He found himself shaking as he brought himself to his feet, his sword lying forgotten on the ground. He took a tentative step forward,His eyes were drawn tightly closed.
One night.
He had only gotten one night with her, and now she was gone. Torn from him right in front of his eyes. Lost forever...
Just like Rose.
He felt hollow. He couldn't handle another heartbreak. Not again. He had finally learned to love again. He had finally found someone to accept him in this body...someone who didn't shrink away from him, disgusted by his appearance.
He thought about Rose now. His first love. He shook his head, trying to push the thought away. It was just too painful. The memories came crashing upon him, and finally his tears fell.
Rose. Holding their son. He had seen it had seen their death speeding around the corner. The driver was drunk...
The next thing he saw tore him apart all over again. For his own sanity, he had forced himself to forget, but it would always be there, in the back oh his mind, haunting him.
The bodies of his wife and child, blood seeping from wounds, limbs twisted at impossible angles. He had been powerless. What could he have done?
Determination folded his eyes, shadowing them as he bent down, grabbing his weapon. He would never experience that feeling again.
Uselessness, worthlessness.
He would make sure of that this time. He looked up at the sky, noticing suddenly that it was growing darker with every passing moment. The moon was full, gleaming and high.
He walked with purpose, stepping over glass and chunks of wood as he made his way to the front of the house. Anna had a phone. She had too...
He looked down at his feet, and felt a wave of disbelief. A photo of Anna rested in the snow. Her icy blue eyes stared up at him. He felt a flicker of hope as he reached down, pulling it gently out of the snow. It's edges were charred and worn. Folding it, he wedged it under a plate of his armor, above his heart.
" I'm coming, Anna..."
He moved quicker now, making his way through the thick blanket of snow, to the front of the house. The entire back half of the house was gone, now laying in piles on the back lawn, but the front remained mostly intact, but was smouldering slightly. He noticed, however, that it wouldn't stay standing for long. As he pried open the front door, a roaring flame shot out at him.
He sheathed his sword, pushing the door back as his visor slid into place to protect his eyes. He looked around the room, searching every corner and every table, until finally he spotted it. A black cellphone in a pink case laying on a coffee table between two quickly melting white couches.
He dashed forward, stepping around flames and dodging falling debris. He snatched the phone off the table, leaping over a couch in time to hear a thundering crash behind him. He made it to the door and into the blistering air as a loud bang and another crash rang out behind him.
His visor returned to its original position with a click as he flipped the phone open. He stepped away from the house, walking towards the street, staring in the direction that the van had been going when it left.
Quickly punching in a number, he held the phone to his ear as he pulled out Anna's picture, finding comfort in her eyes. The phone rang for what seemed like an eternity.
He felt his emotions getting the better of him.
" Answer the fucking phone!"
A click, and a familiar voice on the other end.
" Hello?"
Raiden felt his heart jump.
"Kevin!"
"Raiden?"
"I need a favor"
" well, hello to you too!"
"Sorry...time is kind of an issue"
"Where have you been?! I've been trying to get you on the codec all day"
Raiden sighed. "Yea...it's been hacked. But listen, do you have any information on MKultra?"
The phone went silent, and Raiden feared a loss of signal, and then:"Why?"
" I'm sorry...personal"
He could hear the discontentment in his colleagues voice. " Yea I've heard the rumours...everyone has. It's a mind control experimentation facility in D.C."
Raiden quietly celebrated. One step closer.
" can you pull up exact coordinates?"
Again, a long pause" is everything okay?"
" yea...just personal"
" Alright...gimme a sec"
Raiden heard typing, a few clicks, and more typing. " no coordinates, but it says main testing facility is Saint Elizabeth's Hospital. I also see the bug in the codec I'll get on that ASAP"
" thanks. I'll tell you more later"
Without another word Raiden flipped the phone closed.
While he felt relief on knowing where he was headed, he also felt a heavy dread in the pit of his stomach, growing there like a cancer, eating at him from the inside.
MKultra was a mind control facility? Anna's father obviously had an amazing strength contained in his telekinetic powers, and obviously had a control over his powers that Anna had never mastered.
Raiden dropped the phone, mind now set on the task at hand. He glanced to his left. A car parked at the curb. He stepped toward it, wondering, silent in his curiosity. He tried the handle. It was unlocked. He stepped inside, and sighed. He could smell Anna's perfume. This was her car.
Sleek, black and grey, an older mustang. He pulled the door closed, and silently thanked Anna when he found the keys still in the ignition.