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(??? POV)
(Somewhere in Black Mesa, a few minutes before disaster...)
*Groans*
F*cking hell. I've said this multiple times, but Sergeant bootcamp should've seriously briefed us about this operation. And yet, he never gave us one. I knew there was something off about this operation from the beginning. Even when we were on the way to Black Mesa, Sergeant Ford didn't tell a single thing about this covert op, or he was just too late and killed before he could explain. Then, it happens. A flying thing hovers above Goose 3's osprey and obliterates them with a laser beam. We got ambushed, and some of us blacked out, including me.
By some miracle, I was dragged off from the open by a medic and woke up in an infirmary. A scientist was seen in the infirmary, trying to help the other soldiers in the room. He looks so desperate and helpless. From what I heard from him, it has been 1-2 days since I got knocked out. That's the most sleep I had since I entered the Military.
Back to the problem, I opened the door to whatever room this was named. It's populated with whatever the security guy said. He said he saw the nastiest thing in his entire life here.
*Groans again* It f*cking hurts man. The Black Ops versus Blue laser aliens and Orange insect purple-ball aliens, who wins? Me. I ended their military contract from their respective world. I was just observing them from above, and then one of these f*ckers shot me on my feet. So I sniped him... Maybe it. The other team decided to shoot me. These Black Ops bastards don't know how to say thanks. So, with a small bit of fracture, hurt limb, and bleeding feet, I entered this room.
I see a rope hanging onto the ceiling above. I hold it and start climbing up. Reaching the ledge, I lift myself and look around. There's a small blue pool on the corner of this platform. I walk towards it and sit down, letting the water flow through my bones and meat, recovering my body. I take this moment to reassess myself for the fifth time and complain about nearly everything that happened in the last three days. I have a list of questions to ask someone. Either it's a scientist, fellow marines, the blue suit guy, or a literal alien.
One of the questions I have in my mind right now is... How in the f*cking world did someone set up that rope in the middle of this chaos?!
Also, I wonder what order we were supposed to do. And seeing this facility get populated by aliens, I bet the scientists made some fatal mistakes. We marines were tasked to... 'Silence' them and cover up their mistakes, I think. And we were quickly overwhelmed. Is that why the Black Ops are here? Cleaning up the mess and taking the trash out... Makes sense.
Alright, I think I have enough reassessment. Time to go and meet that nastiest thing. I get up, dry myself a little bit, and walk to what I assume is a crane. It's broken, disfunctional. I look to the right and... What the f*ck? That looks similar to the portal inside the facility in that chamber, where I chase the HEV scientist who jumps into the green-yellowish orb but fails. This one isn't an orb but a giant purple-squared portal.
Suddenly, something big came out of it. Something green? Wait, is that a worm? Hold the f*ck on. How did this worm have tentacles?? I was genuinely confused. I pulled out my sniper from my back and took a shot at its body. The bullet ricocheted from its skin... Great. I evaded one tentacle attacking me and threw a grenade toward its head and-
*BOOM*
It f*cking survives. I dodged another attack from the worm's tentacle and hit the right eye. It didn't move a single bit, not even flinching. I tried shooting the teleporter gun1This is a fraud. In science name, this gun is called "The Displacer Cannon". You guards will never understand how this works! - Random scientist in Sector C, it didn't get crushed like the other aliens. Right... M249 won't work. Nothing in my arsenal can scratch this freaky worm. Absolutely not.
Convenient ways won't kill this disgusting creature. I saw two turrets on both sides. Both have one orange crystal loaded from above. One on the crane and one across from me, who stands near the crane platform. Yes, I'm standing on the catwalk between those two platforms. And it's super fragile. One hit from the worm's tentacle will bring this catwalk down. Also, the turrets look like the P90 reloading mechanism for me.
I quickly ran to the turret on the crane and aimed at its eyes. A small blue beam hits the worm's left eye, making it roar in pain. It does some damage, but it's not enough. I moved to the other turret and aimed at the right eye and missed. Shit.
The worm protects its right eye with its tentacles and exhales its stinky breath toward me. I went back to the pool room and took cover behind the walls. Awh f*ck. Smells like a cadet's boots, maybe worse than that. Smells like the military toilet seat. After the worm recoils back, I shoot the right eye before a tentacle lands at my head. The worm lets out a howl, opening its stomach. So... In the stomach is the orange orb? Okay. I'll make sure certain scientists write this in their paperclip.
While the worm rubbed its eyes, the abdomen was opened wide, giving me a clear shot of the orb. Seems like that's the core of the worm. I scope in and shoot a bullet into the middle of it. The worm finally flinches. It leans back, raising its tentacles, trying to hit me. I jumped back to the pool room and hid behind the walls. I can hear the electric shock these teleporting orbs made. Did the worm send an alien to take me out? I think so.
I peek out and see a one-eyed tall alien with a blue color. And yes, it is a he. 98% of these blue aliens I defeated are males. Yes, I checked their lower body. It's... Well, disgusting. And that goes for the females.
So the worm isn't alone anymore, seems like I need to poke its eyes more. The catwalk was destroyed, great. I f*cking hate my job. I dodged the stinky breath attack, shot the worm's right eye, and switched to the Barnacles.2Yes, one of the enemies in Half-Life is a weapon in one of the expansion packs. I pinch the barnacles inside, and it shoots its tongue out, reaching the green moss sticking on the crane. I swung ahead to the crane, dropped a grenade for the blue alien, barely dodging the creature's tentacles, and lasered the left eye. Take that you f*cking a**hole.
The worm's stomach is open again, showing its light-emitting orb. I sniped the core, and it released another tall alien... Just f*cking die, dammit.
I repeated the process once again. Finally, for the last time, the stomach is opened wide. I gib the orb with the sniper rifle and take cover behind the crane. At the same time, an earthquake happened. Shaking the room and maybe the entire facility. Suddenly, the worm is... Gone. No blood splatter, no dissolving, no displacement, nothing. As if it was never there, fighting with me. Did I defeat a ghost? Was there even a ghost worm? Following the worm's disappearance, multiple cracks appeared in the air around me. These cracks evolved like the zombies I killed. They evolved into rifts... God, give me a f*cking break.
Then, a rift appeared below me. I fell into it and to my seat in the Osprey. Just like how I got sent here in the first place. But, without Jackson and Tower. I already miss those scumbags. Cause all I can see now is darkness, pure black, without any armaments. There is lighting, though it only comes from the Osprey lightbulb. I stand up and peek through the cockpit window. No one piloted this Osprey.
Where am I?
I sit back down and relax. You know what? It's better to stay here than lying down dead in the facility.
All alone, just like how I used to.
*Sigh*3Mind you, he's breathing with a gas mask on. So the situation feels heavier.
*NGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGG*
The f*ck?
(3rd Person POV)
(City-A, near the Association's building.)
Two rifts suddenly crack open in the air in the middle of the city ruins. A 12-year-old child appeared like a hologram fading in from the first rift. He's lying down unconscious. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. And without a warning, the other rift releases an Osprey, crashing onto the ground. The kid was scared and braced himself for the impact. Instead, the Osprey phases through him and down to the ground below. As if the Osprey is a ghost object. Then, a loud thud was heard on where the Osprey goes through. He turns his head to see a soldier wearing a grey-urban camouflage uniform and a helmet equipped with a gas mask sitting across him.
He waves his hand lightly towards the grunt. And the grunt just shook his head.
Then, the kid squinted his eyes. "Mmm... You know, you look quite familiar... HECU?"4Refer to this link for details. https://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Hazardous_Environment_Combat_Unit
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