Well, here's the pilot! I hope you enjoy this--I tried my best to explain what's happened. This is my longest story thus far, as well. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. Sorry if this doesn't seem that detailed, I have writier's block.

Based on: Half-Life 2 (Valve)
Rating: I'd say just a little over K+
Author's Notes: Just my thoughts of what happened. I tried to make the best sense out of it as I could, let me know how I did.

--

April 7th, 2015

After a long, long time, I finally came across someone I knew. Today was the first day I tried my plan of bringing citizens from City Seventeen to my father's lab, and while it didn't go so well for a first try (you should've seen Doctor Kleiner when I finally got back!), it felt good to see a familiar face. Hopefully this is one step closer to refilling my life.

-Alyx

"Are you sure that you're ready for this, Alyx?"

Such a question made the young woman roll her hazel eyes, her hands placed firmly on her hips. A strand of short reddish-brown hair rubbed against her cheek, which she pushed behind her ear with a single finger.

"Doctor Kleiner…" She took a sigh that hinted the annoyance she was currently feeling. "I've already talked to dad, I have all of the plans set up, don't worry." The former Black Mesa scientist pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose with a forefinger. The attempted comfort of the young adult before him didn't exactly help in calming down his worries. Alyx let out a smile, trying to show Doctor Kleiner that she was serious.

"But, my dear, you are only sixteen. City Seventeen is a much worse place than you might think it is. Thank heavens Black Mesa East is far away from the Combine's reach—"

"Which is why we need to help these citizens get out of here and to my father's lab. Don't worry, Doctor. There's already a line of refugees that'll serve as an underground railroad, plus I'll be there guiding them." She cuffed his shoulder with her hand, a smile creeping up her lips. "How do you think I got here?" Doctor Kleiner nervously nodded to show that he understood. He opened his mouth as though he was about to say something, but paused a minute. He finally let out, "Well…yes, Eli did tell me that your skills with that gun of yours were getting better…"

Alyx couldn't keep a triumphant smile from forming across her face.

Before Doctor Kleiner could tell her any more reasons why she shouldn't go, Alyx was out of the door that hid the secret lab and quickly made her way out towards the streets.

But, my dear, you are only sixteen. So? She was probably the youngest of anyone now—she was only four years old when the Black Mesa incident happened. That was twelve years ago; everyone else should be beyond their thirties and forties now. She had been handling a gun since she was seven years old and driving since she was ten, expertly at that. The only reasons she managed to live through this…this—she couldn't even describe it—was because she had the protection of the others; her father, Barney, Doctor Kleiner…

…and that man, Gordon Freeman. But he had been missing since before the Seven Hour War had even begun. Her father told her stories of how great he was, and how he risked his life that day. But somehow he just…disappeared. She remembered a little bit about him; dark haired, thick-rimmed glasses, a serious look on his face, tall—then again, so were all adults compared to her toddler-sized body back then.

And now that she thought about it…

Whatever happened to Barney?

He acted like an uncle to her—taught her how to defend herself, helped care for her, set up her father's lab in a location far off and unknown to the rest of the world other than to the resistance. Yet he went missing almost a year ago.

Alyx shook her head as she snapped her attention back to reality. She learned the hard way what could happen when you start drifting off at times like these—next thing you know, you could be shot down on the pavement. Speaking of which, where was she, anyway?

The train station of City Seventeen began to show itself off in the distance, although not too far. Doctor Kleiner's lab was at the back of that building; lucky for her, she didn't wander too far while stuck in her thoughts. A soft blue light leaked through the alley ways from electronic signs that usually broadcasted the "Breencasts" each day. At the moment it displayed the time,—it was close to one in the morning—along with the words "The curfew has started. Everyone should be at their tenements." Alyx's fingers twitched as she reached for her custom-made pistol slipped into holster she had hand-sowed out of old material that was connected to her belt. That curfew sign made her feel uneasy; Civil Protection was usually out and vicious at this time. Their stun sticks didn't stand a chance of her pistol from a distant range, sure, but those things hurt bad when you were hit by one.

Alyx narrowed her eyes as she scanned the area. Her plan was simple—any citizens trying to make a run for it at this hour she would help out. That's what she thought was the best thing to do, anyway; this was her first time doing this, so she was unsure how it would go. A distant voice crackled somewhere behind her. She jerked her attention to the source of the noise, pulling out her pistol with the trigger ready to be pulled. Was that Civil Protection? Or was that a citizen? Such a thought was hard to ponder with the emotion she was currently feeling. Alyx took a deep breath as she tried to refresh her mind. A good fighter wouldn't let this kind of thing get to them, she told herself. A good fighter would be ready for anything that might happen.

"You, citizen!"

A better fighter would have seen that coming. The voice was cold and filled with hatred; Alyx spun around to find its owner that of a Civil Protection officer. She refused to move as it neared her. "Citizen!" it repeated again. Her hazel eyes locked with the golden-tinted goggles that refused to show the once-human being behind it. Alyx glared at it and said nothing, yet held up her gun and let its muzzle do the talking. Noises from the rapid fire of the gun along with a robotic dying cry carried itself throughout the alleyway. The radio of the fallen cop stated its number and the section it was currently at, although quite loudly. More voices followed after the radio called—echoing from all different directions, this time. They all said the same thing, all in that cold and hating tone.

Alyx's eyes searched the area as she quickly tried to figure the best way out of the situation. Here they came—the Metro Cops ran in quickly from what appeared to be every single direction, closing in on her, blocking her exits. So, Alyx thought, she guessed that she might have to make one. She raised her pistol again—steadily, aiming at the officer coming from the train station. She figured that she would kill that cop and provide herself an exit out of the mob, and then circle around back to the lab and lose the Combine that might—forget that, they definitely will—follow her. Squeezing the trigger as fast as her finger would let her, she easily shot down the cop, but the others were still moving in way too fast. Her mind stayed focused, her vision only looking at the cop she was about to shoot down. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Before she knew it, she had wiped out half of the crowd. Bodies with blood-covered masked heads and chests lay motionless on the cobblestone ground. Yet, the others ignored the deaths of their fellow officers.

CLICK CLICK CLICK. Before Alyx was able to finish the rest of the charging cops, her ammunition decided to fail on her. "Oh no no no," she quickly muttered, nervous eyes shifting to the oncoming officers. Alyx didn't even bother to reload her gun; it would waste too much time. She clenched her fists, ready to defend her self, when suddenly—

WHACK!
BZZT!
"Oh, god…"

That damn stun stick got to her first, erupting pain throughout her back.

--

"You, get the information out of this one."
"Well, how did you find her?"
"Running around near the train station past the curfew—she doesn't seem to be a citizen."
"Is she dangerous?"
"Affirmative."

Oh god—what the hell was that immense pain that circled throughout her blood? Alyx took a quiet breath as her senses slowly came back to her, yet her strength did not. The voices silenced themselves, but Alyx made no movements. A buzzing sound continuously entered her ears, as though an electronic device was in the room. Beeps from an unknown device occasionally appeared, along with the sound of metal moving back and forth, it seemed. The voices started up again:

"Do whatever it takes to get the information out of her. She might know something about the resistance."
"And if not?"
"Send her to the citadel. Doctor Breen can determine what he wants to do with her."

With that, footsteps could be heard as a door slammed shut. The sound of whatever the unknown beings had in mind didn't exactly made Alyx feel comfortable. A new sound carried itself into the air: the other being left in the room began to type on something, which silenced the beeping and metal-moving noises from an unknown source. The situation she was currently in wasn't exactly one she wanted to be stuck in. Alyx slowly slid her fingers towards her holster, although keeping her eyes shut and trying to look as though she was still passed out. Something cold was felt above her wrists, though, limiting her movement. Ignoring this, Alyx continued to try to grab her pistol.

"Don't move!"

Until the being yelled at her in that cold, hating tone—the same as those Metro Cops had.

Alyx winced to herself as the click of a gun followed by footsteps entered her ear drums. "Do not try to fight back. You have no weapons." Not believing this mysterious being, Alyx quickly slipped her fingers over her holster as far as they could…only to find out in fear that it was indeed empty. Her fingers moved all around the inside of the holster, as though they were expecting to find something, anything.

She finally jerked her eyes open as she began to sweat. She was in some kind of room, sitting a chair, with her arms bound down onto its metal arms. A spot of blood at the foot of the chair made her feel uneasy. A Metro Cop, pistol in hand, in a position ready to be fired, stood in front of a Combine console. A desk was off towards the right of the officer, with her gun resting on top of it.

"Who are you and what were you doing at the train station?" The Metro Cop asked the question in an angry, forceful tone, acting as though it would tear the information out of her brain if it had to. Alyx was expecting this. Without hesitation, she quickly gave a response.

"I'm just a citizen here, trying to get the hell out," she snapped back at the officer, trying to imitate the cold and hating tone its voice filter gave off. Her voice was easily silenced as her eyes met with the muzzle of the pistol the Metro Cop was holding, shoving it closer and closer to her face with its finger wrapped tightly around the trigger. The slightest twitch could send a bullet right through her skull.

Alyx could feel the hair on the back of her neck begin to rise up as fear leaked into her expression. "Hey, no need to get rough," she said weakly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be getting out of her right now." A nervous laughter slipped out of her lips as she tried to struggle out from the bindings that currently forced her down. Oh, come on, come on! She thought to herself, trying to keep her mind from reaching the brink of hysterics.

"Alyx Vance!" The Metro Cop said the words so coldly, so filled with evil that Alyx was afraid that the voice itself would kill her. But wait a sec…how did that cop know her name?

"That is the biggest load of crap I've ever heard!"

Since when did the Combine talk like that?

The cop suddenly holstered its gun and grabbed its mask that covered the once-human face.

"I can't believe you fell for that!"

The face was easily identified by the memories of the teenager as the cop took off its mask. Barney Calhoun was smiling like an idiot at her, looking as though he was trying to keep himself from bursting out into laughter. Alyx sighed out of relief as she was glad that life was still circling throughout her veins, but embarrassment flushed her cheeks with a bright, pink hue.

"Barney? I can't believe you did that!" Alyx's anger burst out of her voice, a sour expression showing quite strongly, but Barney still kept that same smile on his face.
"Fooled you, didn't I?" He ruffled her dark hair as Alyx slowly began to calm down. "Long time no see."
"Same could be said for you," Alyx said, shooting back a smirk at him. "Now uhh…could you let me go?"
Barney walked over to the console and pressed a single button, which made the bindings around Alyx's wrists to click open. She jerked her arms out, rubbing her wrists carefully, looking for any damaged skin. The only damage was that they were a little red, but nothing serious.
"So," she began, although still remaining on the chair, "what happened to you? You went missing almost a year ago—"
"Yeah." Barney took a quick sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Big ol' story on that one, save that for another time. I've tried to reach your father's lab before, but the signal won't go through. But hey, what about you? The hell are you doing here, Alyx?"
"Trying to help citizens to get to Doctor Kleiner's lab so I could take all of them to dad's—"
"Hold up." Barney let a brief moment of silence enter the conversation before continuing, "You mean Doctor Kleiner's lab was here the whole time?" Alyx raised an eyebrow.
"Well, yeah. You didn't know that?"
"Hell no, I've been working undercover for Civil Protection the whole time. Waiting for the chance to kill that damn Doctor Breen." Barney's expression looked serious for a moment, as he took a quick glance at his gun. He then turned around and grabbed Alyx's pistol. "Here," he said, as he tossed it to her. "Tuck that in your sweatshirt and lead me to Doctor Kleiner's." He then grabbed his mask, putting on the face that Alyx had grown to hate within her first few minutes of being in City Seventeen. "I hope you're good at acting," his voice now talking in that cold, hating tone again.

A short moment later, the grunt of the young woman followed by a scream of a filtered voice echoed in the hall of the train station. Heads turned to see Alyx, her hands bounded behind her back by handcuffs with cold sweat appearing across her forehead, being pushed forward by a Metro Cop, stun stick in hand. "To the citadel with you!" it screamed at her, kneeing her in mid-back, pushing down her head so that she was slightly leaning over. Alyx didn't even have to see his eyes to know that Barney was winking underneath that mask, a half smile sweeping across his face. "Now, go!"

--

Barney's story of how he got to City Seventeen will be something I'll write on a later date. I think this seemed a little out of Barney's character, but I wanted to try it.