bad science ahead, beware!
When she woke, she thought it would be as a mindless drone again. She was only partially relieved to learn that she was wrong. She was somewhere unfamiliar, laying on a cot. When she turned her head to the side she spotted Vega-in his own body again. She looked down at herself to make sure this was real, that everything had gone properly. She looked back over at him, and his eyes were open this time. They met for a brief second before he looked away, almost as if ashamed. There was a steady drone of beeps and other electronic noises in the background, men and women rushing to keep track of vital signs as the pair regained consciousness in their own bodies. They went largely ignored by both parties.
"Look at me," Cammy whispered to him, brows drawn together in defiance. He refused, and she hissed again, "No, look at me. You know what he's going to do, and you can help, or at least try!"
His eyes were difficult to read. He didn't say anything to her as he was approached by Bison and a pair of doctors. A few questions were answered with nods and shrugs, but Vega didn't seem to want to talk to anyone at all now.
"It appears the reason that this happened was the genetic similarities between the two of you."
Genetic similarities. Cammy let the words roll around in her head for a second, and whispered, "What did you say?" She looked up at the man who'd been speaking, and everyone glanced her way. She looked at Bison, who seemed mildly amused by something, and Vega, who was so intently focused on rolling down his sleeves that one would receive the impression he was performing brain surgery and not adjusting his clothes.
"You said 'genetic similarities'. What do you mean by that?" she asked in a low voice, heart racing. She knew she was intended to be a host body for Bison. That much had been revealed to her when she set out to save the other Dolls from Shadaloo. They weren't created like she had been. They were otherwise normal girls who'd been kidnapped and then brainwashed. They'd received the same sort of 'programming' she had, but theirs was much more fragile-they had a past to still remind them of what they'd been. She had nothing like that. And while it had devastated her to learn that she was nothing more than a substitute body, a failsafe in the event of Bison's sudden death, she'd finally come to terms with it. Her friends were a great help in this, reassuring her that her genes didn't dictate her future, and that she was not inherently a bad person because of this. But now, her sense of self was being rattled again and she just couldn't take it to be true.
The doctor looked to Bison for clearance. "You're really not very observant," Bison said. He looked over at the man beside him, and nodded. The man took this as a cue to depart, ushering out the other doctors with him.
"Don't," Vega said just barely above a whisper, shaking his head slowly and not daring to look at either of them.
But Bison wasn't about to listen to his request. He smirked as he looked down at Cammy, her expression somewhere between furious and mortified. "The problem, it seems, stems from your genetic similarities, as has been stated."
"What does that mean, exactly?" Cammy whispered in a shaking voice. She knew what it meant, but didn't want to face it.
"A person's soul is linked to its body via its DNA. Your genes are like an indicator, sort of like the lights on a runway to a landing aircraft. When we attempted to transfer Vega's consciousness to the android, it was rejected. But the spirit was left so disoriented by the unrefined process, it didn't return to its own body. Now, generally in the process of such displacement, there is only one body the spirit can return to. But in the case of those with similar enough genes-say, siblings-the spirit could technically take up 'residence' in that body." He stopped, letting Cammy catch up with everything he was saying. It was amusing, as her facial expressions had not changed since he began speaking. "His soul forced yours from your body, which then took refuge in the only vessel available to it-his body. Vega's DNA-albeit, slightly modified-was used in the process of creating you, which is why your souls can inhabit each other's bodies."
She stared. She didn't know what else to do. "No," she said simply, shaking her head. Wasn't it enough that she shared some DNA with Bison? Now the rest of it was apparently shared with Vega. She'd always clung to whatever half of her wasn't contributed from Bison being the part that had hope for a good and normal life. That she wouldn't turn out like Bison because not all of her was made from something terrible. But now, what did she have? Part megalomaniac, part psychotic killer-where did the good come in at? She turned her eyes to Vega. They shared some of the same genes. Was that why she looked so little like Bison? Was that the only reason Vega ever cared about her? Some misplaced affection to what could maybe be considered a family member?
"Didn't you ever wonder why you looked nothing like me?" Bison asked. He was just mocking her at this point, relishing in her shock. Vega moved to leave, but Bison caught him by the collar and pulled him back. "No. You'll see how futile it is for you to continue to care for a person who abhors you. Maybe that will remedy your problem." Bison looked to Cammy, and smiled. "Isn't that right, Killer Bee? Just how disgusted are you to find that you're related to him?" She saw Vega wince, and she wanted to scream at them that she was horrified at what she might become one day because of them. That she might just be destined to be something terrible after all.
"Your future isn't dictated by your genes," she whispered instead. She had to remember that. Maybe it seemed hopeless, but she was her own person. Her life would be a result of her own choices.
"I'm afraid yours is, however," Bison said. "You were created to be my substitute."
"No, I look more like him."
"My genes are there to ensure that the body properly wields and controls the psycho power."
"Why make me look like this?" Her voice was edging so closely towards hysteria. She had to get ahold of herself, couldn't give him the reaction he wanted, but it was so hard.
"So similar to his mother?" Bison rephrased the question.
"Don't fucking do this," Vega uttered under his breath.
Cammy stared again, processing that information. She looked somewhat like his mother. And was that why he cared so much about her? Did he even care about her as Cammy, or was he simply chasing a ghost? It was sad and pathetic all at once, and she wanted to tell him that. But she saw his face, how terribly upset he seemed at all of this, upset that she hated him, and she felt guilty for it. "I never asked for this," she reasoned, mostly to herself.
"Do you think I did?" Vega fumed. "You think I wanted to have to watch you walk around like a soulless shell of a human being? To see her in you and for you to not even know who I was? To not only have to watch you kill, but to be the one to teach you how to do it?"
"Vega..." He wouldn't look at her, refused completely. If he didn't acknowledge her pain, it would be easier to let her turn back into the very thing he had tried to keep her from being. "Don't let them do this to me, please."
The muscles in his jaw clenched, but there was little other outward sign that he'd heard her. Even Bison seemed to be anticipating his response to her pleas. So she tried something completely different. Something she wasn't sure would even work. She concentrated, trying to remember what little bits and pieces of his life she could, as fleeting as they were. "Pollito, ayúdeme." She said the words haltingly, uncertain they were even the right ones, if she was even saying them right.
But then his eyes shot up, horror written in them, and Cammy felt her heart leap into her throat. Was it working? She'd gotten his attention with that, but would it make him want to help? "That's enough," Bison said. "Get out." He took Vega by the arm and pushed him towards the door.
"Don't let this happen!" she cried and he stopped.
"Get out, now, Vega," Bison ordered in an icy tone. Vega looked from her to Bison, the inner struggle clear behind his eyes. But in the end, he knew the risks if he were to disobey Bison now. He turned away quickly, before he could give himself a chance to think twice. As he left, a trio of armed guards filed in. Cammy curled her fists and slammed them into the cot. She glared at the men in the room around her, knew what was waiting for her. They'd been given their orders not to harm her, but to treat her with caution. They were to escort her to a temporary holding area, and then-
She didn't want to think that far ahead. There was no way she could let it happen. "On your feet." One of the men grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from the cot. She scowled, but complied, glaring at Bison.
"You won't get away with this," she said.
He smiled in response, and she wanted to punch his teeth out. "I think I already have." He waved at the men, and one opened the door while the other two each held her by an arm. She struggled as they all but dragged her out into the corridor, and she cried out in frustration. Vega, still in earshot, tried his best not to turn around to see what was happening to her.
"Make this easy on us, won't you?" one of the guards said, jerking on her arm. She kicked him hard in the chest and was immediately seized by one of the others, arms pulled behind her back. The remaining man had his assault rifle pointed in her direction. The man she'd kicked slapped her in the face, and growled, "Think twice about that, you bitch!"
He was very suddenly seized from behind, an arm around his neck and his own ka-bar pressed against his throat, threatening to spill his guts onto the floor. "How would you like to eat your own jugular for dinner this evening?" The man shook his head slightly, too afraid to move much more than that. The knife was pressed against his stomach. "Maybe you prefer your entrails? Name a body part. If you keep hitting her, I'll put it on a plate for you."
"Commander," Bison snapped from the doorway. He should have known better. Vega still had too much of an attachment. He wouldn't be a particularly great loss as a teacher for her, but as a bodyguard he'd been invaluable. No one in Shadaloo would care about the Doll the way Vega had. It'd been Bison's intention to make sure he did his best to protect her. He didn't expect Vega to become as attached as he was, nor did he expect for his creation to be sabotaged altogether.
Vega sneered in disgust as he relinquished his grip on the man. "A beautiful lady is always to be treated with respect, correct?"
The man swallowed hard, casting a wayward glance at his superior. His very violent, very unstable, professional murderer of a superior. "Yes sir, Commander."
Cammy silently pleaded for him to look at her. But he never did and they parted ways without further incident. Bison followed after him, ensuring that no more problems would occur. And there seemed to go her last shot at getting out of here. Maybe it was a bit foolish to expect Vega would do anything now. What could he accomplish anyway, with Bison right here?
The hall she was led down was bland and boring, worse than any hospital. At least hospitals had wallpaper, and sometimes art. This was just mind-numbing. "Jesus, does he get a stick up his ass about everything?" one of the men said on an exhale once they deemed themselves far enough away. Cammy didn't miss that he checked over his shoulder before saying anything.
"Maybe he thinks he can get laid before Bison brainwashes the chick," one of the other men suggested with a grin, speaking as if Cammy wasn't present to hear his remarks.
"We're practically siblings you sodding moron," Cammy said, struggling again briefly but accomplishing nothing.
"Then he's crazier than I thought," the man said with a laugh.
She growled, unable to express much irritation otherwise. She wasn't sure why she was irritated. What did she care what they thought of Vega? But their behavior annoyed her They were insulting him, mocking him, but they were terrified of him. And she didn't like them to begin with since they were dragging her off to what amounted to her own death. "You're all three cowards," she said. "I'd like to see you say any of that to his face."
"You seem to like to talk big about that asshole, but I don't see him doing you any favors now," the man responded viciously. She bit her tongue then. What could she say in return? He was right. Vega had given up on her. She was on her own now.
i want to thank francyspai here-she had this idea of vega and cammy sharing genes, and i think it's fantastic, so i want to give credit where it's due!
it's been pointed out to me(a few times haha), apparently, that this idea is basically cribbed from/quite similar to some anime called neon genesis evangelion, and that other people have had the same or similar ideas about cammy and vega. just an fyi to save you a PM about it. thanks though :)