A/N: Sorry this update took a little longer than was expected. Please review after you have read and let me know if this story is still any good. Yukicross5, this one is for you! XOXO

NB: Anything written in Italics is the thoughts of said character.

Chapter 12

As soon as Leon opened that hole he calls a mouth, Alice knew it wasn't going to go smoothly. Nothing these days went smoothly anymore. Grimacing slightly, Alice shuffled toward Leon, Chris right beside her. His hand had taken residency on her behind, sure, maybe he couldn't see where his hand was, since she was wearing a huge coat, but who wouldn't notice the shift from back to ass?

Deciding not to contemplate that topic much further, Alice scooted closer to Leon, hoping whatever he saw wouldn't be as bad as her mind thought it was going to be.

"We've got company." Leon said and pointed out the window. And sure enough, just as luck would have it, Alice locked eyes on the black, bulky Umbrella helicopter that had been grounded. There were five men at the front shooting at the undead, and Alice could see two who were already dead. There would be no way that those men wouldn't see their plane, and most likely, they were either sent to follow them, or kill them. Or perhaps both follow them and then kill them. Not fair really…

"Is there any way we can get a message through to Arcadia? Just to let them know to watch the skies." Chris said, there was a hint of fear in his voice. It was more than understandable to be honest. His sister is on Arcadia. It would be strange if he didn't want to get a message through to them. It would curb Alice's interest even more if he didn't want to get a message through to them. But who was Alice to judge, right?

"I don't know. They did have a few good looking computers back there. Were too far to radio them in though, and we can't be sure if anybody has even thought of taking a look at those computers." Alice said. She wasn't going to lie to him. What would the use be?

Chris grew noticeably tense next to her. He only grumbled a reply of "Yeah." Silly really, he had no reason to even say anything. Just judging from his body language, Alice could detect his desire to jump out of the plane and run all the way back to Arcadia. Back to Claire. Back to Jill. The mere mention of the woman's name caused bile to rise in Alice's throat.

"We'll just all keep our eyes open; I'm not exactly very fond of having Umbrella on my ass." Leon said, causing both Alice and Chris to nod. Shuffling back to their seats, Alice wasn't all that sure that sitting so close to Chris would be a very good idea. He's clearly worried about his sister, and advances from a less than human girl like Alice would be enough to freak anybody out. Well, at least that's what it should be like.

Chris pulled Alice closer to him, putting his arm around her back, his fingers poking her in the sides gently. Alice looked up at Chris, cocking an eyebrow at the all too sudden, yet welcome show of affection.

"Tell me about your life, before this all happened." Alice averted her eyes as quickly as they had met with Chris'.

"There's nothing to tell." Alice said. Hopefully the curt answer would stop the sudden inquisition that had the misfortune to just jump her. Chris poked her in the side again.

"Humor me."

"I don't remember anything from before, okay. The very first memories I have is of me lying naked in a shower with the shower curtain over me. The first dog I remembered tried to eat me. The first man I felt any sort of affection toward, ended up being the one that threw a vial of the T-virus into the hive, killing just over five hundred people. I don't want to remember anything." Alice said angrily, pulling away from Chris, only to be pulled back into his side again.

"Calm down Alice. Look, I know the short version of things, but I figure it's time for the longer one, don't you think? Jill kept talking about someone, an Angie. Now I know that she didn't know this person until the last few years, after we broke up I mean. You and Claire talk about a Carlos and LJ. I want to know who these people are. I want to know why my sister didn't remember me. You can't deny me that." Chris hooked his fingers under Alice's chin and guided her face back up.

"I…" Alice looked down again, but continued. "It's hard to talk about it. Funny as it might sound, stuff like that can fuck you up." Alice sighed for what might have been the hundredth time that day. 'What are you, fifteen?'

"Tell me about Angie, and Carlos." Chris prodded. Alice knew he needed this, he needed information that was kept from him, maybe with good reason, but maybe, just maybe he has the right to know.

"Her name was Angela Ashford. She was the only child of Doctor Charles Ashford. He worked for Umbrella. He basically invented the T-virus to help Angie. She couldn't walk properly, used crutches to get around. When I met her, we saved her from the school where she had holed herself up. She was infected on a massive level. Turns out Jill had or maybe still has a thing for kids. When they helped bust me out of the Detroit facility, we went on a really long drive. They didn't come after us, because they already knew where I was." Alice sighed and rubbed her neck. Looking out of the window, she reluctantly continued.

"Angie stayed close to Jill; I'm guessing she was told I might be a bit dangerous. They were right. We stopped at a clothing store, so they could get me a few things I might need. I was wearing a white lab coat. Felt pretty naked you know?" Alice giggled slightly.

"Carlos stayed with me in the car; he kind of tried to get me to say something, to make sure I was still me. But I wasn't, and I never will be again. It's just sad that knowing that I wouldn't be the same caused me to kiss him. I kissed him, right there in the car. He was just leaning over to check me out because he said he saw something flash in my eyes. We laughed about it afterward. We couldn't get involved. It wasn't the right time, or the place." Alice shifted uncomfortably.

"Angie saw Carlos as a sort of makeshift dad, LJ was the weird uncle and Jill took over the role of mothering her. They had this family dynamic that I messed up when I came along. Jill made sure that Angie stayed with her at all times. I didn't feel offended at all, and Jill sort of yelled at me the night before everything went to hell. Carlos stood up for me, partly because I could hardly move. I could hear Isaacs in my head; all he said was kill her. I took a swing at Jill, landed it on her jaw and knocked her out. Carlos dragged me away before I could cause any more damage."

"He loved me, even though he thought that I didn't love him back. He always protected me, or tried to anyway. We were on the run for nearly six months when it happened. I guess Isaacs got bored just watching us. Angie needed more of the anti-virus. We were planning to break into a New York facility to get the vials for her. That's when it happened. They took control of me somehow. They made me very nearly kill Angie." Alice sighed and dropped her head in her hands. She felt Chris awkwardly rub her back.

"You keep talking about her as if she's dead." Chris said quietly.

"She is."

*A/C*

A few hours of silence passed between the three of them. Chris and Leon talked to each other a few times, just to smooth out a few wrinkles in their plan, where as Alice kept her eyes locked on the window, staring out at the sky around them. Chris didn't badger her with questions again; he prodded a few times and gave up when Alice ignored him. He shuffled over to Leon and sat next to him for a while.

Alice didn't know how long they were in the air before they stopped to refuel. She didn't get out, they didn't ask. She was thankful that they left her alone, but angry too. Angry that Chris would bring up these memories and feelings. She had locked Carlos away. Only when Chris jumped into her life did Carlos jump into her heart again. And Alice didn't want to feel this way. Thinking about all those people who died because of her just made her feel weak and useless. She wasn't weak and useless. She couldn't afford to be.

Flashback

"And after the world ended? Why stay out there alone?" Carlos said with a small sad smile on his lips. Alice looked up at him sadly, like she was trying to commit every feature of his to memory now that she was back. She knew she would get him killed, she just didn't know when exactly that would be.

"It's just safer… if I'm not around people." Alice replied.

"But you came back." Carlos said, a smile tugging at his lips as he pulled Alice in for a hug.

*A*C*A*C*A*

The meeting was called soon after their conversation. Alice had informed the convoy of Arcadia. There was no infection. People were walking around outside. They were alive. Claire had not been happy about it at all. She told Carlos to simply deal with Alice, so the fact that she found herself in the back of Carlos' truck came as no surprise. Alice rubbed her eyes tiredly and adjusted herself on the rather uncomfortable backseat. Carlos had pointed her in the direction of his truck, telling her to wait there for him. He had a few things to do before he would be able to join her.

Strangely, Alice did as she was told. She got to the truck, and got in the back. She was too tired to argue, and she never quite seemed to be able to win an argument with him. It's been a few hours, and Carlos wasn't back yet. This should be a good thing, because if she could fall asleep before he got there, there would be no inquisition. And more importantly, no comments about past actions. Problem was she couldn't fall asleep. The argument about whether she didn't want to sleep, or couldn't sleep was still up for discussion.

The thought was barely cold when the door to the backseat was pulled open. Carlos peeked in and gave her a grin that should have split his face.

"I see you're not pretending to be asleep then." He commented and got in next to her.

"No use. You would just have woken me up if I really was asleep." Alice teased, causing Carlos to chuckle. Taking hold of her arm, he pulled her toward him, pressing her back against his chest. Alice rested her head back against Carlos' shoulder and looked up at him expectantly.

"So no snappy comment I take it?" She asked. Carlos looked at her and smiled slightly and took to resting his chin on top of her head.

"You know it isn't your fault, right?"

"Ah, there it is!" Alice cheeked and reached up to pinch Carlos' cheek. The moment however turned serious when Carlos took hold of her hand.

"I know you blame yourself for pretty much everything. But Angie dying, Jill taking off and those people this afternoon, none of it was remotely close to being your fault. On the contrary, if you didn't show up when you did, we would all have died a little sooner." Carlos squeezed Alice's hand and gingerly kissed her hair. Alice didn't reply. Replying would mean that he was right, and he wasn't. She couldn't let him be right.

They sat in silence for nearly an hour, Alice having slowed her breathing down to pretend to be asleep when Carlos spoke for the last time that evening.

"I love you, you know that, right?" Carlos said in a whisper, tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear. Alice knew she couldn't say it back, mostly because people she loved seemed to drop like flies all around her. So instead she just snuggled closer to Carlos. 'I love you too.' Yet the words themselves never seemed to form…

End Flashback

"Alice?" Chris shook her leg to get her attention. "We're here. Leon says we'll be landing in a few minutes, and that it might get a little bumpy."

"Fuck bumpy Redfield, I said we might end up crashing and burning to death!" Leon yelled over his shoulder. The noise in the small plane had gotten far more in the last few hours. Not like Alice would have noticed anyway. 'Too busy feeling sorry for yourself again.'

Within minutes the plane had started to shake uncontrollably, making the three of them look like popcorn, well, popping. Leon was yelling profanities at the equipment, but escalated when he saw the runway. It was covered in debris, bodies, junk and a few other unidentifiable pieces of rubbish. The airport building was emitting smoke from every crevice imaginable. From where they were, the city looked even worse than Los Angeles and DC put together.

Leon managed to land the plane with minimal damage. Meaning that they were never going to be able to use it again, and perhaps have to sell it a scrap metal. Leon helped Alice from the plane, as Chris shouldered a few bags. He quite effectively earned a death stare from Chris.

"Are you two and pissing on my boots again? I already told you I don't like piss on my boots." Alice huffed and grabbed a lighter bag, flinging it over her shoulder and started walking. Both men seemed to catch up to her rather quickly and had a bit of a staring contest as to who was going to offer to carry the bag Alice was hauling. After they both asked if they could carry the bag, she declined, politely, er, "I'm not a child or immobile. I can carry my own damn bag!"

They entered the once lovely city of Paris on foot. There was nothing and nobody around. An eerie silence fell over them as they walked slowly through the streets of Paris. Each of them was having their own shock and revelation.

"Well fuck me on a cracker." Leon said under his breath, his eyes looking like saucers.

"It's getting dark. We need to move." Chris said.

"Alice, what do you want to do?" Both men looked at Alice, except Alice wasn't looking at them, or even paying attention to them. The last time she had been in Paris, she was on assignment. Soon after that rather harrowing ordeal she was moved to Raccoon City. Protect the hive was all they said. Nothing more, nothing less. Except this wasn't the thing that caught her attention either.

"Alice?" Chris whispered in her ear.

"We have to move. Right now, we have to move." Alice said in a calm voice, yet panic seemed to seep into her apparent calm demeanor.

"What is it?" Chris breathed. Alice turned to face him.

"Remember that thing that came after us in the prison?" Chris nodded in agreement, having only to go on the information Claire provided him later on.

"This thing is its big brother." Alice turned on her heel and started jogging down the ruined road.

"Look for a place we can stay for the night." Alice said as she passed Leon.

Moving quickly, all three of them moved down the street quietly, making good use of the training they had received. Leon had moved in front of Alice, positioning her between himself and Chris. They were lugging the supplies with them, stopping only momentarily when they heard noises coming from behind them.

"We need to hurry. They are getting way too close." Alice said, her breathing was labored, coming out in pants instead of a normal controlled flow. There was something wrong, but she didn't know what, yet.

"Here" Leon said, kicking open the door to a small two story hotel. Alice soon followed, Chris on her heels. Leon took the bag Alice was carrying after shooting her a dirty look.

"You know, this hero complex of yours seems to be getting you tired." Leon teased, which unfortunately Alice was not in the mood for.

"Shut up Leon." She turned and headed upstairs, shooting back a warning of castration to anybody who came up after her. Alice barely made it up the stairs when she heard the raised voices downstairs.

"What the fuck Kennedy?" Chris grumbled. Alice could picture him standing with his hands on his hips, staring a hole in the back of Leon's head, waiting for him to turn around so the verbal abuse could continue.

"What?" Leon must have shot over his shoulder. The unpacking of guns and ammo hadn't stopped.

"You know what you idiot. I just got her to soften up a bit, and then you go and open your mouth, sending her back into the cave called Alice, making sure she arms herself to the teeth."

Leon chuckled and must have turned around by now, since his voice was clearer. "You're the idiot Chris. You must be pretty blind to the fact that she tenses up when you talk about Jill. Or the fact that she didn't kick your ass when you touched her ass earlier." There was silence for a brief moment before Leon continued.

"Look, I know that you're pretty freaked out by now. I mean, I only saw a fraction of the weird shit that surrounds that girl and I'm plenty freaked out by the little I have seen. But that girl needs you, so stop being a tit and go be there for her. And stop talking about Jill. That girl is bad news and you know it."

Chris didn't reply, Alice didn't wait around to listen for one either. There was a horrific moan outside of the building and a scraping sound. Alice ran up the remaining stairs and flew through a hotel room door, not bothering to check for any of the undead. There weren't any. She couldn't feel them. 'Wait, feel them? You can't feel any in this building? This is not good.'

She could feel however that there was something outside the hotel, standing in the street. Reaching the window, Alice approached it slowly, pulling the shredded curtains aside to get a better look at the street. The window was dirty, but Alice could make out a figure staring at the building. The humdrum of the undead were approaching slowly.

Alice decided not to stick around, and practically flew out the door and down the stairs, nearly jumping on Chris when she saw him.

"He's outside. He's just standing there, staring at the hotel." She said calmly.

"What do you want to do?" Chris asked, the question was obviously sprawled on Leon's face too.

"I don't want to move around the city at night. I'll start looking for a way to get out of here without drawing their attention. I have an idea to keep them occupied long enough so we can make a run for it if we have to." Alice said, already turning around to check for a possible escape.

"Wait, what idea?" Leon asked, while Chris was giving her a concerned look. Stopping abruptly, and turning to face both men, Alice donned her best, most sadistic grin.

"Oh, you'll see." Turning around and heading for the back of the building, Alice wiped her grin off her face, barely noticing that Chris was walking behind her and reaching out to tug on her arm.

Chris took hold of her arm and walked with her until they were just out of earshot of Leon. He looked calm on the outside, but somehow Alice knew he was a little panicked, since he just walked out of a surrounded prison, into a surrounded hotel. He must think he has rotten luck, or rotten taste in women to have followed her out here. 'Yeah, keep going with the self pity there Alice, you were doing so well.'

"Be careful." Chris simply said, squeezing her hand gently. He turned and walked back toward Leon. If this was any other situation, she would be jumping for joy and grinning like a mad woman, but this however wasn't one of those sweet moments where the audience goes 'AWWW.' This was the moment where Alice began doubting her plan. The first time she started doubting sacrificing herself for the lives of others. She would still do it, except now she would feel guilty about it. She would feel guilty because she didn't want to yank herself away from these people just yet.

She didn't want to yank herself away from Chris yet. Jill's words echoed through her mind. 'You're not going to help anyone now Alice.' Yup, she was totally right, this wasn't the time or the place for anything to happen, yet with a simple gesture, he made it real. He made her imminent death real. Alice never doubted herself. Never, not even once. Not until now.

"What are you doing?" She whispered to no one and everyone at the same time. 'What are you doing?' Alice turned away from Chris' retreating form and headed to the manager's office. However what she found there, wasn't something she was expecting at all, and as the cruel world would have it, she's pretty much seen it all. Until now that is.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review on your way out :)