The march on the Citadel was not a quiet infiltration; it was a furious, public declaration of war. The atmosphere in City 17 had changed entirely. The whispers had become shouts, the fearful glances had become defiant stares. As Gordon Freeman led the combined force, the citizens who had once scurried into the shadows now lined the ruined streets, their faces etched with a mix of awe and terror.
At the front, Barney Calhoun and his Resistance fighters moved with quickly, using his intimate knowledge of the city's alleyways and choke points to navigate the urban labyrinth. Behind them, a core of raw, overwhelming force: Isaac, Jill, and Carlos, their advanced suits and weapons a jarring contrast to the rusted cityscape. The Tyrants followed, their immense bodies a silent, unwavering promise of destruction, their heavy strides sending small tremors through the pavement.
The Combine were not idle. As the group approached the city center, the first lines of defense became clear. The streets were crisscrossed with hastily erected barricades of rubble and twisted metal. Heavy turrets, previously used for crowd control, were now aimed at the approaching threat. Behind them, lines of Combine soldiers stood in tight formation, their rifles raised, their synthetic voices barking in unison.
"First line of defense, Freeman," Barney said, gesturing with his hand. "They've got a dozen guys up there, plus a couple of Metrocops. We can take 'em."
Isaac's voice, calm and calculated, came through the comms. "Negative. This is a fortified position. A frontal assault will incur heavy losses. We will not be bogged down." He pointed at a derelict apartment block to their left. "Jill, Carlos, with me. We'll find a flanking position. Gordon, you and Barney provide a diversionary attack. Lure their fire."
Gordon nodded, a silent acknowledgment. He moved up with Barney's fighters, raising his gravity gun. He ripped a massive, intact section of a concrete barrier from its foundation and hurled it with immense force at the barricade. The concrete slab impacted with a deafening crash, scattering Combine soldiers and dislodging a turret.
This was the signal. Barney's fighters opened fire, their assorted weapons adding to the chaos. The Combine returned fire, their energy blasts whizzing through the air. But as they focused their attention on the front, two figures in dark uniforms emerged from the upper floors of the apartment building.
Jill, her Heavy Pulse Rifle humming, fired a continuous stream of green energy that swept across the Combine ranks, each bolt finding its target with chilling precision. Carlos, from a nearby rooftop, targeted the heavy turrets, his Kinetic Rifle ripping them from their mounts. Isaac, moving with silent efficiency, used his Psionic abilities to disrupt the Combine's communications network, causing a wave of confusion in their ranks. The once-disciplined Combine soldiers were now disorganized, shouting fragmented commands at each other.
The Tyrants, taking advantage of the confusion, lumbered forward. Their massive forms were impervious to small arms fire. One Tyrant simply slammed its body into the barricade, a single, powerful impact that sent the entire structure and the Combine soldiers on it flying. The other Tyrant tore a heavy piece of a ruined building facade and used it like a shield, advancing on the remaining soldiers, who were now in full retreat. The first skirmish was over as quickly as it had begun. The Combine had underestimated the coordinated assault.
The next few hours were a brutal, grinding advance. The Combine, realizing the scale of the threat, threw everything at them. Combine patrols were replaced by heavily armored Overwatch units. The group had to fight through a large, open plaza where a Combine gunship was providing air support. Gordon took aim with his RPG, a perfect shot that disabled the dropship's engine, sending it spiraling into a ruined building.
Isaac and Carlos provided covering fire, while Jill used her Psionic powers to hurl nearby wrecked vehicles at the Overwatch units. The Tyrants were smashing and tearing their way through Combine formations with an unstoppable rage.
As they moved closer to the Citadel, the air grew colder and the oppressive feeling intensified. The ground began to hum with a low, constant frequency. Towering, black structures, like immense spines, jutted from the pavement, humming with unseen energy. These were the Citadel's outer defenses, a web of force fields and automated turrets that protected the fortress's core.
They reached the base of the Citadel, a vast, circular plaza dominated by an enormous, dark blast door. It was an impregnable wall, a final, unbreachable barrier.
"That's it," Barney said, his voice strained. "The front door. The Citadel's main gate. We can't get through that. It would be suicide"
Suddenly, Gordon's suit comms crackled to life, static-filled but recognizable. It was Alyx's voice.
"Gordon... I'm in... detention..." she whispered, her voice weak. "They're... they're transferring me... to Breen's office..." The message broke up, a final, frantic burst of static. "The tower... the main spire... they're taking me to the top..." The line went dead.
A cold rage, a silent fury, burned in Gordon's chest. He turned towards the massive blast door, its surface a perfect, smooth expanse of impenetrable metal. He had to get inside.
Isaac, his face grim, pointed at a series of power conduits running along the wall near the door. "Those are feeding the gate's core. If we can disrupt the power..."
"We can't just 'disrupt' it," Barney interjected. "Those things are shielded. They'd vaporize anyone who got close."
Isaac turned to Jill. "You'll have to use a full-spectrum Psionic overload. It's a risk. It could leave you drained."
"I'll be fine," she said, her voice a calm contrast to the tense moment. She took a deep breath, her hands glowing with green energy as she began to focus. The humming of the conduits intensified, the metal groaning under the strain of her power.
While she worked, Gordon's suit comms buzzed with new chatter. A frantic alarm from a nearby Combine station: "Alert! Multiple lifeforms detected at the main gate! Unidentified hostiles! All forces, respond!" The Combine had a full-spectrum assault team inbound.
Gordon grabbed a heavy piece of rubble with his gravity gun, using it as a shield. Barney's fighters took up defensive positions. They had to buy Jill time.
The battle raged around the blast door. Combine soldiers, heavily armed and armored, poured in from side streets. The two Tyrants, acting as a rear guard, tore through the charging ranks, their roars of fury drowned out by the constant barrage of gunfire and explosions. Isaac and Carlos provided a furious torrent of covering fire.
Then, with a final, blinding flash of green light, the conduits around the gate sparked and died. The immense blast door, a solid monolith of steel, groaned and shuddered, its energy field collapsing.
"Now!" Isaac shouted.
The two Tyrants, their massive bodies straining, grabbed hold of the steel door. Their muscles bulged, their feet scraping against the concrete. With a final, inhuman roar, they began to push, tearing the immense door from its hinges. The metal screamed in protest, buckling and twisting as the Tyrants forced it open, revealing a dark, ominous entrance.
The team rushed into the breach, leaving the two Tyrants to hold the line, a final, terrifying barrier against the coming Combine assault. Inside, the air was cold, sterile, and silent. The warm, gritty chaos of City 17 was replaced by a sterile, humming interior of dark metal and cold air. They were in the guts of the beast.
They found themselves in a vast, empty loading bay, a cavernous space of sterile white. Before them, a single, glowing elevator car. A display beside it showed the destination: Sector 01.
"This is it," Barney whispered, his voice hushed. "This is where we go up."
Gordon looked at the elevator, then at Isaac and his team, then at Barney and his weary fighters. This was just the beginning. The real war, the one for Alyx's life and the future of humanity, was waiting for them at the very top.
"Hey Gordon" Barney said as he gestured him to follow " I owe you a beer, but I owe Dr. Breen a knuckle sandwich and I intend to deliver. So let's get a move on!"