That day was really big for Caius. It was time for the survival mission and he was ready, even the fact that he was having a little doubt deep down inside, but just like Cammy, he survived thus far and he needed to be ready at all times; this was the principle of Delta Red. This final test will determine if he's going to join the team, or not...
The rest of the team put a lot of faith in his abilities and they knew, before even the mission, that he would succeed.
Cammy, on the other hand, had some thoughts in her mind, troubling her every single day since Delta Red found Caius back in that island. She kept thinking about Shadaloo. Where they really disbanded or are they just assembling their scattered forces? Even with this optical disc Caius gave them in the past months, they couldn't find any link to them..."Maybe it's over... finally. We can rest assured now, can we? But, what about those guys who kidnapped Caius back then?"she said to herself.
But, she had to think about the now, instead making "ifs" and "whats" in her mind, which she tend to do them a lot...
The hours were passing and Colonel Wolfman called Caius to his office. The time had come.
"Well then, are you ready?"
"Let's get it over with, Colonel."
"Excellent. I will escort you to the helipad. Cammy will be waiting for you there. She will fly along with you to your destination."
"So Cammy is coming with me?"
"Yes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask her about everything, OK?"
"OK... Let's do it."
Both of them started walking to the helipad. Just outside of MI-6, Lita, George and Matthew were anticipating Caius's departure for the island. They wanted to wish him good luck and bid him farewell.
"Hey! Here he is, our new hero!" Lita said with a somewhat loud voice.
"Haha... Hello everyone..." Caius replied.
"Aww, don't tell me that you're scared! You've destroyed an entire base own your own, a little survival mission won't hold you back!" Mat said.
"That's right, we're rooting for you, bro! Everyone has pasted this one, don't worry!" George said.
Caius appreciated their encouragement and support.
"Well, I didn't expect so much support, I thought things here are ''Swim or Sink'' or something like that...
"Since we're putting our lives at stake at Delta Red, it's the best we can do to keep up!" Lita said to him.
"You're right... OK then, i'll see you when I see ya folks. Thank you for everything!"
"No prob! Cammy is waiting for you in the helipad, you lucky dog!" Mat said back, making Caius blush.
"...Yeah, right, I better get going. Farewell."
After Caius bade farewell to the rest of the team, he and Wolfman made their way to the chopper in which Cammy was waiting for Caius.
"Here you are." Cammy said.
"Where else could I be?" Caius said back.
"It's all set. Well Cammy, you'll take it from here."
"Yes sir."
"Caius, i'm wishing you good luck. And be careful, lad. We don't want to lose you out there! Do your best and those 10 days will be over in no time!" Wolfman said to further encourage him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you don't have to tell me twice. I'll survive!" Caius said back.
"Well then, get on" Cammy said to him"
Cammy and Caius set foot onto the chopper. "All right, off we go!" the pilot said and the journey back to the island where Delta Red found Caius has begun. Along the way, things for Caius were looking pretty moody. Cammy noticed that and she tried to raise his spirits.
"Don't tell me that you're worried, Caius..."
"Well, a little bit. It's just..."
"I know how you feel. Your life has dramatically changed..."
"It's true, but I can deal with it. Anyway, maybe we should change the subject."
"As you wish."
"You know Cammy, I was wondering: You suppose that it's over?"
"No, I don't think so..."
"Hmm, I see... So, you were there, right? At the World Warrior Tournament, right?"
"Yes..."
"You guys made an amazing job taking M. Bison down."
"...Really?"
"Yeah."
"You know, it wasn't exactly a stroll in the park..."
"I can imagine... I didn't want to..."
"It's OK, but the past is the past. We should focus to the now."
"What's exactly what i'm doing..."
"So, the weight of loss of your beloved ones doesn't apply to you anymore?"
"Not anymore."
"So revenge it's not on your agenda, right?"
"No, because i'm not the first, nor the last person who lost someone to Shadaloo. Even if I kill the ones responsible, it wouldn't bring my parents back... Even if I had ran to my other relatives, still, those guys would be searching for me. I didn't wanted to put their lives at stake."
"...Wise spoken, Caius."
"Haha... At least, this is my perspective."
"And it's a really logic one. Others wouldn't stand all of these burden you are carrying."
At that moment, Caius took his eyes away from Cammy and he said to himself:
"My burdens are nothing compared to what you've been through, Cammy..."
Cammy looked at him and said:
"Is everything OK? You've been thinking hard the last few days, you know..."
"I'm OK, don't worry!" Caius said back with a smile.
"I must be really careful around her... She doesn't know that I know about her past... Curse those databases they gave me to study... Everyone who's interfered with Shadaloo is somehow doomed to be tied with those creeps forever..."
"You know, Caius, being a Delta Red member has many privileges."
"Hey, still trying to cheer me up? I'm OK!"
"I thought that this would interest you at some extend...!"
"I can imagine: Lots of money, lots of days-off... But lots of danger."
"Pretty much. Everything in a good quantity!"
"And quality I presume. I can't wait to get my own apartment. Although I'll need a huge amount of cash..."
"If you succeed in your survival, we'll give you something to get your gears going." Cammy said with a smirk, closing her left eye to Caius. The young man looked away from her and he started scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, really? That's good to hear."
Cammy stared at his long hair and said:
"...Seriously, how can you keep up with that much hair?"
"Oh, i'm obsessed with long hair, in general."
"I see... But white isn't their natural color, right?"
"They're permanent bleached. I just wanted to change my appearance, so I requested from those scientists to have them bleached white."
"Strange request..."
"Well, they wouldn't let me go, so...!"
"Haha, that's true!" Cammy said, smiling back at him.
"Wow Captain, you're even more beautiful when you're smiling..."Caius thought while looking at Cammy.
For Cammy, laughing was a difficult task. She tends to laugh sometimes, but for the most time, she retains her serious, mature look in her face. But no one could blame her; Shadaloo took her smile from her face at the very first day she drew her first breath in this world.
...
After a couple of hours, they finally reached back in which they first met each other. The chopper landed on the ground and the two of them stepped out of it.
"Wow... Did I caused this back then? Caius said, looking at the ruins of the base in which he was held captive.
"You certainly did. That explosion you triggered actually earned you a place among us, Colonel Wolfman was very impressed."
"Well, there's something else; We need to continue our fight, now that we don't have any distractions!"
"Not now, we'll have plenty sparring sessions back at Delta Red. For now, you need to hold on to your military knife Colonel Wolfman gave you."
"Of course, I'm joking. Well, thanks for coming along with me."
"No problem. Anything else, Caius?"
"I'm all set, Captain. I'll do my best."
"Very well. Farewell and don't die on us soldier!"
"Yes Mam! Commencing survival mission!"
With these words, Caius's survival had begun. Cammy flew back to MI-6 and the young lad was all along. Those 10 days were the last obstacle between him and his chance to join Delta Red. Failure is NOT an option.