Cammy relaxed in the chair and calmly waited for the treatment to be over with, it would be the last of these treatments the girls had been told. While whatever liquid was flowing into her body through the tubes that had been attached to her did cause some slight discomfort while the treatment was being applied, Cammy was used to it by now and could easily ignore it. What caused her the most discomfort, even more than the light restraints placed on them to make sure they remained still, was the temperature of the room. It was quite cool; the fact that she was stripped down to nearly nothing made it seem downright cold to Cammy. But Cammy was determined not to let it bother her; instead she focused on the hum of the equipment and the voices of the other girls.

  “Am I glad this is the last time that we have to do this.” Enero sighed. “I don’t think I’d ever get used to it if we had to keep doing it.”

“Tell me about it.”  Noembelu added. “This always makes me feel like there’s something crawling under my skin.”

  “At least it’s better than those tanks that they used to put us in.” Santum remarked. “I could barely stand being in those things.”

  “That’s most likely why they sedated us before they put us in those tanks.” Aprile commented. “So that none of us would freak out when we went into them.”

  “How about we talk about something besides the treatments? I’m trying to keep mind off this.” Marz said with a slightly annoyed tone.

  “Like what?” Santum asked.

  “I don’t know.” Marz replied. “Anything but talking about the treatments.”

  “How about those two new guys Lord Bison brought in?” Fevrier volunteered. “Balrog and Sagat are their names right?”

  “Yeah that’s them.” Yanyu confirmed. “Two former champions of their respective styles.”

  “That Balrog is just a big bruiser, I don’t know why he was ever considered a champion.” Satsuki remarked. “Sagat has the true skill, he was a national hero back in his homeland.”

  “Yes he ‘was’ considered a hero.” Xiayu added. “Now he’s obsessed with that Ryu character that defeated him in that tournament a while back.”

  “That guy is scary obsessed.” Juni grimaced. “Seems that all he talks about is a rematch with Ryu so that he can regain his honor, or something like that.”

  “Oh he’s not that bad.” Decapre chuckled. “You just have to actually talk with him instead of avoiding him every time he comes around. You guys act like he’s going to kill you if you get within ten feet of him.”

  “You’re like the only other person I’ve seen besides Lord Bison that’s actually talked with him Decapre.” Juli shook her head. “It’s just the way he looks at people; I swear he could probably freeze someone’s blood with that stare of his.”

  Just then the door slid open and Michael walked in and proceeded across the room as if he didn’t notice anyone else was in there.

  “Michael! What are you doing in here?!” Half the girls yelled out and reflexively tried to cover themselves, but were prevented from doing so by the restraints.

  “What is it?” Michael replied in a calm voice and acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “Why are you all yelling?”

  “We want to know what you’re doing just barging in here like that and why you’re here in the first place.” Satsuki answered in a mostly calm voice.

  “Did you come here to stare at us while we’re tied down like this?” Enero demanded.

  “No I did not come to stare. And I did not barge in, I simply walked in.” Michael stated matter-of-factly. “As for what I’m doing here, Lord Bison told me to come here so I came.”

  “You know if it had been anyone else I wouldn’t have believed them.” Santum laughed. “But you can pull off the truth card pretty well Michael. Consider yourself lucky.”

  “Guess we’ll let you off the hook this time Michael.” Juli smirked.

  “Speak for yourself, I plan on giving him a couple of good smacks next training session as the price for seeing us like this.” Noembelu grinned while the rest of the girls laughed.

  The door slid open again and Bison entered; followed by a strange looking old man who they hadn’t seen before, but was probably a scientist of some sort judging by his clothes. The two walked over to Michael, ignoring the stares from everybody else.

  “This is the one you told me of Bison?” The old man asked as he looked at Michael.

  “Yes Doctor.” Bison confirmed. “This is Michael, he shall be the primary subject of this project.”

  The doctor then began walking around Michael, making ‘hmmm’ sounds and occasionally poking Michael as he muttered under his breath. Michael remained silent and still, seemingly not giving the old man any of his attention, even when the doctor pulled one of his arms.

  “Hmmm… Interesting.” The Doctor stopped his examination. “Most subjects in this type of project actually need the replacements; but this boy is in excellent condition, most would see no need for such a thing.”

  “Ah, but while things in such excellent condition certainly do not need replacement, they can certainly be… improved.” Bison smirked. “Is that not right Doctor?”

  “Quite right Bison.” The Doctor smiled and pulled an electronic notebook from within his coat. “Now let us go someplace more quiet and I shall tell you of my ideas for this project.”

  Bison and the Doctor left through another door into the next room, leaving the rest in silence except for the hum of the equipment. The girls looked at each other; they all seemed rather confused by the conversation they had just heard. Cammy really didn’t like the sound of it at all; ‘replacements’ ‘improved’, Cammy had a few ideas of what they meant and didn’t like any of them. Cammy looked at Michael, who was just staring down at the floor with an unreadable expression on his face, but she didn’t get any answers to her questions.

***

  Cammy pushed the cart down the hallway, half-ecstatic half-relieved that her mission was nearly done. It had been simple to gain access to the target’s, a Mr. Cane, home as a servant, a task made easier by Mr. Cane’s particular tastes, and then wait for an opportune time. Now all of Mr. Cane’s servants, even his usual bodyguard, were gone; they had been allowed to leave to attend a festival in town. Seeing an opportunity, Cammy volunteered to remain behind in case Mr. Cane needed anything. When Mr. Cane had called for a drink Cammy decided it would be best to simply slip something into his beverage and be done with it.

  Cammy was ecstatic, after this mission she would be named Shadowlaw’s top assassin by Bison. What pleased Cammy even more was that she would be taking the position away from Vega; she could think of almost nothing worse to do to him than take away the position he so loved. Cammy was also very relived, she would no longer have to wear the embarrassing maid outfit; she dreaded one of her friends actually seeing her like this.

  Cammy pushed open the door to Mr. Cane’s office as she pulled the cart in behind her. “Here’s your drink Mr. Cane; with a little bit of cinnamon just the way you like it.”

  Mr. Cane didn’t answer; his chair was facing backwards and hiding him completely from view. That was odd; usually he’d be working on something and then would look up and smile when she came in. Cammy pushed the cart towards the desk cautiously, glancing around for anything suspicious and readying her body in case something happened.

  Cammy lifted the tray from the cart and set it gently down on the desk. “Sir?”

  Suddenly the chair spun around and Cammy dove to the side just as a dagger flew though the air where her head used to be. Cammy hit the floor and went into a roll, then spun around into a defensive crouch. She watched Mr. Cane face her and stand from his chair; he was spinning around another throwing dagger in his hand and wearing a bandoleer full of additional daggers, which was his trademark.

  “Oh my dear little Miss Belve, I heard a terrible thing about you. A little bird came through my window and said that you were here to kill me.” Mr. Cane sighed and shook his head. “It’s too bad really, I was really starting to like you Miss Belve. Or should I just call you Cammy?”

  “Yes it is too bad, things will be much harder this way.” Cammy smirked. “Harder for you anyway, I’ll actually have a lot more fun.”

  Mr. Cane growled and threw the dagger; Cammy quickly leapt to one side to avoid it then charged forward. Cammy threw a punch that Mr. Cane managed to avoid but she immediately spun and aimed a kick at his head. Mr. Cane managed to block the kick but was knocked off balance, though he managed to catch himself before he went face first into a table and landed in a crouch instead. Pulling out another pair of daggers Mr. Cane charged forward with a yell. Cammy dodged around and ducked under his swings; she kicked one of the daggers out of Mr. Cane’s hand but had to fall back a little from near slash that cut a bit of the fabric of her skirt.

  “Sorry Cammy but I’m not going to just let you kill me because I stopped working with Shadowlaw. When something fails to be profitable one is entitled to leave I’d think.” Mr. Cane twirled his daggers. “I’ll just have to write that down on a note and send it along with your body back to Bison.”

  “I don’t think so.” Cammy giggled. “I haven’t even gotten started yet and it looks like you’re already tiring out; an old man like you should really just take it easy. But don’t worry Lil’ Cammy’s here to put you to sleep.”

  Cammy charged forward again, closing the gap between them before Mr. Cane could throw a dagger. Cammy swung a fist towards Mr. Cane’s stomach, but was actually aiming a little wide. Just as Cammy wanted Mr. Cane dodged to the side to avoid the blow; Cammy then spun around with a backfist and drove it right into his stomach with enough force to cause him to drop the daggers in his hands. Cammy delivered a kick to Mr. Cane’s chest and sent him flying back; Mr. Cane grunted as he landed hard on his back.

  Cammy attempted to end it by driving her heel into Mr. Cane’s throat, but he managed to roll away right before the blow landed. Mr. Cane jumped back up and drew a couple more daggers; however Cammy was right after him and swept his legs out from under him. Mr. Cane managed to keep hold of his daggers as he fell back to the floor; he tossed one that Cammy jumped back to avoid and tossed the other as she landed, but she was able to twist enough to avoid it and it only nicked her shoulder.

  “You little Shadowlaw witch!” Mr. Cane screamed as he stood up from the floor and threw another dagger at Cammy.

  With a quick spin Cammy was out of the dagger’s path, but there was no sound of it impacting on the wall behind her. When Mr. Cane looked a bit confused Cammy smiled and held up the dagger for him to see. With a wink Cammy tossed it up into the air and Mr. Cane watched it fly, which Cammy was counting on. Cammy leapt at Mr. Cane and drilled her feet right into his stomach; as he doubled over Cammy kicked up into his chin sending him flying through the air. Mr. Cane landed on a table, which shattered under the force of his landing.

  Cammy waited a moment and Mr. Cane rose up again, looking a bit dizzy from his landing. Before he recovered Cammy jumped up into the air and landed on Mr. Cane’s shoulders.

  “Time to sleep now Mr. Cane.” Cammy told him as she tightly squeezed his head with her legs.

  Cammy threw her weight slightly forward and to the side, spinning around and twisting Mr. Cane’s head with her. With an audible snap Mr. Cane’s neck broke from the force applied to it and Cammy released him, his body slamming to the ground and moving no more.

  “Mission accomplished.” Cammy grinned as she stood up and dusted herself off. But her grin quickly disappeared as she heard clapping behind her.

  Spinning around to the source of the noise, Cammy spotted someone sitting in the window. A young man wearing a white mask and a claw on one hand, he was leaning back lazily and applauding her with a slight chuckle.

  “Vega…” Cammy half-growled. “I imagine that you were the little bird that told Mr. Cane about me.”

  “Indeed I was Cammy, indeed I was.” Vega chuckled again. “Though I thought that he’d give you a little more trouble than that, he was actually supposed to be a decent fighter.” Vega shook his head as he looked down at Mr. Cane’s body. “I guess it was all just exaggeration though.”

  “Oh he was a decent fighter, just nothing compared to someone like me.” Cammy smiled before her expression turned cold. “Lord Bison will not stand for this Vega; once he finds out that you interfered in this mission I don’t even want to think what he’ll do to you.”

  “Oh but he won’t find out little Cammy.” Vega began walking towards her. “What he’ll hear is that I was concerned for your safety and decided to come back you up in case you had trouble on this mission. But when I arrived I found that Mr. Cane had just killed you in your failed attempt to assassinate him; though saddened I managed to complete your mission.” Vega laughed. “I’ll be rid of your annoying presence and retain my title, works out quite well I’d say.”

  “Like Lord Bison would really believe that story.” Cammy replied while readying herself for Vega’s attack. “He’ll know you’re lying the moment you open your mouth.”

  “Maybe so.” Vega remarked and raised his claw. “But Lord Bison values strength, and if you can’t survive this you’re obviously not worthy of even being part of Shadowlaw anyway. So die!”

  Vega lunged, his claw poised to strike. Cammy ducked under the slash and drove her fist into Vega’s stomach as his body passed over her and lifted; Vega’s forward momentum did the rest, he was sent flying through the air and crashed down onto the desk. But Vega was immediately back up and rushing towards Cammy again, going into a sliding leg sweep. Cammy managed to avoid it by stepping to the side but Vega spun around and slashed with his claw again, tearing across her mid-section. Fortunately Cammy was able to get back just far enough that the claw tore through the fabric of her outfit but only put a couple light scratches across her stomach. Cammy retaliated with a kick to Vega’s chest that forced him back a few steps, quickly followed by another kick that he leapt back to dodge.

  “Oh come on Vega, you have to be better than this.” Cammy taunted. “At this rate you’re no better than Mr. Cane is, and he’s dead.”

  Though Vega didn’t answer, Cammy could see his body shake in rage. Vega rushed forward again and Cammy prepared to block; but he suddenly dropped into a roll and struck out from a low angle. Though the move almost caught her by surprise Cammy was able to jump just before Vega ran her through with his claw. Landing behind Vega Cammy moved in for a chokehold, but before she could lock it in Vega stabbed over his shoulder causing Cammy to break off the hold. Cammy grasped her upper arm, while the wound wasn’t deep enough for any serious damage it was a bit painful and blood was now flowing down her arm.

  “You can’t keep dodging forever little Cammy, I’ll get you eventually.” Vega chuckled as he studied a bit of blood that was on the tips of his claw. “I’ll either inflict a horribly fatal wound on you or you’ll eventually bleed to death from all the little cuts you’ll certainly get if you keep dodging around like that. It’s your choice really, so just choose which way you want to die and we’ll be done with it.”

  Cammy suddenly charged forward, surprising Vega with the suddenness of her attack when he thought she was going to give up. Cammy punched at Vega’s mask but he was able to knock the blow away; but before he could retaliate Cammy landed a blow to his stomach. Cammy followed with a kick to Vega’s ribs, he tried to block but didn’t react fast enough and took the full force of the blow. While Cammy didn’t feel anything break under her foot or even hear a crack Vega had grasped onto his side and was nearly doubled over in pain. Cammy didn’t let up on her attack and put all of her strength into another punch at Vega’s mask. Cammy saw Vega’s eyes widen as he saw her fist closing in; he flung himself backwards to avoid the blow and Cammy only felt her fist graze his mask as he fell back into a familiar back-handspring. When Vega landed he was holding a hand over his mask and breathing hard almost as if Cammy had actually landed a her intended blow.

  “Still protective of your ‘treasure’ I see.” Cammy smirked. “You know Vega we’re all glad you wear that mask too; that ‘treasure’ of yours is something that needs to be hidden away, it’s truly frightening.”

  Vega screamed in rage and charged, attacking Cammy in a frenzy. While Vega’s attacks were fast and powerful, his unfocused rage was making him sloppy, allowing Cammy to easily dodge the blows. However that same rage was allowing him to ignore the pain from several of Cammy’s blows and keep on trying to strike her with his own.

  Cammy had an idea and suddenly jumped back after one of Vega’s claw swipes, holding her stomach as if she’d been hit. She landed by Mr. Cane’s body, kneeling with one hand still holding her stomach and the other behind her. Vega was still in too much of a fury to notice Cammy pulling one of Mr. Cane’s remaining daggers out of his bandoleer. Cammy had seen enough; she had figured out the weak points in Vega’s defense and all it would take is one dagger in the right place. She just had to act injured to lure him in and then strike before he could counter it, then it would be all over for Vega.

  Vega was closing in with his claw raised high to strike, his eyes narrowing behind his mask. Cammy remained in her position, just a little closer and she’d spring up and strike. But just as she was about to spring she saw movement in the shadows of the rafters above; suddenly someone dropped down and there was the sound of a solid blow as a knee was driven into the back of Vega’s head. Vega fell forward and hit the floor face-first in front of Cammy, completely unconscious as his attacker landed lightly on the ground behind him. Cammy recognized the individual immediately.

  “Damn it Michael!” Cammy yelled as she stood up. “I could have taken care of him by myself!”

  “I know you could have.” Michael replied. “But you would have killed him. Lord Bison wants me to bring him back alive so that he can be disciplined… again.”

  “Wait, what?” Cammy shook her head to clear it a bit and took a deep breath before speaking again. “Okay, let’s just start at the beginning. What are you doing here?”

  “I was sent out to track down Vega after he was discovered to be missing from headquarters.” Michael explained. “It was obvious where he was heading and why, so I came here.”

  “Oh alright, that’s a decent enough answer I guess.” Cammy replied, but she sounded rather annoyed. “How long have you been here?”

  “I arrived before he did actually.” Michael motioned towards Vega. “I simply observed outside for awhile; then entered, hid myself in an advantageous position and waited. I watched Vega come and inform Mr. Cane of your true nature, then your fight with Mr. Cane and finally your battle with Vega.”

  “You were here the whole time and you didn’t do anything?!” Cammy exclaimed. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

  “I thought that you could easily handle such unexpected developments without any problems.” Michael stated matter-of-factly. “Additionally I figured that you would like to fight Vega and pound on him a for a little while. But I had to step in when it looked like you were about to kill him, I could not allow that since my orders were to bring him back alive.”

  “Well that’s true, I did enjoy fighting him and driving him into a rage. But I still feel like I should smack you around a bit for just sitting there watching the whole time; luckily for you I’m a bit fought out at the moment so that’ll have to wait.” Cammy smiled slightly and shook her head. “Besides we really should be getting out of here before anybody gets back, it’d cause an even bigger scene if we’re found here with the body.”

  “Agreed.” Michael kneeled down and removed Vega’s claw, slipping the weapon into his coat before lifting up Vega and setting the unconscious young man over his shoulder. He then began to follow Cammy out of the room.

  Cammy looked down at herself; she was quite a mess, but she’d worry about cleaning up once they were clear of the area. She’d finally be able to get rid of the embarrassing outfit too. “Michael… You won’t tell anyone about this outfit will you?”

  “Of course not.” Michael answered as they walked out.

***

  The rain was coming down relentlessly and the darkness of the night seemed to be all consuming, but Cammy ignored it all as she ran through the empty streets. Cammy had come with only one goal in mind; she had to know the truth about her past, her life before Shadowlaw that she could no longer remember. What little information she found in the archives of Shadowlaw led her here; but she had yet to find anything more than an address, which she was heading for now. But Cammy knew her time was running out; Bison would send someone after her for the ‘crime’ of leaving Shadowlaw, such a thing was simply not allowed. She knew that the punishment would be death, no matter how valuable and useful she had been before. But Cammy couldn’t allow anything to stop her in her quest for the truth, no matter what shadow came after her.

  Cammy rounded a corner and suddenly skidded to a stop when she saw someone waiting for her; someone wearing a long black coat and a hat pulled down low over his eyes. “Michael…”

  “I’m sorry Cammy, I blame myself for this.” Michael spoke, his voice had a trace of sorrow. “If I hadn’t said anything that day then perhaps you wouldn’t have set yourself on this course.”

  “No Michael I was already curious. I would have done the same whether you had said anything or not.” Cammy replied with a bit of a laugh then sighed. “So you are here to carry out punishment then?”

  “Yes I am.” Michael nodded. “For deserting Shadowlaw and putting her own interests above those of the organization Cammy the Killer Bee must be eliminated, so proclaimed Lord Bison.”

  “It’s not that I was trying to defy Bison, but I just have to know what my past was. I need to know who I really am!” Cammy yelled and then clenched her fists. “Why can’t Lord Bison understand that? Do you understand Michael?”

  “I do not understand, I’m sorry.” Michael answered as he lowered his gaze. “Unlike you and the others I do not have a history outside Shadowlaw; what I am I always have been, I have never known anything else.”

  “I’m sorry for you Michael, you never had a chance for a normal life.” Cammy allowed herself to feel a small amount of hope. “But it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t have to do this Michael; we can both escape from Shadowlaw, we can find our own life and live it how we want.”

  “No Cammy, I could never escape from Shadowlaw and Lord Bison.” Michael sighed then looked towards Cammy. “No one can…”

  “If that’s the way it has to be, then that’s the way it has to be.” Cammy took a deep breath and prepared herself. “But I will not let you stop me here, I won’t let anyone stop me.”

  The pair began to circle each other, almost mirroring each other’s movements. Cammy knew Michael’s fighting style, his techniques, all of what he was capable of; but he also knew the same of her. All their training together made each well aware of the other’s strengths and weaknesses. While Cammy truly did not want to have to do this, she found a small part of her looking forward to the challenge.

  Michael made the first move and rushed in with a punch that Cammy dodged; Cammy retaliated with a kick but Michael blocked it. Michael punched again but Cammy ducked down and tried for a leg sweep, Michael jumped over Cammy’s leg sweep then lashed out with a kick of his own. Cammy went flat to the ground and Michael’s kick passed through the air where her head had been. Michael followed with a stomp but Cammy managed to roll out of the way before Michael’s foot came down onto her chest; she breathed a brief sigh of relief that it was the pavement cracking instead of her ribs. Cammy jumped back up with a kick towards Michael’s face, Michael leaned back to avoid the attack and Cammy punched him in the stomach before he could straighten back up. Cammy followed with another punch to Michael’s face before he recovered, sending his hat flying off his head, then drove an elbow into his chest, sending him stumbling back. Michael fell back several steps before catching himself just before hitting the pavement; he wiped some blood from his lip as he straightened back up.

  “Oh come on Michael, I know you’re faster than that.” Cammy smirked slightly.

  Michael didn’t answer; instead he flipped into the air and came down with a kick. Cammy jumped back just in time to dodge the attack, she watched as the ground at the point of impact shattered under the force of the blow. Cammy leapt at Michael as soon as she landed and tried to drill her feet into his chest, but Michael dodged to the side and attacked as she landed. While Cammy managed to twist out of the way of the punch enough to avoid most of its force the glancing blow still sent her off balance. Michael rushed forward and drove a knee into Cammy’s stomach, Cammy felt herself lift off the ground and fly through the air before landing hard on the ground.

  Cammy managed to kick herself up off the ground in time to fend off Michael’s next attack and return with one of her own that was blocked. Cammy ducked Michael’s next attack then came back with a punch, she purposely missed but it was close enough that Michael threw his head back to avoid it. Cammy went into a spin and brought her foot up to strike Michael square in the face as he straightened back up. Michael spotted the attack and began to dodge; but he didn’t move quick enough, Cammy’s heel caught him in the left eye. Cammy heard a sickening crack and felt flesh and bone give under the force of her blow, Michael was spent spinning around and ended up face down on the ground.

  Cammy watched Michael push himself up off the ground while clutching the left side of his face, she saw his body shake slightly as he moved. Cammy knew this was her chance, to finish this while Michael’s back was to her. Cammy charged forward intended to put Michael down with one more blow; she heard the sound of metal sliding against metal, when she realized what it was it was almost too late. Cammy tried to halt her forward momentum as Michael spun around. She stopped, but not quite quick enough. Cammy felt Michael’s blade bite deep into her flesh; tearing across left side of her face from the bottom of her jaw to nearly her nose.

  Cammy jumped back, reflexively grabbing her cheek as she felt the full pain of the wound and the blood beginning to stream down the side of her face. Cammy heard the metal sliding against metal sound again as Michael’s blade retracted back into his right arm; he stopped clutching his face and shook his head a bit like he was trying to clear it. Michael’s face was in its usual neutral expression as Cammy stared at him; however his left eye and a bit of the area around it now looked a bit sunken in, blood was seeping from the closed eyelid and flowing down his face.

  Michael suddenly ran forward and struck out with a punch; Cammy jumped up just enough to allow Michael’s arm to pass under her, then grabbed onto it. Cammy used her weight and Michael’s forward momentum to throw him of balance; Cammy then swung around enough to kick Michael in the leg and force him to go crashing down to the ground onto his back. Cammy had held on to Michael’s arm and now went for an armbar to break it; but as she pulled Michael’s arm suddenly locked and refused to move. Cammy barely had time to curse herself for forgetting about the nature of Michael’s limbs before he suddenly rolled, pulling Cammy with him and slamming her face-first into the ground. Cammy felt her nose break with the force of the impact and her mind went hazy; she then felt Michael grab a hold of the front of her coat and lift her up as he stood up from the ground. Cammy felt Michael running before a sudden impact. The pain from being slammed into the wall instantly snapped Cammy out of her haze; she felt ribs crack, possibly break, and blood expelled violently from her mouth. Michael then flung her back and Cammy crashed down hard back out in the middle of the street.

  Cammy laid there; her body would no longer move, she could barely breath, her vision was beginning to blur, it was getting difficult to think, all she could do was lie there and watch the rain fall. She had lost, for the first time when the outcome of a fight really truly mattered to her she had lost. Was it fate? Was she not allowed to have a life of her own? Was her only purpose to be a pawn for Bison? If that was so then perhaps it would be better to die; better to die and be free than live a life of servitude Cammy thought.

  Michael entered Cammy’s view, silent and staring down at her with an unreadable expression. Blood still flowed down one side of his face; but on the other side of Michael’s face Cammy thought she saw tears. Or was it just the rain running down his face? Her vision was too blurred to tell. Michael raised his right arm as if he was going to extend his blade so that he could finish Cammy off; but didn’t, he just stood there. Michael dropped his arm and instead looked at his left hand; his expression changed, softening a bit. Michael turned his hand towards Cammy, his palm opened revealing a glowing purple lens that Cammy had never seen before.

  “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for everything.” Michael said as he put the lens to Cammy’s forehead. “Goodbye Cammy… and good luck.”

*******

  A sudden clap of thunder awoke Cammy and she sat up in her bed. She rubbed her temples, she had been having that dream again, but the specific details had already faded, like always. No matter how hard she tried to remember it all Cammy could hold onto were a few images. Twelve other girls, all of them like her. A young man, partly metal partly real. A masked man obsessed with his own beauty, Vega. An evil man with a maniacal grin, Bison. But even these images would eventually start to fade, leaving Cammy wondering what the dream was about.

  Cammy decided to get out of bed, she wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep anyway, and headed for her kitchen. Cammy looked for something to drink; but she was out of tea and hot chocolate and couldn’t even find the coffee, eventually Cammy just decided to grab a soda out of the fridge and sat down. Cammy thought back; she didn’t remember ever having trouble with dreams before, it wasn’t until after that tournament of Bison’s a few months before that she started having the trouble.

  When M. Bison, the infamous master of Shadowlaw, announced that he would be hosting a fighting tournament that anyone who thought they could pass the qualification round could enter, Delta Red jumped at the opportunity to get close enough to catch Bison. Cammy, being the best fighter of the group, would enter into the tournament while the rest of Delta Red would remain undercover and investigate around the area while everyone else was occupied with the tournament.

  Cammy easily passed the qualification round and went into the tournament itself, being placed into the third tier out of three. Cammy faced all kinds of fighters and met some worthy opponents through her battles, eventually fighting her way to the top of her tier. The two fighters that fought their way to the top of the other tiers were Ryu and Guile. The three warriors were to face Bison’s three champions; Ryu was to face Sagat, Guile was matched against Balrog, and Cammy was to fight Vega. Things took an unexpected turn when after a long and hard fought battle Ryu lost to Sagat. The crowd had been in an uproar, Sagat had finally claimed victory and regained his honor after losing to Ryu years before. With the crowd being near riotous and showing no signs of calming down for the next fight Bison announced that the other battles would be held the next day, giving everyone time to calm down.

  Cammy remembered what happened next quite clearly. That night she had been heading for her room after she had been off alone getting in some last minute training and Bison appeared before her, saying that he was pleased she had returned to him. Cammy didn’t know what he was talking about; Bison told her that he had placed her in Delta Red as an undercover agent that could spy for him and to sabotage them from within should he require it. Cammy didn’t believe him and told Bison to stop lying to her; Bison said he’d show her the truth, his eyes began to glow and Cammy felt like her mind had been set on fire. Cammy figured she must have been screaming because Guile came to check out what all the noise was about. Guile struck Bison from behind and took his attention away from Cammy, the fire disappeared from Cammy’s mind and she joined Guile in the fight. They fought their hardest but Bison was beginning to overwhelm them with the sheer amount of power he possessed. It seemed that Guile and Cammy were about to fall when they received some unexpected help; Chun-Li and Ken had also been drawn by the commotion and jumped in when they saw what was happening. Together the four of them were able to throw Bison off-balance and weaken him with their repeated attacks. The final blows came when the four attacked simultaneously; Cammy and Chun-Li slammed their kicks into the back of Bison’s head while Guile launched a Sonic Boom and Ken threw a Hadouken, both of which struck Bison in the face at the exact moment Cammy and Chun-Li landed their kicks. With a roar of pain Bison fell to the ground and did not get up again. While they agreed that the blow should have killed Bison, he didn’t die, instead he was unconscious and seemed to be in a coma.

  With Bison taken down the tournament came to a halt. Vega, Balrog and nearly all the others suspected of Shadowlaw involvement vanished when the news of Bison had spread, of the three champions of Bison only Sagat remained. Sagat offered to fight Cammy and Guile to determine the true champion of the tournament; but the two declined, they had done what they had come to do and now the needed to take Bison into custody. So it was decided that Sagat would be named champion of the tournament and with the tournament officially over everyone returned to where they had come from. Delta Red, Guile’s group and Chun-Li hauled Bison away to be incarcerated in a secret location until he woke up and could be tried for his crimes.

  Cammy stood up and stretched before walking over to the window to open the shades; as she looked out the storm clouds were breaking up and the sky was beginning to glow with the light of dawn. Cammy decided that it was pointless worrying about what Bison said, he had to be lying anyway, and she should just put whatever weird dreams she was having out of her mind. Her friends were right. Why should she waste time worrying about her past anyway? The past was over and she should be looking forward to the future and the endless possibilities it held instead. As Cammy stood there watching the dawn the future looked bright indeed.


The End