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Fatal Instinct

Chapter 4

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An unnatural cloud hovered over the choppy seas of the pacific, darkening by the minute. Anna wondered if perhaps it were a sign of the many dangers to come later, then forced the thought from her mind.

Before Bruce had dropped her off at the hotel, she had given him a prolonged embrace and parting kiss on the cheek; he had requested her to come back to him safe and in one piece. Anna looked to fulfill the promise that she would.

Despite the danger and risks that came with every mission, she knew what she was getting into on this one. Taking out Kazuya was not the easiest thing and many had failed in their attempts to do so several times before. By coming this far, she was entering into his territory, unknowing of what lied ahead.

The aircraft closed in on the massive structure emerging in the distance as the pilot gave her the signal. Anna fastened the straps on her apparel, securing all her equipment in place. She had made certain to come prepared, checking all weaponry before sliding them into their respective holsters. Her bosom felt uncomfortable against the tightening straps, but she would have to live with it for now as the craft hovered over the metallic island below.

Not wasting anytime she lowered herself from the cable until she touched solid ground. The aircraft than began its pull away from the island before any radar systems picked it up, but it was too late. A sudden whistling noise confirmed Anna's fear, as she looked overhead to see a missile slam right into its side. The craft exploded on its descent into the ocean, taking the pilot's life and Anna's only escape route with it. Once the sky had cleared of the smoke, Anna turned about, still shaken from what she had just witnessed. Still, she had to keep her cool and carry on.

Then she eyed the ledge above, shooting a steel wire from her grapple gun that reeled her to it. She spotted a balcony on her ascension, a cool refreshing gust of air hitting her face. Her feet had made a silent landing on the ground, eyes sweeping from side-to-side for any signs of danger. Once she presumed the area clear, she crouched low on walking and stole into the complex via doorway.

Inside, she hoisted up her combat bow, the tail shaft of the arrow set between her delicate, pale fingers. Exhaust pipes and narrow corridors leading in different paths opened up in view. The loud hoarse cough of a guard sounded afar, silenced once the sharp metal of the released arrow pierced his back.

Two meters further north brought her to a triplet of guards standing between her and another widening passage ahead. She did away with them, hid the bodies, and continued the path, checking twice from behind to ensure no one followed. An abundance of glass tubes resembling the ones in the photos Lee had shown her loomed forth inside the expansive laboratory. Computer mainframes stood tall in a row at the side.

There was no sign of Nina present in any of the tubes, but in her place, Anna saw living organisms. What she noticed seemed to be birth in the making, wires connected to tiny fetuses resting within. A couple to her left had already reached adulthood, breathing deep as they slept while coiled up. According to the charts, this was some kind of process to recreate human life.

Before she could uncover anything else, she heard a combination of footsteps and indistinct chatter behind her. Her stomach contracted as she darted behind the nearest series of mainframes, eye peeking out just a little. An old, balding man shuffled in holding a cane, his body trembling with every slow step taken. It did not take long for Anna to take in his visage, the features so clear in her mind.

'Dr. Boskonovitch…'

The old Russian scientist had a brilliant mind, having next to no equal that could dwarf his superior intellect.

After Anna and her sister's awakening from cryo-sleep, he had done all he could to help reduce the amnesic effects Nina suffered under, but to no avail. He had suggested Anna bring her sister to areas of familiarity in order to draw her memory back. Yet, she had chose to do more, attempting to implant false memories within Nina's head. With everything they had experienced in the past, Anna saw it as a chance to make peace and become close, but it all had backfired. With no success in gaining her memories back, Nina disappeared, leaving Anna lonesome, depressed, and without purpose.

"I still don't like it. You sure this is a good idea?" The doctor asked in that wheezy voice, as if he was speaking to another individual in the room. No one was there and concern grew upon whom he was talking to.

Then Anna sensed it, the chills coming over, that dark presence she had come to recognize for years now.

The low, deepened voice coated with anger and impatience was the final confirmation. "Get on with it already. You said he's perfectly under control. There's only one way we can find out for sure." Kazuya made himself visible at the entrance, stepping forth to look over the doctor's hunching figure.

Anna heard Dr. Boskonovitch's fingers typing along the keyboard, causing one of the many capsule doors to rise to life. A rush of steam from inside had filtered out, revealing the immobile body it contained. It was of a man, his physique well-built, riddled with scars across the torso. His eyes flashed open like an owl in the night, his half-shredded tactical clothing resembling that of a soldier that had fought in an intense battle.

Dr. Boskonovitch swallowed hard as he took a couple steps back, as if cautious about something. "He--hello, Bryan. Do you--remember me?" His voice was shaky, less audible then it was before.

The one he addressed as Bryan spoke up for the first time, popping the muscles in his neck, removing the wiring attached to his body. "Good evening, doc. How are you?" The smile he gave seemed frightening enough to scare the fur off even the mightiest of lions.

"See. I told you. Doesn't look like he's going to be any sort of trouble at all." Kazuya said, sounding confident as he voiced this. "Just make sure you give him the right dosage and there won't be any problems."

"I'm trying not to take any chances, Mr. Mishima." The doctor shook his head as he eyed the flashing computer screen before him.

Kazuya turned about and began to retrace his steps. "Humph. In order to be successful in this world, you have to take chances. Thought you would know that by now. That's why you're the scientist and I'm the successful business man that I am. Now get to work. I'm not paying you to stand around. Mr. Fury, come with me."

Bryan smiled again, following Kazuya's abnormal but ominous shadow out the room. After waiting a minute later to ensure their departure, Anna sprinted away from concealment. Boskonovitch only had a second before her hand clamped over his mouth to silence a panicked scream and pull him back into hiding with her.

"Relax. It's only me." Anna said in attempt to calm his muttered squeals, fingers soon trailing down his wrinkly chin.

He took a deep breath to do as she suggested, eyes fixed on her visage. "Miss Williams? What on earth are you doing here?"

She did not have time to answer questions, instead needing to ask them herself. "Doctor, you have to tell me what's going on. What is Kazuya intending to do…and most importantly…where's my sister?" She had no idea she was choking him until he had requested her to relinquish her firm grip from his throat.

He then frowned, shaking his head as his gaze pointed in the direction Kazuya had made his exit. "I'm sorry, Miss Williams. I--I had nothing to do with this. Please, do not think wrong of me. It was all Mr. Mishima's idea. I was only—I was only forced to go along with it."

Judging by his pleading tone and demeanor, he wanted to distance himself as far as possible from anything regarding the matter. Anna knew of Kazuya's menacing ways to force people into doing his bidding, and this was no different. "Go along with what?" She tried to stay soft-spoken, but her attempts were failing with the vagueness of every claim he had made.

He raised one shaky finger, aiming it at the ground. "Your sister…is located a few floors below…in a special tube to keep her stable and healthy. Kazuya captured her as punishment for trying to murder one of his business associates."

"You're going to help me get her out, Boskonovitch." Her brows crinkled, showing him just how much this meant to her.

"Me? But I can't. He'll--he'll kill us both if he finds out." He stammered, his hands trembling with his voice.

"Not if I can help it." She leaned against the wall, folding her arms. "With the mood I'm in right now, there's no telling that I might do something I'll end up regretting later, so it's best you cooperate. Now, how do I get to my sister? I'm sure this place is just as secure as the Zaibatsu, correct?"

He nodded as he scratched at his temple, chewing the inside of his cheek. "Yes. A lot of the security equipment is scattered throughout the building. If I go to the security room, I may be able to deactivate everything, but it'll take some time." He finished upon fidgeting with his bottle-cap-shaped glasses again.

"Do what you need to do." Anna turned, her back facing him on walking away. "I have a little bit of unfinished business I need to attend to…."

There seemed to be no end to these steel platform steps as Anna descended them. Down here, it was dank and quiet, perhaps too quiet for her liking as she heard her own silent breathing. Further down, she spotted a room stretching from one side to the other and made her way inside. The clicking of her heels ceased when the burly shadow loomed over her from above the railing.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the bitch in the red dress I've heard so much about." came the voice, the figure emerging from the darkness he had blanketed himself in. "Naughty, naughty, little girl. You shouldn't sneak into Kazuya's complex without his permission."

Anna elevated her gaze, catching sight of Bryan Fury's eerie, twisted smile. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" He vaulted over the railing, landing with a loud thud on rusted steel, standing just a few yards away. "Heh, simple. The single most thing every man wants in his life: ultimate power!"

"Heh, why don't you follow the trend and try to kill Kazuya and take over the Zaibatsu. I hear it's all the rage."

He scoffed, his answer was not what she expected. "The Zaibatsu has none of my interest, though I do intend on taking Kazuya out very soon."

She bit her finger, thinking aloud. "And why haven't you done that already, Frosty Top? You'd make my job a hell of a lot easier."

"Kazuya will get his soon enough. I'm just waiting for the good doctor to finish making me a stronger batch of that special substance. Then I'll blow this joint to smithereens."

"Substance?" She frowned, curious.

From his pocket, he pulled out a syringe, the rubber bulb carrying a grayish fluid. "This stuff is meant to keep me from losing control, keep me from being…well…me. But the fools don't realize it's not working, that I've been deceiving them all along. Think of this stuff as a steroid. Lasting only a short period of time is its only downside, but once injected…mmmm…instant strength. Too bad they don't have any in my favorite flavor. I loooooove grape." He took a step forward, grinning with malicious intent no doubt. "Allow me to demonstrate."

He raised the syringe in hand, injecting the fluid into the side of his neck, a discomforting scream surging from off his lips. His muscles bulged a moment before reverting to normal size, his pupils beginning to fade.

Instinct prompted Anna to draw her submachine weapon at once, pointing it up in preparation as the cyborg leapt in to attack.