Harmonic Coincidence

by CapoExecutor

With Black Mesa in chaos and set for annihilation, playing with a Displacer Cannon is like playing roulette. But by chance, it can be the catalyst that would bring two unlikely individuals on collision with each other.

Note: I don't own Half-Life

Warning: Possible OOCness.

IIIII::::IIIII

Thirty-one year old Gina Cross hadn't counted on the recent events taking a heavier toll than she had anticipated when helping to trigger the resonance reversal with Dr. Richard Keller. Her partner, Colette Green, seemed more energetic despite being six years her senior. What was it in older people being more pro-active?

At the moment, the redhead was lying on the couch in some medical scrubs while her HEV suit was on the adjacent chair. The empty office provided some quiet comfort and she needed it after a long day of fighting Xen creatures along with HECU soldiers. It wouldn't be long before she, Colette, Keller, and the other scientists would have to leave and get to the surface to escape the chaos of Black Mesa. But for now, Gina was content in just spending what little time was given to rest. She slowly went back to sleep, thinking about what the next moves would be.

But alas, fate had other ideas as a few hours later, Gina was awakened by the sound of screaming and gunfire in the distant corridors.

"What the hell…?" Gina groggily spoke as she got off the couch before picking up the Beretta off the nearby coffee table. It wasn't long before she heard alien sounds just outside the hallways and the redhead quickly got into her HEV suit. The HUD came online, showing her to be at 100 in health while the suit's protective field was at 34. Gina had been in worse situations than this. With her Beretta in hand and five spare clips of bullets at her belt, Gina silently opened the door to find herself staring at the sight of a strange alien creature that she had never seen before. It was unlike any of the Xen creatures that she had encountered as it stood at almost eight to nine feet in height with pale blue skin and what looked like exoskeleton plating on the body. She could hear the creature mutter in some sort of alien language before noticing the dead body of a familiar brunette wearing a maroon HEV suit. It was Colette, lying on the floor motionless. Gina felt a rage overtake her before bringing the Beretta to bear, firing rapidly at the large creature. The shots rattled the alien, who turned and began firing electrical blue beams at Gina. The redhead quickly took cover before hearing the fire cease such that she quickly sprung out and emptied the clip of her gun into the creature, piercing through its single eye before it eventually dropped to ground. Gina heard a hissing sound before seeing what looked like a very large blue ant with enormous pincers ambling towards her. Gina didn't hesitate as she walked over and stomped on the large ant, feeling an electrical discharge from its mangled body before stumbling back.

Turning to Colette, Gina knelt at her side before seeing the badly charred sections of her torso along with what looked like sharp spikes protruding from her chest.

"Gina…" a voice coughed and Gina looked to see that Colette was barely alive.

"Colette, don't speak. I'll get help." Gina spoke before Colette grabbed her wrist.

"No, it's too late for me…. Dr. Keller and the others are dead." Colette spoke. "The resonance cascade… had done far more damage… than expected. There's this… new race of aliens… from another world beyond Xen… and they're more aggressive."

Gina's jaw dropped. First, this accident with the resonance cascade with Xen denizens causing chaos and now there's another world getting involved?

"Colette, take it easy and rest. I'll look for some med-kits." Gina tried to say.

"There's no time!" Colette cut in before coughing blood. "Listen… before they showed up, Dr. Keller… and his team managed to construct an XV11382 Displacer…but the unit status is unknown. However… the plans of it and the unit are in the Gamma Labs…Use it… to… escape…. this….hell…."

Gina's eyes widened as Colette died in her arms. She was alone now with no one to guard her back. Fighting back tears, the redhead steeled herself. Colette and the others may be dead but Gina wasn't going to give up. No, she would try to escape Black Mesa.

"Thank you for everything, Colette." Gina whispered before moving the body of her dead friend into an empty office. Leaving the room, she shut off the light such that Colette could sleep peacefully in the arms of death. Remembering her last words, Gina reloaded her weapon before making her way to the Gamma Labs.

From corridor to corridor, Gina noticed that the new race of aliens was far more lethal than the ones of Xen, forcing her to use her wits and skills on a higher level than ever before. The ones that fired electricity along with the ones that shot spikes and used sickled-claws were her main problems, surpassing the threat level presented by the Vortigaunts that were still present and even battling the unfamiliar aliens. The fighting between the two species made it slightly easier for Gina to make her way to the Gamma Labs but the redhead still found herself putting down the opposition. Gina eventually found the Displacer near the charred bodies of Dr. Keller and his fellow scientists before reviewing the plans. So far, it looked like they had constructed the unit carefully although the redhead triple-checked the workings to be sure that they were in working order.

Holstering her Beretta that housed her last clip of bullets, Gina hoisted the Displacer and was about to activated it when the sounds of teleportation erupted in the lab before she saw the green light. From the green light emerged one of the aliens that shot electrical beams and the creature immediately opened fire just as she pressed the secondary fire trigger on the Displacer. The device finished charging up just as the beam of electricity struck and the unit imploded, stunning her for the moment. Before she could recover, the green light of teleportation engulfed Gina before she felt herself being whisked away from the Gamma Labs and into an underwater cavern of sorts that cast a red light everywhere. Gina choked as she tried to swim for air but the strain from having to fight her way through the Gamma Labs weighed her down and it wasn't long before the redhead lost consciousness. But before she closed her eyes, she thought she saw a shape moving towards her.

IIII::::IIII

Twenty-two year old Corporal Adrian Shepherd couldn't believe on how suddenly he and the soldiers with him had been ambushed the moment they ventured through the ruined storage yard. Even with one of the soldiers using the M249 SAW to the best of his ability, they were slowly being pushed back by the Race X aliens. It wasn't long before he ordered them to fall back to the ruined building but amid the retreat, the engineer and three others were gruesomely dispatched by electrical beams from the Shock Troopers. Tossing the spent M4 and drawing his Desert Eagle, Adrian took aim at the gas tank on the back of the dead engineer, waiting for the majority of the Shock Troopers to pass by before firing. His aim was true as the gas tank detonated, tearing the hostile aliens asunder.

Seeing no other hostiles going after them, Adrian checked his status to see that his PCV charge was at 45 before turning to the medic that was Private Andre Martinez.

"Private, put the Glock away and grab a better weapon." Adrian ordered as he holstered his Desert Eagle and retrieved the discarded SAW before loading in a fresh ammo box.

"Sir, yes sir." Andre answered with exhaustion before taking hold of an M4. Once they were set, both marines moved through the yard, maneuvering past the large canisters. Seeing a warehouse ahead with its large doors damaged and open, both of them made a dash for it when Adrian heard Andre cry out in pain before a dull yellow spore grenade struck the medic, blasting him into a wall with a sickening crunch. Turning around, Adrian could see a Shock Trooper unleashing deadly electrical beams at him before dodging the enemy fire. Taking aim, he quickly fired bursts from the SAW before the Shock Trooper went down permanently. But it wasn't the end of his troubles as Adrian heard a loud roar before seeing the large creature that fired purple electricity. Dodging, Adrian returned the favor and the heavy rounds tore through the creature, which exploded in a burst of purple energy. The corporal went over to the medic, checking for a pulse but found none. Shaking his head sorrowfully, Adrian took the Beretta and the spare clips before proceeding into the warehouse. Activating his night-vision goggles, he navigated through the ruins before reaching a large door that had been cut open by something more powerful than the blowtorch of an engineer. He noticed the HEV charging station along with a medical dispenser console. Attaching the cable of his PCV to the station, Adrian charged the unit to full power.

Once done and emerging outside, he found himself standing on one end of a dam, the water on the left far higher than that on the right. In the middle of the dam, blocking his path to the other side, a monstrous tank of a creature stood. It was blue, scaly, and had a single glowing red eye that seemed to stare straight at him. Thick ropes tied around its' arms and legs bonded it to the guardrails on either side of the dam and it struggled against them. On the other side of the dam's pathway were two HECU soldiers, both of whom were firing at the large creature to no effect. The bullets bounced off its armor. Another sparkling light, like the ones he had encountered in the habitat preserves, quickly followed by two more that flew by into the cloudy sky.

Adrian's gaze travelled over to the water on the left. A control tower was erected out of the water, level with the dam and allowing a good view inside from where he was standing.

There, he saw the sickly man in the business suit and holding a briefcase while talking on his cell phone. Adrian was very tired in seeing him as the man had a talent of appearing and disappearing at whim. It wasn't long before the mysterious man hung up and walked into a portal behind him, vanishing from sight.

Taking aim, Adrian fired the SAW on the large creature. But he was specific, targeting the alien's red eye such that it thrashed about before eventually breaking free of its bonds a few minutes later. But it was only a split second later that a huge explosion erupted and the large creature was no more than a bad memory.

Seeing the soldiers on the other side, Adrian was about to greet them when multiple beams of electricity shot forth from a pass near their location, causing the pair to open fire at the source. But the two Shock Troopers that had teleported in overwhelmed the two soldiers before noticing Adrian far away such that they ran to the dam and began closing the distance. Adrian opened fire, killing both while also emptying the ammo box for the SAW. Going back inside the warehouse, he reloaded his weapon with a spare ammo box. Storing the other ammo box onto a rear pouch behind his PCV, Adrian decided that it was time to move on. Crossing over the gap in the dam, the Corporal was about to proceed further when he noticed more teleportation portals appearing up ahead and several Shock Troopers appeared. Outnumbered, Adrian turn to retreat just as the electrical beams soared past him. The explosion that took out the large creature had cracked open a drainage pipe and Adrian figured that traveling through was a lot better than sticking around. He quickly slid into the pipe before finding himself being carried away by the current as though he was in a water slide. A section of the pipe gave away and it wasn't long before he joined the main current that brought him to the outside. Emerging from the muddy waters, he found himself on the sandy shore before looking up to see two figures ahead. HECU soldiers with M4 rifles.

"Shepherd! I didn't think you'd still be alive!" The soldier with the gasmask spoke.

"Well, miracles happen." Adrian replied.

"Look… I don't know what those Black Ops are up to, but it doesn't involve getting us out of here alive. We've got no choice but to fight our way out." The soldier with the bandana said.

Adrian nodded before checking himself and weapons before seeing that all of them were ready and intact.

"Alright, I'm ready." Adrian spoke, bringing the SAW into ready position.

"Then let's go!" the soldier with the bandana spoke before he and his comrade ran ahead.

Adrian went after them before seeing the pair engaging Black Operatives around a pass that led to murky water.

Noticing movement from his peripheral vision, Adrian turned around to see a team of five Black Operatives appearing at where they had been earlier before opening fire with the SAW, killing them all while taking a few bullets to his ribs. Luckily, his PCV held out and Adrian noticed a team of five Black Operatives emerge. Did they just come out from the storm drains?

"Enemy on our flank! I'll take them out!" Adrian yelled as he quickly unloaded the SAW on them until the ammo box was empty before quickly reloading.

"I'll cover you!" the bandanna soldier replied, taking aim and firing.

Once he had the last spare box loaded, Adrian fired the SAW until the enemy team was down and out.

Seeing no further hostiles that would flank them, Adrian turned around to see the gasmask soldier throw a grenade.

"What's up ahead?" Adrian asked, hearing the heavy gunfire.

"Mounted machinegun." The gasmask soldier replied before an explosion erupted and the firing stopped.

The three quickly went across the water past a ruined helicopter before reaching a sandy hill where a 50-caliber mounted machine gun stood with a dead Black Operative next to it.

More gunfire rang out and Adrian turned to see both soldiers engaging a pair of Black Operatives before one of the latter threw a grenade, which took out both soldiers. Yelling with fury, Adrian unloaded the SAW, watching the bullets pierce through the Black Operatives. Silence greeted him as he was alone once again. But Adrian was getting used to it. Tossing the empty SAW aside, Adrian figured that he would need to get some more firepower. Moving around, he picked up the M4 assault rifle and two spare clips from the dead Black Operative near the mounted machine gun before checking it over and firing a few shots, seeing that it was in working order. With the M4 in hand, Adrian then backtracked to the area where he had earlier blasted the flanking enemies before seeing that one of them had the MP5 submachine gun. Luckily, the other two had wielded M4 assault rifles but both of them only had one spare clip each before taking them.

Adrian was about to head back when he noticed something shiny in the murky water where the storm drains were. Taking a closer look, his eyes widened as he saw that it was a Displacer Cannon. Having used one during his trek through the habitat preserves before that strange green tentacle destroyed it, Adrian knew how to handle the unit as he walked over to retrieve it. Checking the charge, he noticed that the Displacer Cannon had 60% energy left. During his earlier treks to that strange world, Adrian had found a number of dead scientists in HEV suits along with medical kits, charge batteries, and ammunition cases. While he wasn't exactly a gambler, Adrian figured that a small trip to that world might give him something better. Putting his gasmask on and pulling the secondary trigger, Adrian found himself falling until he hit water and saw that he was in an underwater chamber of sorts. After a trip through the sewage drains, he figured that a good bath was in order and this delivered rather well. It was maroon in color and illuminated by strange lights on the floor. There were two areas with one on his left and the other on his right. Looking up, he could see that the chamber wasn't entirely filled with water before heading to the surface. The space between the surface of the water and the ceiling of the chamber was only a little over a foot in height but it was enough for Adrian to use as a breather just in case he needed air. Going back underwater, he picked up the ammunition case and ignored the return portal before swimming to the next area. There, at the bottom of the underwater floor, Adrian caught sight of two batteries along with a scientist in an HEV suit, the latter not wearing a helmet and was actually moving.

Was she alive? Adrian was speechless but his instincts kicked in as he dropped the spent Displacer before grabbing hold of the person and swam to the second exit portal. Warping back to the sandy bank, Adrian took off his gasmask and looked to see that the person is a woman with her red hair tied behind her in a bun. Noticing the Beretta in the holster on her belt, Adrian removed it before placing it in the rear pouch of his PCV. Placing fingers at her neck, the Corporal could feel a pulse before placing both hands on her abdomen and began resuscitating procedures. A while passed before the red-haired woman coughed and she opened her eyes, revealing sapphire irises.

"Are you alright?" Adrian asked.

"I'll…make it." The woman replied before getting a good look at Adrian. She quickly pushed him to the sand before springing to her feet.

"I removed your gun earlier before reviving you." Adrian replied.

"What do you want with me?" the redhead demanded. "Going to execute me just like your soldier friends did to silence the science teams here?"

"No, I'm not going to do that." Adrian replied in a frank yet tired tone of voice before explaining on how he had found her.

"Instead of letting me drown, you saved me just to interrogate me then?" the woman sneered.

"I know the military had been sent to silence witnesses but I'm not doing anything of the sort. Technically, I didn't get any orders as my unit had been shot down before we were debriefed on the situation here!" Adrian protested. "My whole unit is dead the moment we arrived."

"Yeah and I bet some other commanding officer from another unit told you your orders." The redhead snapped.

"No, by the time I woke up from the helicopter crash, the military was ordered to withdraw." Adrian replied. "Now the government is sending in Black Operative teams to do the real clean-up jobs and kill everyone they find, including stranded military units that didn't evacuate."

"So you're at the receiving end of an extermination order. Doesn't that feel wonderful?" the redhead spoke with sarcasm laced in her voice.

Reigning in on his anger, Adrian kept calm for a moment, not letting this red-haired woman in the HEV suit strike a nerve. "I'm just caught in the middle of all this. I don't expect you to believe me but I don't have time to waste on whether or not I'm just another soldier that enjoys killing civilians. I only care about finding a way out of here and maybe thwart whatever plans that the Black Ops have in store."

Reaching behind his back, Adrian drew the confiscated Beretta before tossing at the woman's feet.

"Do whatever you want." Adrian added, pulling his gasmask over his face before taking off. Crossing the murky waters, he reached another pass before making a turn. It wasn't long before he reached a wide area after turning a corner.

About the size of two football fields side by side, the sandy area gave way to a huge complex at the far end, the dull grey merging with the gradually fading light of the sky. In the middle of the area, a broken down two story building simply sat, looking like it had been bombed repeatedly and then blown up from the inside. A water tower stood proudly just ahead of it and to the right.

Beyond the water tower, also on the right, Adrian could see an impossibly tall gate leading to another part of the complex behind it. Adrian guessed that was the way to go. He stepped out on to the field.

After just three steps, a loud bang followed by a high pitched whine drew his attention upwards, where he saw a grenade not unlike those from the secondary trigger of an M4 twirling down towards him.

He quickly dove for cover behind the wall of the ruined building before running back to the rocky formation at the corner pass. From there, he could somewhat see the grenades being launched from a higher elevation.

"Hey soldier-boy." A feminine voice spoke and Adrian turned to see the red-haired woman. She was holding an MP5 submachine but thankfully didn't have it pointed at him.

"Yes?" Adrian asked.

"You are greedy." The redhead replied. "The M4 is a lot better than the MP5. Is it your nature to just take the biggest gun you see?"

"Um.. no." Adrian replied.

"Anyways, I heard the explosion." The redhead said.

"A big mounted mortar launcher caused it. A Black Operative is using it." Adrian explained. "If I only had a sniper rifle…"

"How about you run point and distract while I take him out?" the redhead suggested.

"What are you, my mom? Adrian asked.

"How old are you?" the red head inquired.

"22." Adrian replied. "And you?"

"That's classified but I am older than you nonetheless." The redhead answered.

"You sure look younger than whatever age you are." Adrian remarked.

"I'm touched, soldier-boy. Now will you go run point or shall I pull you over my knee?" the redhead asked.

Figuring that it was a lot better to comply, Adrian got to his feet before running onto the field. Sure enough, the Black Operative saw him before shooting the mortar launcher at him. While running, Adrian fired the M4 to get his attention and the Black Operative was so occupied that he didn't see the redhead appear in his blind-spot. Despite the higher elevation, the redhead opened fire with the MP5 and the bullets found their target. The Black Operative stumbled before a pink mist erupted from the back of his head and he was dead.

"Nice shot!" Adrian called out before the redhead joined up with him.

"So what now?" the redhead asked.

Adrian pointed to the small door at the far end of the field. "I'm going to check the inside."

"I'll cover your flank." The redhead spoke. Slowly opening the door, both of them entered. As Adrian turned the corner, a lone Black Operative opened fire with an MP5, causing him to stagger and lose balance as the force of the bullets pounded on the PCV. He looked up to see the Black Operative closing the distance as though intending to finish him before drawing his Desert Eagle. But before Adrian could pull the trigger, gunfire erupted and the Black operative fell dead at his feet.

"I guess I really do have to hold your hand." The redhead replied with a smirk on her face.

"Thanks." Adrian replied as he got to his feet and saw that his PCV was at 56 percent charge. Looking around the interior, he noticed the radio with the HECU logo before establishing contact.

"This is Corporal Adrian Shepherd. Any HECU units out there?"

"Adrian, is that you? Listen, we're holding up across the mortar field but we're pinned down by a group of Black Ops. We'll open the bunker door but you better get over here quick!"

Explosions and gunfire followed before Adrian heard agonizing cries. The Black Operatives must have been waiting for them to open the bunker door before storming the place.

"The Black Ops are outside then." The redhead remarked as she loaded a fresh clip into her weapon.

"Let's not disappoint them." Adrian replied, reloading a fresh clip into the M4 before he moved outside. One of the Black Operatives saw him before opening fire and Adrian side-strafed the shots before returning the favor, downing his opponent. The shootout drew two more Black operatives but the redhead laid suppressive fire while Adrian turned to finish them off.

"Damn it, I'm out." The redhead replied, tossing the MP5 aside.

"Here, take mine." Adrian offered, holding the M4 to her.

"Are you sure?" the redhead asked.

"Yeah, you can keep it." Adrian replied.

"It's very generous of you." The redhead remarked before taking the assault rifle. Crossing the mortar field, both of them entered the bunker to find dead bodies of HECU soldiers and Black Operatives on the floor. While the redhead sifted through the bodies to salvage fresh ammunition, Adrian went around the corner, hearing the sizzling sound of electronics before finding what he thought he heard over the radio: the M249 SAW along with two spare ammo boxes and a small mirror.

"Good thing they had grenades. Find anything good, soldier-boy?" the redhead asked as she rounded the corner.

"What do you think?" Adrian replied, brandishing the SAW with a smirk on his face.

"You really are greedy." The redhead pouted, realizing on why Adrian gave her the M4. "How did you know it would be there, soldier-boy?"

"I heard it over the radio and figured out as much." Adrian replied. "And can you please stop calling me soldier-boy? It's Adrian Shepherd."

"It's about time you told me your name." the redhead remarked. "I'm Dr. Gina Cross."

"Nice to meet you." Adrian replied before looking around and finding a breech in the wall where several large pipelines came out from. He scaled over them before finding a passageway.

"Hey, where are you going?" Gina called out before following.

"I don't know but I think finding more ammo and medical kits are in order." Adrian replied before they continued, turning a corner and reaching a room with stairwells. Using the mirror, Adrian could see a Black Operative on the level above him before tilting it upwards to see movement in the higher levels.

Putting the mirror away and readying the SAW, Adrian whispered. "Ready, Dr. Cross?"

"Just call me Gina and yes I'm ready." Gina whispered in reply, M4 in hand.

With a nod, Adrian burst out of hiding and opened fire at the level above him.

IIIII::::IIIII

Despite the tweaks, this was based off the later part in the level "Foxtrot Uniform" at the point where Adrian arrives at the dam and sees the tied up Gargantua. Adrian can use the Displacer to teleport to an underwater chamber on Xen where there's a dead HEV scientist that looked like Gina Cross.

I had this idea in my mind for a long while and I don't know if there were any fanfics that had Adrian Shepherd meeting Gina Cross.