She didn't want to turn around to look at who was chasing them. Still far enough behind that they could consider themselves safe for now, but close enough to see the beams of their flashlights as they glided over the darkened jungle foliage. She was breathing hard as they ran, the air thick and humid, and thunder rumbled overhead to tell her things were going to get a lot more difficult any second now. Vega was behind her still, telling her where to go. There were only a few people tailing them now. He could hear them shouting to each other. More would probably be coming once they got vehicles and arms together. That would buy them some time though. The chances of escape were still in their favor, however slightly.

"Don't look at them, keep running," he said as he saw her finally glance over her shoulder. She could trip and fall if she didn't pay attention to where she was going, especially here with fallen trees littering the jungle floor, roots thrusting up through the slick, leaf covered ground. They couldn't afford to lose the lead they had.

"Will they catch us?" she cried out. She blinked rapidly as she felt water pelt her face. The rain came down like a curtain and she couldn't help but liken it to the final act of a play. Maybe she was being pessimistic, but her fear made it hard to think positive. It became harder to see, but she knew that meant the same for the ones chasing them as well.

"Stop wasting your breath on questions and run!" They could catch them, but they were really only most likely to do so if Bison caught up with them. He wouldn't stand for this extreme insubordination, and given Vega's rank and past infractions, he would want to deal with him himself. The guards were easy enough to put up with, and the jeeps the others were likely jumping into right now couldn't traverse all parts of the jungle as quick as a person could. Too many trees, too many sudden drops, steep hills. Vega didn't look forward to having to utilize that terrain, but if it meant getting out alive, he'd do what he had to.

Cammy couldn't help but wonder about their situation. Vega seemed confident enough, but she knew now he always seemed confident enough. This jungle was unfamiliar to her, dark, littered with possible predators, venomous insects and snakes. Above all of the normal dangers involved in running through a jungle at night was the added problem of the dozens of armed guards chasing after them on foot and probably with vehicles, too. Not to mention the possibility of a very angry, very powerful madman. Where were they running to anyway? She was going off of Vega's directions-"left at that tree! right at that rock!" Was he even certain about where this would lead them? And how could he remember such markers when there were tons of them throughout the environment? And could he be certain they were the ones he was looking for, given how dark it was now? And in the rain? She couldn't help thinking nervously about all of these things, but she had to put her trust in him now.

"There's a ledge coming up!" he called over the noise of the storm. "Keep an eye out for it!"

She did so, blinking against the rain. It was hard to see, but she lowered her line of sight. She cried out when she saw it. "There! There! Where do we go now?"

"Down," he said. She uttered a short cry of surprise as she reached the edge, and looked over. It was steep, almost straight down. Not tall enough to kill you if you jumped off, but tall enough to make her wonder if this was the best decision. With the rain, the sandy slope had been turned to mud, and the water rushing down made it look incredibly precarious. Maybe if it had been dry, this wouldn't have been as much of an issue. But now it was outright insane.

"Isn't there another way down?" she cried over the rain and thunder.

"No time for arguing!" he answered back as the beams of the flashlights drew closer.

"I just don't think this is such a-" He took her by the wrist, and pulled her along with him as he made his way down. It was difficult to keep their footing, and they both slipped easily in spite of their natural grace. She squeezed her eyes shut as they rolled through the mud. She kept her mouth shut even though she wanted nothing more than to scream. Both were raking their hands through it, attempting to stop themselves from falling, but it wasn't helping much. Finally, disoriented, they came to a stop in the muddy banks of a creek. Catching their breath, they both pushed themselves up and Vega groaned as he looked down at himself. He hated being dirty, hated even getting sweaty, so all of this mud and rain water was not helping his mood. He tried to wipe it away from his eyes, but the palms and backs of his hands were dirtied with it, too. They were both a complete mess, hair plastered to their faces, possibly crawling with insects.

"Come on, it's this way. Follow the water," Vega said.

Cammy climbed to her feet, following the creek through the jungle as he instructed. "How far?" she asked. It'd be great to feel safe again, and get a change of clothes.

"Just keep going," he told her. He didn't want her letting her guard down if she thought they were getting close to the end.

She gave an exaggerated groan. "Why won't you just tell me?"

"Just go!"

She did, a little irritated, but looked back up to that ledge one more time. The lights were getting closer to it now. "They're catching up," she said.

"Wait." He pulled her away from the creek, further back into the jungle. Sliding around to the backside of a tree, he pushed her against it. "Stay still, don't move." She nodded. The men up there would be more inclined to believe the two had followed the worn path than to slide down that dangerous ledge, she supposed, and the rush of rain water erased all evidence that they'd fallen down in the first place. If the party had known exactly where they went, they wouldn't have stopped to look around. She held her breath as she saw the light searching the area around them draw nearer. Both were completely still as it passed by the tree they were hiding behind, and they moved only their eyes to watch it continue on its survey. She could barely hear them talking to each other up there. The rain and thunder drowned a lot of it out.

"What's going on?" she whispered. Her back was still against the tree, and she couldn't catch a glimpse of what was happening.

"They're splitting up," he whispered back, brows drawing together as he watched two men test their footing on the muddy cliff. He shifted his gaze back over to the others, who were quickly receding from sight back to the main path. "Two of them are coming down. Stay here."

"I'm not incapable of helping, you know," she replied, trying to keep a lid on her annoyance with his implication that she was helpless.

He frowned at her, though it was difficult for her to tell in the dark with all the mud on his face. "Just stay." He watched the men, anticipating that they'd fall, waiting, waiting-

There! The first slipped with a yelp, and grabbed the second for stability. Then they both slid down and Vega bolted towards them, pulling the knife from its place at his side. He was ready to utilize every second of their disorientation, but knew gunshots would attract attention. A cry made him hesitate, and he whipped around to see Cammy dashing towards him. He strained his eyes to find someone in the dark who may have been after her, and then she caught up with him, wrenching the blade out of his hand. "Don't do that!" she shouted into his face. "Don't kill them!"

He blinked, confused at first. Then he gritted his teeth. The men landed in the creek with a splash, pushing themselves to their feet. Vega didn't have time to argue with Cammy, but she'd taken the weapon he'd intended to use on them. Sliding the M16 around, he slammed the butt of the rifle into the back of the first man's head. He dropped onto his side. The second man shouted, fumbling for his radio, but was knocked to the ground in a similar manner. He blinked rapidly, trying to shake off the attack, but another blow sent him down for good. "Are you insane?" He pointed to the men on the ground. "They could have captured you! Is that what you wanted?"

"I don't want anyone to die," she said. "No one has to die."

"I have a little news for you," he said, sliding the strap of the gun back over his shoulder. "You're going to have to fight for your freedom. You're going to have to get your hands dirty, or you aren't going to make it out of here with your conscience in tact."

"If I were to have let you kill them, neither of our consciences would be in tact," she told him. She didn't know why she was bothering but felt desperately compelled to try. Maybe if he saw how much she disapproved of that attitude, he'd feel ashamed and change his mind. Or was it naive of her to think she had that sort of influence over him? "Killing someone is never the right answer."

"Let's see if you feel that way if they catch us." He didn't want to argue with her anymore. They were very much in a hurry, and didn't have time for ethical debates. He began to run again, following the creek as intended. She followed. She didn't know if there was a way to get through to him. Maybe he really was a lost cause.

They ran alongside the water for awhile, and she was happy to see that they hadn't been subjected to anymore risky encounters. She hadn't heard so much as a radio crackle, or seen a flashlight in several minutes. That had to mean they'd lost their trackers. The creek met up with a river, and he stopped there, scanning the banks and listening intently for any noises. It was hard to hear over the sound of the rain pelting the water, but he didn't see anything moving in a manner that alarmed him. He'd rehearsed this route in his head over and over again, had it memorized completely, but it was much easier to think about than to actually do. "We have to cross it." He nodded to the water. It wasn't so deep that they had to swim, but it wouldn't be pleasant.

"Where at?" she asked, a little confused as she didn't see an adequate crossing anywhere near them.

"Here," he said, and made an example of himself by stepping into the water. It was warm, moved slowly enough to where current was not a risk factor, but he didn't like being unable to see what was in it. He kept his eyes on the surface, searching for anything harmful. But with all the rain falling, creating hundreds of little ripples, it was difficult to tell.

Cammy followed him hesitantly, but decided they were already soaking wet, and maybe the river would get rid of some of the mud. She kept close, looking over the banks for any sign of the men who'd been chasing them. Did the path they followed lead up to this river as well? She had no idea where they were right now in relation to Shadaloo, and she hoped that Vega knew where he was going. The water reached higher and higher as they waded through it, over their thighs, hips, now at their waist. Vega held the rifle above the water level to avoid damaging it, and she kept her arms up as well, though it wasn't as if she needed to keep them dry. She felt little fish darting by her legs, and wrinkled her nose. It was a little gross, but-

She cried out and thrashed madly as she felt something larger slide by her back on the surface of the water. Vega turned around immediately, rifle aimed and ready to fire, which terrified her further. But he didn't see anyone behind her. She rushed through the water as best as she could, and turned around to see it-a snake, swimming away quickly. Vega sighed and tried to relax. "Next time you scream, make sure it's a little louder. I don't think they heard you in Indonesia."

"I didn't know what it was!"

"It's more frightened of you, you realize?"

She bit her lip as she watched the snake race off, and he was probably right. But then, she had no way of knowing if it were poisonous or not, so she decided she was justified in her fear. "I just don't want to add 'snake bite' to the list of problems we have."

"Then keep moving," he urged, turning back around. Still, no signs of human activity. Could it really be this simple? This made him even more nervous, and he began to think perhaps he was missing some very obvious trap here. Was Bison toying with them? Had he expected this escape the whole time? The growing, thunderous noise of helicopter rotors caught their ears, and both of them looked up. Leaves fluttered madly overhead, waves rushed through the grass, and both of them squinted against the rain stinging against their faces in an attempt to make out who owned the craft. Cammy held both hands over her eyes in an effort to shield them and see a little better, and a smile spread over her face. It was dark, but she was almost certain she'd spotted the Delta Red insignia emblazoned on the side of the chopper.

"The colonel! It's them!" she cried, pointing in the direction of the receding aircraft. "They really came after me!" A surge of joy and hope overwhelmed her, driven by the idea that she was home free, and she threw her arms around the dirty, wet assassin beside her. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" He didn't know how to respond, slightly embarrassed, arms hanging uselessly at his sides. But she had enthusiasm enough for the both of them, and was now the one practically dragging him through the thick of the tropical forest. "Come on, come on!" she cried, excited. She followed the path of the helicopter, still able to hear the rotors in the distance. Heart soaring, she wondered where it had touched down. Within a few minutes, certainly no more than half an hour, she'd be with her friends again. Safe, out of the rain, wrapped up in a towel or blanket to get the dirt off, deciding what she wanted to eat for dinner, maybe get some fancy hot chocolate somewhere.

The noise of the chopper was closer now, and she could see the lights through the trees. They burst out of the woods, into a small field, and she shouted out with joy at the sight of the machine. It was Delta Red's, and there was Colonel Wolfman and Chun-Li, both racing towards her. Luwanda jumped out next, securing the perimeter. Ginzu and McCoy, she knew, were probably piloting, and they certainly wouldn't be here long enough to shut down the helicopter. "Colonel!" Cammy all but screamed to be heard over the noise of the rotors. She jumped into the air and waved her arms, mostly from sheer excitement. She was certain he saw her. Meeting the bear of a man midway between the chopper and the tree line, she threw out her arms and embraced him, both parties laughing as he spun her around once.

"You look a right mess!" the man shouted over the noise.

"I'm alive, at least!" she responded, hugging him again.

"You made it!" Chun-Li said with a smile, and Cammy nodded.

"Yes, all thanks to Vega, he-" She turned to point back at him, but then her heart sank at what she saw. Vega hadn't realized it yet, but they weren't safe. Bison had found them.