(Wow, what do you know? I got chapter 4 done already. That's a record! Well, except for the prologue, I got that done in one day. Before continuing, I'll state that I'm not sure if that hive arm alien is officially named alien grunt or alien drone, but drone sounds cooler, so I'm using it. Well, I guess it's time to answer your nice reviews!

Jason Storm, Weasel, and Jodi: Good that you liked it!

Blizrun: Thanks man, I've corrected my errors. Goes to show PlanetHalflife can't be trusted on the weapons department!

Hao: Don't worry, Dylan and Gordon will have a rematch. I mean, that was just way too short to be the only fight they have!

Oh, and Blizrun, I have an event here which ties in with past occurrences in your Half-Life fan-fic. Just for the fun of it, I'll let you try to guess what it is. If you can't guess it, mention it in your review. Yeah, and if you don't want me to use it, mention that too, I'll delete it then.

Ah well, let's get to business. Here's chapter 4!)

Chapter 4: "Tertiary Objectives Completed"

"C'mon, how can it take so long?"

Dylan only slightly caught Manners' words as he was sitting on the side, his head laying against his arms. Greshwald was still alive, but his pulse was incredibly low. If they didn't get out of that hellhole, Greshwald wouldn't make it. Dylan didn't care about what was going on, he was only thinking of how his buddy was laying on the ground, filled with bullets.

"Don't be sorry Dylan, you didn't do anything," he heard and slightly looked to the side to see Adam coming up.

"That's the problem," Dylan answered looking away. "I could have stopped him. But no, I stared in wonder at Freeman."

"I guess I really can't cheer you up, huh?" Adam remarked slouching down next to him.

"So, what's Manners doing anyway? I wasn't listening," Dylan asked staring up. Manners was impatiently waiting as the Rail Team sergeant was working a control panel in the wall.

"We're going to go around the rocket testing facility," Adam explained. "Rail Team had found a sealed pathway looping around the facility which comes right next to the silo door in the office complex."

"A-ha!" The Rail Team sergeant piped. "Here we go! The security code's 9-6- 7!" He then pressed the buttons and the wall started lurching open, revealing another railway with four parked carts.

"It took you that long to remember a code like that?" Manners asked, irritated. "Oh well," he sighed and waved to the others. "Let's move, our time is short. We'll have to carry private Greshwald on one of the cars. Who wants to watch over him?"

"Me," Dylan said slowly standing up. "I have to take care of him, I'm the reason he's like that."

"I'll join him," Adam said. "I'll keep watch on the path while you take care of Greshwald, ok?"

"Enough chatter, move!" Manners called leaping onto the front cart. The others climbed on and started moving down the path. Dylan and Adam carried Greshwald onto the last cart. Greshwald groaned, and Dylan's face became overwhelmed with worry. They jerked forwards while Dylan was cleaning up the bullet wounds. He looked up as he heard a teleporting voice and saw that more of those multi-eyed creatures Rail Team called 'houndseyes' appeared. The carts started to drive faster as they rolled away from the chasing aliens.

"FIRE!" Manners screamed to the others as he piloted the cart. The air filled with bullets as they picked out the houndseyes. A soldier screamed as he found himself hoisted into the air. "Shit! Barnacles!" Manners yelled as they continued driving. The last houndseye fell onto the ground and the marines now looked up to watch out for the barnacles.

The drive was uneventful after that. The occasional barnacle was the only enemy they saw. The whole trip Dylan sat gloomily, cleaning up Greshwald's wounds. If only he had stopped him...

Soon they came to another wall with a security panel. "Wait, I remember this code," the sergeant said, and Manners sighed with relief. The carts came to a halt as the sergeant jumped off. He walked to the panel and started typing. "It was... 6-4-4!" The wall slid open to reveal a pathway.

"So, we're here, the office... yikes!" Manners yelled and jumped backwards as soon as he had stepped out of the doorway. The ground in front of him filled with bullet holes. "Shotgun shells!" Manners exclaimed and the soldiers started running for the door.

Dylan saw as they came out that to their left was a guard's office, except the door was open and a scientist with a SPAS-12 was standing in the doorway. "Stay back, you!" he called and fired another shell. Dylan retreated backwards. A soldier fell on the ground, his stomach ripped open.

"Where the Hell did that scientist get a shotgun?!" Manners cursed, but Dylan could already guess why. Freeman had been here.

"We're gonna have to bring out the big guns, sir," a marine said pulling the pin off a grenade. He threw it behind the corner. Dylan heard a short scream, which was silenced by an explosion. They peered behind, but Dylan stepped backwards in disgust. The whole guard's room was covered with blood and body parts. The grenade must have landed right in the scientist's hands.

The marines now came out and studied the room. Manners silently cursed. There were only three ways out: one was to the rocket testing facility which they had detoured, the other was a broken elevator, and the one path that they had wanted to use was closed by an emergency fire door. Dylan and Adam carried Greshwald and left him in the guard pen. The room was unimportant. There were a few TV screens showing what a security camera saw and a large button used to open the silo door. Just as they had lost hope and the marines slumped onto the ground, they heard human voices.

"Damn, another fire door," a muffled voice came from the blocked pathway. The marines turned to stare at the path. Adam, in surprise, looked at one of the security cameras and saw that there were marines behind the fire door. "Bring the C4," one of the marines ordered, and another came up to the door, sticking plastic explosives onto the door.

"C4's set, sir!" the marine said, and they all backed away. "Get outta there!" Adam called to the marines in the hallway. "They're gonna blast the door on top of ya!" Manners leaped up and ran to the other side, the soldiers right behind them. A huge explosion filled the corridor and the fire door blasted forwards. It fell right in front of the marines. Through the door came more marines, and both sides stopped to stare in wonder.

"Who the Hell are you?" the new marines' leader asked.

"Lieutenant Manners and the reinforcements for Dam Team, and you?"

"Sergeant Brigson of Patrol Team, sir," Brigson saluted. "Hey, are you those guys who we were supposed to pick up?"

"That's right, Brigson. What's Patrol Team doing down here?"

"Well, after patrolling Black Mesa perimeters, we were called to assist Office Team in breaching the office complex." He then turned and started walking into the way he came from. "Follow me sir, our osprey is waiting outside. We can transport you to the dam." And I won't have to report to Major Hickory on the near loss of his reinforcements, Brigson thought in the back of his mind.

"Wait, sir," Dylan called walking out. "We have a severely wounded man, and we need help to carry him." He and Adam were both tiring from carrying around Greshwald.

"Right. You three!" Brigson pointed at three of his men. "Go help them!"

So the joined group of Patrol Team and Dam Team set off through the area. Dylan observed that there were soldiers in every room, their finger ready on the trigger. The reason came apparent soon enough as a green flash appeared in one of the rooms and a pack of alien slaves teleported into the room. A fire fight erupted, during which Manners and Brigson's teams continued as the Office Team soldiers covered their backs.

Dylan finally started to understand the hopelessness of the situation. No place was completely secure: the aliens could appear anywhere. And how many of them were there? Thousands? Tens of thousands? MILLIONS? How could they ever win?

"Well, here we are, the elevator," Brigson pointed. Dam Team was thankful for this: they were so close to getting to the dam.

"Aw DAMN!" Manners yelled as they had all climbed in. The room started to flood with bullsquids and alien slaves. The marines in the room started to madly fire as the elevator climbed upwards. "Don't worry, sir," Brigson said surprisingly calmly, "we can handle them easily."

But they all started to doubt as they were greeted topside by the rood crashing from a stray mortar shell. They ran outisde from the small house and saw that soldiers were running all over the place, firing at dozens of slaves. The osprey was not on the ground like Brigson had foretold, but was flying around, providing mortar fire on the slaves. Dam and Patrol Team immediately joined the fire fight, which slowly started to turn the tide towards their favor. The soldiers hid behind crates, firing at the slaves, and dodging down as the aliens' shock loads were near completion.

"Dammit, get the Hell down here!" sergeant Brigson screamed to the osprey through his radio, and the copter started to lower.

Dylan flew backwards as a lightning hit him square in the stomach. His suit protected him slightly, but the shock knocked the air out of him. He saw Adam appear and fire the slave that had shot him. "You ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," Dylan grinned climbing up, "looks like I'm taking beatings from every direction today... oh damn, duck!" he screamed pushing Adam down as another lightning came. The osprey fired one final mortar shell, blowing the aliens away. Only one single alien was standing, all of its half a dozen eyes widened with terror. It started to madly scream to the sky in it's strange dialect.

"What's it doing?" Adam asked.

"I think it's... calling for back-up," Dylan grimly said.

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The alien slave couldn't believe what had happened. For one moment his brethren were clearly winning despite the burning rain from the huge bird in the sky. Now, more "humans" had appeared and had mercilessly slaughtered his brothers. Now the only hope he had was to rely on his lord to offer aid.

"O lord Nihilanth, who art ruler and creator of all Xen, your children are fighting a losing battle. Be so kind as to bestow upon us your holy soldiers, and your children will triumph through the haze of death and decay," he repeated the plead used to ask for the alien drones, the Nihilanth's prime soldiers.

"I bestow upon you my great gift, O slave, but know that as payment for this gift you will be forced to toil on for greater good, and that if my children are to still lose and you are still alive, you will be condemned to endless torture," the Nihilanth's telepathic answer rang in the slave's mind. He now felt more relieved as he saw the first drones appear.

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"What the..?" Adam asked and Dylan's eyes widened as he saw the flash of the aliens' teleport appearing in front of them. The portal in front of him was twice as large as the ones the squids and slaves came from, and Adam shook his head in disbelief at the monster they faced.

The creature stood above all the marines, and was twice as wide as an average human. Two arms as thick as tree trunks protruded from the beast's armored shoulders, ending in clawed stumps. A third arm came out from the immensely muscular stomach, grasping through the air. The face of the creature looked like a gorilla had been in a car accident, it's mouth twisted by a 90 degrees angle. Eyes burning with malice peered from under it's armored helmet.

The brute bellowed like a bear and swung at Adam. One swing: it was all it took to send Adam through a wooden crate. Dylan stepped backwards as this new adversary lifted it arm. The claws spread open, revealing a small hole. A sickening noise like someone had stepped on a cockroach rang through the air, and Dylan saw something twist in the air from the alien's hand and then felt a sharp pain in his leg. He looked down to see a small thorny insect trying to dig into his skin. Dylan pulled the thing back and threw it back at the alien. It whizzed across the air and landed in the alien's chest. The brute winced for a moment, then angrily fired more hornets.

"We haven't got time for this!" Manners yelled running for the osprey. "You Office team guys can deal with them alone!" The other marines started to run after their lieutenant, dodging flying projectiles as more drones started to teleport into the courtyard. Dylan helped Adam up, and the two ran into the osprey, which started to rise into the sky. "Greshwald?" Dylan worriedly asked, but he sighed with relief as he saw Patrol Team's medic treating Greshwald, who was barely alive.

"I have to catalogue the new alien down and send it to the officers," sergeant Brigson said and started writing a report. "Hmm... let's see, what should we call it?"

"Drone, sir," Dylan suggested, "alien drone."

"Ah, that has a nice sound to it," Brigson agreed. " So let's see, that's AD... mmm... this is the 7th type we've seen, so AD-7... we've seen eight of them, so AD-78... woah!" Brigson leaped to the side as he heard a slam and a needle pointed through the osprey's wall. The others leaped to the center as the walls started to fill with squirming thorns. Dylan sneaked forwards and peered out of a window. The drones were firing at the osprey, which passed over the battlefield and towards the dam.

The soldiers down in the courtyard were hiding behind crates, trying to use grenades to take out their opponents, but the drones' projectiles had a mind of their own, and were able to twist around corners, plunging into the marines. Both sides seemed to be equally matched.

The osprey flew over a large rocky hill and before the marines' eyes, the dam rose mightily. The osprey came from the side where the water was stored, and Dylan's hopes started to rise. The dam was barricaded from the middle with two tanks. A missile turret was placed to fire between the tanks' turrets. And behind all of these contraptions, a squad of marines were resting from the remains of a battle. Alien bodies were laying all over. An Apache helicopter passed by the osprey, the pilot waiving to the marines in the chopper. Though brutal, the sight was one of the most beautiful ones Dylan had seen. Manners seemed to agree.

"Thank God, they've survived," the lieutenant said. "Tertiary objectives completed, we've reached the dam."

The osprey started to lower to the marines' side of the dam, and Dam Team's reinforcements started to rappel to meet their comrades.

"I believe it'd be safer for your friend to stay up here," the medic said to Dylan before he rappelled. "He'll be safe from enemies up here and I can probably save his life, too."

"You do that, Doc," Dylan said, and his gloominess started to fade. "Come drop him by if you happen to fly by here." Then he grabbed the rope and lowered onto the dam. The osprey turned away and started flying back where it came from after Dylan landed.

Upon landing on the dam, Dylan searched for Adam and met up with him. "Whew, we finally made it."

"Yep. Hey, where's your buddy, Greshwald?" Adam asked.

"He's staying with Patrol Team for the time being. But we ain't safe yet. There's still a shit-load of aliens out there."

By this time, a soldier with an air of importance walked towards the marines, and Manners snapped up to salute him. "Major Hickory, sir!"

"At ease, Manners." Hickory answered. "Well, you arrived. Turns out we didn't need your help after all," he pointed at the passing Apache as he said this, "but any new troops are always welcome."

"Sir, you're going to need all men you've got soon. There's a new type of alien out there, and it's faster and tougher to kill than the AS-33. They'll be here soon."

Suddenly Hickory's radio started acting up. It was sergeant Brigson. "Sir, we've got BIG trouble! There's a helluva lot of aliens coming your way, and they look pissed off. This has got to be the biggest group of freaks so far!"

"Good that you told us. Well then, don't just stand there. We'll have to prepare. Move!" he pointed at soldiers lounging on the tanks. They quickly scurried into their iron vehicles, one man staying up to watch from the hatch. The soldiers all ran to the side of the dam, their trigger fingers ready. Now Dylan saw that the other side of the dam was closed shut with huge gates. Nothing could get through that, not even the drones.

Dylan stood there, pointing his rifle in the direction of the dam. They were all silent. The quietness started to press on Dylan's mind. Finally, after about five minutes, the attack commenced.

Down the road ran an unearthly amount of slaves and drones. Dylan couldn't count the amount, but it seemed like all of the aliens were trying to attack them. They all ran down towards the dam. Hickory lifted his hand above his head, waiting for the right moment.

"FIRE!!!" he yelled, and both tanks let off their rockets. The shots struck into the extra-terrestrials, sending bodies flying over both sides of the dam. The missile launcher started sending deathly hail at the aliens.

"Infantry, commence fire!" Hickory called, and now the air filled with bullets. More and more aliens were dropping, but they were slowly advancing. The tanks sent more roaring death at the aliens. Now the air started to fill with drone hornets, going straight for the kill.

"Deploy gas bombs!" Hickory yelled, and now a group of marines threw grenades to the aliens' side. They burst open, releasing some form of neuro- toxin, causing the hornets to drop to the ground. Yet as the gases cleared, more aliens advanced at them.

Now a new threat appeared as three alien dropships appeared from over the mountainside and commenced to drop drones all over the dam. How all those monsters fit into the ship, Dylan couldn't fathom, but then, he didn't have time as he continued picking out aliens. The Apache intercepted the dropships, and fired a load of missiles among the ships.

"Flame throwers, move!" Hickory ordered, and a group of marines with gasoline tanks on their backs and gas masks climbed over the tanks and started firing burning death among the aliens. Drones and slaves alike dropped like flies over the dam's railings and into the water.

Dylan laughed sadistically as he kept dropping off the alien drones. No longer did he remember his disliking of fighting, he only wanted to see the hellbeasts die. Sure, those hornets hurt like Hell, but most of the things were killed by the gas bombs. Plus, the flame thrower troops were able to fight with their gas masks. They were steadily keeping the alien threat at bay.

Then a fourth dropship appeared to the side of the dam. Dylan's eyes widened as the ship started flying high speed at him. A dozen marines were knocked off the dam, Dylan along with him. In horror he saw the water coming straight at him. A split second before splashing, he rolled into a ball, hoping the pain would be softened. He struck the water hard, his suit and position taking some of the pain. Dylan resurfaced and saw that the water was full of marines and aliens who had survived long enough to land in the water. The marines were fighting a brutal battle. Dylan didn't want to stay around, so he started climbing up a tower to the side.

At first it went easily, then a drone on the dam saw him. The creep tried to fire at Dylan, but the hornets tired before getting near Dylan and plummeted into the water. Then a fifth dropship passed by, and the drone leaped off the dam and landed on top of the ship. The ship started floating in front of Dylan, and the drone commenced fire. Dylan couldn't fight back, so gritting his teeth, he slowly climbed up, trying to ignore the pain in his back.

Luckily for him, the Apache passed by, and fired a missile at the dropship. The ship seemed to realize the threat, and sped off so fast that the drone lost balance and fell in the water.

"Payback's a bitch," Dylan grinned pulling the pin off a grenade and dropping it onto the floating drone's stomach. The creature blew up, and Dylan continued upwards, chuckling all the way. He didn't even stop to think of how he was acting, he only coolly walked back to his position and started firing again.

By this time, the aliens were at a heavy loss, and Hickory opted for offensive maneuvers. "Tanks, advance!" he waved, and the iron hulks jutted to motion. They slowly started to move downwards on the dam. A slave missing a leg laid on the ground and watched in horror as the tank tread came at his face. The drones, now feeling uneasy, fired a few shots, but the insects bounced off harmlessly. The drones stared at each other in horror and turned to run. The slaves, realizing their leaders were retreating, panicked and went in every direction that they could. Some were smart enough to run the way they came from, while others leaped over both sides of the dam.

"We did it!" Dylan called to Adam, who ran up to him.

"We got rid of the aliens! High five!" Adam cheered and the two slapped each others hand and laughed.

Manners stared at them and smiled. He loved to see new soldiers winning their first big victory. But as he turned to stare at Hickory and the rest of Dam Team who were throwing insults at the aliens, he just shook his head. He knew the aliens they had fought were just a fraction of all the enemies in Black Mesa. The battle would continue for a long time.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the huge gate on the dam, a group of slaves lead by two drones marched along. They had successfully killed a small group of marines on patrol, and now continued searching for more enemies. The drones were brutally ushering the tired slaves on, never getting exhausted themselves.

Then, one of the slaves saw a crate in a side alley between the buildings. The curious things were everywhere, and finally he went to see what they were. Despite the fear of being beaten by the drones for not continuing, the slave curiously scratched the crate and saw it could be damaged. With a large strike, the slave broke the crate open and found an M4 rifle. He twirled it in his hands, studying the object, fitting his large claw into the trigger.

Then the looming shadow of one of the drones appeared behind him. The drone barked and beat the slave, causing the slave to have a flashback. All throughout his life, he had toiled for the good of Xen and been beaten by these things. Each day he had to suffer beatings for slacking off. Another struck came. The pressure was too much. A third strike came, and then the slave gave up. He wailed and accidentally pulled on the trigger.

Not even the drone realized what had happened until seconds later. The bullet had flown straight into the drone's head. He stood dumbfounded for a second, then crashed backwards. The other drone angrily came up, but testing the trigger, the slave fired a bullet right in front of the drone's legs. Now assured and knowledgeable in the art of guns, the slave lifted the M4 at the drone, which worriedly stepped backwards. The slave then waved to his comrades, which ran over and started emptying the crate for guns of their own. Only one idea passed in their minds. Rebellion.