Chapter Text
“We did it! The rift is in recession! It’s up to Lambda now to ensure the alien force does not hold it open any longer!” Dr. Keller couldn’t sound surer that his work was done, Gina and Colette gathered themselves, they’d been fighting long and hard, and it was finally over.
Their return to Dr. Keller couldn’t have been greeted with more excitement and joy than they’d experienced over the last 3 days, as if none of it ever happened. “Gina, Colette! You did fantastically, we’re one step away from being out of here!” Gina leaned herself by the wall trying to catch her breath with a wide smile on her face, Colette almost leapt her way over to Keller to hug him, a grin as wide as a ravine “We sure as hell are, you old crone!”.
Keller patted the metal back of her HEV suit “Now now, like I said, we’ve still got one last step”, she backed up so he could turn around to his computer, “We’re able to make use of that harmonic flux you experienced to get you out of here, we’ve almost finished setting up some teleporters to get you out of bounds. We should have the residual energy from the resonance cascade to get you much further than we initially could”.
Keller started a program, listing various teleporter entrance generators, and a satellite map of the surrounding area of Black Mesa, Gina collected herself and leaned in with Colette to see what Keller was up to. “We’re sending you eastwards, you should end up near Hobbs, from there you’re going to contact an ex-employee from here named Cubbage, he should have the resources to get you the rest of the way home”.
Gina tightened her hair bun, “Cubbage? I remember him, didn’t he insist on challenging Aperture Science’s Borealis?”
Keller chuckled “That he did, couldn’t get the funding for it, especially since the Borealis was a miraculous disaster, he wasn’t much of a smart man, but he had a good charisma to him”.
Keller leaned back to talk to the scientist on his left “Dr. Janus, could you initiate the Xen relay?”, the scientist nodded, “Right then, get yourself onto the platforms in the other room, we’ll get the teleportation matrix set up, and you too will have the pleasure of escaping first, it’s the least we could do”.
The 2 doctors nodded, and moved into the other room, standing on the appropriate platforms, facing towards the windows where they could see Keller. They shuffled in place while the teleportation started charging. Gina looked at Colette for a moment, and then back to Keller. Colette looked at Gina briefly, and then to Keller.
They looked at each other again, and locked eyes momentarily, before awkwardly staring back at Keller. Gina blushing, Colette with a sly smirk.
“We’ll see you soon. Final sequence in 3…” their hearts started racing.
“2…” Gina breathed in and out.
“1!” a bright orange light flashed, their eyes blinded by white, they could feel themselves during the moment, harsh fast stings, minor pains, brief stomach aches, headaches, migraines, as if they could feel the pain even though it wasn’t happening.
All they could hear was the faint cackle of a man.
They would’ve screamed if they didn’t feel paralysed.
In the air, falling, without time to comprehend what was happening, they screamed before falling onto the grass and dirt, from how far they fell, they couldn’t tell. Gina landed on her stomach, she tried to rise, coughing violently, covered mud and dirt. Colette on her back, she still had the pains from the teleportation, even if it was only for a moment, it felt like anywhere between a second to an eternity in agony.
She sat up, rubbing the back of her head, “God… DAMNIT Keller”, her face contorted, “Wheelchair-bound bastard, could’ve put us a little closer to the ground”, Colette turned to Gina, who looked like she was going to vomit, “You alright?”. Gina turned her head, “Y-…. Yeah, I think so”. Colette smirked and got up, moving over to Gina and offering her hand, “Come on now, on your feet”, Gina grabbed her hand, with Colette lifting her up, she looked exhausted, and rubbed her forehead, “Ok…. Ok…. So we’re…. supposed to be in Hobbs, right?”.
Colette hadn’t really considered where they were, she looked around, it seemed like they were in a canal, but there wasn’t any water around, just rusty pipes, gratings, and… an enormous dark blue tower… piercing the sky, she stumbled back, “Well… wherever we are, I don’t think this is New Mexico”. Gina looked up, her pain turning to shock, her mouth agape “What on earth is that thing?”.
The 2 women stood next to each other, baffled and confused, it was like a pole of unforgiving, cold, steel had been shoved into the ground, they could barely comprehend the sheer size of it, it couldn’t have been manmade, they thought they’d won, defeated the aliens.
Gina squinted, and gave herself a reality check, “We should get moving, we need to find someone was can get help from”, Colette nodded and pointed towards the pipe “Might be able to get out if we use that pipe, find a service ladder or something”.
Gina clutched her stomach and Colette held her shoulder, they ambled towards it until hearing a thunderous blaring, deep, echoing, coming from the tower, and a voice that was as cold and unforgiving as the spire “ATTENTION GROUND UNITS: ANTICITIZEN REPORTED IN THIS COMMUNITY”. Again, they stood, more bewildered than before, but recollected themselves “We need to get out of here” Gina reminded Colette, they continued shuffling towards the pipe.
Clearly this world wasn’t the same anymore, but for an introduction to what it was, it couldn’t be more alarming or frightening just from the sight of that tower, Gina theorised what might have happened in her head, Colette wondered about her friends and family. Thankfully the tunnel lead to a ladder leading up the surface, “Doesn’t look like there’s much sunlight up there, could be an alleyway” Gina remarked, Colette glared through the hole the ladder led up through “I hope you’re right”.
Colette went up the ladder first to what was presumably safety, Gina couldn’t help but consider the idea who was laughing when they were being teleported, it sounded so eerie, like they knew that they were going to end up in this place, it wasn’t Keller or Dr. Janus, or anyone else she’d ever heard before. Colette reached the top, and poked her head out, Gina could hear a vehicle moving around from below and the sound of multiple bootsteps running somewhere, the sounds died down, Colette looked down to Gina “I think we’re in the clear”.
Climbing out from the sewer, Colette kept her eyes peeled for anything strange, it’s safe to say they couldn’t be more paranoid, even after everything they’d seen at Black Mesa, Gina hugged the walls and moved herself towards the edge of the alley, the coast looked clear, she signalled to Colette to move with her. They sneaked across the street to another alley, Colette looked left for a moment, she could see a flying steel thing, made her think of a camera, it didn’t seem to notice them, it was more preoccupied in flying eastwards.
In this alley there was another manhole, Colette shifted the lid aside, her determined attitude fading when a pistol slowly rose out, aimed directly at her. The woman behind the gun seemed rough, she had a look about her as if she’d seen more horrors than the HEV-clad scientists had, what was once blonde hair had become muddy and tarnished, scars and scratches lining her face. Gina and Colette promptly raised their hands up slowly.
She spoke, “You’re not Combine are you…” Gina and Colette glanced at each other for a second, “We don’t even know what that is” Colette confirmed, the woman’s glare tightened “Those suits look like the one Kleiner has”, Gina looked surprised, “You know Dr. Kleiner?” she exclaimed, louder than she needed to. “Shut up! You’ll draw their attention!” the woman snapped, “Just get in, you won’t last 5 minutes up there”, she slid down the ladder back into the sewer, Gina and Colette didn’t really have a choice at this point, they had no idea what was going on, but this place didn’t seem safe.
Back down in the sewers, Gina’s mind was racing, Colette seemed to be holding up better, but she’d dropped everything she’d known from Black Mesa, what was happening here seemed to take priority, to her it just seemed like one catastrophe to another. The woman waved her hand for them to follow her, they complied, she mumbled “There’s probably gonna be manhacks down here at any moment, god damn flying buzzsaws are what they are”. Colette noticed her blue clothes seemed to be torn, mostly slashes, with some scars that were still healing.
The woman stopped, rubbing the curved walls of the tunnel unless she found a loose piece of wire, and pulled on it, a section of the wall fell inwards, and without hesitation the woman climbed in, Gina and Colette following behind.
As they went inside, it seemed almost pitch black until a light switch was flipped, and the fluorescent lights shined, illuminating the room, there was a workbench, monitors displaying various places, machine parts, and a bizarre looking rifle that neither of them had ever seen before. The woman turned to face the startled women “Ok now that we’re in relative safety, I guess we can finally introduce ourselves, I’m Allison”, Gina needed a moment more to adjust to what she was looking at, Colette replied in her stead “I’m Colette, this is Gina, we… well I guess we got teleported here, we’re from Black Mesa, but uh… what’s going on with the tower, and the gas mask people, and… everything”.
Allison raised an eyebrow “You’re from Black Mesa? I thought it was nuked 20 years ago?”, Gina and Colette stared at her in horror, “IT WAS WHAT?”, Allison held a finger to her lips “Shh! Just because we’re underground doesn’t mean you can yell”, Gina held her head, still staring in disbelief, Colette backed up to the wall. They thought back to all the people who were left behind, Keller could’ve died in the blast too, god knows what happened to everyone else.
The tower started blaring again, Allison looked up to the ceiling, some dust floating down, “We can’t mope, we’ve gotta get out of here, the Combine are gonna be hunting in every nook and cranny”.
Allison turns to one of the monitors, some of the men in gas masks were running to an apartment building nearby, they’d sweep into the sewers if they heard them, she looked back to the 2 scientists, Gina was comforting Colette, high strung and exhausted, from one fire pit to a larger one. The rebel held her head, there was no way they could stay with the Combine on full alert, she’d have to pack up the outpost too, “There’s a pistol and crowbar on the workbench, you’re gonna need some kind of defence”, Allison picked up the rifle “I’ll be using this bad boy myself”.
Gina gave the rebel a miserable glance before tugging at Colette to pick up one of the weapons, Colette gazed into her misty eyes but they both knew they had to keep moving “I’ll take the crowbar, you were always a better shot than I was”, Gina gave a comforting smile “and you had that fire in you”.
They stared into each other eyes for a moment longer, but they had to rip themselves apart to get moving. Colette grasped the Crowbar, wiped off some viscera on the end; Gina picked up the pistol, checked its clip, and slid it back in. Allison looked around the outside of the hideout, and looked back towards them “Come on, coast is clear”.
They travelled further down the sewers, Allison took the lead, keeping things quiet. They could hear the occasional rumble of an APC, and the radio chatter of the gas mask people. Allison knew her footing well, checking each corner they came around, prepared for anything. Gina and Colette wished they were still in the state of mind for that, it felt like they’d lost everything in an instant, the adrenaline, the tactics, they were so gung-ho in Black Mesa, yet this situation felt so much different, they couldn’t do it, not here, not after everything they’ve seen and heard from the brief time they’d had in this nightmare.
Allison stopped in her tracks, catching Gina and Colette by surprise, “Hold up” she whispered. She crouched, turned on her flashlight. Clear as day, just a headcrab, Allison bit her lip and aimed down the sights, the parasite oblivious to it’s inevitable fate. Something snapped in Colette though, instinct kicked in, just enough to make a choice she’d regret, and leapt forward, Allison jumped back surprised, crowbar high in the air before falling, cracking what bones the creature had, it’s shrill shriek echoing down the tunnel.
Allison’s focus turned to anger, “What the fuck are you doing!?” shouting as quietly as she could, enough to show her fury, but not for the metrocops above to hear. Colette came back to reality, turning back around to the women she’d passed by “Shit, sorry sorry!”, another headcrab retaliated against the death of its predecessor, jumping and latching onto Colette’s back, she almost fell forward, but wrestled with the claws digging into her shoulder, trying to throw it off. Allison panicked, but Gina rose to action, aiming the pistol.
Breathe in.
Right moment.
Right moment.
A clear shot of its frontal lobe.
Trigger squeezed.
The flash illuminated the entire tunnel, blood splattered it’s rounded ceiling, the headcrab limply flying off Colette’s back with no other to attack them.
Gina released tension, pointing the gun down “Are you ok?”, Colette was hunched, holding her knees “Yeah… yeah I’m fine…” she panted for a moment, and looked back to Gina “Thank you…”, the tan dressed scientist smiled in response. Allison had fallen to the floor, still shocked, like she was reliving something. Colette gathered herself to look at her, confused but worried “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, what’s up?”, Allison stared into the nothingness for a moment longer “Nothing… nothing, it’s alright”, she stood back up, wiped her forehead, and readied her rifle again. Gina had wiped some of the blood off Colette’s back, the 2 ladies giving each other warm smiles, Allison wiped her forehead again, muttering “god damnit…”.
She brushed past them, insisting on moving like nothing had happened, Colette patted Gina’s shoulder “Come on”. They had some peace for a moment, before hearing the radio chatter from above again “OVERWATCH: REPORTING GUNFIRE BELOW, GOING TO CHECK IT OUT”, the radio bleeped. Allison looked back to the couple, grimaced, but kept moving, “We’re gonna need to find some cover, might be able to-“ flash, bang, thump.
Allison’s body laid on the floor lifeless, blood staining the floor, from the grating above was a metrocop, “OVERWATCH: REPORTING RESISTANCE BELOW GROUND! REQUESTING SECTOR SWEEP!”, it fled.
Gina and Colette momentarily horrified, but knew what was coming next, they looked to each other, their time had come again, and now it was their turn to take the lead.
Gina slid over to an opposing wall, aiming towards the grate, and managed to fire a shot back through the grating, but missed, merely grazing the side of the metrocops helmet, it stumbled for a moment before turning back to retaliate before Gina fired another shot, striking its forehead. Colette was astonished she could even pull that off considering the gratings angle “Nice shot!”, they both grinned like they were kids on Christmas morning, Gina got up and they both rushed down the tunnel.
They could hear the boots of 2 metrocops, they seemed to be following them from above, a T junction ahead, the scientists split off, then the metrocops. Gina saw light shining from above, with sharp shadows, it was another grate, ‘Perfect’ she thought, making a dash to get ahead of the metrocop, she had time to dive onto her back, shot its foot, it recoiled from the hit and leant down, it’s emotionless mask briefly staring at the scientist before she fired another shot into its forehead, she smiled, got back up and started running again.
Colette ran through her tunnel, a grating up ahead, with no gun there wasn’t a way she could pull of any tricky shots like Gina, she instead opted for a more blunt strategy; she rushed forward, sliding the end of her crowbar on the lip of the grate, and once she saw the unlucky feet of the metrocop, hoisted it down, the poor bastard falling into the mercy of Colette’s crowbar, smashing it’s head and breaking the mask, she smirked at it’s mutilated head for a moment “I sure do have a fire in me”, she grabbed it’s gun and dashed through the tunnel again, a wild grin on her face.
They met back up at another intersection, “You got a gun, nice” Gina remarked, “Sure is hon” Colette bragged before blushing at the realisation of what she just said, “I’m sorry?”, Colette turned to hide her face “Nothing, let’s keep moving”, and rushed on forwards, Gina blushed too before shaking her head and running to catch up with her.
They could hear radio chatter again, but it didn’t seem like the metrocops, something that sounded more human “Black Mesa East to Station 9: Gordon Freeman has returned, it is critical that he reaches us!”, the 2 women looked at each other for a moment. Gordon Freeman? He wasn’t all that special at Black Mesa, late to everything and awkward as hell, the most interesting thing they’d ever heard him do was climbing in vents to get into Kleiner’s office, anything else was something that’d bore anyone to tears, however Gina liked him, but Colette wish she could say the same.
They could hear movement near the radio “Copy that, we heard some gunfire west of our station, if we go out… well, good luck to Freeman”, the radio fizzled and switched off.
Gina thought to take the lead, make an introduction, she was probably just as paranoid as this situation as they were, mutual fear could lead to friendship.