Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Where am I?

…

Where was… Why is it so dark..?

…

…

Detained? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

It felt like everything and nothing all at once, as blackness and swallowing dark was the only thing that could be seen. But it wasn’t seen . No, not seen… Sensed. Felt. Knew. It was like darkness had replaced you, until there was nothing left of you to replace.

It felt like you never really existed at all. Then it felt like time didn’t exist, and nothing happened except you, and except the void.

It felt like eternity; it felt like no time at all.

I see something… What is that? I reach out and try to… tap your shoulder.

I’m looking for someone. 

Where was…

Where was Gina?

There was a bright flash across her vision, and finally, blissfully, the woman lost consciousness.

“Warning-- Electrical damage detected.”

Dr. Colette Green gasped dusty air into her lungs as her eyes snapped open, heart pounding loudly in her ears. Her vision was not filled by infinite darkness, not the void, and not Gina’s beautiful face. She was instead met by a rickety roof, dimly illuminated by only a strip of light. It wasn’t the facility, and it definitely wasn’t heaven.

As she moved to pull herself onto one elbow, Colette heard and felt the familiar metallic scrape of her HEV suit, looking down blearily to see the familiar dents and lacerations that littered the damn thing. Colette scanned her surroundings; it looked like she was in some sort of abandoned shed, with short stone walls and creaky wooden doors that were left slightly ajar, letting in only a sliver of cold, natural light.

Who the hell had taken her here, and why? What had happened to the Resonance Cascade? Where was Gina?

Then, Colette spotted him. In a heap on the floor just feet away lay a battered HECU soldier, slumped over onto his side, unconscious. Colette immediately reached for her pistol, but looked down to find that there was nothing there. Someone had taken her weapons. She attempted to get up, but her limbs trembled and she fell back to the floor. It was as if she hadn’t used them in ages.

What the hell?  

It didn't matter, she could still destroy this guy, even with her bare hands. Colette dragged her way over to the boot, watching as his chest gently rose and fell. It looked like he was unarmed, too. Perfect. With shaking arms, she managed to pull herself into a sitting position next to him.

She turned him over-- the man was covered in gray dust and debris, and his mask was partially cracked open, looking like it had taken a particular beating. He looked young, Asian, from what Colette could see. There was a tear in his pant leg, with still fresh blood staining the gray and white that patterned there— but it looked as if there was no wound at all. 

Colette decided to pay it no mind; she needed to find out where she was, so she could get back as soon as possible. Colette raised a hand and brought it swiftly down, backhanding the unconscious soldier across the uncovered half of his face. The soldier’s eyes snapped open as metal gauntlet connected with flesh, and he let out a yelp, instinctively scrambling back and slipping in a similar fashion to Colette just moments ago. It would almost be funny, if it didn’t tire Colette out as much as it did him.

Colette finally got the strength to shakily get to her feet, and she stumbled over to the man, putting a foot on his chest and applying pressure, leg weighed down even heavier in her metal power suit. The man reached up and wrapped his hands around her leg and tried to pull— he was strong, but with the increased strength, Colette didn’t budge.

“Where the hell is Gina?” She was surprised at how raspy her voice came out, clogged from neglect, but she shook her head, stepping down further.

The soldier’s eyes were wide, and he clenched his teeth, trying to pry her leg off him again, to no avail. 

“I don’t know… Who Gina is…” The soldier choked out, frustration in his dark eyes.

“Dressed like me? Auburn bun, pins in her hair?” Colette glared at him, “Don’t lie to me, or I’ll gut you with my hands, I swear to god.”

The soldier gave a final tug, and to her shock, he pulled her off her feet. She went crashing to the floor and he quickly attempted to stand, staggering forward before Colette stuck out her leg and he fell back onto the hard dirt ground. She dragged herself back up, walking over and kicking him in the face, adding yet another blow atop the blossoming bruise she had left earlier. 

The soldier reeled, clutching his face in pain as he rolled. He growled, then suddenly her leg was in his grasp and he had tugged her to the floor. The soldier jumped on her and pinned her by her shoulders to the ground, his mouth now dripping blood.

“I’m not here to hurt you, god damn —!” Colette cut him off with a yell as she lifted her hips and locked her thighs around his head, dragging him to the floor and onto his back.

She climbed over and raised a fist to punch him in the face, but he moved his head just in time, and her fist connected with the ground.

Colette quickly brought down her other fist, but he managed to dart his hand up and catch it, holding it where it was when she attempted to pull her hand away, a vice grip on her fist. The soldier glared at her, and there was a deep, deep weariness in his gaze. 

“I’m not here to hurt you!” He was breathing hard, eyes darting wildly around the area before focusing back on her, “Now can you tell me where the hell I am?”

Colette was panting too, and she frowned, staring at her fist in the man’s palm, then darting her gaze back to his face. There was a large purple bruise blossoming on his face where she had hit him. Good. Not wanting to lose face in front of the enemy, she bluffed.

“And why the hell would I tell an HECU where we are?”

“ Former HECU.” The man snapped, then he shook his head, “Look lady, I’m— I’m missing someone too. I’m not the one who took away your… Gina… Person. All I know is I was supposed to die, then there was this man in a suit, a-and I’ve been asleep, I think. And I don’t know for how long.”

Supposed to die. Asleep. A man in a suit.. . The exchange of blows for information was getting exhausting, so instead of continuing to press against his word, she sat back, defeated.

“Yeah that’s… That’s been my experience, too.” Colette sat back on her haunches a bit, finally relaxing for a moment.

Colette couldn’t be too careful with this guy, though, even if he was an ex- marine, like he claimed. She started to pull her fist out of the man’s grip, and he tentatively held on.

“You’re not gonna backhand me again, are you?”

Colette yanked her fist away.

“For now.” 

She sat back and climbed off him, stepping backwards but keeping her eyes trained on him, feeling strength begin to return to her limbs. The soldier sat up, spitting out blood onto the ground, wiping his mouth with a sour look on his face. Then, he pulled himself to his knees, stopping before getting to his feet, and just falling back down again.

He ran his hands over his dirty face; taking deep, shaky breaths as he just sat there for a moment, composing himself.

Colette supposed she should compose herself too, as she combed an idle hand through her tangled hair then raised a gloved finger to her mouth to begin chewing on it. She knew it was disgusting, but she was distracted, thinking about the final moments before she had been sucked into whatever hell she was stuck in, and for however long. Gina and her, sitting together at the end of the world. There was nothing more they could do to ease the passing so Gina suggested they just… sit. Sit and watch the sunrise.

Then, that man appeared, and Colette was dragged away from her, strung across wherever and back. That’s why she had to return, to find Gina. Because Gina wasn’t dead.

“What are you thinking about?” She finally heard the soldier ask, and she turned to look at him.

Was he trying to make small talk?

“Yes, I’m trying to make small talk.” The soldier sighed, and he had taken his broken mask fully off, now strapped to his belt. It looked like he’d been… crying… “Let’s just go.”

Colette paused. She studied the man’s face, the wide scar on his lower jaw and his weary brown eyes. They were far too weary for someone so young. Or at least looked young. Her face softened, ever so slightly.

“How old are you, bootboy?” She asked, crossing her arms.

The soldier blinked, his expression darkening a bit. Had she touched a nerve? The soldier shook his, and looked back up at her.

“22.”

Special Forces at age 22. Smart kid, Colette thought. Too bad it was wasted on killing scientists and assisting government cover ups.

“Well kid,” Colette walked past him, pushing open the rickety barn doors and squinting as she stepped out into pale, overcast light, “I—”

Colette didn’t exactly know what she expected to see when she emerged from the barn. Perhaps overgrown farmland, stretching across empty fields, or perhaps other houses in the distance. What Colette saw instead was acres and acres of dry grass and dead brown trees, occasionally broken up by a large black railroad that cut brutally through the land. It seemed as if it would stretch this way forever, until abruptly crashing into large and oppressive black gates that surrounded what looked like a city, miles away.

They appeared to be in a valley of some kind, but far in the distance, Colette could make out steep and unbelievably large mountains, just as dry and grey as the rest of the scenery.

The air was stifled somehow-- stagnant, and Colette could feel no gentle breeze on her face. In fact, she could feel no breeze at all. It was just still.

Colette had no possible guesses as to where the hell this place was, she didn’t recognize the bleak architecture of the city gates, and this surrounding area was… well... It looked nothing like the orange deserts of New Mexico, to say the least. Her heart rate began to pick up. How far could that man have possibly taken them?

She felt the soldier approach from behind her, then come to a stop. 

“Woah.” She heard the soldier say.

“Something about this place just feels… wrong.” Colette thought aloud.

The two just stood there for a moment, listening to the caw of crows in the distance and… And that was it. There was no other sound, no rustle of the branches or blowing in the grass. Nothing. It was haunting.

Colette knew she didn’t want to go at it alone.

“We’d… Better get to civilization.” Colette spoke quietly, distractedly, before turning to the young soldier, “I still don’t trust you, know that.”

The soldier turned his gaze away from the landscape to look her in her eyes, giving her an unimpressed look.

“Loud and clear.”

“Good.” Colette said, then she stuck out her hand firmly, “The name’s Doctor Colette Green. Don’t call me Colette.”

The soldier looked surprised at the sudden introduction. Colette wasn’t; she knew she could be quite straightforward once she got down to it, but she was honestly just not wanting to waste time when it came to meeting. The soldier looked at her hand cautiously, as if it were a trap, and Colette just pushed it toward him, wanting to get it over with. He raised up a hand and put his in hers, and they shook.

“Adrian Shephard.”

Chapter Text

“I love you.”

Adrian remembered to look into Barney’s eyes one last time, through the dust and the debris and the blinding light. They shone back with terror and despair and deep, deep confusion. Adrian wished so desperately he could see the radiant joy that he knew those eyes were so capable of possessing.

I love you.

Adrian felt himself ripped away from reality, and as he reached for him, he was ripped away from Barney too. Adrian faintly heard him shout his name, and Adrian tried to shout back, but his throat was filled to the brim with nothing. What was happening? Was he dying?

Adrian felt his feet touch solid ground, and he staggered forward onto a hollow metal floor. Adrian felt the vibrations beneath his feet, the sounds of the chopper in the background. When he blearily looked up, he recognized it-- he was in a V-22 Osprey, the same plane he’d arrived in just days before. 

“So, Corporal Shephard, we meet at last.” Adrian heard a deep, stunted voice behind him.

Adrian whipped around to see the man in the blue suit, standing passively, briefcase in hand. He was staring directly into him with those cutting blue eyes, but Adrian wasn’t intimidated. He’d had enough.

“Please, don't think that I've been avoiding you, a great many matters require my attention in these... troubled times. I do hope you understand--”

“Just tell me who the hell you are!” Adrian’s voice came out brittle, head aching with despair and exhaustion and confusion.

The man paused. Then he gave him a small smile. No, Adrian wouldn’t even call it a smile. There was a pull at the corners of his mouth, but his eyes remained the same cutting blue. 

“What I am, perhaps, is not important. Rather, I admit I have a fascination with those who… adapt and survive against all odds. They rather remind me of myself. If for no other reason, I have argued to preserve you for a time.

“However, I cannot close my report until every loose end has been tied up. The biggest embarrassment has been Black Mesa facility, but I think that's finally taken care of itself…”

The man did not take his eyes off Adrian, but suddenly his vision was filled with blinding white, and he heard the far away boom of a devastating explosion. Barney. Adrian’s heart dropped, and cold panic began to fill his body. He ran to the edge of the Osprey, holding onto the side as he looked behind them, praying desperately that he wouldn’t see the telltale mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion.

But his luck had finally run out. There it was, black, looming and unbelievably large. Adrian stumbled back onto the platform and fell to his knees, his entire body going numb.

“Ah, of course. Your… friend?” He could barely hear the man’s voice, even though it was loud and clear in his ears, no matter how far away he walked.

Adrian suddenly felt cold rage fill his body, and he rose back to his feet, clenching his fists as he whirled around to face him.

“Don’t talk about him! Don’t you dare!” He barked, voice crackling with emotion.

The man’s eyebrows raised, and he paused before he spoke again.

“Corporal Shephard, you should like to know that Mr. Calhoun is… alive. I knew that it would be a, ah, problem for you, had he perished in the explosion, so I took the liberty of removing him from the facility.”

“You…” Adrian felt like his legs would give out again. This was too much.

“While I believe a civil servant like yourself understands the importance of... discretion, my employers are not quite so trusting, and rather than continually subject you to the irresistible human temptation of telling all, we have decided to…” The man paused, as if searching for words, “convey you to somewhere where you can do no possible harm, and where no harm can come to you.”

“What-- what the hell do you mean..?” Adrian was exhausted, barely able to think straight. He just wanted to get back to Barney, to know he was okay. Was he going to get taken again?

“I'm sure you can imagine there are worse alternatives, Corporal Shephard.”

Then, outside, he saw the orange cliffs of New Mexico vanish, replaced with a vast, dark emptiness. Suddenly, it seemed like the only light source in existence was the harsh red of the Osprey interior, bathing them both in foreboding scarlet. 

Then, the man straightened his tie and gave a small, polite pull of his lips as he cut out a blinding white piece of reality next to him. He walked calmly through the gateway, and as it closed, Adrian tried to charge after him, but he stumbled through nothing. He opened his mouth to shout, but it was lodged with nothing, filling his throat and his nose and his lungs with nothing.

And there was nothing. And he was nothing. 

…

And it was all black. 

…

And he was alone.

…

…

…

He felt a tap on his shoulder.

There were rocks in Adrian’s boots.

The ground was cracked and dry as they walked, crumbling beneath their feet in a fashion that Adrian had never seen before, even after years of living in deserts. It was like the land had been parched, water never touching its surface once as years drifted by. Untouched, sapped dry of all value. For some reason, it set Adrian on edge. And there were rocks in his boots.

“I’ve never seen all black architecture like that before. Where the hell is this?” Dr. Colette said beside him, mumbling a bit as she rubbed her chin in confusion.

Adrian was broken out of his wandering thoughts, and he followed Dr. Colette’s line of sight towards the dark, oppressive city gates. Though it was their destination, it looked like they hadn’t gotten any closer at all in the hour they had already spent walking. Adrian thought once he got out of Black Mesa he’d be done with all the goddamn walking.

Hearing Dr. Colette’s voice, however, he began to remember the dull ache in the left side of his face, bruised where she had backhanded and kicked him earlier. The only woman he’d met who had as strong an arm as her was Michelle, but Mich didn’t have hard metal power armor. Women were scary . Adrian glowered-- he got the feeling that this wouldn’t be as easy as travelling with… with…

Adrian squeezed his eyes closed for a moment, feeling a deep, physically painful ache in his chest. He had reason to believe Barney was alive but… Adrian still hadn’t had time to process the loss. He’d find him, no matter how far he’d have to walk.

It seemed like Colette was looking for someone, too. ‘Gina’. The doctor’s description of her had been somewhat familiar, but Adrian couldn’t quite place it. Adrian wondered if Colette had been abducted from the same incident, from the same facility-- it would explain the hostile attitude she had had towards him when they had first awoken.

“You’re a scientist, aren’t you ma’am?” Adrian asked, breaking the dead silence.

Colette blinked, then barked out a laugh. It was a harsh sound, almost a cackle.

“Hah! Ma’am? I like that.” Colette told him, a small, wolfish grin on her face, “Anyway, yes, I was an electrical engineer specializing in Anomalous Materials back at Black Mesa. I bet you’re regretting not killing me while you had the chance.”

Colette paused, tapping her chin.

“Well, chance is a strong word.” She followed up.

So, that answered his question. The doctor was most certainly a strong personality, 5’5 and all hard lines. Her short, light brown hair was streaked with gray, despite a relatively young looking face; there were dark circles under her bright green eyes, but it looked more out of stress than out of old age. Adrian couldn’t help wondering how old she was, but he knew rule number one; don’t ask a lady her age. He somehow knew he’d get his ass kicked.

“I actually never participated in the raid, you know,” Adrian said, crossing his arms across his chest, “never got orders.”

This feels like deja vu.

“Never got orders, huh?” The doctor raised her eyebrows.

“I didn’t! My Osprey got shot down, I took a blow to the head, conked out for fucking… who knows how long.” Adrian recounted his story, then shook his head, “Point is, I never touched any Black Mesa personnel.”

Well… He supposed he did certainly touch one. Adrian groaned at his own wording, even though he knew Colette wouldn’t even recognize the awkwardness of the statement. He heard the doctor let out a hum beside him.

“I don’t trust you.”

“You’ve made that clear.”

“But I’ll take your story.” Dr. Colette said, giving a casual shrug, “At least until we find civilization.”

“I’m honored, really.” Adrian told her scathingly, and she shot him another smile.

As they walked, there was a sudden rumbling in the cracked, parched ground. Adrian thought it was just his imagination, before he saw the various rocks start to tumble along the floor. An earthquake?

Dirt sprayed at Adrian from his left, stinging him in the arm as he saw a shelled, yellow-green leg burst forth from the ground, then another, then the entire body of an insect-like, spindly, four legged alien, sharp fangs sprouting from its hissing maw. Adrian jumped back, reaching for his gun, but it wasn’t there.

“What the fuck is that!” He heard Dr. Colette shout from behind him, and Adrian started to back away slowly, as it hissed and rattled.

“I don’t know! I don’t suppose that suit has a cannon arm or something?” Adrian yelled back, fear starting to rise in his tone.

“No, why the hell would it-- Look out!”

The creature lunged, and Adrian rolled out of the way, heart rate spiking as it abruptly turned to face him again. Adrian crawled backwards as it approached, then as it jumped at him, wings buzzing, he launched himself into a somersault, finding himself behind the creature as he whirled back around to face it.

Adrian looked around frantically for a weapon, any weapon, when he heard Dr. Colette shout behind him.

“Eat it!” 

Adrian watched as she hurled a heavy rock at the thing, and there was a loud cracking noise as it made contact with it, knocking it off its legs and sending green-yellow blood splattering across the ground. Dr. Colette made a show of dusting off her hands, a smug look on her face.

“Consider your ass covered.” 

Adrian breathed out a laugh, feeling his mouth form a crooked smile. 

“Fuckin’ nice!”

They were cut off when a deep rumbling started to shake the earth beneath them once again, this time louder, and this time rougher. He and Colette exchanged looks, then they began to run, power armor whirring as she sprinted ahead of him. Adrian heard countless more dirt explosions behind him, and he spared a glance behind, seeing at least five more of the same bug-creatures, now in hot pursuit.

“Run!” Dr. Colette roughly grabbed his arm as they started to sprint down a decline, and Adrian leaned down to grab a rock, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Her power suit could sprint far faster than his own legs could carry him, and he tumbled forward, suddenly being rapidly dragged along the cracked dirt. He was abruptly yanked sideways, whirling around to face the growing aliens, as they hissed and spat. He reached up a hand as he was trailed across the rough ground to tap Dr. Colette’s forearm, heart beating out of his chest.

“Ma’am!?” He shouted, voice raising in pitch.

Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted by his arm, grabbed under the shoulders, and hoisted over Dr. Colette’s shoulder, metal digging into his side as he felt a firm grip over his torso. Adrian faced the ground as it raced by, and he raised his head to gawk at Colette.

“You sure you’re cut out for the military, kid?!” Dr. Colette shouted over the sound of the hissing horde of aliens. 

“How are you doing that?” Adrian shouted back, staring at the said horde in panic.

“This suit, kickboxing lessons, and a fucking lot of drugs!” She cackled, and Adrian sat up in her grip, shaking his head as he raised the rock he had picked up. 

Mimicking her earlier motions, he took the rock and hurled it with all his strength into the crowd. It hit, and one of the creatures went tumbling to the ground with a snapping sound, making the ones behind it trip over its corpse. Adrian whooped, pumping a fist, before he felt himself lurch backwards in Dr. Colette’s grip, and they came to a screeching halt.

Adrian pushed himself up to look behind, and startled to see that the two had come to the edge of a steep cliff. Colette immediately dropped him, and he was sent stumbling onto the cracked dirt.

“What the hell— shit— fuck, what the fuck do we do?” She growled, looking from the cliff to the charging horde then back, the aliens just seconds away.

Think fast think fast think fast, Adrian squeezed his eyes closed, trying to think of something that could possibly get them out of this.

His eyes snapped open, then he fell to one knee and swung his backpack over his shoulder, desperately hoping that-- yes! He quickly stuck the barnacle gun on his arm, glanced down the cliff, praying that the possibly dead trees at the bottom counted as living organisms, then turned to Dr. Colette.

“Grab onto me!” He shouted, and they were just moments away from total annihilation. 

“Is that—“

“Grab on!” He snatched her by the waist and dragged her off the side of the cliff with him, and she let out a high pitched scream, wrapping her armored arms around his neck tightly.

It was the moment of truth-- he squeezed his fist closed and aimed at the highest nearby tree, stomach plummeting as they fell through the open air. Then, the barnacle’s tongue wrapped around the tree, and he and Colette swung and soared through the air, Colette’s weight dragging down on his side as she struggled to cling to him. 

He let go of his grip on the tree, then shot out the creature’s tongue to latch onto the next one, then the next one, and the next one and soon they were swinging like goddamn spiderman. As if on cue, both Adrian and Colette started to let out breathless whoops and cries and laughs, hearing the horde of aliens behind them grow more and more distant as they swung and swung.

It was one tree after the other, growing lower and lower to the ground until-- Adrian’s feet grazed the dirt below, and, startled, he released his fist and they both went tumbling onto the floor, rolling across the rough ground until they came to a stop, wasted on the floor, gasping for air.

Adrian was panting hard, rolled onto his back on the cracked dirt. He turned his head to face Colette, who was similarly panting, just next to him. She let out a low whistle. Adrian swallowed, soothing his dry throat before speaking.

“You… good..?” 

Colette made a lazy dismissive gesture.

“I’m… peachy…”

“Minor lacerations detected.” A high-pitched, choppy voice sounded from the power suit.

“Minor… Hear that?” She panted, then wheezed out a laugh.

“What the hell… were those things..?” Adrian shook his head, staring up into the forest canopy above them, catching his breath.

“I… Don’t know…” Colette shook her head, “Either the Resonance Cascade Spread farther than we thought… Or I really don’t know where the hell we are.”

They sat there for a few minutes, catching their breaths, before Colette finally got to her feet, holding out her open hand for Adrian. He raised his eyebrows, surprised, then gave a small, crooked smile, and he let himself be pulled roughly to his feet.

Chapter Text

“You know, that suit is scary. I seriously wonder how you didn’t kill me with that kick.” Adrian told Colette as they walked, staring at the maroon power armor she wore.

Colette looked down, glancing at her power armor, then to Adrian with a smile.

“What, the HEV suit? Heh, yeah, the funny thing is that it was mostly built for handling radiation and pushing rocks around.”

“Then why doesn’t it have a helmet?”

“It does have a helmet. But they are also so lame looking.” Colette said and brushed past Adrian.

The two set off on the road again, and Adrian scanned the landscape as they passed by. There was some kind of dilapidated building on the horizon, and as the two approached, they realized it was another abandoned farm. Wherever this was, something bad must have happened to cause this much devastation. Or at least this level of neglect and abandonment from everything, artificial and natural. 

Adrian couldn’t help wondering if it was some kind of nuclear wasteland. Of course it couldn’t be, there would be way more dire consequences of standing in a fallout zone, but still, he wondered.

He turned, thinking of another idle conversation topic to bug Dr. Green with.

“Y’know, do you ever take that… HEV suit off?” Adrian asked.

“ Y’know kid, maybe I haven’t had the chance to.” Colette responded, knocking on the suit for emphasis.

“Minor fracture detected.”

They both paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. Colette crossed her arms, metal scraping on metal as she folded them, and she chuckled.

“Anyways, no, I haven’t taken this off in almost three days. I’m 90% sure I’m growing mold in here.”

“Oh, well that’s not good.” Adrian responded, lip starting to twitch with laughter again.

“It’s not.” Colette responded, a wolfish grin on her face.

“Is there anything underneath it—?”

“ Adrian .”

“Yes ma’am.” Adrian promptly shut up, and Colette snorted to herself.

They walked and walked, growing closer to the city. They hopped over dried river beds and trampled parched grass, on alert for any more of those bug creatures, or any sign of movement in general. But it was still. They crossed a set of giant railroad tracks, the ones that were visible from the horizon and that cut through the landscape so obviously.

Adrian couldn’t help but notice, as they passed over the train tracks, that unlike everything else they had encountered, the tracks were not rusted over from disuse, dilapidated and abandoned.

“It looks like someone’s been using this lately.” Adrian thought aloud, standing on the far rail, looking down.

Colette’s gaze snapped left, just as a rumbling sound began to sound in the distance. Adrian thought at first that it must be the aliens from earlier, but Colette pulled him off the tracks by his backpack, running back a few paces as she dragged Adrian with her.

She pointed to their far left as a slim dark shape appeared in the distance, growing rapidly closer and closer along the rail. Before Adrian could process it, a train, colored an oppressive black and standing impossibly tall and thin, shot past them like a bullet. The gush of wind it brought with it sent Colette’s hair flying into her face, and nearly knocked Adrian off his feet. 

It seemed to barely fit the rails it rode on, wheels screeching and squealing on the tracks with deafening volume, almost reminiscent to a chorus of human voices, screaming in terror. Adrian felt a chill claw its way down his spine as they watched it pass. When the train had sped off, both Colette and Adrian stood in silence, staring at it as it disappeared into the distance.

“What the hell kinda train was that? ” Colette spoke quietly.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”

-

The two continued to walk, following the train tracks, and after an hour or so of walking in silence and occasional idle chatter, they had covered much ground. When they finally reached the edge of the dead forest, the two travelers emerged onto a gentle hill. From their vantage point, the city was so close now. But the sun was setting, and though the HEV suit had a flashlight, it was… Unreliable.

“It’s probably best if we set up camp for the night.” Colette told Adrian, and he agreed.

The two wandered a few minutes off the path and gathered firewood, snapping it off dead trees and picking sticks off the ground. The licking flames of the campfire they built were vivid and red, drawing a stark contrast to the dull browns that seemed to surround them everywhere they turned in this damned place.

They both practically collapsed onto the floor, sitting slumped in front of the fire, warming themselves in the barren wasteland in which they sat. In silence. Colette hated silence.

“So kid, where the hell did you get that barnacle, anyway?” 

“Uh, I got it from a scientist-- Dr. Yang?” He nodded toward his pack, “Don’t know if you know him.”

“I don’t. There are a buttfuck amount of scientists at Black Mesa,” Colette shrugged, a grim look on her face, “Well, were.”

“Do you have any idea how this all even began?”

There was the question. Colette did know. In fact, she was probably one of the only people who knew. It was the damned test… they’d unleashed Pandora’s box when they caused that resonance cascade, because they didn’t just abort it. Remembering Eli’s concerns, all the signs they should’ve turned back, she just…

“Yeah I do. I was there.” Colette told the truth, leaning back from her position on the ground to look up at the dark and overcast night sky, “It was called a resonance cascade. We fucked around with more Xen material than we could safely handle and, well…”

Colette shrugged, turning back to him.

“We got our asses handed to us, then they called you boys in. Didn’t mean we deserved to die, but god, what major jackasses we turned out to be.” 

Adrian blinked at her, seeming surprised at her answer. Then, he nodded, making a face.

“Yeah, you guys were kind of jackasses.”

“Hey, says you , kid. Mr. Special Forces over here.”

“Also why do you keep calling me kid?”

Colette smiled.

“Just cause I wanna.” Her smile faded a bit, “You should really be in college, not in the military.”

Adrian groaned next to her, and Colette bristled a bit.

“What?”

“You sound just like my counselor.” Adrian sounded somewhat amused, then he shrugged, “Yeah you’re probably right. I knew the stuff, hell I excelled. I guess I just didn’t try.”

Adrian paused to clear his throat, looking away awkwardly.

“I dropped out in senior year.” There was a faint look of regret on his face.

“When we get back from whatever this is… try.” Colette told him in earnest, surprising even herself.

“Yes ma’am.” Adrian answered with a lazy salute.

How the hell did she go from fighting aliens to giving a soldier a pep-talk to go to college? They sat in silence for a few moments, just listening to the crackle of the fire.

“So… Who’s Gina?” Adrian asked, and Colette shook her head.

“Hm. None of your business.”

“Was she another scientist?” Adrian continued to press, and Colette felt annoyance prodding at her.

“ Is. Is she another scientist.” Colette corrected, thoughts drifting to red-brown locks and kind blue eyes, then she shook those thoughts away, “And, none of your business.”

“So… is she?” Adrian continued to ask, cross legged as he held his feet together with his hands.

Colette sighed, running a hand over her face and combing her fingers through her hair.

“Fine, you gremlin. She’s a scientist. She was with me the whole way. I’m gonna get her back. That’s all you need to know.” She told him bluntly, taking a stick and tossing it into the fire with a crackle.

Adrian went silent for a long moment. Then, he spoke again.

“You know, I had someone with me the whole way, too.”

Colette rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I bet you had plenty of soldier buddies to back you up, huh?”

Adrian’s expression darkened, and there was something behind it that indicated something about that question struck a nerve. Adrian shook his head, then glared up at her. 

“No. He was actually a security guard. He— we—… I’ll see him again too, no matter what.” He reached up to his collar and started to fidget with it, “I made him a promise.”

Colette looked at Adrian a little closer. Huh .

“This guy, what does he look like?”

“Uh,” Adrian made a noise, then nodded, a distant look in his eyes, “I mean, under the security guard outfit? He has black hair and hazel eyes. They’re this teal and brown color, and his left eye’s a little more brown than the other. And he has this messy black hair that he tries so hard to keep tamed, I could tell he gelled it and everything. It kinda stuck to his forehead and was constantly floating into his face but he never seemed to notice. He has these high cheekbones too and these light freckles that are so faint you have to get really close to see them and… And, well, you get it.”

Adrian seemed embarrassed.

“And you were willing to die with him?”

“Yes?” Adrian raised an eyebrow, “Where is this going--”

“Are you gay, Adrian?”

Adrian’s eyes snapped back over to Colette’s and they were blank, caught off guard.

“Huh?” He said dumbly.

“Are you gay? Are you a homosexual? Do you like men?”

Adrian looked up and thought about it for a second. 

“Maybe, probably, and yes. In that order.” He looked over to squint at Colette suspiciously, “Why, are you going to beat me up again, or something?”

Colette cackled, then crossed her arms, sitting back.

“No, hell no.” She grinned, “I’m a lesbian. I just know that no straight guy describes his pal like that.”

Adrian’s face turned pink, then he started to laugh.

“Shit, I really am that obvious, aren’t I?”

Colette nodded, a smirk on her face.

“You are down bad for this guy, huh?” She said, “And you just met him that day, huh?”

Adrian made a sour face.

“Hey it was more like… Three.”

Colette laughed, then that laugh settled into a grin, before she looked around, scooting in closer.

“So, did you ever…” Colette smirked.

Adrian laughed, he leaned forward in turn, putting his cheek in his hand. Then he nodded. Colette gasped, only half mockingly. Really?

“ No , in the facility? ” She whispered incredulously.

Adrian waved a dismissive gesture, rolling his eyes. There was still a crooked smile that fit his face well, illuminated in the flickering campfire light.

“We didn’t get quite that far.” Adrian paused, a smug expression on his face as he leaned back, crossing his arms, “We were interrupted.”

Colette began to cackle again, genuine warmth bubbling in her chest, mirth spreading through her entire body. Or maybe it was the fire. Maybe both. It was just good to just talk like this. 

She had never had a little brother.

“You’re funny, know that, kid?”

“Do I get to ask about Gina yet?”

“No.”

The two continued to chat about little things, no particular topic for no particular amount of time, stocking wood back onto the fire to rekindle it when it dimmed, and when they fell asleep, it was facing each other.

Chapter Text

“Rise and shine!” 

Adrian suddenly felt himself being rolled over onto his stomach in the cracked dirt, squinting up through uncovered eyes to see Colette standing above him, grinning in the cold morning light. Adrian groaned and let his forehead fall back to the ground, helmet hitting the dirt heavily. That was the second rude awakening Colette had given him within less than 24 hours of knowing him. He felt like he was back in boot camp.

“A few more minutes…”

“Come on, you want your paramour back, right?” He heard her say above him, then he felt a strong grip on the back of his backpack as he was pulled to his feet by the straps.

Adrian stumbled forward, rubbing his eyes as he turned to face Colette.

“Yes.” He mumbled.

They had a lot more walking to do before they reached the city. So, after a quick lamenting of their lack of breakfast, the two set off, Adrian’s limbs aching and his eyes heavy as they walked. 

Following the train tracks, the two soon came across a large road. It looked like it was a highway, but there were no cars racing by, and no distant sounds of traffic; just like everywhere else around there, it was dead quiet. Adrian and Colette uneasily made the decision to follow the road, just for the illusion of possible safety it could give them. But somehow they knew that no one would come to pick them up. Or at least, no one good.

After half an hour of walking, there was still no sign of life, no sign of any cars traversing the road. 

“Once again, what the hell is this place?” Colette’s boots clanked on the concrete with every step, and she threw her hands up in the air.

“Something terrible probably happened here.” Adrian said quietly, hugging his arms to his chest without even thinking.

“What did you say?” Colette asked him, relaxing her arms at her sides.

“I said-- Wait, what is that?” Adrian cut himself off as he noticed a tall shape in the distance, stretching across the length of the road.

Adrian and Colette exchanged a look, then took off toward the structure, picking up the pace from their leisurely walking speed across the dusty, worn concrete. As they got closer, Adrian saw that there was a dilapidated looking shack, similar to the structure they’d already seen while wandering the wasteland. But there were also two large, black poles spiked out of the ground, and between them, a large blue, glowing… something? It was transparent and like a screen, stretching between the two poles. What the hell was it? 

Around the strange structure, there were people milling about, dressed in grays and blacks and whites. The people wore strange white gas masks, and cut an imposing figure as they held what he guessed were assault rifles, but Adrian couldn’t tell the models. In fact, he’d never seen guns that looked like that before. There were other people, too, dressed in blue uniforms and knelt on the ground, guns trained on them.

Suddenly, it appeared that the people had registered their existence, and they began to gesture at one another, a few running off into the nearby shack. 

“I’m getting a bad feeling about this.” Colette whispered, and Adrian nodded, ready to turn around and run away. 

Before Adrian could think the decision through, he saw a slim black cargo truck pull out of the shack, its large wheels making no noise as it began to drive directly toward them.

“Run!” Adrian yelled, and this time, Colette wasted no time in plucking Adrian off the ground, carrying him across her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and beginning to sprint at full speed.

Behind them, they heard a strange, distorted voice loudly blast from some unseen speakers on the vehicle, and as Colette swerved and started to run off road, Adrian heard it speak.

“Citizen notice. Failure to co-operate will result in permanent off-world relocation.”

Off-world relocation? To Adrian’s horror, even as Colette began to run across the cracked earth, the vehicle followed, giant wheels kicking up dust as it sped after them, rapidly gaining on the two.

“Colette! They’re following us!” He shouted over the sound of spraying dirt and grating metal.

“Fuck! Do we fight?” Colette panted, and Adrian made a noise as the vehicle grew closer, closer. 

“We don’t have guns, we couldn’t if we wan-- look out!” Adrian yelled, and just as the vehicle was about to ram into them, Colette propelled them to the side, and they both fell to the ground hard, rolling a few paces as the vehicle skidded to a stop next to them.

Through the heavy dust, Adrian looked up to see the silhouettes of two of the strangers emerge from the vehicle and approach him and Dr. Colette. They held what appeared to be batons, flickering with blue electricity at their tips. Adrian scrambled backwards from his position on the floor, as one of the soldier’s masks gave that same distorted, static voice.

“Individual, you are charged with capital malcompliance. Your anti-citizen status has been approved.” Said the closest masked stranger, holding their baton at eye level with Adrian, “You’re coming with us.”

Adrian’s heart raced, and he exchanged a look with Colette, making sure they were on the same page. Nodding to each other, they both launched themselves to their feet in unison and tried to hit the ground running, but before Adrian could take a step he felt a forceful jab just below his ribcage, and pain went spiking through his entire body in seconds. He fell heavily to the floor, convulsing on the ground in writhing, paralyzing pain, before finally, blissfully, everything went black. 

- 

“Colette? Colette!”

Colette Green woke up with a start as she was shaken by the shoulder, blackness quickly fading to a not much brighter dimness, all grays, with the only light source being a bright LED tube, fixed to one wall. As the room shook and vibrated, she realized that she was in the back of a transport vehicle, and as she turned, she came face to face with Adrian, who was looking down at her with a worried expression.

“I told you… Not to call me that…”

“Can you not be an asshole for one minute! I was checking on you, and…”

Colette grunted as she sat up, entire body buzzing as the memories of what had happened before she passed out came flooding back. After Adrian had fallen, she’d tried to… She’d tried to run. Colette had seen him fall, writhing and spasming on the dusty ground, and she hadn’t rushed to help him, hadn’t thought for one second about it. She had just turned around and run in the other direction, ready to abandon him to whatever unknown fate would take him. Colette felt a pang of guilt as she watched Adrian sit back, clueless. It was idiotic that she even thought it would help. She was tackled by both strangers at once, beaten repeatedly until her suit ran out of power and everything went dark. She assumed they were now in the back of the truck they had been driving. 

She looked at Adrian, seeing a frustrated look in his eyes. She looked away and gave a shaky sigh, running her hands over her face wearily, unable to get the image of him on the ground out of her mind.

“You’re right. Sorry kid.”

Colette avoided eye contact with Adrian, mind starting to work and wander. Who even were the people who had knocked them out? Was this some kind of cult? Were they in a totalitarian country of some kind? They had been speaking English, but… What the hell was this place? Colette felt the rage start to build up in her, as she realized the very real severity of their situation.

“I didn’t make it this far just to be kidnapped by some freaks with stun batons!” Colette growled, slamming an armored fist into the bench, denting the dark metal.

“I’ve tried to figure out a way to escape, but I couldn’t find anything.” Adrian muttered, a dark expression on his face, “I tried pounding on the window for a while, but all that accomplished was annoying these pricks. Which I guess is at least some kind of win.”

Colette couldn’t help wondering… What would Gina do? Gina wouldn’t have left the kid behind, Colette’s thoughts prodded in, and Colette gritted her teeth, feeling another pang of guilt.

“We’ll figure out a way to escape once we stop. We can take these punks.” Colette whispered to Adrian, shaking her head, “God damn I wish I had a crowbar right now.”

“But…” Adrian squeezed his eyes closed, then nodded, “We’ll figure it out.”

As if on cue, the vehicle began to gradually slow down, then it came to a solid stop. Colette heard the doors slam from the front, and the back doors automatically began to open. Overcast light streamed into the dimly lit space as Adrian and Colette were roughly grabbed by the two men in masks and dragged out, sent stumbling onto rough pavement. They looked up to find that there were more masked individuals, standing guard around the street they had found themselves on.

The street, as with the rest of the surrounding area, was deserted. Faint sounds of the city could finally be heard in the background but they sounded incomplete somehow, quieter. The street itself had almost no ambience, save for the occasional radio static that sounded from the masked men’s suits, nearly reminiscent of the HECU radios back at Black Mesa. As Colette and Adrian were ushered down the street by the stun baton wielding strangers, Colette quickly examined her surroundings. 

The street had 2–3 story high buildings, and though Colette couldn’t tell whether the buildings were occupied or not, there was not a single light in any of the windows. Air conditioning units were in most of the windowsills, but like the lights, none of them were turned on, or even looked like they had been used in, what, over a decade? Behind the buildings stood a giant, imposing black wall, jagged in its architecture, and totally alien to Colette; was this the gate to the city they had been walking towards? There were tall signs that hung from some of the buildings, and they were in a foreign language-- Chinese.

Colette’s heart dropped as she was ushered into a dark building. Chinese? She hoped desperately that she was just in some wacko Chinatown somewhere in America, because if she were all the way in China, Taiwan, whatever, then… Gina, everything she knew would be on the other side of the world, and after the Resonance Cascade, Colette had no idea where she would go. She needed to--

Colette’s thought process was cut off when she was suddenly steered sharply to the left, split up from her position next to Adrian. Colette’s brain spiked with panic and she looked over her shoulder, back at Adrian, who was staring at her with wide eyes. She wasn’t going to abandon him this time. Colette attempted to fight off the masked men’s grip on her as she growled, but her suit had been sapped of its power, and she no longer had the strength to break away. 

“Kid! Get off of me you--” Colette was struck across the face with the stun baton and she braced for that horrible convulsing to start again, but it never came.

Pain bloomed through her cheek anyway, and she began to taste blood, but when she opened her eyes, she realized that the baton hadn’t been turned on.

“Co-operate, citizen. Last warning.”

Before Colette could curse them out a second time, she was shoved into a small room, the door slamming loudly behind her as she whirled around to bang on it with her fists. After it was to no avail, she turned around, deep fear finally starting to root itself in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t let herself feel fear, it kept her going. But now…

She examined her surroundings. The room was lit by flickering ceiling lights, strange dark stains splattered across the floor and walls. There was a table against the back wall, and a reclined chair, nailed to the ground in the middle of the room, straps on the armrests. Colette backed up against the door, taking shaky breaths, when she felt a press at her foot, and she lunged forward with a start, heart racing as she looked down.

It was a uniform, slid under the door. A white dress shirt, a blue button up, and blue trousers, complete with pre-worn brown loafers. They really had been kidnapped and thrust into some totalitarian country. Was this what China was like..? Colette shook her head. It was stupid. This was stupid, and she wasn’t going to put these stupid clothes on. She was going to get Adrian back-- she wasn’t gonna let him down this time, Colette thought as she picked up the blue button-up, taking it in two hands and wrapping it around both fists so that she could pull it securely. Then, she stood behind the door, and she waited. 

It felt like an eternity before the door opened again, and as soon as the masked person walked in, Colette kicked the door closed, lunging and using the rolled up shirt to drag them back by the neck, suffocating them. They fought back, punching and kicking wildly, but their efforts fell and deflected off hard metal. Then, they managed to pull out their stun baton, zapping Colette on the arm as they broke free. Colette yelped, arm buzzing, before lunging at them again. 

The masked person swung their stun baton, within close enough range that, no matter where Colette moved, it would hit. She had to think fast. If she… Colette turned and grabbed the stun baton, then, sucking in a breath, she shoved it into the HEV’s charging port. She heard an accelerated blare of the suit’s charging noise, and electricity crackled in the air as she broke away, feeling the suit come back on. Colette let out a surprised cackle, then looked up just in time to duck out of the way as the baton swung over her head. 

Colette grinned wolfishly, then lunged forward and decked the masked person in the head. Their distorted voice let out a horrible scramble of noise, then the noise flatlined as they swayed in their steps, and fell to the ground, limp. Colette walked over to their body and picked up their stun baton, attempting to turn it on-- it still worked. Colette figured that after Black Mesa, she’d probably be going to prison anyway, so fuck it. She would get out of here, find Adrian, and get back to Gina.

And they could die trying to stop her. 

Chapter Text

“Where is the resistance hideout?” The mangled voice projected loudly into his ear, and Adrian stared straight ahead, refusing to flinch or react, even as his head began to lull forward, vision growing spotty from pain.

He had no idea who the resistance was. Adrian kept his face straight and stared ahead, despite the blood that streamed from his nose and the pounding in his head, silent. He suddenly was hit with another bout of mind-numbing pain, electricity being projected directly into his temples.

Adrian had… Adrian had n… He couldn’t… His head.

“He’s not giving it up. Bring in…” Adrian couldn’t hear the rest of the sentence over the ringing in his ears, and he tasted blood in the back of his throat.

They had been at this for the last thirty minutes, and they had continuously been trying to get answers out of Adrian, regarding conflicts he had no knowledge about. Adrian knew they were just trying to find a reason to execute him, so he continued to ignore them, giving them concise answers, until he stopped giving them answers at all.

Adrian weakly clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to think about the reason he was fighting, trying to summon up thoughts… thoughts of… There was a sharp pain in Adrian’s head, and all thought was forced out in favor of pain comparable to the worst migraine he could imagine, prying apart his head with a hot metal crowbar.

Over the pounding in his head, he felt a deep despair settle in the pit of his stomach, and he felt sick as he heard the door open and shut.

“Citizen, look up.” There was another distorted voice. Adrian didn’t look up.

He felt a swift blow to his face, and everything seemed to explode in pain. His nausea bubbled over, and soon, he was vomiting blood onto the floor, head slumped over as he bled into his lap, taking shallow, shaky breaths. One excruciating blow after another. He felt a bruising grip on his face, and he was looking into the blue, flickering eyes of another mask. Vision fading in and out of blackness, he summoned up the strength to spit his blood in the person’s face, and he felt the grip on his cheek increase in its pressure, until he was in pain that was near paralyzing.

Everything was going black, he… he…

Then, all of a sudden, the grip loosened. Adrian choked on air, head slumping forward before being tilted back up by the grip the masked man had on his chin.

“Adrian?” The distorted voice said, confusion registerable even through the mangled tones of the mask.

Adrian was shocked to hear his name, but he quickly perished the thought. Colette must have… Must have told them… Colette… What had they done to her…?

“Fuck… You…” He spat, injecting as much venom into his weak voice as he could, staring into the flickering lenses in front of him.

“Adrian.” His tormentor repeated, voice more assured, “How…”

Adrian didn’t want to hear it. 

“Adrian.” 

The masked individual reached up a hand and unhooked their gas mask, pulling it off their face. Adrian didn’t want to look. He didn’t want to know anything about this person. But he looked, even as his vision dipped in and out of darkness and his head felt ready to split open. And what he saw sent a shockwave through his body. 

Her eyes were modified somehow, but they were still that same, familiar brown. He knew those eyes. He knew them because they were the same eyes as his. 

His sister.  

“Mich…” He breathed, feeling deep despair and shock and relief and joy and anger and every emotion at once overwhelm his senses, threatening to envelop him in his weakened state.

So he just stared at her. Those same parallel scars ripped across her freckled face, but there were an additional amount of scars that traversed the length. She now had so many more wrinkles than he remembered, and her head was shaved, just like her brother’s. She was a woman now; so, so old, and he had no idea why. And she was a tormentor. An enforcer, who had him strapped to a bloody chair, on the brink of death.

“Mich…” He gasped, squeezing his eyes shut painfully, “This isn’t…”

Adrian couldn’t help it, he finally started to let out pained, strangled sobs, hanging his head low as his brain throbbed and his chest burst with emotion, choking on his own blood as hot tears streamed down his face.

Michelle got to one knee in front of him, and Adrian opened his eyes, vaguely noticing the angry red circles under her eyes.

“Adrian, how? How are you so young? You should be fucking thirty seven-- no, you should be dead. ” Michelle’s voice was low and raspy, weighed lower with rusty emotion.

“What do you… I--”

“You’ve been dead for 15 years. ”

Adrian’s already aching head spun hard. Fifteen years? How?  

“What…?” Adrian breathed, staring at her in pained shock.

Michelle’s eyes widened.

“So you didn’t know either…? What the…” Her gaze drifted away, and she shook her head, as if clearing it, fixing her eyes on Adrian. There was a grim look in her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter now. You know how the world works now, Adrian. I’m supposed to kill you for being a violator, and there are fifty thousand high ups waiting for me to do so, just… Where have you been…? I… waited for you…” Michelle’s fist clenched and unclenched, “They’re listening to this right now. They will amputate me for this. For hesitating.” 

“They’ll… kill you…?” Adrian slurred, blinking her at her slowly, dread building in his stomach.

It was hard not to see the 17 year old, the 12 year old, the 8 year old Michelle in her face as she stared at him, stern look in her eyes. The lazy Saturday mornings, the petty fights, the years that they relied on each other because they couldn’t trust anyone else. Trust. He could hardly hear her over the ring in his ears. She waited for him. As a big brother, willingly or not, he’d failed her.

“Adrian, you’re in City 11. The world doesn’t belong to humanity anymore. I have to kill you.” Michelle’s voice began to quaver, the smallest bit, so small that if someone didn’t have her speech patterns memorized it would be impossible to pick up on, “You don’t want to live in this world, anyway.”

“I was gonna… I was gonna come get you…” He choked out, taking gasps in each pause to keep himself awake, “I’m sorry…”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice started to echo over the speakers, cold and concise.

“Security Alert: Invasive operation of anti-citizen origin. Response code: Engage. Isolate. Neutralize.”

Adrian and Michelle looked up, and Michelle rose to her feet, clicking her mask back into place. She looked back at Adrian, silent for a few moments as she took in his bloodied and exhausted form, then she turned towards the door.

“If there’s a next time, you’ll be dead, Adrian.” That mangled voice said, as she glanced behind her shoulder, “Follow them, and don’t come back. Goodbye.”

Then, she left, and she didn’t close the door behind her. 

When Colette had escaped her room, she’d expected a need for stealth; silent takedowns and the like. Instead, partway through, a security alert had been set off, and it wasn’t for her. Every masked bastard in the building had run in the opposite direction, back to the entrance. No one even noticed her as she hid in the corner.

Still, she tried to be stealthy as she made her way over to the opposing hallway, opening every window slot on every door as she passed, looking for Adrian. She passed empty room by empty room, stranger by stranger, growing more frustrated with every failed attempt. She felt somewhat bad for leaving behind the various other prisoners she spotted, but she had no time to lose.

Suddenly, out of the main hallway, someone stumbled in, causing Colette to raise her stolen baton in surprise. 

The bronze skinned young woman wasn’t wearing a mask, and she could see the look of shock on her face as she noticed Colette. She was wearing some kind of variant on the masked soldiers’ armor, and her straight black hair was done up in a long ponytail, her straight across bangs choppy and messily done. She looked up at Colette with visibly wide eyes. Colette couldn’t help but notice the yellow lambda symbol that she wore on an armband strapped to her bicep. The woman ducked out of the doorway and plastered herself against the wall, then continued to stare at Colette.

Then, she opened her mouth and spoke with a heavy British accent.

“Gordon… Freeman?”

… Huh?

Colette was baffled; It must be some other Gordon Freeman. Not Gordon Freeman as in… the rookie at the office?

“What?” Was all she managed to say, brain swamped with sudden confusion.

“The… The suit, you… I didn’t know you were so…” The woman searched for words, also seemingly baffled, “Pretty?”

Colette blinked.

“I’m not Gordon Freeman.”

“What?” 

“I-I, listen, I don’t know who you are or why you think I’m Freeman , but I’m looking for someone, and I really need to get a move on.” Colette stammered, getting a bit flustered, before she began to turn away.

“Wait! I’ll— I’ll come with you.” The woman followed her, “Even if you aren’t Gordon Freeman, you have that suit and… you should come with us. It’s not safe here.”

Colette speed walked down the hallway, moving rapidly from door to door, opening the slots and slamming them closed when she didn’t find Adrian.

The woman followed closely.

“If your person’s in one of these, well… let’s just hope we’re not too late.” She said grimly.

“The hell do you mean?” She mumbled, desperately trying to smother her growing panic with frustration.

Then, Colette spotted it; an open door, just down the hall. Colette dashed toward it, throwing open the door to find a slumped over figure, dressed in a familiar grey and green uniform. The one light in the dim room shone onto him like a spotlight, illuminating the scene before her. He was strapped to the chair, head nearly in his lap as blood dripped from his face, which wasn’t visible to Colette.

Colette’s heart sank to the bottom of her stomach, and cold panic began to spread through her body as she rushed over, falling to her knees in front of Adrian.

“Kid?” She tried quietly, and there was no response.

The woman’s words repeated in her mind. Let’s hope we’re not too late.  

Colette practically tore off his restraints, waiting for any physical response to her actions. But there was nothing. Finally, she reached up two gloved hands and gingerly cupped his face, lifting his head up so that she could look at him closer.

“Kid? Kid, look at me!”

Adrian didn’t move, and Colette would’ve been convinced he was dead, had she not spotted subtle movement behind the shadows in his eyes. Slowly, she saw brown eyes turn, and lock onto hers. He was alive. But when Colette looked into his eyes, all she could see was pain. He was in so much pain.

“I’m gonna get you out of here, Adrian, just… Just hold on to me.” Colette’s voice cracked as she attempted to secure a hold on the younger man, dragging him upwards and off the chair.

When she attempted to get him up, he simply slid to the floor. Colette fell to her knees in front of him, slinging his arm around her shoulder and attempting to pull him up again, but he once again hung limply. Over the pounding of her heart, Colette felt cold rage grip her, and she looked up at the straight haired woman.

“What did they do to him?” Her voice was quiet, deep, as she took in shaky breaths.

“They tortured him. The Combine used these,” The woman gestured toward two square panels that were fused to twin automated arms, propped up at the head of the chair, “to jolt electricity directly into his brain. It… kills most people in under ten minutes.”

Colette placed Adrian carefully across her lap as she tucked his shoulders to her chest, scooping up his legs as she lifted his limp form off the cold concrete. The straight haired woman looked nervously from the door to Adrian, but Colette hardly noticed. She was too busy silently seething, cradling Adrian to her chest. The woman was silent for a moment, then she spoke again.

“I’m sorry but, we’d probably best get out of here. CP will be moving back here any minute now, and we don’t have any time to lose.” She nodded towards Adrian, “You’re going to want to come with us, we’ll… We’ll try our best with him.”

Colette’s eyes were still firmly fixed on Adrian’s bloodied face; once bruised only by her backhand, it was now littered with lacerations and angry red marks. She gritted her teeth, chest flooded with guilt, and when she squeezed her eyes shut, the sight was burned into her eyelids. Finally, she opened her eyes to look at the straight haired woman.

“Lead the way.” Colette told her.

Chapter Text

Adrian cradled in her arms, Colette followed the straight haired woman, who had drawn her rifle and was walking protectively in front of the two, defending them from harm. Colette had no idea what kind of conflict she’d been dragged into, and she couldn’t exactly find it in herself to care. She just wanted to get out of it as soon as she possibly could. She heard the straight haired woman clear her throat quietly in front of her, and Colette braced for conversation.

“So, uh, his name is… Adrian, right?” She asked awkwardly, glancing back for a second.

“That’s none of your business.” Colette told her, metal boots echoing on the cold floor as they walked.

“I was just curious about whose life I’m saving.” The woman sounded slightly off put, and Colette sighed, choosing to focus on the back of the woman’s boots as they walked in silence. 

They were dirty.

“My name is Tara, by the way.” She said, seemingly talking to fill up silence.

“Huh.” Colette told her, not in the mood to respond, staring at the ground. 

There was suddenly movement up ahead, and Tara stuck an arm out to push them backwards and against the wall.

“Hide!” Tara hissed, and Colette pulled Adrian closer as she flattened herself against the wall. 

She was defenseless, holding Adrian. Colette was putting her full trust in this stranger, in order to help her protect this almost -stranger. Colette wasn’t the selfless type but, damn it, Gina wasn’t here to play hero. Colette would have to do it.

Finally, the footsteps reached them, and Tara swerved her gun to point at the figures who emerged. But instead of more Combine, there were a few people, dressed in similar outfits to the one Tara donned.

“Tara! We were worried you’d, well--” The man in front asked, and Tara gave a relieved sigh, lowering her gun.

“Arlo! Lina! God am I glad to see you,” Tara smiled, then her expression turned serious, “Listen, we’ve gotta get out of here, we’ve got someone who survived Combine electroshock.”

“Okay, we’re about done here anyway.” The older man in front-- Arlo-- said, before giving Colette a once over, eyes widening, “Wait a minute, is that…?”

Tara followed his gaze, and Colette glared at the man. Tara’s face soured.

“If you’re wondering, no, that’s not Gordon Freeman.” Tara started walking along with the rest of the group, and Colette followed behind in silence.

The group led them out of the building, ducking behind crates and walls to avoid gunfire and being spotted, as they saw other lambda dressed people begin to withdraw as well, leaving a trail of Combine corpses in their wake. Colette had a million questions, but she chose to hold her tongue until Adrian was given proper medical attention. She looked down at his face again, willing him to stay alive. Stay alive.

Finally, they approached the towering, enormous black gates, and they were ushered through gaps in its towering black pillars. Once they were through, Colette spotted a host of ramshackle cars parked just outside the gate, with someone hurriedly pulling a large brown tarp off of them. 

“Run for the cars, hurry!” Arlo yelled, and the group started to sprint, running for their lives.

Colette’s thighs burned as she ran with Adrian, even with the added assistance of the suit, but she kept going until her lungs screamed for air and she felt sweat drip down her face as she saw people shot down around her. She scrambled to follow the group to the nearest car, a run down scrap of metal, where she was ushered into the back with Adrian just as Arlo hopped in and began to drive.

Colette watched as one of the women, Lina, and her previous escort Tara jumped on the car, hanging onto the outside as they shot back at the Combine, speeding across the dusty grass. Colette turned her gaze downward and put two fingers to Adrian’s neck, checking for a pulse. Her own heart was pounding so hard in her chest that it hurt. There was a pulse. It was faint, but…

Colette squeezed her eyes closed, knowing there was nothing she could do for him. So she just sat and cradled his head closer to her chest. 

“Hold on kid.” She whispered, barely audible over the roar of the vehicle and the skid of the tires.

After a few tense moments, the gunshots faded, and Tara and Lina swung back into the car. Lina took the passenger’s seat next to Arlo, and Tara swung inside next to Colette and Adrian, careful not to plop down on Adrian’s feet. She stared at Colette, then at the ground. Then, Tara leaned in, a small smile on her face.

“He’ll be alright, don’t worry. We’ll patch him right up…”

She trailed off, and they both sat in silence a while longer. 

“I still don’t know your name.” Tara spoke up again, then she made a dismissive gesture, leaning back, “If you don’t wanna tell me, it doesn't matter.”

Colette looked up at her, and found that oddly, she wanted to respond. Colette shrugged, finally giving in to her talkative nature.

“Colette. Dr. Colette Green.” She stared straight ahead.

Tara looked surprised, then she smiled. It was a nice smile, Colette decided. It vanished, as Tara’s gaze snapped forward, and she grabbed the nearest exposed pipe.

“You might want to hold onto something!” Colette heard Arlo shout from the front, and Colette pulled Adrian closer with her left arm, grabbing onto a pipe in turn.

“Aw shit, hold on!” Tara yelled next to her, and Colette looked forward, watching as they started down a rocky slope, roughly bumping and tumbling down as they went. 

Colette gritted her teeth, trying to stay as stable as possible as they cascaded down the hill. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing back a wave of nausea as she was tossed around the back of the car, letting out a yelp as she was roughly thrown in the air and slammed back down, taking a hand off the pipe to hold Adrian closer to her.

Then, as suddenly as it started, it was over, and they were speeding across flat land and through a forest once again. But this time, the forest was not nearly as barren and brown as before. It wasn’t teeming with life, and it was perhaps a bit sick, but it was, unmistakably, alive. Colette felt a surge of rage either way, and she leaned forward, glaring.

“What the hell was that? You could have killed us!” She shouted at Arlo, and Arlo and Lina raised their eyebrows in the rearview mirror.

“But I didn’t. And your friend is still alive?” Arlo responded, and Colette looked down to see Adrian’s shallow breaths as his chest gently rose and fell. 

Colette gritted her teeth, and she was silent. Tara reached out a hand to her shoulder, but Colette flinched away. She immediately regretted it, however, watching Tara’s face become reserved once again, and Colette let herself relax, as much as she could. 

“Where-- Where are we going?” Colette asked, forcing the words out as she turned to Tara.

Tara looked up again, brown eyes curious. Then she spoke.

“We’re heading to the resistance base. Aptly named Jī Dì, or… The Base.” She smiled sheepishly, “They were not very creative.”

Colette could feel the faintest pull at her lips, and she shook her head.

“No. That name’s kinda shit.”

It was another half hour before they arrived, speeding through forests clutching onto the last breaths of life, the sun climbing to a peak in the sky. The car slowed to a stop in front of what looked like an abandoned mine entrance, a gateway of stone and flickering light. There were giant barbed wire fences surrounding the entrance, with watchtowers posted about the perimeter. 

“It’s the returning patrol! Open up the gates!” Colette heard someone yell, and the chain link fence rattled and rolled out of the way, clearing the way for Arlo to pull in, down into the rocky mine. 

The walls were lined with strung up electric lanterns-- evidently they had gotten the power working here. There were a few branching side tunnels, and there were people milling about the place, staring as the car drove past, some whooping and cheering them on. For where they lived, they seemed to be in high spirits, Colette thought.

Instead of turning into any of the side tunnels, Arlo pulled through the main tunnel, emerging on the other side into another open, outside area, where there was a lot full of large brown tarps, similar to the ones used to hide the vehicles back at the city-- Colette assumed this was their parking lot, of sorts. Arlo pulled in and parked the ramshackle car, and Tara got up from her seat next to Colette, looking back at her and raising her eyebrows.

“You need help with him?” 

“No, no I’m fine.” Colette responded, lifting Adrian with her as she stood, legs shaky.

They immediately rushed him to the medcenter, which was already filled with various other injured patients, Colette glued to his side, until they pushed her out for inspection. It was for ‘privacy’, or something, but Colette decided to sit outside the door, not quite trusting this whole operation. She got strange looks from everyone who passed, and a few people approached her, asking if she was Gordon Freeman. No, she was not Gordon Freeman , she had snapped back, and, sitting there, she still couldn’t figure out why everyone was so obsessed with him.

Her thoughts drifted to Gina as she sat, half an hour turning into one, turning into two. She wondered what she would’ve done now, how she would’ve reacted to this entire situation. Probably better than I have, Colette thought grimly, remembering her kind blue eyes, her professional but sweet disposition.

After a while, Colette looked up to see Tara emerge from around the corner, dressed down from her combat vest and attire, appearing to have cleaned up. Under the layer of grime revealed smooth dark skin, and she carried a small tub of warm, steaming water and rags.

“Can I sit here?” She smiled awkwardly, nodding to the seat next to Colette.

Colette shrugged, and Tara shimmied forward and took a seat next to her, hair swishing behind her. Tara reached in and grabbed a rag, swirling it around in the water gently, opening her mouth to speak, before closing it again. Colette stared at her in confusion.

“I brought some wet… rags.” Tara told her, holding one up for her, water dripping back into the bowl, “God that sounds stupid. I brought you some wet rags in case you wanted to wash your face, or your hair or something.”

She reached behind her and unhooked something from her belt, and held out a blue water bottle to Colette as she balanced the tub on her lap.

“I also brought some water, if you wa--”

Colette’s eyes lit up and she took the water from Tara, unscrewed the cap and immediately began to drink, gulping it down like a woman gone mad. It felt like pure bliss as she felt the cool water go down her dry, dirt caked throat-- she hadn’t had any since Black Mesa, when she’d tried to grab water from various dispensers and fountains as often as she could. But the human body was not meant to go without water for a day and a half, and she gulped it down eagerly, it dripping down her chin with the movement.

She finished the bottle, pulling away and wiping her mouth on the back of her glove. Colette turned to Tara, remembering her presence, and she handed the empty bottle back to her, a slightly sheepish expression on her face. Colette cleared her throat.

“Thank you.” She said, voice feeling less rough than it had in days.

Tara stared at her, blinking, before smiling.

“Yeah, no problem. That was quick.” Tara noted, then she picked up a rag, “I made sure to heat this up-- here, there’s some dirt on your face here, just…”

Colette felt the warm press of a towel at her cheek, and gently, Tara dabbed the dirt off her face. Colette sighed in embarrassment, but even so, it felt… Nice to have someone take care of her like this. Colette decided this was a good time to ask questions but, before that, she thought she would just… sit here for a bit. She felt her eyelids droop, then, heavily, they closed.

Chapter Text

Pinned auburn hair, blue eyes. Adrian remembered her description. He suddenly didn’t want to.

As he opened his eyes, darkness gave way to blinding, burning white, the normal lamplight feeling like bright searchlights, pointed directly at him. The world spun as he attempted to move, overwhelming and nauseating, and he squeezed his eyes closed against it all as he broke into a cold, heavy sweat. He turned and vomited over the side of his cot, caught by a bucket placed by his bedside. Adrian hung his head, heaving until he emptied the barren contents of his stomach, the very insides of his skull screaming in pain. 

“He’s awake.” Adrian vaguely heard someone say, and he slumped back onto his cot, panting, mouth tasting of scum and bile and acid.

Adrian drifted in and out of consciousness, but he remembered her description. He knew Gina. He had to tell…

Adrian couldn’t think, he wanted to clutch his head but he was paralyzed with pain and fear. But he remembered Xen. That time in Black Mesa that he spent alone-- He remembered seeing her dead body, laid unceremoniously across the pulsating, tangled ground. He wished he didn’t remember. Adrian vomited again, even though his stomach was empty, and he hung his head heavily, feeling despair sink into his very bones.

He wished Barney was here.

“Kid?” A familiar voice, gruff from sleep, said to him, and Adrian heard a chorus of concerned voices behind it, a ‘he’s not ready yet’, and a ‘you need to wait outside’

Adrian clenched his teeth as he felt tears stinging at his eyes, migraine pulling at his brain. He gathered the strength to look up, and found himself looking straight into Colette’s green gaze. It was filled with relief. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself scooped into an uncomfortable embrace, hot face pressed against cold metal. Still, he sunk into it, blinking away painful tears, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. 

He swallowed, then, unblocked, the words came spilling out.

“C-Colette I… She… I know, back on Xen I…” Adrian rasped, voice quaking with pain.

“Shh, shh, we can talk later.” He felt a gloved palm run along his head, and suddenly, he no longer had the strength to speak.

He felt tears roll down his burning cheeks, waves of nausea and pulling, prying pain gripping his aching head. And suddenly, he no longer had the strength to stay awake. He just let himself fall into Colette’s arms and into blissful darkness.

-

“How are you doing, kid?” 

Adrian was sitting at a ramshackle table in one of the various rooms at the base. Colette leaned against the rocky stone wall across from him, dressed in ill fitted, torn civilian clothing. It was the best they had, apparently, besides the too-tight tank top and baggy jeans that Adrian was wearing-- from which he’d already gotten a few approving looks from passing strangers. A blanket was wrapped around his shoulders, and he was drinking some unknown tea out of a chipped coffee mug.

“Been better. But better than before.” Adrian shrugged, raising the steaming mug to his lips and taking a sip. He hated tea, but he suddenly didn’t care, cringing as he swallowed the bitter liquid.

It had been a few days since he had woken in a haze, Colette rushing in to see him before he was ready. This was the first time they had gotten to talk alone, and the first time Adrian had woken up without a debilitating migraine. He had never gotten migraines before…

Before… 

The wound was too fresh. He reached up to touch his cheek, phantom pains tracing the now only lightly scarred skin where Michelle had struck him across the face and dug in with her fingers. Adrian didn’t want to think about it. 

“I really thought you were a goner, you know?” Colette told him, and Adrian looked over at her to see her staring at the ceiling, a small smile on her face, “You should’ve seen yourself.”

Adrian was quiet again, taking another sip from his tea. The memory of what he thought may be Gina bounced around in his head, threatening to pull out that terrible ache again as he watched the smile fade from Colette’s face.

“Did they fill you in on how… On how long it’s been…?” Colette asked tentatively, and Adrian nodded, jaw clenching as he remembered the way he found out.

“Yeah. Between the headaches and the… everything I still haven’t really had time to process.” Adrian said, a heavy pull on his heart as he placed his mug on the table and pulled his blanket tighter around himself.

“The world’s gone to fucking shit.” Colette said quietly, “And we haven’t been there for any of it.”

Adrian was silent, still thinking about Mich. Then, he spoke up.

“My sister was 17 when I left.” Adrian responded, willing his voice not to quaver, “I met her, Colette. She’s with the… The Combine.”

A look of surprise crossed Colette’s face, and Adrian continued.

“She’s a grown woman now. I did the math; she’s 32 years old. Almost 33.” He let out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head in grief, “How fucked up is that? My little sister is ten years older than me. And I wasn’t there for any of it. And now she’s murdering people, torturing them and I…”

Adrian ran his rough palms over the length of his face, taking a deep breath. 

“And she almost killed me. This wasn’t supposed to happen, none of this was supposed to fucking happen.” He spared a look up at Colette, whose expression was soft, sad, “And he…”

Barney was 41 years old. If he was alive at all. Adrian balled his hands into fists. They were going to stick together, be there for eachother. Another vow broken . Colette was silent, before speaking again, averting her eyes.

“Gina was my partner.” She said, quiet and wistful, “She and I have been dating since ‘98. I guess that’s… I guess that’s 17 years ago at this point. She was 25.”

Colette’s voice was brittle in a way Adrian had never heard before, and she squeezed her eyes shut, lowering her head.

“She’d be 40.” Adrian saw a tear slide down Colette’s face, and she looked up, a bitter smile on her face, “Considering she already had grey hairs, she probably has a full head of silver at this point.”

Adrian buried his face in his hands again, leaning forward. He longed for the safe, emotional barrier that his gas mask supplied, wishing he couldn’t be read like a fucking open book.  Colette was quiet.

“Kid? What is it?” He heard her voice, tentative from across the room.

“Fuck. Fuck. ” There was no way to put it. How could you put something like this?

“Adrian?” Colette’s voice was barely a whisper, and Adrian could tell she’d moved forward, closer.

Adrian looked up at her. The bitter smile was gone, replaced with a look that was deadly serious, some fear behind those green irises. Adrian couldn’t breathe.

“There was a woman in… In Xen.” Adrian forced himself to look Colette in the eyes, forced himself to speak, “She had Auburn hair and chopstick pins in it. She was wearing a tan…” breath, “A tan HEV suit. She was…”

“She was what, Adrian…?” Colette spoke after a pause, expression once again dead serious, and filled with overwhelming fear.

Adrian didn’t want to say it. But he had to. He had to, as he stared into those bright green eyes. 

“She was what?” Colette said, slower, eyes sharp as she watched Adrian. 

“She was…” breath, “When I found her, she was… dead. I’m--” Adrian felt himself being grabbed by the collar, dragged forward by Colette. The tea spilled, boiling hot on his skin, and Colette’s green eyes were overtaken with rage, panic.

“Liar!” Colette yelled, hands shaking violently as they knotted in his shirt.

Adrian didn’t think, in a trained motion he darted a hand up and immediately disarmed her hold on him, stepping backwards. His torso stung, scalded, but he kept his eyes on Colette’s, which didn’t cool down as she clutched her wrist. She charged toward him again, throwing a swift punch at Adrian’s face, which he caught and held tightly in his own fist. Adrian tried to speak, feeling adrenaline mix horribly with the deep sorrow that was rooted in his chest. But he felt his feet swept out from under him before he could utter a word, and suddenly, he was sent plummeting to the cold, rocky floor. 

Colette straddled him and grabbed Adrian by the collar, tugging him off the ground as she raised up an arm to deliver another punch. He was reminded, staring at the clouded rage in her eyes, of a spike of pain in his arm as he was shot by Bailey. A chokehold around his neck as he was exposed to a sniper by Kelly. A vice grip on his chin as his teeth were caved in by Michelle. Looking directly down the barrel of a pistol and into Barney’s burning hazel eyes. 

Here he was again.

“Colette.” Adrian choked out, gritting his teeth in anticipation of another punch.

Surprise flitted across Colette’s contorted face, and suddenly, she stopped, chest rising rapidly up and down as she breathed. Colette’s violently shaking grip on his collar loosened, and she lowered him slowly to the floor as her other arm fell down to her side, swinging limply. Her eyes slowly cleared, transforming into a deep seated despair, horrible and true. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks, and she put her face in her hands, beginning to weep.

Adrian sat, paralyzed, watching her let out wretched sobs. His heart rate was still rapid after being attacked, adrenaline starting to fade out of his veins as she sat back and began to let out stifled whimpers. Adrian remembered how he had felt when he thought he had lost Barney. She’d spent two years with Gina. And he had shattered that with just three words. Adrian didn’t… He… He hoisted himself into a sitting position, before, heart racing, he leaned forward and embraced her. 

She went stiff, and Adrian squeezed his eyes closed, bracing for a shove, or a backhand, or a punch. Instead, he felt Colette lean into the touch, beginning to shake with sobs once again. Adrian held her tighter, and he felt strong arms move from her face and wrap around him, squeezing him until he could barely breathe. 

They just sat there like that, until Colette stopped crying. Until their breathing returned to normal. And then after that, they embraced, sitting in silence. An all encompassing silence, the world beyond them, the bustle of everyday life in The Base was tuned out. It was difficult to break… but all things ended eventually.

“I’m sorry.” Adrian whispered, breaking the surface of that all encompassing silence.

Adrian heard Colette take a deep, shaky breath, loud in his ear. Neither minded the intimacy.

“I’m sorry too.” Colette said, stroking a hand over his head, burying her face in his shoulder.

Chapter Text

It took another full week for the two to recover physically, Colette significantly weaker after exiting the HEV suit, and Adrian plagued with short but frequent debilitating migraines. They spent it all together, mainly sitting in silence piled atop one another, Colette catching up on 15 years of scientific discoveries that she’d missed. Adrian mainly just napped in her lap. Both knew that they would never really emotionally recover, and they made peace with that. They just held onto each other.

After that week, the two officially joined the Resistance, and Colette worked behind the scenes with the scientists, working to find ways to fight the Combine. With his leadership skills and tactical knowledge by nature of being an ex-marine, Adrian quickly adapted to Resistance life, rising in the ranks and becoming a leader of the City 11 Resistance, working in the underground railroad and on the front lines to liberate civilians and battle the Combine.

Colette learned to appreciate Tara’s company, and slowly, she opened up to her; soon, they became close, too, through sleepless nights of research, but also through forced ‘self-care breaks’. Tara enjoyed proclaiming that she was the reason Colette hadn’t keeled over and died from overexhaustion yet, but Colette could beg to differ when Tara brought her out to the courtyard and teamed up with Adrian to ‘train’ her. Colette repeatedly got her ass whooped, but she also got faster, stronger.

All the while, Adrian and Colette grew incredibly, irreversibly close. Through raucous victory parties and through moments of silent company, they had each other, and they knew. They both knew. Especially on the late nights Colette stayed up, mourning the love that she once had, and Adrian the one he never had. Soon they no longer had separate rooms, and sooner, they no longer had separate beds. 

It was a full year before Colette was ready to don the HEV suit again, and she carried the memory of Gina. She’d always carry the memory of Gina.

Someone had to play the hero, after all.