Street Fighter: Lost Shadow

Round 2

Two days had passed since she left headquarters and found herself on a tropical island along Southeast Asia.

On the first day, Cammy decided to mingle with some of the locals, playing the part of the tourist to keep any unsuspecting eyes off her tail (not that she was expecting such people, though one can never be certain) while preparing herself for the journey ahead. From what Crimson Viper had given her, the coordinates to the destroyed compound would lead her somewhere in a remote forest away from the rest of civilization. Stories amongst the residents abounded about how men had wandered into the woods and either wound up dead or, for the lack of a better word, changed. Some of the locals went so far as describing the forest as being haunted by evil spirits. Whether anyone believed those myths are not, all agreed that it was very dangerous. For the average man or even soldier, the trek would be quite perilous without proper supplies and an army behind his back. As this was supposed to be a vacation and not an official Delta Red mission, she had little to nothing save for some baggage and her fists.

Just as well. This trip was personal, and she had no desire to bring any company along.

The following day, she left her motel before the crack of dawn and, with the help of a friendly local driver, left civilization behind her. The sun had risen, without a cloud in sight, welcoming the new day in its warmth. Twenty five minutes of winding through steep hills and ravines later, the driver arrived at the outer edge of the forest. Another six or so minutes of traveling along damp earth and trees, the car stopped, unable to proceed any further.

"For your troubles," she said, handing the driver some cash and, with a fetching smile, waved him away. Slinging the pack over her shoulder, she began the rest of her trek on foot.

An hour and a half later, Cammy began to understand what the locals meant. Whatever warmth the sun's rays had provided had all but evaporated, replacing it with a cold chill. The mud itself started to cling to her boots more firmly, forcing the blonde to exert more strength into her strides. In another hour, the branches became thicker and denser the further she walked, the earth steeper and more insidious with each step. As she delved deeper, some of the native wildlife started to greet her, mainly tropical snakes and bugs of many shapes and sizes. One particular snake quietly slithered along a branch just above her head, eyeing the blonde warily with its yellow eyes. As Cammy paused to rest against the tree, the snake inched closer along the branch, its forked tongue darting in and out of its mouth. The blonde wiped the sweat off her soaked brow and gulped back some water. Even under the chill, she felt hot from the trek. Watching from high above where eyes could not see, the snake continued its attentive watch on the woman. Coiling back, it bared its fangs with a venomous hiss and struck…

Hsssssss!

Reaching her arm behind, Cammy caught the snake with a quick snap of her hand and seized it by the back of its head. She watched it writhe wildly in her hand expressionless with ice cold eyes…

Hsss…. Hsss….

The snake stopped writhing and looked back at the woman with helpless trepidation. Cammy merely crooked her head as she watched the animal silently…

Rustle… CRACK!

…and quickly tossed the snake towards a nearby brush.

"Son of a – " a voice cried out.

With reflexes of a cat, Cammy leapt towards the brush with a muddied right boot extended, and managed to graze a massive shoulder before landing softly onto the dirt. Before the intruder could respond, Cammy quickly grabbed the man by the arm and flipped him onto his back.

"Wait!" the man bellowed.

Cammy's boot was mere inches away from his throat when she stopped. "Avery?" she blinked.

The seven foot giant stared at his commander as though his life flashed before him. "Uh… ma'am…"

The blonde seized the giant by the hand and yanked him to his feet, slapping him on the back of his head on the way up. "What the hell are you doing here!" she exclaimed. "Why are you even following me!"

Rubbing his clean shaven head, Avery looked at the blonde with a pained grin on his face. "You still owe me a beer," he said plainly, reaching his long arm over to grab a backpack he had dropped behind the bushes.

He never managed to reach the pack. Cammy was incredulous. Shocked, angry, and violent like she had never felt before, one Avery found out all too quickly as she shoved the giant twice her size against a tree and pulled his head down by the collar. "This isn't a game, rookie," she glared with those large, icy blue eyes. "This is something that could get you court marshaled, and that's the best case scenario! More likely killed if you happen to make one misstep!"

"Nothing we've never handled before," the mammoth grunted through scarred lips.

"Don't be a fool, rookie!" she spat with contempt. "This is nothing like our usual missions. Those are a stroll in the park compared to this one."

"What are we even after!"

"I am going after a man!" she exclaimed, her grip on his collar vice-like. "A monster! I have no time to babysit a rookie like you!"

'Rookie', she called him, and in her eyes he probably still is, yet the word chafed him raw. Whether it was courage or stupidity, a part of him was not going to let her chew him up like this, not even the likes of Cammy. "You still don't think I'm ready, do you?" he seethed.

The blonde woman growled at the new recruit, a man she had personally took under her wing. The woman didn't utter a syllable; the eyes revealed more than sentences could.

The giant looked down at his superior with cold, dark eyes of his own, yet there was some trepidation in his part. From the first time they had sparred, Avery had both a great respect of Cammy, along with a healthy dose of fear. There were men and women out there with a special talent, a gift for fighting, that much he knew. Such people, he realized, were also rare, even within agencies such as MI6, and for a moment, he thought he was alone. He did make one mistake in his assessment: he fancied himself as the cream of the crop. Then Cammy bumped fists with him and he suddenly realized, talented as he was, just how far he had to go.

As harsh a background as he had come from, Cammy came from one that was far, far worse as evidenced by her skill. She had never talked about her past, nor did she want to, which was fine with him. For him, the past was the past, and one shouldn't dwell upon it as opposed to the here and now, and given the way Cammy would sometimes cringe over said subject, it was definitely a topic best left alone. The few stories she did share, however, fascinated him, particularly the stories of her street fighting days and the opponents she had fought, from wild beasts that spewed electricity to giants as big as himself fighting grizzlies or pile driving sharks to floating men with stretchable limbs to noble warriors capable of pushing back a waterfall with a burst of 'ki' or simply a fist to monsters and demons wielding powers so twisted it borderlined on black magic. That was probably the most frightening thing about those tales; as tough as she was, fighters superior even to Cammy exist… and he himself found it next to impossible to match her on a good day.

That's right, she, who somehow managed to twist his arm and neck (the latter twice) and render him immobile without killing him, never mind crippling him. The thought of that move still made him wince, even if some men find getting hit by that move a fleeting fantasy…

He wondered how someone like him would fare against such opponents. Within MI6, they were considered two of a kind by all the agents, the beautiful blonde and her pet beast. Outside of Delta Red and MI6, seven feet tall as he was, he felt unusually small like he never felt before. Not in the streets, not in the confines of MI6, not even in the field of combat.

Would he even be a glimmer in the eyes of real titans?

Yet a real titan he must become, as he stared down at Cammy, steeling his resolve. She took him in because she thought he had potential. Now would be a good time to bear its fruit.

Cammy glared into the eyes of her pupil, waiting for an answer. She got none, not a syllable out of his lips; the eyes revealed more than sentences could. "You really wish to die?" she finally said.

The mammoth grasped her tiny wrists in his massive paw. "You… owe me… a beer." Her lips twitched. His neck ached. Both beauty and beast stood their ground.

"Fine," she surrendered, shoving the man lightly. "You want to die, fine."

The moment Cammy turned her back, Avery let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Since you are too stubborn to leave in spite of my little warning," the blonde continued, "I will have to simplify my orders to a level you would understand. You will follow my instructions down to the letter. You will do nothing unless I tell you to. When I say march, you march. When I say fight, you fight. When I say piss, you will piss. When I say retreat…" she turned and looked him square in the eye, "you retreat. Got it?"

The giant straightened himself and saluted his superior with a toothy grin. "Yes, ma'am."

Neither agent said much the rest of the way.

Aside from a few pests here and there, the forest seemed to have left both agents alone, making the trek somewhat more manageable. The rocks were still treacherous, the trees still dense, and the slopes still slippery, yet the worst the forest could offer were a few bruises and mild irritations. Avery seemed to find the trek more difficult than Cammy due to his immense size. The branches kept getting into his face as did the cobwebs and the occasional wildlife smacking him across the face. As strong as he was, carrying that massive pack of his weighed him down almost as much as the forest itself. The blonde felt a little sorry for him, though the man kept his vigil and kept pace.

"Stop," she raised an arm.

The mammoth man stopped in his tracks just as he was told and knelt low next to her. "What is it?"

"Hush," she whispered, and pulled out a pair of binoculars from her bag. Staring at what appeared to be an open field, she held the binoculars to her eyes and stared through the lenses.

"Well?"

"Did I tell you to speak?"

The giant fell silent and waited.

"According to that snake, the facility should be over there…" she muttered, though she saw nothing but a field of grass and stones… and smoke. Cammy shoved the binoculars back into her pack and looked at her pupil over her shoulder. "It isn't too late to turn back."

Avery cracked his knuckles and smacked his face with his massive paws. "You kidding? I've been waiting for this."

Cammy let out a sigh. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

The walk towards the open field was also relatively uneventful.

Bits of tall dying grass and blown rock littered the ground, a small stream of murky water trickled along a ravine down a slight waterfall, tree stumps decorated the yellow and green grasslands in some areas. Somehow, as hazardous as the forest was, the desolate field looked even more depressing.

"So far, so good," Avery sighed.

"Again, did I tell you to speak?" Cammy snapped.

The giant grumbled to himself, but dared not to utter another word.

Cammy continued her slow approach towards the plume of smoke with Avery following close behind. Large as he was, the giant managed to remain quiet, his steps equally as deft as hers. The blonde had to give the man credit, though green in some areas, he still managed to keep himself covered, blending himself with his surroundings. An average man half his size wouldn't have been as quick as Avery was, nor as quiet. And he was learning quickly, a big plus.

"You sure no one is watching?"

"Positive. Most of the cameras have been destroyed, and the few that were around, I've disabled."

The giant nodded with apprehension. "Are you sure this 'monster' would still be here?" he asked dubiously.

"I know he's still here," she replied. "I can feel it… and I thought I told you to shut up."

Avery did all but raise his hands. "Just asking… ma'am."

It felt like hours had passed, though the distance to the smoke was relatively short. Cammy kept her wits as did Avery, taking care to remain low in spite of the apparent inactivity. As they approached closer to the smoke, the Delta Red agents became more cautious. Even Avery in his inexperience began to sense… it… whatever it was.

"When we do find this 'monster'," he said, "what are we gonna do about it?"

Cammy at first didn't answer. Admittedly, she didn't think this one too thoroughly, save that she find him. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

"I feel better already," he moaned.

Suddenly, they heard a faint rustle in the grass. The Delta Red agents stopped in their tracks, their senses following the sound. The blonde waved her hand and crawled towards one of the larger overturned stones nearby. Leaning against the stone, Cammy carefully pulled out her binoculars and peered over the rock. From her initial vantage point, the figure wallowing along the yellow grass was that of a man, tall and slight of build, torn cloth dangling loosely on his body. Upon closer inspection, faint sparkles of indigo seem to burst from the tears like small fireworks. Zooming in closely, her suspicions were founded: burnt metal and frayed wires poked out from underneath the cloth from the shoulder, chest, and arms, small beads of current crackling from the circuitry. There was no skin on the 'man', save for dull metallic grey sheen from the exposed head and parts of the body where the clothing was torn. The most notable feature she noted were the two yellow eyes, flickering against a sculpted metallic face, along with an emblem of a skull on a pair of wings etched faintly to the forehead: the emblem of Shadaloo.

"Wonderful," she muttered.

"Uh… ma'am?"

The woman lowered her binoculars and nearly gaped at the sight. Several 'metal men', equally damaged as the one she saw, surrounded the agents from all sides, electricity surging from their exposed circuitry, and eyes blazing a bright yellow. They stumbled with each step, clearly damaged from whatever caused the apparent destruction of the facility, yet their presence remained ominous and hostile as they gradually approached Cammy and Avery.

"What's the plan?" Avery asked, his brow twitching.

Cammy dropped her binoculars into her pack and stood up. The androids continued to saunter towards the agents, raising their arms to kill. "Lewis," she beckoned the giant with an impish smile. "Smash."

Avery lifted himself off the ground and gave himself a quick stretch. "With pleasure, ma'am," he replied with a sadistic grin.

The androids suddenly broke into a clumsy charge, lunging towards the agents. Cammy and Avery stood their ground, biding their time as they lowered themselves into their respective fighting stances. They waited patiently, waiting for the droids to get closer. Then, like a pair of lions, they struck.

The quick and nimble Cammy reached the androids first, spinning in the air with her body tucked, then extended both legs outward and descended into a dive. Both feet landed square in the torso on one of the androids, the strength of the kick shattering the chest plate in a single stomp. Crouched low on top of the now shattered droid, Cammy spun on her heel and delivered a vicious roundhouse to the head of the next machine, then leapt into the air and landed on the shoulders of a third. Wrapping her legs tightly around its head, she pulled back with the weight of her body, and flipped the machine onto its head into a frankensteiner.

Meanwhile, Avery charged towards another android like a bull, using his massive bulk and barged into the robot with his shoulder. The machine flew backwards, crashing and tumbling head over heel along the grassy ground before smashing against the stump of a tree. Spinning to his left, he swung his muscular arm and connected with his right fist against the metallic skull of another, shattering it under his might.

As the agents fought, more droids began to appear seemingly out of nowhere, tongues of electricity crackling. Watching as their 'comrades' fell, the eyes of these droids suddenly changed from yellow to crimson, their heads reared back as steel jaws opened into a chorus of tormented roars. Then, in unison, they leapt.

"And here I thought it would be quick," Avery snickered, holding one of the damaged droids by the skull. Digging his fingers into its eyes, he lifted the machine off its feet like a child holding a mere toy in his hands, and threw it into the incoming charge. The damaged droid collided with one of its 'comrades', smashing both into pieces in the process. Grinning sadistically, he planted his feet firmly on the ground, welcoming the new swarm of androids with twitching fingers. In one smooth motion, he caught one of the droids by the ankle and slammed it hard to the ground. Just as quickly, he swung his right arm into the air and caught another droid by the face and tossed it towards another charging droid as though tossing a piece of trash.

Just a few feet away, Cammy lifted her left leg into the air and caught one of the red eyed droids squarely with her heel to its chin, shattering its jaw. For a moment, it seemed time stood still as the droid floated in the air. In one graceful move, Cammy spun on her right heel, lowering her left leg to the ground. Pushing herself off the ground with the now lowered left leg, she thrust her right leg upwards and delivered a crushing kick to the droid ("Cannon Spike!"), this time sending the droid hurtling away to its demise. Immediately, the blonde landed on her hands and flipped back to avoid another droid who dived into the ground with its steel foot, cracking the earth below with superhuman strength. Cammy spun her body around and rewarded the droid with a backhand to the midsection.

KA-CHAK!

Several droids lifted their arms and revealed a pair of gun barrels hidden from their wrists. Eyes ablaze in red, they opened fire.

Cammy utilized her smaller size and agility to hop away from the gunfire while Avery grabbed a droid in each hand to block the incoming gunfire.

"I don't suppose you managed to stow some weapons with you," Cammy said between clenched teeth, leaping behind the shelter of a rock. The pack she had was blown to shreds, and with it her weapons she managed to procure.

"As a matter of fact, I just might," Avery replied, tossing the damaged droids from his hands and leapt towards his still intact pack. Reaching into the bag with his right hand, he managed to pull out two grenades within its bowels. Leaping away from the gunfire, he pulled the pin from one of the grenades with his teeth and tossed it towards the rampaging droids. Dust and dirt flew upon impact, as did some of the droids unfortunate enough to stand within the blast radius. The giant sidestepped another onslaught of bullets and, pulling the pin out, tossed the second grenade towards the mob. Another explosion tossed the earth into the air in a loud 'boom', ravaging another group f androids in its destruction. A few more droids, however, continued to fire, raining death onto the agents. As surefooted as a cat, Avery quickly leapt behind a rock large enough to hide his frame, barely managing to avoid getting pierced by several bullets. Cammy leapt from her shelter and ran straight to Avery's position, ducking in time to avoid her brains spilled by an errant shell.

"What else you got in there?" she huffed.

"A few more grenades, a pistol…" he muttered, foraging through his massive pack. "And this little thing," he added, revealing an unassembled automatic.

Cammy let out a quiet breath. "I suppose those will have to do."

"We've done more with less," Avery pointed out.

"We also didn't have to worry about gun toting robots off a sci-fi cliché," Cammy reminded.

"True, but if the best they could offer is a bunch of b-rated hand-me-downs, a hundred of them won't even scratch us," the giant smiled with confidence.

"You are full of yourself, you know that?"

"I'm just telling it as it is, ma'am."

Blowing back a strand of her blonde hair, Cammy pulled out the pistol from the pack along with its clips and holstered it to her belt. She pulled out one grenade and held it tightly in her fist. "You can have the rest."

With that, Cammy bolted from the shelter of the rock and confronted the droids, leaving Avery to assemble his firearm. "Make sure you leave some for me!" he shouted. "And you still owe me a beer!"

"I'm very certain I told you to shut up!" Cammy hollered, firing her pistol at the hordes of droids. Years of grueling training with Delta Red had only served to improve her marksmanship as shots managed to land squarely on the foreheads of her targets. The sheer caliber of the bullets tore through the heads of the droids, sending them plummeting to the earth. The woman felt rather pleased with herself, though she continued to press forward, firing back at the droids while dodging their aim. Soon, she emptied the chamber of her pistol, and quickly reloaded before continuing her charge. When she got close to one of the robots, she quickly lowered her gun and engaged it in hand to hand combat, delivering a quick left and right from her fists, and finished it off with a kick to the chest, downing it for good. She fired a single round at another droid, obliterating its head from the shot, then leapt onto a headstand on top of the shoulders of a third. With a twist of her body, Cammy ripped the head off the droid's neck and allowed it to drop as she leapt away to confront the next attacker. Five more rounds later, she dropped the empty clip and reloaded her pistol with another cartridge. "Any time you're ready!" she hollered again, tossing the grenade in her hand towards the shooters.

Without uttering another word, Avery spun from his hiding spot and unleashed hell at the droids. The gun in the giant's hands was a comical sight to behold, the size of the firearm looking awfully small in his large mitts. In spite of his appearance, however, droids still fell one by one from the gunfire, adding his hail to Cammy's own in the process. Once he reached Cammy's position, he gestured with his pack, urging her to grab new clips from the bag.

"Go!" she commanded.

The agents sprang forth, momentarily forgetting why they were here and more concerned with preserving their own lives. In spite of the numbers, the agents looked unstoppable, the Killer Bee and the Scarred Reaper. Blood red eyes flared from the droids creating a foreboding ambience in the field, raining death from their machine guns, yet none were able to land their marks. Cammy and Avery unleashed their own brand of hell, and many androids fell under the hail of lead. When any of the agents got close, Cammy would use her speed to smash her way through while Avery used his size to crush his opposition with his hands. When the numbers seem to block their path, Avery solved it with a quick toss of a grenade. Indeed, the two looked unstoppable.

The barrel of Cammy's gun clicked. "I'm out."

Avery held squeezed the trigger of his firearm, and dropped the weapon in disgust. "Same here."

Surrounded at all sides, the agents stood back to back, watching as the glow of red eyes glared at the intruders. The giant raised his fists as did the pixie blonde.

"I said a hundred of them couldn't scratch us," he muttered. "I think there's more than a hundred."

"Heh…" Cammy gazed back at the androids with clenched fists.

The droids continued their death march, their arms raised in unison, preparing to finish the job.

"Question," Avery said.

"What is it, Lewis?"

"Two, actually… that move you used when we sparred last time… what was it called… and how was I not dead?"

"CQC," she said.

The giant furrowed his brow in confusion. "I've never seen that kind of CQC before…"

"Cammy Quick Combination…" she clarified, "and I was being gentle."

The chambers of their guns clacked, sending an echo across the field.

Avery wasn't too fond of the answers she had given, though truth be told he wasn't sure how to feel about them. The giant lowered his body, prepared to fight to his death. "You give your moves the cutest names."

"I still beat you," she huffed, wiping her lip with the back of her hand.

All at once, the androids opened fire…

Rumble-rumble-rumble-

Or would have save for the ground cracking below. The androids felt their footing give as the earth split, and many were swallowed under the dirt. Cammy and Avery couldn't decide at first if it was a blessing, until the fissures drew closer. More worrisome, however, were the explosions erupting from underneath, swallowing the droids in a hideous purple flame.

"Lewis… run."

The reaper and the bee broke into a sprint, though both realized it wasn't going to do them much good. The fissures opened faster than their legs could carry them, spreading their tendrils across the field to the edge of the forest. The stones, trees, and tall grass that once served as protection against the droids became obstacles in their mad dash for higher ground. The ground itself quaked so violently it was all the agents could do to maintain their balance while running. Columns of purple fire would shoot from the ground into the air, impeding their movement. If nothing else, both agents were stubborn, hopping over a newly made ledge here, sidestepping a fissure there, climbing, scaling, dodging the cracks and droids alike.

"Ah!" Avery yelped as a piece of burning rubble grazed his massive arm.

By then, their luck had run out. The cracks have decimated their path all the way to the forest, leaving a chaotic upheaval in their wake. Several fissures and cracks gave way, creating massive holes all around. Cammy and Avery stood back to back on the last piece of footing within what was once a desolate field. Flames shot up from the openings, burning evil and death all at once.

"Seeing as we're not leaving any time soon, I have something important to say," the scarred man said.

"What is it?"

Gesturing with his head, he said, "I like your ponytail."

Cammy gave the man an awkward smile. "And here I thought you were gonna tell me I still owe you a beer."

"Well… that, too."

The earth beneath their feet gave way, and the reaper and the bee began to fall into the abyss. Oblivion awaited them both.

…at least that was what Cammy had thought the moment she woke. Her vision was a blur, her head throbbing in pain as she attempted to lift herself up. Her arms wobbled and gave, causing the blonde to stumble back, scraping her arms in the process.

"Ah!" she yelped with embarrassment. Better to get my bearings first… she thought sheepishly. Rubbing the ache from her temples, Cammy slowly lifted her head off the ground and looked.

The blonde wasn't sure what to really make of her surroundings. It looked to be a room of sorts, yet whatever it was and whatever it once did, it was ruined underneath scorched dirt, rock, and twisted rubble. Small sparks of electricity snaked through broken and exposed cables thicker than her own arm. Murky water dripped from overhead, leaving a puddle next to her boot. The air itself reeked of earth and sulfur, so much that Cammy almost gagged from inhaling the cloud of dust.

Her head still a blur, she rubbed her eyes with her dirty hands, and found that to be a mistake as her eyes started to water and itch. That was when she realized something was missing… something very important… something or someone that came with her when she fell… Lewis!

"Lewis!" she called out, bolting herself up. Her body ached all over, her head ringing with pain, yet she forced herself to her feet. Fumbling against the rubble while fighting against the pounding sensation beating in her skull, she called out the giant's name again while waiting for her equilibrium to be restored.

Damn that oaf! Where the hell is he!

Feeling a bit impatient, Cammy released her hold from the rubble and took her first step. No sooner did she take her next step did she hear a faint sound. At first, she thought it was just the rubble toppling to the ground and paid little heed to it. The sound, however, grew louder as though something was getting closer. Her head still pounded, but the haze in her mind cleared enough to realize what that sound was.

Footsteps.

"Lewis…" she rasped quietly. I have to find him…

She stumbled quietly, tripping over some small rocks but managed to keep her footing. Her heart began to race, the adrenalin flowing as her senses began to warn her of danger.

The footsteps grew louder.

Cammy kicked over the remains of a Shadaloo droid, its head sliding along the dusty metal ground. She had to find Avery and she had to find him fast, but she had no idea where to look first. Then there were those blasted footsteps, slow, methodical, yet more audible with each passing moment. She had to hurry, she told herself, yet her body wanted to rest even when her gut told her to move. Willing herself, she put one foot over the other, telling herself to keep walking.

Then she stopped walking. A blaze of purple flame suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, blinding her momentarily. The purple effigy was no larger than a man, yet its radiance burned with pure malice, its arms bursting forth its chaotic dance. Within the flames, a pair of white, pupiless pools of fire burned even hotter, staring back at Cammy in anger, searing her to the soul. The blonde gasped, or wanted to, yet couldn't let out a single breath… for his hand quickly wrapped his fingers around her throat, and lifted her off her feet. She struggled feebly under his strength, yet she couldn't breathe as the world began to fade around her.

Finally, oblivion awaited…