Gordon and Twilight ran down the hallways and busted through more wood, with her taking the lead. The screech of manhacks echoed throughout the narrow canal passage, causing her ears to twitch. She winced as the cuts down her spine and flank burned with the hot, misty air. The smell of dirty water and burnt flesh filled her nose as they carefully stepped over scorched bodies that looked like burnt toast.
“Light!” Twilight said, noticing the radiating light down the hallway.
Gordon saw what she was looking at; a fence gate leading to what looked like a cage.
As soon as they walked out into the sunlight, metrocops ambushed them from behind the gates, firing a barrage of .32 rounds into Gordon’s shoulder. He winced, but tugged on Twilight to follow him to where boxes blocked a door.
His blood loss meter had already hit 44 and was dropping. He dived through the boxes, Twilight copying his moves. They had made it out of the line of fire, Twilight unscathed. She had figured out how to make somewhat of a magical shield, though it only slowed the bullets so on impact they would leave a nasty bruise instead of piercing the skin.
“Run!” Gordon yelled in his mind, giving Twilight a headache from the loud projection.
They ran down a series of different hallways, climbed down ladders, and even stopped to collect some supplies. Seven boxes stacked on top of each other just waiting to be broken open. Most of the boxes would either have medical supplies or battery units. Gordon used his crowbar to lightly pry open the boxes, not damaging the contents. He removed the neatly packed items and set them out for Twilight. She stared at one, inspecting it.
“What’s this one for?” She asked, poking the charge pack.
“It’s a jolt of energy to power my suits armor function.” Gordon explained, “Nano-beads harden up to protect me from any sorts of blunt or sharp damage.”
Twilight forgot about the world around her and focused directly on Gordon, finally getting a good look at his suit as he sat, resting his legs from the constant running. “How old are you?” She asked.
“I don’t know.”
“How do you not know your own age?”
“It’s complicated.” Twilight stared him down, causing him to become increasingly uncomfortable. He finally gave in.
“A man, or at least I think he’s a man, blackmailed me into working for him. Saying if I didn’t work for him, I would die.” Gordon wiped his face with his dirty gloves. The orange in his suit was stained with green muck. “I was put in stasis for who knows how long, and I suddenly am waking up on a train, almost to board the train to Nova Prospeckt, whatever that is.”
“Stasis? What’s that?”
“I don’t know myself, it’s not physically possible, but somehow he managed to do it. It’s theorized to be when something is put in a time-less, untouched area of space. Somewhere, or I should say, it’s nowhere. Blackness.”
“How did it feel?”
"There is no ‘Feelings’. There is just nothingness, imagine sleeping for what feels like 5 minutes and waking up 20 years later.”
“Whoa, that sounds like magic!”
“It very well could be, or just a nifty way of stopping old-age. That bastard.”
“Who was he?”
“He seemed to be a regular businessman, though he watched me whenever he got the chance, always appearing in places I couldn't reach. Why he brought me here is far beyond my knowledge.”
“So how old do you think you are?”
“Knowing that Alyx is around twenty, and I was already thirty in Black Mesa’s time, I’m around fifty years old.”
“You have some good moves for fifty.” She grinned.
“Yeah, well I’m physically still thirty.”
"Who's Alyx?"
"Clink! Crack! Sneerererer-” Several manhacks busted through the boxes blocking the only doorway out. Gordon quickly grabbed more suit charges and stuck them on his suits charge socket. Inside he had an advantage over the manhacks, his pistol. He squeezed the trigger, a bullet puncturing right into the fuel chamber of the manhack causing it to explode into metal debris and sparks. He then used the butt of the gun to ram it into another manhack, breaking its visual sensor. It flung around aimlessly until falling down to fuel loss.
Meanwhile Twilight was destroying the flying killer machines with true horse power, using her hooves. When the manhacks bounced off the walls, it dulled their blades exponentially. This gave her an advantage as she bucked them away. Contact with forty pounds of sheer pony muscle not only bent the manhacks mainframe, but busted the cpu chip inside, saving magic and bullets. Even if the blades were sharp, her quick kick would knock the flying bastard out of orbit. Gordon stood there and watched her kick them down one by one. What an embarrassing way to die, Gordon thought, killed by a talking purple horse.
They ran out of the door and into a large, u-shaped canal. The walls were coated in green moss and sewer grime, though the clean cold water felt refreshing on Twilight’s legs, but still too muddy to drink. They slowed down their pace and trudged through the ankle-high water, getting back their energy again. Suddenly, a single metrocop dropped down from above on a wire. He aimed his Mp7 at Gordon with one hand and fired. For some reason they didn’t see Twilight as a threat.
Gordon sprinted up and used the J of the crowbar to dig into the CP’s throat. It went down coughing, but got a few good bullets in Gordon’s left side. By now the feeling of that much pain has become tolerable for Gordon, it wasn’t the first time he’s been shot by a sub machine gun.
Two more dropped in farther down the tunnel and fired without aiming. Gordon had formulated a plan.
“Get to the corner, don’t let them see you.” Gordon pointed to the shadow. “Can you grab their guns?”
“Yeah, I can manage that.”
“Alright, listen, it works like this-” He pointed at the trigger, “use your magic to pull the trigger, make sure you hit their heads!”
“But I-”
“Alright, go!”
“Gordon I-”
“Twilight, get to cover!”
“I can’t-”
“Alright, one, two-” He got ready to pulverize one of them, she would get the other.
“GORDON I CAN’T!” She yelled out loud, her voice echoing down the halls.
“Chhh over there Chhhh!” One of the CPs said.
Gordon’s mind scattered into different equations on how to combat what just happened. He had no time, the metrocops were already on his ass and firing. He charged and used his newly equipped Mp7 to pump them both full of lead.
Scared out her mind, Twilight used her magic to throw one of the cops down and hold him down until Gordon used his foot to break its skull. This also proved very effective. Two down, and more dropping down. Gordon turned around the corner in full sprint, Twilight somewhat far behind. He yanked out his pistol and tapped its trigger. Blood splattered the walls and puddled into the water. Gordon was between rage and an adrenaline rush, but he got things done haphazardly. He just really wanted out of the canals, it was fogging up his glasses.
Turning the corner, it led outside again, this time into a large pool with a rusty turbine. He waited for Twilight, then divided in. They both waited for the turbine to pass, then made their way through a underwater passageway.
***********************
Pinkie pie bounced around the lab.
“OOooo What’s that? What’s THAT? Oh what's that?” Shes said, poking the computers. “OOooh, this thing has numbers on it!” She giggled. “Hey look at that thing! No, that other thing! Hey! You’re the lady from the test!”
“Pinkie! Don’t touch things that aren’t yours, and what’s this about a test?” Rarity scolded, examining around the lab.
“I dunno, it just felt appropriate to say that... Oooooooo what's in heeeeere?” She looked in the canister in which held the HEV suit. She then proceeded to poke at the mainframe until locking herself in. “Do you smell something burning?”
“Ah swear Pinkie Pah, ya’ll just got here an’ ur already gettin’ urself stuck!” Applejack sighed, “Doc, how d’ya open dis thing?”
“Oh,” Kleiner examined Pinkie Pie, chuckling. “Curiosity killed the cat I must say.”
“Shes gunna die!?” Dash yelped, trying to force open to pod.
“No, no, my dear horse whose name escapes my mind, it’s an expression here on Earth.”
“We have the same thing back home, she’s just not very-” Rarity wispered, “clever.”
“HEARD THAT!” Dash yelled.
Kleiner pressed the tab, opening the pod. Pinkie immediately jumped out and stared at the Doctor. “Ewww what’s wrong with your legs?!”
“Feet,” Kleiner said, “they’re feet.”
“Pinkie don’t be so rude!” Rarity again scolded.
“Ok mommy.”
“I’m too cooped up in here!” Dash said, “Say doctor, could I uh- open a window and maybe fly around a bit?
“No! Dearest me, no!”
“Well why not?”
“Because!”
“Cuz why?”
“You just can’t!”
“Are they stuck?”
“No!”
“Can I open them then?”
“I said no!”
“What if I get them unstuck? Then what hmmm?”
“They aren’t stuck you- you- oh my. You can’t open them because it’s very dangerous out there! Please, just keep quiet and stay away from the windows!”
“Wuts so bad out thur doc?” Applejack asked, out of curiously. She tried to climb up the ladder to see, but climbing the ladder was easier said than done.
“A lot of stuff, half of it I don’t even know myself!” He walked to the lockers to check the weapons and ammo. Dash immediately spotted the gun and curiosity hit her like a train.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.” Kleiner hid the weapon from view.
“No, no, that thing you had!”
“What thing?”
“The black stick!”
“What black stick?”
“It looked like a cannon!”
“A wha?”
“Er- nevermind. Crazy old co-”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity stuck her hoof in Dash’s face. “Respect our hosts!”
“Hur blah blah, Hosts smosts.”
“I- I hope Twilight is o-ok.” Fluttershy squeaked, cuddled next to Rarity. She was scared out of belief.
“She’s probably fine.” Dash assured.
“Agreed! Gordon is an excellent shot!”
“Shot?” Dash grinned.
“Oh boy-”
***********************
*Gasp* Gordon breathed for air. Twilight splashed next to him, gasping for air as well. They had made it out of the canals. Over the last five minutes they had fought over one hundred manhacks, ten metrocops, had to swim a half mile in water, and walked at least an hour through sewers that smelt of vomit and dried shit. Finally they had jumped out of the last canal drainage entering and into somewhere completely different. The ground was mushy, radioactive waste popped and splashed nearby, and the only way to cross was on very thin wood boards.