AN: So this doesn't have a whole ton to do with this story but have any of you guys actually listened to music from Half Life 2? I was bored and curious so I looked up the soundtrack for the game and lord almighty does it fit the atmosphere of the game to a T. I guess that's by design but I still never realized how great the music is for the game.
Chapter 34: The Save.
Chell had made her way around to the back of the citadel and she just happened to look up. Just as she did she noticed a dark shape appear out of the clouds, a split second later she recognized that it was Chase. Her brain went into overdrive for a couple seconds and she was quit to find a way to save Chase with some well placed portals.
Chase came flying towards her and before he landed she fired another portal underneath him to try and slow him down. She repeated the process a few times before placing one last portal to fling him over to where she was standing.
Chase landed right beside her and skidded into a pile of concrete chunks. Chell began to walk over to him as he got up onto his hands and knees. As she was about to ask him if he was ok he held out one finger indicating that he wanted her to wait a moment. She paused for a moment before Chase began vomiting on the ground and did so violently for about 30 seconds before calming down and moving somewhere else to sit on a pile of rocks.
Chell walked over and knelt beside him. "Are you ok?" she asked nervously, "That was quite an episode back there."
"I'm fine." He answered, rubbing his temples. "Those portals just really screw with me and now I've got a splitting headache."
"I'm sorry..." Chell said.
"Don't apologize," Chase said, "I owe you one for that ordeal, I wouldn't be here of you hadn't put on that show."
Chell thought for a moment about what to say, "I just tried to save someone I care about..." she said after she made her decision. Chase didn't say anything he looked at her smiled, or at least the best someone could who had just been through what he just had.
After a few minutes Chase stood up and stretched his lower back out. It was then that Chell noticed a big dark spot on his lower back. Closer inspection revealed that it was charring from something that had happened. The fabric was charred as well as the skin underneath.
"Oh my god..." Chell quickly got up and she felt the charred region causing Chase to yelp and flinch. She reeled back, "I'm sorry," she said.
"It's fine," he said, "that just hurts like hell."
"What even happened to you?" Chell asked curiously.
"An elite soldier hit me with an energy ball, I honestly probably shouldn't still be here," Chase explained, "those usually disintegrate whatever they hit."
Chell was speechless for a moment, she was simultaneously glad he was alive, upset that he seemed to be in a lot of pain, and scared that he might not escape the next time the Combine capture him. "You've got to be more careful Chase." She told him.
Chase turned to look at her with a confused look on his face. He didn't say anything for a moment, he just looked at her before turning back around. "Why?" he asked.
"Well..." Chell panicked for a second, he managed to catch her off guard and now she didn't know what to say without giving herself away. She decided to keep her mouth shut as she felt her heart skip a beat.
Chase chuckled, "Ok, I get it." He said shaking his head a little bit. She thought she caught a smile for a split second.
Just then there was thunder and they both looked up to see something very strange happening in the sky, it looked like some kind of portal was opening in the sky.
"Good god..." Chase said in horror.
"What the hell is that?" Chell asked grabbing his arm.
"That's... the Combine Overworld..."