That night, Claire and Alice spent the majority of their time wrapped in each other's arms, knowing that it would be a while before the brunette would be back at the settlement with her team.
"I really wish you would let me come, Alice…"
Blowing out a breath, the older woman pressed her lips to Claire's forehead and closed her eyes.
"Wesker agreed to tag along, red. Everything is gonna work out fine. You know the settlement needs you and Chris here."
Shifting her position a bit, Claire propped herself up on one elbow, gazing down into her lover's eyes, her other arm wrapping itself around her waist.
"You BETTER come back alive, superwoman."
With that, the younger of the two leaned down and pressed her lips to Alice's in a gentle kiss before she settled down again, resting her head on the other woman's shoulder. When the sun came up the next morning, the two women were busy getting everything situated, making sure the vehicles had gas, and enough room to bring back the supplies. In a little over an hour, the small recovery team was inside the cars, waiting for Alice to lead them to Pheonix Arizona. Claire stood with her beside the drivers side door of the large army transport truck, arms around the brunette's waist.
"Don't worry, red, we'll be back before you know it."
"Just be sure you COME back, okay?"
"You know I will."
The two met in a quick kiss before Alice turned and climbed into the large truck, started the engine and pulled out of the settlement, the small group following behind her. Claire watched them leave, and as the doors were pulled shut, she forced back the nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her that something horrible was going to happen while the others were gone. As the gate was secured, the woman turned and walked off, heading to help the rest of the people with other tasks. Time seemed to crawl with her lover gone, and it was a few days before the feeling in her gut came to fruition. Under the cover of darkness one night, a large vehicle broke through the gates of New Hope, and about a dozen Umbrella soldiers flooded the settlement. Everyone was secured in the school gymnasium, under armed guard, except for Claire, the redhead being held hostage in her own home by the same woman that had confronted them in the Canadian facility.
"Where's your bitch?"
"Fuck you!"
Claire grunted when the weight of a shotgun pressed against the back of her head, yet she kept a defiant glare on her face as the woman knelt down in front of her.
"No matter...when she gets back...she's going to die."
"Alice is stronger than you think she is."
"So am I."
With a nod from his boss, the soldier behind Claire pulled her to her feet and drug her off, knocking her unconcious with a blow to the base of her skull. Settling herself in the living area, the blonde Umbrella operative smirked when she heard her men entering the redhead's bedroom. It was a few more days until the re-supply team returned, a few members short as the group had run into some rather strong undead inside the warehouse, and when Alice saw the gates broken, her eyes narrowed.
"What the fuck…"
Almost as soon as the cars were off, and the people inside got out, they were surrounded by the Umbrella forces that had taken over the settlement. Before she could act, Alice found the barrel of a shotgun in her face, the man's finger covering the trigger, ready to shoot before she could even think of using her powers.
"Welcome back, Project Alice."
Turning her head, the brunette met the eyes of the blonde Umbrella operative from Canada, a glare on her face.
"What have you done with everyone."
"Don't worry, they're alive...for now. I must say, your lover has been wonderful company for my men."
A surge of anger shot through the older woman, but before she could lurch forward, a bound Claire Redfield was thrown at her feet. Immediately dropping down next to her, she grabbed the rope holding the other woman and easily snapped it loose, freeing the younger woman. Taking in the extent of the brusing and cuts on her lover's skin caused the virus inside her to flare, threatening to take over completely.
"You and I are alike, Project Alice. We both managed to bond with a virus that would have otherwise killed us. You have a choice to make. One, you join us and leave this ridiculous settlement. Two, you refuse and everyone here dies, including you and your little lover. Three, you fight me, no guns, hand to hand, and if you manage to kill me, my men will leave you alone."
Ignoring the woman for the time being, Alice gathered Claire into her arms and held her, the two conversing softly. When the redhead told the older woman what had happened to her during the time she'd been gone, the brunette's anger flared up all over again and she stood, helping Claire to her feet.
"Four. I kill every last fucking one of you, and wipe your disgusting excuse for an organization off the map for good."
With those words, and once Claire was safely seated in one of the vehicles, Alice surged forward only to have the butt of a shotgun meet her chest. The blow barely phased her, and she grabbed hold of the gun and wrenched it out of the soldier's hand before turning it, shoving the barrel into his mouth and pulling the trigger without a second thought. The moment the gun went off, the blonde woman moved forward, a syringe filled with jet black liquid in her outstretched hand. Turning, Alice caught her by the wrist just as the needle touched the skin of her neck.
"Hand to hand, huh? Let's see you fight with one."
With that, the brunette squeezed, the crack of breaking bone easily heard throughout the settlement as the needle fell to the ground, Wesker moving forward and scooping it up before stepping back again. Growling in pain, the other woman moved back, popping and cracking heard as her wrist re-aligned itself and healed.
"What the…"
Before she could voice more of her thought, a hand fisted in Alice's shirt and lifted her from the ground, throwing her across the settlement to collide with one of the metal walls. The brunette gave a grunt of pain when she hit the solid metal, and hit the ground a few seconds later, shaking her head. Dodging out of the way when she saw a booted foot coming towards her face, she stood and snapped the neck of the soldier who'd approached her. Growling, the woman turned to face the blonde again, feeling the virus practically begging to flood her body and take over.
"Show me the monster you really are, Project Alice!"
"You wanna see a monster...fine...I'll show you a fucking monster, you Umbrella bitch!"
Closing her eyes, the brunette releasing all holds she had over the B Virus and T Virus in her body, feeling power flood her system all at once. When she opened them again, a surge of telekenetic force shot forward, striking the blonde umbrella operative and sending her flying backwards into the side of one of the corporation vehicles, leaving a human sized dent in the door. Shaking her head, the woman stumbled to her feet, only to find Alice standing right in front of her. Her eyes widened and before she could move, the ex-project had a hand around her throat, slowly tightening and cutting off her air supply. The sound of a gunshot was heard, and Alice jolted forward a bit as the bullet struck her in the middle of the back.
"ALICE!"
Turning her head, the woman regarded the soldier with a glare from glowing blue eyes, and in an instant, had thrown the blonde across the settlement, and moved to stand in front of the man who'd shot her. With one harsh look, he dropped to the ground, motionless as Alice used her power to make his heart literally explode in his chest. Turning her attention to the woman again, the brunette grunted when she saw her trying to get up from the ground, coughing and holding her neck.
"Fuck...I didn't realize she'd gotten this strong…."
"You wanted to see a monster, didn't you?"
Letting out a yelp of pain as she was hauled to her feet by a hand fisted in her hair, the Umbrella operative cast a look to Wesker, who still had the syringe in his hand.
"That syringe will make the viruses dormant! Save me, and you'll never hear from us again! Albert please!"
Grunting, the ex chairman walked over, seeing that Alice was holding back on killing the woman, and stood face to face with her.
"I'm content to let her send you to hell, Selina."
"You ungreatful bastard!"
Smirking, he stepped away, crossing his arms as he watched Alice grip the woman's neck in her hands again, squeezing tightly. It wasn't long until a sickening crack was heard, and the operative went limp in the brunette's grip, her neck broken and wind pipe crushed. Hearing the rushing of feet, Alice turned, dozens of small rocks lifting into the air before they were propelled forward with the force of a bullet, striking the retreating Umbrella soldiers in the back of the neck, dropping them instantly. Pulling her pistol from its place at her thigh, the woman turned and stalked into the school, easily dropping the few remaining soldiers with a bullet to the skull, as the residents of the settlement flooded out of the building. The sharp stab of a needle in her neck caused Alice to stumble, and when she looked over, the sight of the black serum vanishing into her veins, administered by Wesker, caused her to glare a bit before collapsing to the dirt.
The strain of her power so suddenly leaving her control, and retreating back into her bloodstream as the viruses were forcefully subdued, caused a gasp of pain to escape her as she felt her heart strain. Claire gathering her into her arms was the last thing she felt before hear heart-rate slowed to a crawl, so slow that it was un-detectable to the woman holding her. Alice found herself floating in silence, vision filled with nothing but empty blackness as she felt herself start to fade out of the living world, before a sudden voice filled her ears.
"Mommy...you can't leave yet."
"Becky?"
"You can't leave them yet...they still need you."
"I...I'm so sorry...I couldn't save you…"
"You have a new family now...and you can protect them!"
With that, the blackness began to fade as the brunette felt her heart start beating again, and a soft gasp escaped her lips. As her mind slowly reasserted itself, she heard the sound of Claire screaming at Wesker through sobs, screaming that he'd killed her. Blue eyes slowly slid open, and her vision focused itself on the redhead punching the man repeatedly in the chest.
"Claire…"
The sound of her voice stopped the younger woman in her tracks, and watery green eyes turned to her, meeting vivid blue.
"Alice...you...you're alive…"
Before she could speak again, the brunette found herself locked in a passionate kiss by her younger lover, the redhead holding her close.
"You gotta stop scaring me like this, superwoman."
"Sorry red…"
A grin curled their lips as Claire helped her lover to her feet, supporting her as she gained her bearings. The viruses within her fully dormant, the woman felt more human than she ever had. Umbrella was finally gone, the last of their operatives wiped from the face of the earth. Over the next few years, the undead slowly stopped coming, and eventually, the settlement relocated to Alaska, where they were able to live without walls surrounding them. Wildlife began to flourish, and the survivors began to repopulate, Chris and Jill having a healthy son shortly after they re-settled. It was on one morning, sitting outside on the porch around the home they'd built with a cup of coffee in her hands, that Alice was able to finally relax. A smile curled her lips as she felt a pair of arms slip around her shoulders from behind, and a kiss was pressed to the back of her neck.
"Emma will be waking up soon. Don't forget, you promised to show her how to properly fish for food today."
"I know. Just...enjoying the peace."
"We only have that thanks to you, Alice."
"Guess being a freak of nature has its good points, huh red?"
The pair shared a good natured laugh at the brunette's expense before they met in a brief, yet passionate kiss.
"I love you, freak. Come on, let's go get her up and get on with our day."
Nodding, Alice watched as Claire slipped back into the house to retrieve the girl they'd adopted after her family had been killed. Settling back in the chair for a moment, she closed her eyes as the cool sea air hit her face, and smiled as the peace and quiet was disturbed by the sounds of children waking up and going to play in the snow that had fallen the night before. Hearing the sounds of her lover and their adopted daughter calling for her from the yard, Alice got up and joined them out front, the three engaging in a snowball fight that quickly had all the children of the settlement joining in. As she was assaulted by cold, wet snowballs, the brunette let out a few tears of happiness at finally being the one thing she'd never been: completely, and utterly human.
AN: AND ITS OVER! I apologize for this being so short, but I was running out of steam with it. I hope you all enjoyed it though!