place."

"Wait, what? "

"You heard me. Turns out that man is not like your average textbook motivational speaker and he wants Lily for himself. Have you ever seen those creeps with flamethrowers running around here?"

"I have."

"Well, they are his puppets. I don't have the slightest clue what the heck did he do to them, but they are his doing."

"Wait a second, wait a second, not that I'm not buying this new set of information from you, but what the hell? " she blurted. "This is Theodore Wallace that we're talking about. That man hardly curses for all I know."

"Yes, I know that we're talking about the same Theodore fucking Wallace, but believe me when I say that that man is a murderer, a despot and a psychopath at its best. And he's been slithering right under our nose the whole time. I hope you all have a backup plan for the Plan, because obviously he just screwed up the whole parade," Kenna stared at the wall for a long time, pondering. "And Myra…"

Hoffman huffed sadly. "I still can't believe that she turns… well, whatever you said she is now. Have you told Juli about this?"

"Yeah. She didn't take the news well, either."

"No doubt."

The entirety of Hoffman's safehouse fell into a silence then. And yet, the room felt loud enough for Kenna as if both of their heads were projecting their thoughts in the air. Their thoughts were a riot, a collision of doubt and trepidation.

"Shit," Hoffman suddenly groaned. An elbow on the table, she used her free hand to massage her temples. " Shit. We are screwed, aren't we? First Myra, now Theodore..."

"Maybe," Kenna conceded. "But do have some faith, Hoffman. For a psychologist, you are a pretty tad pessimist."

"Not a pessimist, just a realist. I don't like our odds."

"Neither do I," she concurred. Kenna thought Hoffman had the right to be on edge at times like these.

"What about Stefano? What are you going to do with him?"

"Stefano is inessential. I found out that he was one of Theodore's goons before went rogue," said Kenna, her hand automatically reaching for his dossier. Her gaze once again fixated on his picture. "I only need his dossier as a… precaution."

Hoffman's brows drew together, positively confused. "Are you saying that he's harmless?"

Kenna was so hard-pressed not to guffaw at the thought. She thought the world where Stefano Valentini was a harmless, benevolent human being would be the world where Kenna Kidman was a Nobel prize-winning chemist.

"No, definitely, definitely not harmless," Kenna said, looking down to meet the psychologist in the eyes. "I mean he's tried to kill me after all."

"And he will do it again, Kenna. He's dangerous," Hoffman added solemnly. And Kenna's face fell. Hoffman then gestured for his dossier that was on Kenna's lap, looking worried. "You really need to read his dossier. I piled up some newspaper clippings about his testimony on Emily Lewis' death and his words… they are troubling, to say the least."

Her words creating bubbles of doubt in the pit of her stomach.

Regardless, Kenna dared to ask. "How troubling?"

"Let's just say on the scale of this-man-is-a-serial-killer troubling. I think he murdered that girl, Kenna."

"Okay, but it's not like we haven't known that he is a serial killer?" Kenna pointed out.

Hoffman shook her head, she had that look on her face that whenever she had one of her theories swimming inside her head. "It's not just that. He's a process-focused killer, Kenna. That makes him ten times more dangerous."

Kenna quirked an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Serial killers are classified into two types: act-focused and process-focused. Act-focused killers tend to kill quickly and mostly driven by the need to get rid of particular people. But process-focused killers… they enjoy the act, Kidman. They torture and find enjoyment from the slow death of their victims. They either kill for the thrill of it or because they wish to play 'god' of a person's life. In Stefano's case, I think he does it for the former."

That shouldn't be surprising.

A murderer was a murderer after all despite their categorization, despite their weapon of choice, despite their motives. Stefano killed a soul on his will, and she needed not to check how was her moral compass these days to know how vicious it was. But as far as Kenna perceived she'd thought he did it for the latter reason of Hoffman's explanation. The idea of one enjoying torturing his victims… that was enough to make her stomach jumped on the trampoline and fell faceplant to the ground.

Some part of Kenna wanted to dispel the notion. Remembering that Hoffman had zero ideas about the uneasy truce that Stefano and she had made earlier, but at the same time, she couldn't help the probability of her words rang in her head. True, he had said that he had no intention to kill her this time, but a person could always bend the truth, couldn't they?

Once he achieved what he had aimed, and then what? Striking a deal with the devil himself wouldn't guarantee that he would show you the way out of hell, she should have known better.

But again, what choice did she have?

"So now we have two psychopaths on the loose and I'm the one MOBIUS wanted to get the job done. Perfect. Just another day at the office," Kenna lowered her head in her hands, nails scraping her scalp she definitely felt like tearing her hair out. Maybe she indeed wouldn't leave this place sane once this is all over.

Or alive.

"Two high-functioning psychopaths," Hoffman corrected. "While I have always hated using that term, but that's what they are. Don't forget that they managed to slip right through under the radar, because… Because of me."

Kenna stared at Hoffman, her expression wistful. She realized that this was getting personal.

"You couldn't have known," Kenna said kindly, displaying genuine pity.

"In which, I should have known. It's my job to screen these people and prevent them from entering Union, Kenna, and here they are. This is all my fault," she sighed dejectedly as she tried to collect her bearings, though looking even more frustrated with each second that her voice was on the verge of quivering.

How long had Hoffman been feeling this way? In her opinion, Yukiko was the last person that should be invested in this so-called guilt— after all, being a part of MOBIUS was about making bad calls and expecting to feel nonchalant about it.

She did so little to contribute to the matter, and this whole god churning mess had already been havoc from the get-go. They all knew well the consequences if they disobeyed the Administrator's commands. Once MOBIUS had your hands tied, choices meant nothing anymore.

"Listen, Yukiko, if you want to point your finger so badly at someone, be my guest, but point it at the right person. Because I'm not going to stand here and watch you take all the blame for this shindig. You could have spotted Stefano or Theodore, you could have screened dozens more like them and it wouldn't matter because Union is just a part of Mobius' cash machine, and machines ultimately break. Union is only a matter of time," Kenna continued as she jumped off of the table. She then squatted down to meet her eye-level, her expression serious.

"What matters now is getting everyone out of here alive. The clock's ticking. As much as it pains me to agree with that stuck-up bastard, he's right. Second place is not an option."

Hoffman huffed and then nodded mutely. She was beginning to coming back to her senses as she leaned back in her chair, her expression gradually softened.

"You're right. There is so much at stake right now," she concurred before facing Kenna again, certainty had finally resumed its rightful place on her face. "But know this, I won't let you do all the legwork, Kenna. I won't let you do this on your own."

"As much as I appreciate the offer, Yukiko, but no." Hoffman appeared more than ready to protest, when Kenna raised a hand. "I sort of have a plan? Well, a plan, nonetheless, but I need to do this on my own."

There was a brief pause. If she had appeared desperate then, now the psychologist was bewildered.

Hoffman gave her a warning look. "Kenna, what did you do?"

Fuck.

"Hmm?"

"What. Did. You. Do?"

Fucking fuck. She turned away from Hoffman's questioning eyes.

"What do you mean 'what did you do'?" she asked, trying her best to elude Hoffman's question and gaze by idly picking a piece of lint from her jacket.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about and you know better than to lie to a shrink, MacKenna Kidman," Hoffman glowered, she swivelled her chair around with arms crossed. "You better come clean with me or so help me, I'll see it right through you."

Kenna stood up and threw her hands in the air. "Fucking hell, Hoffman. Give a girl some slack, will you?"

"Not until you tell what did you do."

"Okay, first of all, what makes you think that I've done something horrendous or something?"

"Because it's you!" Hoffman pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, Kenna simply shot her a glare.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Kenna!"

"Alright, alright. I told you I may or may not have a plan. It's risky, but it's a plan."

"I'm sensing another incoming 'but' from you."

"But…" she pinched the bridge of her nose, her other hand perched on her hip. Damn Hoffman and her analytical skills, she thought. "It may or may not involve him."

Kenna felt like putting her hands over her ears as if she waiting for the bomb to detonate and melted her to bits.

Her brows knitted. "Him?"

"Want to take a guess?" Kenna prompted, and it didn't even take a good whole minute until Hoffman's face morphed into an utmost shock, mouth hanging open. There was a brief moment where it seemed Hoffman was registering the information before she went combust.

"Oh my god! Oh hell, Kenna, are you out of your mind?!"

"Maybe," Kenna shrugged helplessly.

"What were you thinking?!" Hoffman was practically shouting at this point. "What the — Jesus Christ . To think that I just gave you a two-minute explanation about how dangerous Stefano is and it turns out you already had taken the impossible leap."

"Look, I didn't think. I followed my instincts and Stefano was the only reasonable option I had. I told you it's risky."

Ask a captain to see how deep can his submarine go, you'll never know until you try it.

"It's not risky, it's plain stupid! You are trying to get yourself killed, Kenna, and Juli will kill you even before he does when she finds out about this!" She rose from her chair and paced around the room back and forth in deep thought, hands fidgeting. Kenna couldn't help but wonder what did exactly crossed the psychologist's mind in that moment.

Murder, Kenna thought. Probably murder.

"Now, this is where I could really rely on your discretion, Yukiko. My sister and the others are not in the 'need to know' column. They can't know."

"No. No way, don't you think you are getting away with this," Hoffman plainly disagreed.

"Look, do you think I like this? I'm putting my fucking life on the line here and there's a chance that Stefano could stab me in the back once he's done with me, but this is the only way that was given to me," Kenna breathed deeply and leaned her back against the wall, looking frustrated and tired, and helplessly nearly out of her mind. "I don't fucking care anymore. I just want everything to be done with."

It was true. The more she thought about the whole deal with Stefano and the situation, the more she succumbed to this pain in her head. It was exerting. All she had in mind was getting the job done.

Hoffman observed her for a long moment, as if trying to consider the silver lining out of the circumstance and calm the storm that brewed within her. Eventually, much to Kenna's favor, she nodded albeit rather unenthusiastically.

"Okay. Alright, but any first sign of trouble, I'll rat you out. I'm not taking any chances leaving you with him," still, the look on Hoffman's face was akin to disapproval. But at least she understood enough to drop the subject.

"Yeah, alright, whatever helps you sleep at night," she dismissed her with a careless wave. Gathering the folders on the table and shoved them inside a brown messenger bag. "Now, if you're done, I gotta go. I was expected to meet Stefano to discuss our next move."

Kenna picked her belongings from the couch as Hoffman helped handed back her weapons. She muttered her thanks and proceeded to placed them back in their respective place. Hoffman's worries began to assuage.

"I trust you, Kenna," uttered the other woman."I'm sorry if I was kind of hysterical earlier, but I want you to know that I'm behind you. One-hundred percent. I was just worried about your safety, that's all."

Kenna nodded. "I know. I know you're only trying to be rational and I thank you for it. If it makes you any better, I promise I'll be careful. I know what I'm doing — sort of — but I won't let any of them have the upper hand. I'll keep you updated on any developments."

"Oh, and Kidman?" Hoffman suddenly piped up when Kenna was about to head towards the door. She instantly backpedaled. "Thank you. For what you said to me earlier, I appreciate it. And I'll keep a tight-lipped about this, don't worry. For old time's sake."

"And thanks for everything," Kenna grinned easily. "Except for the coffee, of course."

Kenna left as Hoffman laughed heartily.

More Stefano and Kenna coming up next :)))))