Annaâs mind had been racing since Kasumi Nakano had disappeared.
A girl that young, going so suddenly? If the bombs hadnât dropped, then the cause wouldâve been clear as rain. Kasumi had just gone off on her own, in an act of teenage rebellion. It wasnât something Anna was terribly familiar with, admittedly; she was always a law-abiding sort, even in her youth, but the reasoning was sound. People did crazy things, when they had doubts about themselves.
Despite this, two and two still didnât come together, as much as Anna wished they would. The Nakanos seemed too nice of people, even if a little strict. A daughter that worried about her own identity didnât match the home life she ran from. In fact, the whole situation screamed âexternal influenceâ to Annie, back when she went looking for clues. So needless to say, when she arrived on the Island, Anna was quick to seek answers.
The people of Far Harbor (not Bar Harbor, as Anna remembered it) were cagey at best and rude at worst. They cowered behind the fallen corpses of ships long sunk and strange, cobbled together lampposts, fending off creatures that would give Lovecraft nightmares. Fishmen, giant salamanders, fog that turned men insane... Yessir, the Island had it all, and then some. It was enough to put an old bot like Valentine to sleep, and he didnât even need rest anymore.
Sadly though, it wasnât enough to keep Annie down.
This case rubbed her in ways she didnât like, not one bit. Finding the radio in the Nakanosâ old shack had cemented that, mentally speaking. The voice on the other end, that Kasumi claimed to speak to and her parents claimed to hear, mustâve been the one to pull her to Bar-- Far Harbor. Ugh, Anna still had to work on that.
He came off as either an expert manipulator or someone very knowledgeable on the subject of synthhood. While under most circumstances, the latter would be preferable, Kasumi was still a young, impressionable girl. He mightâve put her in danger he didnât even consider, at the time. Regardless, it meant Anna had to get to the root of the problem.
So she left Far Harbor early in the morning, with Old Longfellow in tow.
She had to admit, on reaching the summit of the old observatory; there was nothing like fighting a pack of tumorous wolves to wake you up in the morning. Especially when it was 2:54 AM. God, Nick was going to kill her when she came back to the inn. She could handle herself fine these days, but Valentine still wasnât keen on people he cared about leaving so suddenly. It made him anxious, even after all those years alive.
Anna couldnât help but cringe to herself, on opening the blue door. She knew she really shouldnât be here, being human and alone (Longfellow had decided not to accompany her inside), but curiosity egged her on like Pandora and her box. She had to know who had lured Kasumi this far from home.
Cautiously, the red-haired woman walked down the hall, bathed in shadow. The circular roomâs many screens painted her pale skin cyan and Tory blue, as she neared the central space. Her amber eyes narrowed in the glare.
Whoever it was that contacted Kasumi, they had some explaining to do.