Six months had passed since her hectic flight from Shadaloo. Since she swapped bodies with their lead assassin and managed to survive. Her life had settled down again, and she hadn't seen or heard from Bison at all. It was a big relief to say the least. If he hadn't made a move by now, it was very likely he wouldn't be making one at all. It took her a month or so before she could sleep easy, but it was nice to finally be able to live life normally again. She hadn't heard much from Vega since he disappeared from Rose's home that night. A few weeks after that, she'd received a letter with no return address. Inside the envelope, there was another smaller envelope, and a silly drawing of a cat smacking a little bee to the ground. "Buena suerte, gatita," it said. The smaller one contained a few checks. "For all of the expenses. It is extremely important that you stagger the deposits in the manner shown below." He'd written out a list of seemingly random dates but she supposed he had a reason for it. And she supposed it'd be pretty alarming to her bank if she made such an enormous deposit all at once. Did she accept the money? What expenses could he have possibly been talking about? Maybe he'd bought more expensive food. But no, he'd have to have been feeding an army to justify this.
It had prompted her to search Vega's name online to see what was being said about him in Spain. He'd been absent for a good portion of bullfighting season, and apparently someone had seen him bleeding from his nose, appearing to be pretty distressed. It'd given rise to rumors about his health, and as if to confirm it, a few days later he announced he was resigning from bullfighting.
It was a few months after that she found out he was dead. Cammy remembered staring at the article as if it simply weren't possible. Bison had finally gotten him, she supposed, although it was inevitable given what Rose had said of his condition. That had been in June. She remembered speaking with Chun-Li about it briefly, and she seemed almost relieved. One less criminal in the world to worry about. Cammy wondered if things would've turned out differently for him if she'd asked him to come home with her instead. She knew things would've gone differently if they'd never gotten caught up in Bison's experiment to begin with. But either way, it was all over now and there was nothing she could do to change anything, as much as she hated it. She kept the little drawing he'd sent her. It was held to her fridge by a magnet, and she couldn't bring herself to toss it out. While he may have been a criminal and a murderer-and she couldn't ignore that-he had also been the reason she'd ever broken free from life as a Doll to begin with, the reason she was still alive today. She couldn't ignore that, either.
Things never felt lonely, though. She had her friends around to keep her company. Delta Red always kept her busy. Chun-Li dropped in every once and awhile. Guile and Julia had visited with Amy, as had been promised nearly a year ago. It was Julia she was speaking with on the phone now as she half-heartedly tried to tidy up her home. "Yes of course I'll be going for Christmas..." she said into the phone as she picked up some empty cups and headed for the kitchen. She'd been trying to keep her home a bit neater. It took a lot of work, and she often forgot to pick up after herself. "If I didn't, I think Ken or Guile would fly over here and drag me back across the pond themselves." She smiled at her friend on the other line as they made some remark about the stubbornness of the pair, and wondered how they ever got along to begin with. Since her friends had come to visit her in the summer, she'd be going over to America at Christmas for them. She was looking forward to it. Christmas was the best time of the year, and it would be nice to get out of the house.
She focused on the telephone, feeling a little guilty for letting her mind wander as her friend spoke about her own plans. It wasn't that Cammy was uninterested. She was just having a little trouble focusing. She was trying to plan the details of the trip when Julia had called, and her mind was still going over that. But the conversation was wrapping up, and she was ready to pick up where she left off. Setting the phone down on the counter, she headed towards her couch where her laptop waited, ready to price some plane tickets. There were few things more fun in the world than travelling and she was lucky to have the opportunity. She had friends and acquaintances scattered all over the globe and it gave her plenty of chances to visit somewhere new.
A knock at the door caused her to sigh, and she glanced towards it. How many interruptions today? At least she wasn't in the middle of paying for her tickets. Two of her cats darted away from the door. The others never minded guests, practically ignoring them completely. After unlocking the door, she cracked it open to see who it was, and her breath caught in her throat. His hair was brown now, and cut shorter, though not by much. He looked terrible. Tired, glassy eyes glanced up as she opened the door. But still, she told him, "You look pretty good for a dead man."
"I like to think I look pretty good for any sort of man." She smiled. She never thought she'd miss an attitude like that. Surprising him, and herself, she responded by pulling him towards her by the shoulders and hugging him tightly. She'd never really gotten to thank him for getting her away from Bison again, and with the news of his 'death', she thought she never would.
"Where have you been all this time?" she asked, closing the door behind him after checking the hall for any unwanted visitors. She still had to be cautious, especially if Vega was here.
"Here, there, everywhere," he responded with a wave of his hand. He was trying to appear nonchalant, but something seemed to be weighing down on him. "Never stay somewhere for too long when he's looking." Bison, he meant.
"But doesn't everyone think you're dead now?" Cammy asked.
Vega smirked. "Everyone but him, I'm sure. He's no idiot. It may have thrown him off for a little while, but it was something I did more for the public than him. People outside of Spain and South America aren't so likely to recognize me, but it still needed to be done. And after all, disappearing is an art I mastered under his tutelage. Ironic." He laughed a little, then instantly regretted it, tasting blood. He glanced at his hand, flecked with red, and closed it quickly. But Cammy was very observant.
"You're still sick," she said. He didn't respond. "Have you tried a doctor?"
He laughed again, shaking his head at her. "You're so naive, still," he said quietly. He didn't mean it in a derogatory manner, she knew. "A handful of people on this planet know what psycho power is. Only two of them understand it, and neither one is willing to help me."
She frowned at that. It was true. But she hated situations that had no way out, no resolution but a most unfortunate one. "There's no way to make him help you? To make him take it back?"
"There's nothing you can threaten him with," he said. "That's part of what makes him so powerful. No family to worry for, no lover to keep from harm's way, no interest in wealth that could be stolen, not even a fear of death or bodily harm." He turned his eyes to her. "It's not often that I acknowledge this, but I am going to die." He went quiet, staring in an awful way as his eyes drifted towards the floor. "And there's nothing I can do about it. But I suppose, that's always been the case for everyone." He coughed, and it was a wet, awful sound. She couldn't keep from cringing, but her eyes quickly softened when she saw the blood on his hand.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Perhaps a stupid question-the answer was painfully obvious. But at least, she decided, it let him know she cared. He shook his head, and kept coughing. She watched as he tried to keep himself quiet, but it wasn't the sort of thing that could be helped. He stepped away, hand over his mouth as he kept coughing. She followed him to the kitchen sink. Unsure of what to do, she put a hand on his shoulder. It got worse, and she winced heard something wet hit the basin. She gripped his shoulder harder, staring as blood dripped from his nose, from his mouth. He drew in a few breaths, staring at the mess in the sink. "Vega..." she said quietly, wondering if this was it, if he was quite simply going to fall flat and never get back up.
"I never wanted to die," he said, trying to take deep, even breaths between words. He shook his head back and forth, stray hairs sticking to his face. "I didn't want to get old but-" A shaking hand made its way to his face where he tried to wipe away some of the blood. "I didn't want-
"It's okay," she said, even though she knew it wasn't true. She didn't know what else to say, and it was what her friends said to her in her moments of duress. She sighed quietly, looking over him, the pathetic mess that he was right now. It wasn't so long ago that she hated him, nearly just as much as Bison. She probably would've taken some satisfaction at the sight of him like this. "You should stay with me," she decided finally.
He inhaled slowly, and said tiredly, "Dangerous."
"If Bison wanted either of us, I think he would've found us by now. Don't you?" He didn't respond. He would know better than her, so that made her slightly uneasy. She had never considered that perhaps Bison was biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to scoop them both up at once. But Vega was already dying, and coming at them apart would be easier on him than coming at them together. "Just stay with me," she said again. "I'll help you."
"I don't need your charity," he said, and that arrogance was back in his voice again. He stood up straight again as he turned the faucet on to wash his hands and face.
She gave him the sternest look she could muster. "Who said anything about charity, you obstinate ass?" she said. "I'm trying to offer you my friendship. Don't you understand that?" He didn't look at her as she spoke, didn't respond, so she continued. "Maybe you aren't the most personable of individuals, and maybe you've got quite a lot of blood on your hands. But so do I, and I'm willing to give you a try. So you'd damned well better accept that!" She glanced back down at the sink where the reminder of his ultimate fate ran down the drain. "Okay?"
He finally glanced back at her as he dried his hands. She was pretty tenacious, saying all of that to him. And he knew she was stubborn too. He couldn't have much longer. Would it hurt to spend it with someone who was trying to be his friend? "Okay."
Living with Vega taught Cammy just how much Bison's attack had taken its toll on him. The random bouts of bleeding weren't the only problems. Sometimes, he forgot things, like who she was, where they were. It was difficult to deal with. He'd ask her a question in Spanish, and she was never sure what he was saying, but she would catch the word "mamá" and frown at him. He'd say it again when she didn't respond. Then she had to watch as he realized over and over that she wasn't his mom. That she was dead. Cammy didn't know what to do in those situations. It made her wonder how much longer he was going to last.
When he was himself, he pretended like nothing was wrong, but she could tell he knew. When he'd wipe blood from his nose, she caught the look of dread, panic, terror. She wondered if this was why he'd come back to her after all. Maybe he knew it was getting so bad that he'd have trouble taking care of himself. Maybe he just wanted to spend his last few moments trying to connect with her. Whatever it was, she didn't mind. He'd helped her out. It was her turn to help him. More and more often it seemed he spent his time asleep. She thought of old animals who were too tired to move anymore. Who laid down and knew they wouldn't get back up again.
In the late hours of the night-or early hours of the day, if you were the glass-half-full sort-the mind is known to play tricks. When he spotted the apparition, he'd really wished it had been nothing more than a trick of the mind. When his eyes fluttered open at the softest of sounds-because an assassin, especially one trained in the art of ninjitsu, is a pretty light sleeper-he didn't expect to see the deep crimson uniform of the general of Shadaloo. "Back to finish it?" Vega muttered quietly. He didn't have the strength to be loud, but didn't want to give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing him alarmed, either.
"Finish? When I said you deserved to suffer, I meant it. I'll let this thing take its course, however long that is," Bison responded, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at the pathetic shell of his former lead assassin, sprawled out on a cheap thrift store couch covered in cat hair. "Unless you would like to hear what I have to offer."
Vega laughed a little. Should've seen it coming. He wanted something. What would he get out of it, though? He coughed, pushing himself up so as not to get the furniture dirty. He felt blood dripping onto the hand clamped over his mouth, not daring to look at Bison. The man was already getting his enjoyment out of all of this. He pulled his hand away to speak, and it was shaking. "What is it then?" he asled.
"S.I.N. has been taken over."
"What do I care?"
"You never were very patient," Bison said, exasperated already. "Shut up, and pay attention." Vega glared at Bison, but really didn't have much to say. "Now. You may remember the machines created with the intention of becoming my next hosts?" He received no response, but continued anyway. "Within a few weeks of your escape, we were able to resolve all major issues, and activated them. But one of them became self-aware. The very one which we attempted to deposit your spirit into. So as per usual, you are still causing me a headache, even when you aren't physically present."
"Happy to be of service," he said.
"That's pleasant to hear, because if you value your life so highly as you claim, then you will be returning to it." Vega wasn't sure how to respond. Did he go back to Bison's side, after what he'd done to him? "In exchange for your service, I'll withdraw the psycho power still eating away at you, have what damage has been already done repaired at Shadaloo, and your position reinstated."
Vega stared at the man as he considered all of that. Giving life back to a dying man was a very powerful bargaining chip. What was there that Vega wouldn't do to get to stay alive just a little longer at this point? He couldn't even bring himself to care that he'd be back under Bison's thumb, crawling back like the dog the man had said he was. But it was better to be alive than dead. "What is it I have to do?"
"You'll infiltrate the ranks of the Intimidation Network in South America. Android number fifteen-or 'Seth', as he is calling himself now-has taken control. You will assist me in destroying them from the inside. He will be suspicious of your motivations, given that he is aware of your former position within Shadaloo. But loyalties all across the board have begun to fracture, and I suppose now is as good a time as ever for a culling of the herd," Bison explained. "It should be easy enough for you to muster up some reason to hate me, correct?"
"I could think of a few things," Vega said.
"Then do you accept my offer?" Bison asked.
Vega was hesitant to respond. Getting back his life seemed like it should be a no-brainer. Nobody wanted to die, after all. But he glanced towards Cammy's room, thought about leaving her behind, and it was all that made him hesitate. A sigh from Bison brought his attention back to the man. "You aren't considering refusing this offer over her, are you?" Vega narrowed his eyes. "Haven't you realized yet that you are nothing more than a new pet to her? Something interesting at first, something to coddle and love until it becomes, well, boring. Until she becomes used to the idea of you, and wonders why she ever wanted to put up with you in the first place. She'll come to think of you as a burden, as more trouble than you're worth, especially considering the state you're in now." Bison tapped a finger to his lips. "Cleaning all of your messes is going to become tiresome, after all."
Vega's eyes found their way to the carpet, unable to meet Bison's gaze. Splatters of red jumped out at him, and he frowned at the sight of the stains. Burden. It was a good word for him now. How could he expect Cammy to deal with all of this? To put her at such a risk as well? "Don't make her into your only chance at a normal life, Vega. You aren't prepared for one, and if you are to stay with her and refuse me, you wouldn't have very long anyway. You belong with Shadaloo, and as its leader, I am willing to forgive your transgressions in order to gain your assistance in this matter."
Inhaling slowly, Vega turned his eyes back to his superior. "Well," he said quietly. What was there to struggle with in this decision? He couldn't stay with Cammy anymore, this much was apparent. And if Bison was willing to not only take him back, but to give him back his health, it was the safest bet for him now. "I suppose, so long as you're to follow through."
"I certainly would not send one of my operatives into a mission at a disadvantage," Bison said. "And if you even attempt to run from this once I've restored your health, remember how easily I found you here."
Vega nodded slowly. The possibility had come to mind that he could try to disappear once Bison had fixed him. But the threat was very persuading. He pushed himself to his feet, and glanced around the apartment. It would very likely be the last time he ever saw it. "There's one more condition," Vega said.
"I've given you more than I'd give many others in your position, Vega," Bison warned.
"It isn't for me." It was all he needed to say.
Bison sighed, but ultimately nodded. "I'm finished with trying to take Killer Bee back. These new machines are superior to the Dolls at this point, anyway. And I suppose I've learned you would make it more costly for me to have her in my possession than it's worth." He watched with only the mildest sense of curiosity as Vega staggered into the kitchen, one hand against the counter tops for support. He scrawled something onto a piece of paper on the fridge before setting the pen down with a shaking hand, and returning his eyes to Bison.
"Then it's settled," Vega said.
Bison smirked. "Good." And with that, they were both gone as if they'd never been there to begin with.