Chapter four:

The convoy boarded the ship. Given what happened with L.J. and the others, they kept the survivors confined to the brig. It was also what made the Admiral feel most comfortable, and no one wanted to ruffle his feathers. He told them about a desert town known as Loc Lac City, and they were assured the convoy could find a home there.

They'd take the survivors to the city—after the ship dropped Alice, Artemis, Carlos, and Claire off near the Sky Tower. They had no time to waste. They had to get to the portal before anything else could find its way to the New World. However, it was going to take several hours to get close enough to the mountains for them to hike to the tower.

"It's not a hard language to pick up after a while. I'm sure your people adapt fine," Artemis told Alice, Claire, and Carlos. "I didn't know any of it at first, but I made a great friend anyway. You've seen him around. I call him the Hunter."

"The guy who asked about the chocolate?" Alice asked.

Artemis snickered. "Yeah. We weren't always friends. It took me giving him the last of my chocolate bar for him to realize I wasn't his enemy. He's been on about it ever since. Speaking of food, are you hungry? We have some food below. Just be ready for a shock."

They went to the galley where Artemis started grabbing fruit for the convoy. When the Palico appeared by the grill, Alice and the others leapt backwards. Artemis laughed as Alice whispered to her. "That isn't a cat, is it?"

"It is. But a super intelligent one. And quite a warrior too," Artemis answered. "I'll go give this food to your people. Help yourself to whatever, but don't get too close to the Palico. He gets testy when people watch him cook."

Artemis left them to help themselves to the fruit and vegetables below. Claire bit into a fruit with a small smile. "I like her."

"She's something," Alice replied.

"She has your skill with the blades," Carlos commented. He bit into a vegetable with a shrug. "I think she'll be a great help. I'm just worried about the convoy. Leaving them in a world where they don't know the language, the culture, the monsters…"

"But it's their best shot," Claire said. "We've lost so many, and we'd lose them all in our world."

Alice nodded at that and put a soft hand on Carlos' shoulder. "I'm sorry about L.J. I should have felt it sooner."

"There's nothing you could have done," Carlos assured her as he took her hand.

Claire rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go talk to Chase and Mikey. I want them to take over the convoy for me."

"Are you sure? I'd understand if you want to stay with your people," Alice said.

"I would never be at peace here. If I didn't know for sure that the portal was closed, I'd constantly be worrying that another apocalypse was on the way. Besides, Umbrella needs to pay for what it did to our world. I want in on that," Claire said.

Alice wasn't about to argue. "Okay. If that's what you want."

"It is. There's just one problem. I don't know how to break this to K-Mart. I don't want her coming with us, but she's been with me since she was just a kid," Claire noted.

Carlos agreed with that. "It would be too dangerous for her to come. She'll understand, in time."

Claire left to visit her convoy in the brig. When she got there, Artemis was sitting with K-Mart, Mikey, and Chase. They were eating fruit and chatting. Artemis had a piece of paper and a writing utensil. She was writing down a quick sheet of translations to help the survivors adjust to the language of the world.

"And that's how you ask about the bathroom. It'll come in handy. Believe me," Artemis said.

K-Mart laughed and pointed to another phrase on the sheet. "What's this one?"

"Oh, this one is how you ask for something to drink," Artemis explained. She jotted down a few more lines. "This is how you ask for food."

Claire hated to interrupt. She liked watching Artemis bond with the survivors. She liked watching Artemis in general. She was so much like Alice, yet her features were slightly more mature. There was no doubt that Alice was a beautiful woman, and Artemis was the same. She also seemed to be a genuinely beautiful person as well.

"Hey. I need to talk to Mikey and Chase," Claire said.

Artemis didn't move. "Okay. I'll keep teaching K-Mart here some key phrases for life in the New World. She's a quick study."

Mikey and Chase moved with Claire to another side of the brig. Claire kept her voice low. "I need the two of you to take over for me. When we leave to close the portal, we can't come back."

"You're leaving?" Mikey asked.

"I have to help Alice and Carlos close the portal with Artemis, and I need all of you to be safe. I'll feel better if I know that the two of you are watching over everyone," Claire explained.

Chase put his hand out for Claire to take. "You have my word that I'll watch over 'em. You've gotten us this far, Claire. We'll take them the rest of the way."

Claire took his hand. She looked over at Mikey. "And you?"

"I'll do whatever I can," Mikey seconded. He embraced Claire. "You've done us right, sweetheart."

K-Mart noticed the body language of Mikey and Chase. She asked Artemis to hold on and went over to Claire. "What's going on?"

"I asked Mikey and Chase to take over the convoy. When we go back to close the portal, we can't come here again," Claire explained.

K-Mart put on a typical teenage glare. "You and Carlos are leaving me?"

"We have to prevent the T-virus from reaching this world. It'd be too dangerous for you to come with us," Claire explained.

With tears in her eyes, K-Mart embraced Claire. "I don't want to say goodbye to you."

"We haven't left yet," Claire returned, suppressing tears of her own. She stepped back from K-Mart and held a brave face. "We'll talk more later, okay? I'll be back."

Claire left in a hurry. Artemis left the translation sheet with another of the survivors and decided to follow. Claire had gone up top to get some air. Artemis wasn't far behind. She approached Claire cautiously. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine," Claire lied as she quickly wiped tears away. "It's just that I've been with some of them for years, and I have to leave them to keep them safe."

"I know exactly how you feel," Artemis said.

Claire glanced at Artemis' electric eyes. "I know."

They stood together, looking up at the night sky above, merely taking in each other's company.

XxXxX

Below, Alice and Carlos were checking their weapons. Carlos smirked at the ease with which Alice could assemble guns. She felt his eyes and saw the look on his face. "What?"

"Is there anything you're not good at doing?"

"Yeah. Being around other people. It's like I've forgotten how to be a human sometimes. Seeing Artemis…the human version of me…it's kind of jarring. She's what I used to be. Or could have been. Or maybe both."

"I don't know. I still think you're you and she's her. You may have the same DNA, but you've lived very different lives. And I think it's the experience that makes a person. Not their genetic code."

"It's still weird. Wouldn't you find it weird? If suddenly some man with your face named Ned Oliver was suddenly walking around?"

"I think two of me would be a good thing. Just like I think two of you is a good thing."

Alice smiled. Carlos always knew what to say. "I guess so. Until we get back home."

"It'll be even better when we're back in our reality. With her on our side, Umbrella won't know what hit it."

"There you go again. Mr. Positivity."

"It's a full-time job, one I take seriously."

They had reached for the same handgun at the same time. Their fingers were touching as sparks of electricity crackled. Just as Carlos moved in, closer to Alice, towards her lips, they heard a shrill cry from above. It sounded like a siren.

"Come on," Alice said.

She tore up the ladder with Carlos right behind her. On the deck, they ran into Artemis and Claire. Artemis had a spyglass and was looking towards the horizon.

"Oh boy," she mumbled.

"What?" Claire asked.

Artemis handed her the spyglass. "Remember when I told you about the dragon?"

"The Rath-ale-oats?" Clarie asked.

"Close," Artemis said. She let out a tired sigh. "Rathalos."