"Emery!" Ali screamed. Adrenaline surged through her body, blocking out all her pain and giving her the strength to rise to her feet.
Emery moved her head weakly to glance at Ali.
Ali, you should not have come! she said.
"I wasn't going to leave you." Ali replied.
You have no choice, Emery replied. She grunted in pain as she lifted her massive body up to once again stand protectively in front of Ali.
Ali started to step out in front of Emery, to present herself to Aisha instead, but a hand suddenly grasped her upper arm before she could move. At that moment Emery ran forward, renewed strength surging through her, and barreled into Aisha. The two vanished into another giant dust cloud as Aisha slammed into the ground. Ali spun around, ready to lash out in anger, but paused when she saw that it was Devon.
"Let me go!" Ali said.
"No, I'm not going to let you get involved in this!" Devon replied.
"You don't understand, I have to help her!"
"Why? What does it prove? That you're the best?!"
"I can't lose another!" Ali shouted. Tears were streaming down her face, not from pain, but from fear. She slowly sank to her knees and her short hair fell around her face, obscuring her features. "I can't lose another," she repeated weakly.
Devon loosened his grip slightly, caught off guard. He had never seen Ali afraid before. From the day he had met her she had always seemed so strong and confident about everything she did. A loud roar interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see the two Queens, still fighting, making their way towards them. Ali seemed oblivious to the approaching fight, her head still down, so Devon grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet.
"Come on, we have to move," Devon said.
Ali looked up at Devon and he was shocked to see that her eyes held a deadpan stare.
"Ali?" Devon asked.
She didn't respond. Devon looked up at the approaching Queens and quickly dragged Ali behind a ruined building.
"Ali, snap out of it!" Devon said, shaking Ali's shoulders.
"Aglaia," Ali said softly.
"What?"
"Yes, Aglaia, I'm here," Ali said.
"Ali, what are you talking about?"
"Aglaia, I don't know what to do."
"Ali, please stop, you're freaking me out!"
Ali looked up at Devon, but her eyes were still distant. "Aglaia."
"Ali, who is Aglaia?" Devon asked.
"I am here, my Queen."
Devon let out a sigh of frustration and looked away. He knew what was going on now: Ali's mind seemed to have snapped. He remembered a time when they were still young, he was twelve and Ali was thirteen, when she told him her past dealings with Ripley and her hatred to her. She told Devon how her life had changed for the better when she had meet her Queen-she had never mentioned a name-and her favorite alien, Timothy, until Ripley came along and ruined her life. Ali then went on to explain that, even after she lost her Queen, she thought the Queen was still with her, talking to her and guiding her. Ali admitted that it was a dark time for her, how she had felt so alone and lost that she had just imagined her Queen again so that she didn't have to be alone.
"Ali, please snap out of it!"
He looked in the direction of the fighting Queens, but they were nowhere to be seen, the sounds of their fight had died away.
Devon? Where are you?
It was Emery.
"Emery! What happened?"
Where are you? Emery repeated.
Devon noticed then that Emery's voice sounded weak. "We're behind a building, but I don't know where it is in relation to you."
Send me an image, Emery said.
Devon looked at his surroundings and closed his eyes, sending the images to Emery. "Something's wrong with Ali," he added, "I think she's returned to the state she was in after her Queen died. She keeps talking to someone called Aglaia."
That was her Queen, the one Ripley killed, Emery said.
"Yeah, but I think she thinks she's still alive."
She spoke of this event in the past, Emery said, Do not worry, I am almost there.
"What about Aisha?"
She has been taken care of.
Devon didn't say anything more, it was obvious that it was taking all of Emery's strength just to walk and the more she talked, the weaker her voice sounded. A few seconds later, Emery appeared around the corner of the building. She had a large crack in her crest, was bleeding in several places, and limping slightly because of the large gash on her leg.
"Emery," Devon said out loud as he took in his Queen's appearance.
Where is Ali? Emery asked.
"Right here," Devon pointed and looked down at Ali.
She was staring up at Emery with a strange expression, her eyes still glazed over.
Ali? Can you hear me? Emery asked.
"Yes, Aglaia," Ali replied.
Emery hissed in surprise.
"I told you, she thinks Aglaia is still alive," Devon added.
Be quiet! Emery snapped, turning toward him and shooting her second mouth out, nearly striking Devon in the face. Devon closed his mouth and looked down.
Emery hissed and turned her attention back to Ali.
"Aglaia, I did it," Ali said, still looking at Emery, "I planted the third stage in Ripley's chest. She's going to die giving birth to the thing she hates most in the world!"
Ali, I am not Aglaia, Emery said.
"And Hicks was born. Remember Hicks? You helped me name him," Ali said, giving no indication that she had heard Emery.
Ali, Emery said.
Devon opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again when Emery threw a glance at him.
"Aglaia, you--," Ali started to say before stiffening.
Devon was about to ask what happened, when the world around him vanished. He stared around in shock before remembering the time when he had first met Emery and she had shown him memories that he had forgotten. He focused on what was going on around him and saw two men standing over a hypersleep chamber, talking about its contents. It took Devon a second to realize that it was Ali inside the chamber. Just then, one of the men moved off, while the other stayed by the sleep chamber. Suddenly, a Warrior leapt forward and struck the man in the back, killing him. The Warrior turned back to the chamber and broke the controls, causing the chamber to open. Ali appeared and crawled out of the chamber, using the Warrior for support.
The scene faded and was replaced with a much smaller ship. Devon looked to his right to see Ali and the Warrior from before, hiding out as the small ship was rocketed by thermals. The Warrior was pressed close to Ali, trying to steady her against the rocketing ship. A second later, the thermals stopped and the ship came to a complete stop. Ali and the Warrior waited for the two people below to leave before jumping to the ground. Ali paused, while the Warrior hissed eagerly.
"I know I promised myself I wouldn't name one of you ever again, to prevent myself from hurting again, but I can't help myself. Your name will be Emery."
Devon's mouth dropped open in shock. He was wondering who the Warrior was that was with Ali, but it didn't occur to him that it was Queen Emery. He then wondered how Emery had become a Queen. Suddenly, the world turned black around him and the destroyed building came into view again. He took a deep breath when he was back in reality and shook his head slightly.
Ali?
Devon looked up to see Emery crouched close to Ali, screeching with concern. Devon looked down at Ali, but his heart sank when he saw that her eyes were still glassy.
"E—E—mery?"
Ali started blinking rapidly and, with each blink, the glassy look in her eyes started to vanish. She raised her eyes up to Emery and focused on her.
"Emery?" Ali asked again, finally recognizing the Queen.
Emery started screeching with happiness and lowered her massive body closer to Ali. Ali raised her arms up to Emery, like a little child wanting her mommy, and wrapped her arms around the Queen's neck. Emery hooked Ali with her tail and gently swung her up and around behind her crest. Ali let out a sigh and curled up behind Emery. Devon caught sight of Ali's face and noticed the tears streaming silently down her face.
