Self-discovery made for a strange journey.

That was the lesson Cammy bore in mind as she gazed out the window of the bus, lost in thought and playing with the free end of one of her two long pigtails. Today, she was but one of five potential members of a military organization called Delta Red. The others traveled with her, but they looked so... intimidating. Only one would get in, if even that; Colonel Wolfman told her that from the beginning, when he explained to her about the group and the possibility of her making it in. He did say he thought she was good enough.

How had he discovered that? Perhaps from the tests. They tested her on so many things in the past two weeks that she couldn't recall a single one specifically. Maybe that was due to her memory loss. Who knew? After the tests - such as the obstacle course... oh, that had to have been one of them, she realized - were completed, they said that she was okay, that her body was in perfect health; of course, when they thought she wasn't looking, they said other things entirely. Listening in near a doorway brought her other kinds of information; she was... an unusual case? Too strong, too skilled, too fast? Too talented a fighter for someone with no training? Sometimes they didn't even tell her what to do for a test, but she somehow always knew, deep down, what exactly needed to be done. Was she psychic? Could she read something in their behavior, in their voices? They said her style of fighting wasn't anything specific, such as a form of karate or kung fu or any of thousands of different martial arts. Were her fighting skills brought on by instinct, or something else?

In any case, it meant that she wasn't normal. She knew that. A person who, just two weeks ago, couldn't point out Russia on a map shouldn't know how to do these things. Luckily, the Colonel had taught her a little about the world. She now knew where Canada and Russia and China and the United States and Brazil and a dozen other places were. She even knew where the country she was in now, the United Kingdom, was; though when asked to point out England on a map, she sometimes mixed Ireland up with England. But even though she didn't know everything, Colonel Wolfman said to try making it into his anti-terrorist group, Delta Red; she was good enough, he intoned, and she would only get better. As for her geographical skills, she could be taught, and she would eventually get the hang of it.

Why? I don't understand... Why me, of all people? The others here, they have to have experience; I'm but a fledgling in a group full of hawks. And why has he been so concerned for me? First he saves my life, then he teaches me about the world, and now this? I haven't done anything to deserve these opportunities.

The bus suddenly screeched to a halt.

"We're here," the driver called out.

Cammy looked up, still holding her gaze out the window, and saw a beautiful castle high up on a hill. She wondered how old it was. This is the base for Delta Red?

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

She turned and spotted a man doing the same as she was. Only she wasn't doing it anymore. This man was quite unlike other men she had seen.

His silken pale blond hair cascaded down his shoulders and to the center of his back. Gorgeous blue eyes watched the world with a faint air. His black clothing reminded her of the darkness and broodiness and gothicness and other words that ended with "ness".

Of course, besides his eyes and hair, his appearance repulsed her. No bishounen he was.

Ewwwww.

"Yeah."

"And I've heard that sometimes, you can see Aurora Borealis from here. Very beautiful. Very beautiful indeed. Very... romantic."

Is he... hitting on me?

"Mmmmmm-hmmm," came her muttered reply.

"Oh, but alas, I have no one to share it with! I deserve no such happiness! Leave me alone!"

What the hell?

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"Shut up! You don't understand! You don't understand my pain and my suffering! I live in eternal anguish, never to meet the one whose soul is good and beautiful! Leave me alone, you slut!"

"Hey, I'm not a slut!" she interjected, but alas, it was too late. He wouldn't stop babbling.

"Leave me alone, you dirty whore! Leave me alone! Leave me-"

Thunk went the blowdart into the man's back.

Slap went the man's body onto the bus' dirty floor.

Twinkle twinkle went the other woman's beaming smile as she examined her work, having apparently crept up from behind the annoying man.

The mysterious stranger, clad in a long-sleeved red blouse and black capri slacks, sighed, brushing a lock of her short raven-colored hair out of her eyes. "He was getting bloody annoying. He must've hitched a ride. Unwanted guests, hmph." Her expression softened. "So you're here for the Delta Red tests?"

"Yes, I am."

"I'm not in Delta Red, nor am I applying. But Colonel Wolfman has a few others here to help judge the candidates' capacity and to provide backup in emergencies. That is my position here." She allowed a pause before continuing with, "It's safe now. Follow me."

And so she did.

"Oh, and my name is Eliza," the woman announced as both Cammy and she walked down the slightly dusty stone halls of the fortress. "You are?"

"Cammy," replied the girl. She dressed in a dark green bodysuit, loose-fitting brown pants, and a black coat. Her pigtails swished and bobbed as she walked.

"Ah, Cammy. Colonel Wolfman's said a lot about you. He believes that you have quite a good chance of being the chosen candidate."

"Oh?" She found herself merely curious with the possibility. No excitement coursed through her veins or her voice. Was she born into this? Was it-

"Cammy, I just noticed. Where in heaven's name did you get that scar?"

Oh, the scar. It slashed from the left side of her jaw and curved upward to the middle of her cheek. In all honesty, she didn't have the slightest on where she'd gotten it.

Not that she had any intention of telling an absolute stranger that.

"That? Just a scratch that I must've picked up from my... My numerous battles," she said, floundering for an excuse. Yeah, that'll make me look more experienced...

After a few moments of silence, her false justification received its response. "I see."

"So, yeah."

No further words were exchanged until they reached a door.

"Cammy, this is the training hall. The others are already there. Good luck!" Eliza opened the door and entered. The younger woman followed, allowing herself to encounter...

Destiny.

Colonel Wolfman hadn't arrived yet.

He knows he's supposed to be here for the candidate evaluations, Luwanda thought with a sigh. The tall woman, dressed in a green sleeveless bodysuit with just the right leg of the pair concealed in the tight clothing, folded her arms across her chest and shook her head enough to allow wild blonde locks of hair to fly about for a scant few moments, yet little enough to keep the red beret firmly upon her head. It wouldn't do to have it fall off in front of candidates. Every moment had to be coordinated, timed, even reactions to the unexpected. That was why they were Delta Red. The red inverted triangle on the right breast of her uniform stood as proof of this. If you gave yourself away, if you reacted wrongly or not quickly enough or even too quickly, you were dead where you stood.

Ah, finally, Eliza chose to show her face. That was good. Maybe Lance, gah, she meant Colonel Wolfman - had to be professional, after all - would arrive soon.

Her head perked up as she heard another pair of footsteps enter. However, this only sounded the call of another woman, another blonde, with wild blue eyes and a vague sense of danger around her. She seemed to be a bit of a scrapper, as scars tend not to magically come from nowhere except in bad fiction and the movies. Hers jutted out from her jaw and scored her left cheek. Almost certainly a knife wound, the laceration was quite smooth, yet not quite straight; someone had given it to her intentionally and against her will. Whoever it was probably pinned her down or restrained her in some way first, as she looked muscular enough to hit hard, yet wiry enough for flexibility to be a factor. She would not take a beating sitting down. She would fight. But her eyes still were most noticeable; they were frightened animal eyes, wide and alert and ready to scratch. Her steps didn't ring so much as gently tap the wooden floor. She was a cat, a wildcat, and she had the marks and bearing to prove it.

Luwanda wondered if she had the teeth and claws to match.

From the way she stood near the others at attention, though, almost motionless save for her breathing, she supposed that she would find out soon.

She seemed very young to have this kind of discipline. She had to have been trained. Well, too. The others ranged in ages, but all had to have been at least five years older than she was. The rest, men. They were unremarkable men, however, typical agent fare, slender and cunning like foxes. Only the young blonde struck her as being different, and that was not even due to her gender.

"You have all been chosen as candidates for Delta Red," Luwanda announced to the group of five, unfolding her arms and placing her hands squarely on her hips. "That is why you are here. We will dissect your minds, test you to your limits, break you if necessary. Then if we can find Delta Red material under the scraps... then and only then you shall receive the honor of wearing the uniform. However, we will not admit more than one newcomer, so you'd best be wary of that." She shifted her posture so she would lean slightly closer to them. "My name is Luwanda Ravitz, the second-in-command of Delta Red, and if you think for a second that this is going to be an easy path, you're wrong."

They all stared at her, confused at her impromptu speech. Except for the girl. She barely even reacted, only half-nodding. Her image etched into Luwanda's mind. This girl was a special one for sure.

Devoid of feathers, a hawk cannot fly. Without claws, a lion cannot fight. Without discipline, even the most talented agent could not be.

They were all the same.

Best to see if this lioness has claws.

That woman's staring at me, Cammy realized, trying not to return the wild-haired Luwanda's gaze. Not so comfortable of a realization, either. It was the kind of realization that felt akin to "I'm being stalked" or "someone broke into my house while I was gone" or, the eternal favorite, "I've got a bad feeling about this". She would not yield. Cammy stuck to her instincts.

Finally, standing a full two heads taller than herself, Colonel Wolfman entered. A scar, smooth and graceful like the one Cammy wore, grazed across his left eye - ha, even the same side of the face! Muscularly built, made to look further so by the tight blue bodysuit he wore, he possessed a thoroughly commanding aura. His presence drew all eyes to him.

"Luwanda, I see you've given them a bit of a briefing. I'm Colonel Wolfman, the commander of Delta Red. We'd best start with the tests," he stated, not giving any explanation as to his absence. Hmmmm...

"This way," Luwanda said with a swift motion that led to the other side of the training room and to the door that sat therein, then walked in said direction. The potential recruits followed her, and Colonel Wolfman took the back.

That poor girl, he thought, keeping his eyes on Cammy, and he too headed outside.

Running laps was no challenge for Cammy. Neither was the obstacle course, or the crossing the bars, or the balance beam; even sparring any of the candidates proved to be a simple task.

However, if she had to cross one more stupid mud puddle in this wet environment, across this courtyard, through one more torrent of newly-formed rain, she would scream. She hated the mud and the rain. Why couldn't they do this in a dry place? A nice warm dry place?

A week had passed since she first arrived here. The tests, though difficult, tended to be easier than she expected. The others struggled their way through, but she felt as if she had been doing this her entire life.

What the hell am I doing here? she mentally muttered, frustrated. She mused about this as she ran through - surprise - another mud puddle, half-snarling to herself. Suddenly, her expression softened. Maybe I'm here... Maybe I'm here because of the Colonel. He gave me an opportunity when I had nothing, she thought, chiding herself for her ungratefulness. At the very least, I should do as he asks. He did save my life, after all. And where else do I go now? I don't have a family or friends... just MI6. It saved me, brought me into its world, and I can't leave now...

Another mud puddle sat in front of her as she raced around the track. Her boots made an almost satisfyingly squishy sound as they struck the muck. She quickly lapped one of the men, but a voice soon interrupted this minor victory.

"Stop! We'll be heading inside now for the final test," Luwanda called. "So hop to it!"

All five, of course, followed her orders. But Cammy allowed herself a glance back before continuing her trek.

Wonder what that will be...

"The tests are over," Colonel Wolfman said, "for all except one of you. We have selected Cammy White to be our primary candidate."

Not surprising, Luwanda thought, glancing at the girl, who nodded in response. She didn't seem too surprised, either. But the next turn of events would stun her.

"The rest of you can leave now. Cammy, you have one final test to endure. I shall explain it to you after the others go." He casted the others a somewhat intimidating glance, which they returned with humility and shuffled on out.

Cammy then took a step towards the Colonel and asked, "What is the final test?"

Not as professional as she seemed to be. Luwanda sighed. Hopefully she could improve on that.

"Cammy, in order to make it into Delta Red, you must spar one of the current members. McKoy's out on holiday, and Gims is visiting his parents, so besides myself, the only member left to spar is..."

"Me." Luwanda bobbed her head. "You needn't worry. It'll be unarmed combat."

"Of course," Wolfman replied. "Luwanda's an expert with a three-foot blade, but that wouldn't be a fair contest. We haven't a proper weapon for Cammy."

"Okay. Let's go." Cammy stepped onto the training mat and raised her fists. Luwanda followed suit.

"Fight," Colonel Wolfman ordered.

Next came that old fighting ritual called "the stare". The two combatants glared hard and heavy at each other, trying to anticipate the other's first movement. Luwanda knew how to stare someone down, but Cammy certainly was no slouch.

After a good ten seconds, Luwanda decided to strike first, leaping and aiming to put a good dent in Cammy's face with her foot, but Cammy nimbly hopped back and as the other girl landed, she drove her fist towards Luwanda, who barely managed to block the attack.

She's fast, Luwanda thought as the battle raged on; she slammed both sets of knuckles straight into Cammy's chest, then followed up with a kick, which Cammy took advantage of, ensnaring her leg and pulling her closer, then drew her in for a suplex, bending down and backwards to slam Luwanda into the ground.

Following that came another staring contest; this one was shorter-lived. This time Cammy broke it with a quick spin which ended in a backhand strike. Luwanda sidestepped, taking hold of Cammy's arm, then forced her to the ground, crouched to her side, and yanked her ankle into an extremely uncomfortable position, to the point where it would feel as though it would snap at any second.

"Do you give up?" Luwanda asked.

Cammy nodded, not the least bit enthused. "Yes."

The older girl released her grip, then stood up, offering Cammy a hand up. But Cammy refused it, standing on her own.

"So, I suppose I have to leave now."

Luwanda looked back at the Colonel, who chuckled softly to himself. "No, no. You did fine. You're in, you're in." After a pause, he added, "Of course, you will need supplementary training, but that is to be expected. Luwanda will show you to your room."

Cammy gasped. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Luwanda, show her to her room."

"Right away, Colonel. Follow me." She left the training hall, Cammy trailing her closely.

That poor girl, Colonel Wolfman thought. She doesn't even understand what she is. It's best that she doesn't know, that she never finds out.

She's not the only one of her kind. That much has been confirmed. They'd best send someone to investigate that, if they know what's good for them.

As for Cammy? I won't ruin her life. She deserves to start over again.