Alyx had been through the teleporter numerous times. However, the sensation of being transported molecule by molecule over untold kilometers still unsettled her. It was as if she felt a layer of air in between each of her atoms; as if she were coming apart very slowly. But then came the reassuring feeling of coming back together very solidly in the other end of the teleport.

She remembered her very first time through the teleporter. She was but a young girl, only about twelve years old. That first transport was horrifying for me…she thought, but if it was that traumatic for me, it must be hell for Violet.

Fighting against the various forces acting on her body, Alyx turned her head to see Violet, as unaffected as ever. There was a slight change in the mutated woman's demeanor though; her eyes had a far away glaze to them, a drastic change from her almost-unbearable gaze.

Then, there was a jolting feeling that sang painfully through Alyx's body. And from the exaggerated motions of Violet, she was getting it much worse. The telltale blue threads of plasma from the chamber were coursing through her black armoured body, surrounding her in an almost web-like pattern. The woman wore a mask of unbearable agony on her face; Alyx knew Violet would scream if she could.

Suddenly, the sensation of teleporting was quickly replaced with that of falling. The bluish threads vanished with a crackle of electricity. And then there was black.

--

Alyx slowly woke again, aware of only two things.

One, she had a pounding headache. And two, she sure as hell was not in her father's lab.

She looked around the room she now found herself in. It was dingy and rather filthy; an old and stained mattress sat in the corner atop a rusted frame. The wallpaper was peeling and molded, even completely gone in some places. The room smelled old and the pungent odor of spilled paint lingered in the air like a perfume. Light filtered in weakly from a grime-covered window, pooling on the floor. And in that pool of light sat Violet, her black body plates gleaming almost wetly even in the weak light. At Alyx's awakening, her reptilian eyes narrowed and she tensed, stretching toward the other young woman curiously.

How they ended up in this strange room was beyond Alyx Vance's reasoning, but she knew they couldn't stay long. After all, Civil Protection was known to conduct random building searches from time to time. She slowly rose to her feet, but was discouraged when her vision swam threateningly. She sank into a crouch and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

An irregular quiet skittering to her right told her that Violet had stood up and paced. Alyx opened her eyes, noticing that the mutated woman had a strange look of urgency. She stamped and tossed her head (in a rather antlion-like way, Alyx thought). Alyx managed to stand up with only a mild sense of vertigo this time. Violet tossed her a look that clearly said "Follow" and dashed out of the room and down a hall to the right.

"Wait!" Alyx called, not ready for the abrupt start. She exited the room as well, to just glimpse a sheaf of auburn hair winding around the corner ahead. She sighed and quickened her pace despite her lingering nausea. Rounding the corner, Alyx slammed into Violet, not expecting the woman to have stopped so abruptly. Alyx stumbled slightly and caught herself against the wall, but Violet had not even wavered. Regaining her composure, Alyx turned to Violet, only to see her still standing firmly in her place, staring straight ahead where a staircase wound down to floors below.

She turned her head (a hauntingly pneumatic motion) to gaze at Alyx. Alyx nodded and Violet took off down the stairs at a slightly slower pace, but still briskly moving along in her fluid yet surefooted gait. Alyx followed as best she could. Somehow, she knew that there was no stopping now.

As Violet touched down on the next floor, a few steps ahead of Alyx, she tensed. At this, Alyx froze, for she heard a sound that made her blood run cold.

It was the heavy footfalls and electronic voiceboxes of the Combine.

From the moderate volume, Alyx could tell that the noise was coming from a couple rooms over. "Okay, we can easily sneak by them," she said, moving closer to Violet's position. However, Violet had different plans.

She slunk along a moldering wall, towards the door from which the noises were loudest. When she came to the door, she tossed an intense glare back to Alyx, who was stricken with a sick feeling again. Violet had no idea what would happen to her, to them both, if she entered that door. All in one swift motion, Violet turned from Alyx, kicked the door open (on further recollection, Alyx recognized that it actually flew off the hinges), and entered the room. A gravelly, surprised utterance of "Hey, what the-" from one of the Combine was all Alyx heard before a loud, sizzling crackling filled the air. The sound sent a high-frequency buzz through Alyx's head, making her involuntarily flinch. She saw Violet's tall form silhouetted by an electric blue glow, then the crackling ceased, as did the buzz.

An unnatural silence filled the building.

A/N: There is no excuse why I haven't continued this. But I'm not going to dwell on why I haven't continued in a while, I'm only going to apologize for it and be SO EXCITED ABOUT NOT WRITING ANOTHER BORING LAB SCENE WOO!

Feedback is always appreciated. Feel free to tell me I'm a human butt wipe for disappearing for so long. :D