AN: I wanted Chell to have a role in combat that involved helping Chase. He was so insanely overpowered in the earlier parts of the story so I tamed him up a little bit and thus opened up a combat role for Chell.

Chapter 21: The Upgrade

Chase was abruptly awoken by a large metal object smashing into him. The next thing he knew he was lying on the ground in a pool of water and broken glass. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember anything. He didn't even know his own name. Eventually a part of the white celing turned darker and his vision finally sharpened to reveal someone standing over him looking down at him and studying him.

Then it happened, he looked the person in the eyes and saw a man with a briefcase flash in front of him and then, literally, his whole life flashed before his eyes... He remembered everything... Even stuff he didn't know before. His entire existence seemed to snap back to normality in an instant. He could feel his body again, he knew his name, he recognized the woman who was looking at him, he was overwhelmed.

He scrambled back and braved his back against a wall while trying to let his mind slow back down to normal. Chell sat diwn beside him and tried to be comforting, but it had no effect.

After the longest three seconds of his life, Chase finally felt in control of his mind a body again. "Ok that was scary as hell..." He thought to himself. It was then that he remembered that Chell was beside him hugging him. He returned the gesture by putting an arm around her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, not moving.

"Yeah." Chase answered. "We should get out of here." He added.

"Can you stand?" Chell asked standing up.

Chasw remembered all the sutures that were in him. "Maybe..." He said, shuddering at remembering the "surgery." He proceeded to try and stand up. He was sore, but he was able to do it.

"What did they do to you?" Chell asked running her hand over a line of stitches.

"Should I tell her?" Chase wondered. In the end he decided that getting out of here was more important.

"Well?" Chell said.

"I'll tell you later." He answered, "For now, let's get the hell out of here."

"Umm... You're not going out like that are you?" Chell said sounding a little embarrassed for him.

"Oh yeah," Chase thought to himself, "I'd better suit up." He continued aloud, "Alright guys what did you try and make me into?"He looked around the room for his old battle gear and couldn't find it. After a few moments he turned around and looked at where he'd been lying only a minute ago. The pod was drenched in water from breaking the glass and there was a little but of blood on the floor from where the glass had cut him. As he was studying the pod something behind the chamber caught his eye. It looked like a suit that he'd seen combine soldiers wear, only larger. He reached around the container and grabbed it.

"They were gonna make you a soldier?!" Chell exclaimed.

"Well duh." Chase andwrred, "They'd be stupid not to. I was a marine beforehand and..." He cut himself off. He still didn't want to reveal too much.

"And...?" Chell asked.

"Nothing..." Chase replied. "Where are Alyx and Gordon? I assume at least Alyx made it since you're here."

"They both did. We managed to find Eli and then I did some poking around to find you and made my way over here."

"Ok." Chase said. "First, thanks for coming after me. And second, where are they now?"

"They're looking for Judith and then they're going to use the Combine's teleporter to get out of here."

"Alright," Chase said. "Let's go meet up with them."

"Uhh how are you gonna find them?" Chell asked.

"I'm sure they'll call the overwatch in to get rid of them." Chase explained. "Wow," he thought to himself, "I probably know a lot about the combine that I just don't realize."

"The what?" Chell asked. He'd seen that coming.

"Soldiers." He answered. He was looking around for his weapon(s).

"Oh, ok." Chell said. Just then he noticed it on the wall. It looked like a shoulder mounted version of the strider cannons. He walked over and studied the weapon. It was roughly 5 feet long and had a shoulder mount and two triggers.

"Huh," he thought out loud, grabbing the weapon. "I wonder what these do." He added as he put the weapon over his shoulder. It didn't have any kind of sights but that didn't bother him. With explosives you just have to hit the general area to do damage.

"That thing's big..." Chell said, "Are you sure you can handle it?" Chase had an inaproproate thought for whatever reason.

"Yes." He said hiding his laughter and putting the cannon into it's carrying position. He continued to look around hoping to find his chaingun, or rather a Combine variant of his chaingun. He wasn't disapointed, he saw what he recognized as a heavier caliber version of a Combine pulse rifle, like the one Gordon had picked up outside of Ravenholm.

"Ok you're kinda scary now..." Chell said.

"Yeah," Chase answered, "And to think you'd be fighting against me instead of with me had you not broken me out of here."

"Yeah..." Chell said. "I'm glad I did."

"I'm sure you are." Chase said. "Let me grab my helmet and we'll get out of here. I don't want to get cornered in here." He added as he grabbed the helmet for his suit and put it on. Then he began to hear voices coming through the helmet...