#toby the benriks

[oneofboth]

Memes and sketches pt 2

Since you liked it so much, we gonna share some memes with you again hahahah. By the way, we have some big posts with lore of AU in our blog, just remind you! / Вам очень понравился прошлый пост, поэтому мы поделимся мемасами с вами еще хаывхаыв. Кстати, у нас в блоге есть посты с лором вселенной, просто напоминаем вам!

Our most funny meme. It's Lee and Benrey inside of Alex's mind (and herself too). Me and PigelOn were sitting in Gartic Phone while yapping in our Discord channel, when she (PigelOn) drew this. This is so freaking bad that it makes it actually gold. We almost tore our asses from laughing then. And yeah, they are (PikLee and Homestuck Benrey) characters in our AU too. Sorry, we needed to tell you some backstage of this haha. / Наш самый смешной мем. Это Ли и Бенри внутри разума Алекс (и она сама тоже там есть). Я и PigelOn сидели в Gartic Phone пока болтали в нашем дискорд канале, и она (PigelOn) нарисовала это. Это настолько, блин, плохо, что даже хорошо. Мы чуть не подохли со смеху тогда. И да, они (Пикли и Хоумстак Бенри) теперь тоже персонажи нашей ау. Простите, нам надо было рассказать о меме инфу хахаха.

Again PigelOn's drawing. Alex's pet snark Chip Nibbles. / Снова рисунок PigelOn. Домашний снарк Алекс — Чип Нибблс.

I'm just placing it here without any context. / Я просто положу это сюда без объяснений.

"May i lay down next to you, will squeak a little, but mostly will not interrupt?"

And we finishing this post with PigelOn's mini comic, called "Movie night". Bye!! / И мы завершаем этот пост комиксом "Киновечер" от PigelOn. Всем пока! -Blue Opal / Alex (Author of this post, without context sketch and Chip Nibbles colored drawing / Автор этого поста, картинки без контекста и цветной картинкой Чипа Нибблса) -PigelOn (Author of PikLee and Homestuck Benrey drawing, "My honest reaction" Chip Nibbles, "Movie night" mini comic / Автор рисунка с Пикли и Хоумстак Бенри, "My honest reaction" Чип Нибблс, комикс "Киновечер".)

(Версия комикса для русскоговорящих)

[oneofboth]

Can you tell us more about the various ocs in the AU? I really like what's going in with Nico and the siblings, and I'm curious what's the deal with Toby!

Thanks for your question! Hmm…characters..We can mention one NPC who stood out from the crowd and interested Alex, taking in consideration how selective she is to her surroundings. Jonathan was her loyal assistant and at the same time worked at Black Mesa as a technician. Besides Alex, he communicated well with her family (Benrey and Lee (by the way, he became like a second brother to Lee)). However, during the incident in Black Mesa, he went missing, and only a severed leg was found from his body…

(John and Lee. "Don't listen to anyone, just let's go eat". / Джон и Ли.) About Toby. Thank you for your interest!! We are working on a post with him. So far, we can share our best practices and details. Lee finds Toby a very interesting companion, because you can tell him everything in the world, and he will respond by offering you coffee. Sometimes he responds with interesting facts, for example, preferences of employees in drinks. Although it seems that these are only scripts.

(Sketch for a reference by PigelOn. / Скетч для референса от PigelOn)

About Niko and the siblings. If we write about them now, we will get a very huge post. If you want, we can make a selection of facts about them, a separate post for each character. And of course, if you are interested in something specific, you can spam our ask hahahah :)

Thanks again!

/

Спасибо за ваш вопрос! Хмм...персонажи..можем упомянуть одного нпс, который выделился из толпы и заинтересовал Алекс, учитывая насколько она выборочна к своему окружению. Джонатан был ее верным ассистентом и параллельно работал в Черной Мезе как техник. Помимо Алекс он хорошо общался с ее семьей в лице Бенри и Ли, последней он кстати стал как второй брат. Однако во время инцидента в Черной Мезе он пропал без вести, а от его тела нашли только оторванную ногу...

Насчет Тоби. Спасибо за ваш интерес!! Мы работаем над постом с ним. Пока что можем поделиться наработками и деталями. Ли находит Тоби очень интересным собеседником, ведь ему можно рассказать все на свете, а он ответит тем, что продаст кофе. Хотя иногда он отвечает интересными фактами, например про предпочтения сотрудников в напитках. Хотя, кажется, это только скрипты.

Насчет Нико и сиблингов. Если мы напишем про них сейчас, то получится очень громадный пост. Если хотите, можем сделать подборку фактов про них, для каждого персонажа отдельный пост. Ну и конечно же, если вас интересует что-то конкретное, вы можете завалить наш аск :) Еще раз спасибо

-Blue Opal / Alex (Author of the post, sketch of Alex with blunt / Автор поста, картинки Алекс с сигарой) -PigelOn (Second author of the post, remaining pictures / Второй автор поста, остальных картинок)

[oneofboth]

Meet Toby!

Toby - is the barista and (apparently the only) employee in Black Mesa's cafeteria.

He always comes on time,

his work is always perfect, and apparently he does his job from the heart, although on his face there is always a tired, empty look, typical for his peers and subculture fellows. You don't really want to start conversations with subjects like these, unless you're willing to accidentally impose a curse of the harsh eyelined look of the teenager, and also get an angry comment in the back. And spit in the coffee.

But Toby, despite the face given to him, dosen't hold any offence or trauma behind it, or a deep speculation about something in general...

But he can bring up some facts about others. On his job, the cashier hears a lot of things, and then can tell you about it if you ask him. He holds some confidentiality, and wont give you names or places without need. He himself does not seem to hold any opinion on things he hears, and most likely all the objects of his wide memory are not very interesting to him. Anyway, all his work is a part-time job to save for a hobby. Toby really loves skateboards and they really love to break.

And how did such a detached from science curly boy get into the heart of it? Perhaps, inborn barista skills, no other.

Relationships:

Nico calls him "the coffee guy", because being an aperture employee meant for Nico to do not care about some silly things like names (and they first met at the aperture, or rather on the opposite street, where was a cafe where Toby used to work). She forgot to ask his name even after being hired to mesa, and then she already had other problems to deal with...

For Alex, he is a daily supplier of sugar and caffeine, making the already short tempered woman even more dangerous, but he's protected from her detonation by rarity and priceless of his talent

Lee can talk with the Coffeepot freely in her narrative that doesn't require unity of time and place of action ooh that thing has numbers on it

Benry hardly had any concerns about the cashier, after all he was a fully certified coffee-brewing specialist who offered him the real xerox of passport on a coffee foam. Not like someone who doesn't have it at all.

...And the owner of this lot of nicknames, the knowledge holder, will answer the questions about himself with:

-Me...? I don’t drink coffee.

Thank you for reading! I could probably not explain Toby fully and well, so feel free to ask if you have any questions!!

-Pigel0n

[oneofboth]

Just some lazy Alex sketch. "Meet Toby" post soon, yeah!!! / Просто ленивый набросок Алекс. Скоро будет пост "Знакомьтесь с Тоби", урааа!!!

-Blue Opal / Alex

[oneofboth]

Welcome! Welcome to the official "The Benriks AU" page!

ABOUT AU: Our AU - is a load of headcanons that adds new characters to original setting and a new background to the existing ones, connecting it all into one story.The story follows a plot parallel to the original with some timeline differences. The main characters are members of the second science team: a determined girl Nicole - a former employee of Aperture, not yet fully self-aware barista Toby, who is just starting his hard way as an AI, and two sisters: Lee (younger, more active) and Alex (older, more passive), with whom… something is clearly wrong. Our AU is mostly very similar to the original HLVRAI series in terms of cascade resonance times. We have times before the cascade resonance and after, in the HL2 timeline, which has additional characters. Our original characters are carefully written into the original HLVRAI series, for example, they are used to explain some off-screen and unexplained moments.

RULES, RIGHTS AND TERMS: Likes: YEAAHH LET'S GO!!! Reblogs: YES PLEASEEEE Comments: Yeah, feel free! :) Ask: Please! We are always here and we are happy to answer! Using our art: You can use it, just mention us! Please, do not sell or use for commercial purposes. Do not use for AI content :) Requests: Yeah, feel free to ask something! Collabs: Maybe, depends on what you gonna offer. Characters use: Alex and Lee. Feel free to use 'em as you want. I understand that art can be really different and sometimes unstoppable, It's just useless to try to stop people, haha. I gotta mention that we have our canon ships, but you can headcanon them as you want. And please, remember that they are not humans at all, our rules just not working with them (age, mentality, body, organism in general). For Nico and Toby: You can do and draw anything you want with them (if you want ofc-), but within the SFW, please. If you have any questions about characters or themes - pm me freely!! Memes, eye-straining colors, crossovers and challenges are cool and welcome, as well angst and some blood, too (you know emotional art with idea of moral choice, etc, ii love it). Just don't turn them into minced meat, please (You can a little bit, hehe)

PLEASE, NO NEGATIVE, AGGRESSION, BULLYING AND CRITICISM. WE ARE TRYING TO CREATE A COMFORTABLE PLACE FOR EVERYONE HERE! ABOUT US (AUTHORS): Heya. I'm Alex, my nickname is Blue Opal. She/Her. I am the original creator and author of this AU. Alex in our AU was named after me. I'm 19 y.o. student in university. My kinnies are Benrey, Tommy, Queen (Deltarune), Pearl (Steven Universe). Mostly Benrey hahah. I'm multifandom person, but now sitting in HLVRAI fandom. I don't have any experience with all that social media popularity, all my previous blogs and groups were just archives to myself. Now I'm working on this project with my friend, I put all my love and soul here. Thank you for all your interest, we appreciate it. :) Ficbook Wattpad

Hello everynyan! Im Pigel0n. Second author. Currently studying at university, i draw a bit, design a bit, but mostly just thinking about art ideas and funny little stories to draw. Pronouns are she/her if needed, but you can call me Pigel for short.

[oneofboth]

Встречайте Тоби! (RU VERSION)

Тоби  - бариста и (похоже, единственный) работник в кафетерии мезы.

Всегда приходит вовремя,

его работы всегда как на подбор, и видимо, выполняет он их от души, хотя на его лице всегда стоит уставший, пустоватый взгляд, присущий для его сверстников и сокультурников. С такими обычно не стараешься завязать разговор, боясь ненароком наложить проклятие сурового подведенного тушью взгляда подростка, а может еще и едкий комментарий в спину. И плевок в кофе.

Но Тоби, несмотря на данное ему лицо, не имеет за собой обид или травм, и вообще глубоких домыслов о чем то...

Зато, он может накинуть всяких фактов про других. На своей работе кассир слышит много всего, и потом может рассказать об этом, если его спросить. Но он сохраняет некоторую конфиденциальность, и не назовет имен или мест без необходимости. Сам он не кажется придерживающимся какой то стороны, и скорее всего, все предметы его обширной памяти ему не очень то и интересны. Все равно вся его работа - это подработка, чтобы накопить на хобби. Тоби очень любит скейты, а они очень любят ломаться.

И как такого отстраненного от науки курчавого мальчика занесло в самое ее сердце? Наверно, врожденное мастерство баристы, не иначе.

Отношения:

Нико называет его "Кофейным парнем", потому что когда то витала в облаках апретуровского безумия когда они познакомились, и не заботилась о таких простых материях вроде имен (а познакомились они в апертуре, точнее, напротив нее, где было кафе, в котором раньше работал Тоби), а потом она забыла спросить его имя, а дальше ей уже было не до этого...

Для Алекс - это ежедневный поставщик сахара и кофеина, делающий и так взрывную женщину еще более опасной, но защищенный от ее влияния своим редким и бесценным мастерством

Ли может выговориться Кофейнику в своем не требующим однозначности времени и месте действия повествовании о смотри на этом чем то циферки

У Бенри кассир вряд ли вызывал вопросы, в конце концов он полностью сертифицированный коефейный специалист, который предложил ему самый настоящую ксерокопию пасспорта на пенке. Не то что некоторые, у кого его вообще нет.

...А сам обладатель этого множества прозвищ и главный сказитель на вопросы о себе ответит:

- Я..? Я не пью кофе.

Спасибо за прочтение! Я могла не до конца передать или объяснить Тоби, поэтому буду рада ответить на ваши вопросы!!

-Pigel0n

[oneofboth]

Lost peace (full fic)

Before everything: That was my second fic in terms of our AU and the first fic where I used Nico and Toby. I felt kinda cringe about it, because I showed Toby so badly ahaha. Anyway, have a good read!

/

Инфо для русских пользователей: Вы можете прочитать этот фанфик на фикбуке и на ваттпад! :)

An important day for Nicole finally arrived. She would be speaking in public for the first time in her department. She prepared a presentation on the topic of extraterrestrial life, which her department had been studying. She also styled her hair and put on some makeup, so that her colleagues would definitely like her!

—Ha! Even if it's not Aperture, I will definitely make a good first impression! -Nico was finishing her coffee.

— You sound.. too confident. -Toby replied. The guy is a student who works in the cafeteria and makes just wonderful coffee. He was the first one with whom... Nicole became friends(?) of all the people she has met. This guys is silent, but if he speaks, it's always on business. Just like now. He noticed the new girl's overconfidence and tried to gently point it out. He felt that such a thing would not lead to good.

— I know! And, oh my God, how much strength it gives me! For the first time I am so happy in this place! And do you know why? — she asked a rhetorical question and looked straight into the eyes of Toby, who had obviously not slept this night — Because today the moment has finally come when I can change people's opinion about me!!

—.. good luck. -The guy shrugged and looked away.

— Thank you!

To her own surprise, the cheerful girl looked at her watch. The moment has come!! The moment when she can transform this place from hell to heaven! Of course, Black Mesa will never replace her much-loved Aperture, but she is ready to make this place more pleasant for herself. To make it less nauseating for her to be here. It took a lot of effort to achieve all this, and in a sense it was feigned joy, but she was sure that without it she would not be accepted into this society. After saying goodbye to the student, she enthusiastically moved to the previously assigned room to finally show the best in herself.

She was shaking. At first it was a pleasant tremor. But with each step, Nicole realized more and more that she was afraid. What if everything goes wrong? What if the situation doesn't depend on her again? The girl slowed down, although time was already running out. What if...she still will be a stranger here? Like a small and frightened kitten hiding in a corner from the murderer of its parents. And so she will be doomed to spend some years of her life trapped in a corner and terribly scared.

Feeling an unpleasant itch in her eyes, she wiped away the tears and resolutely looked into the distance. No. It won't be like this! She can handle it! She will definitely cope!

With such thoughts and a phrase that she repeated all the way to the office, she quickened her pace and stepped much more decisively.

Here it is. The audience. The people she's working with now. They were all so different, but they had something in common. Nicole carefully looked around at everyone present. She was trying to figure out what they had in common..? If she finds the answer, she will easily join them!

— So, uh.. — the girl cleared her throat, sorting through the papers in parallel. All the equipment was already ready for her 'performance'—Me..My name is Nicole. I'm new here..

Before she could finish, the weight of the stares that fell on her intensified. Some began to whisper, remembering her and, most importantly, her old place of work. Swallowing heavily, she continued.

— ..yes. As you know, I came here from Aperture. But..But working with you will be... uh.. — She began to stammer. After skimming through the papers with the prepared text in advance, she still did not find where she left off- ..However, it doesn't matter. I'm sure that's not what we're here for.

The girl sighed. Well, her first fail! She wanted so much to make a good impression, but because of her stupid rashness, she couldn't do it. She glanced at this crowd again and caught her eyes on a long, skinny figure who was sitting somewhere behind and seemed to be silently waiting for something. From this cold look that came from that woman, Nicole felt uneasy, goosebumps ran down her back, which made the girl straighten up. There was a heavy silence in the office, everyone was waiting for action from Nicole. And she was finally ready to talk further.

— Recently ours..more precisely, ahem, yours. Your scientists went back to Xen and took several samples of wildlife from there. There were captured boids among them, a whole pack. One of which, however, had one of its wings torn.

The girl pressed the keyboard key and the slide changed to the next one. She quickly looked around the audience again. That woman was still looking at her. It feels like without blinking..

— So uh..as you can see, this cut is quite a major damage for boid, which is why he will no longer be able to fly. But what influenced this outcome of events? Scientists suggest that Boyd was attacked-

— He just cut himself.

The steel-cold voice made Nicole shudder. She wanted to continue, but tried to find the source of the sound with her eyes. Who interrupted her? No, who dared to interrupt her?

— I'm sorry, but don't interfere with my narration! — Nicole frowned.

— Oh, baby, believe me, I already know what you want to say.

That long and slender figure rose up. The woman was looking at Nicole with her bright green eyes. Is it creepy, is it even natural for a person? A heavy black shadow hung over her face, which seemed to be from her hair braided into a bun, or rather from the peering strands that were difficult to style.

— Excuse me? -Nicole couldn 't believe her ears- ..Baby? — she repeated faintly, feeling noticeably annoyed by the whole situation.

— You're probably saying that Boyd was attacked by some... mm...Let's say panthereye, catching poor boyd. Is that so? The woman, who continued to stand her ground, completely ignored Nicole's exclamations.

— Actually!!..

Nicole stuttered again, barely squeezing out the word under the weight of the stares. Audience looked at the sudden dispute between the two. Some scientist tried to cut in and calm the woman down, but she immediately turned her gaze to him and replied:

— Hush. Let her answer. I need to know what ideas she has about the creatures of Xen..

No one else dared to say a word. There was a heavy tension, and Nicole felt a certain ominous aura around the woman. What's going on?!

— Actually, I wanted to say that Boyd was attacked not by a panthereye, but by a tentacle!

— Why?

Nicole had clearly stumbled somewhere. The woman's face twisted into a caustic smile. There was clearly a trick!!

—I.. I assume that a flock of boids flew over the tentacle, which made him want to knock them out or disperse them, since they could interfere with the tentacle hunting.

— ..amazing. -The woman said and suppressed her grin with difficulty.- You really don't have the slightest idea about the animal world of Xen.

Nicole frowned and clenched her teeth. How dare she..Nico could barely restrain herself from replying something superfluous. She wanted to protect herself, but she wasn't sure of anything at the moment. Maybe Nicole is right and this is just a test by one of the scientists!! But before Nico could do anything, the woman continued:

— First of all, boids make resonant relaxing sounds that allow them to avoid excessive aggression of the living world of Xen. Secondly, tentacle and his hunts only benefit from this. All those who heard the howling of the Boids immediately relax and lose their vigilance, which allows the tentacle to grab the victim without much difficulty. Their world is much more complicated than you think, so such alliances and similar cooperation are not surprising at all. -The woman shrugged her shoulders.

— What?..but..but it is absolutely not written anywhere.. -Nicole said, both stunned and angry. The audience also widened their eyes, listening to what the woman was saying. But, for some reason, no one said anything against it. Were they afraid?..

— Oh, you need to read more carefully. And thirdly..Well, that's right, it's already a task of observation. Boid's wing is carelessly cut. It's like it's been torn up. This can be seen in two photos. Well, okay, this can be forgiven, the photo is really of poor quality, you may not notice it. Tentacle blades cut all organic matter like oil, clearly leaving no such defects. The conclusion is — the pack flew after the leader, who, as we know, tries to avoid obstacles. But, for some reason, one obstacle could not be avoided, which is why boid, who was this very leader, injured his wing. And his pack, having no idea what was going on, went down after him. That's how they were caught.

Nicole was stunned. How..Is that right? Even though Nicole didn't know some of the information, like the rest of those present, as it seemed to her, but everything sounded so plausible and realistic! Everything was perfectly connected. It's like that upstart was there and saw everything firsthand.. But that's impossible!!

- yes..Even so! —Nicole finally found her words.— This does not give you the right to interrupt my narration! I have every right to finish it, even if it is incorrect. In any case, I did not come up with this data, it was provided to me! So what's my fault?

—It would be possible if there weren't newbies like you sitting here, who listen to your every word and taking it as a truth of life. Well, they're almost newbies, they've had about a year of experience. And I've been working here for several years. And it's good that I decided to sit here and listen, otherwise this would have happened.. Well, your task as a scientist is to observe and notice errors that may be contained in the texts so kindly provided to you. —the woman stretched and yawned sweetly, smacking her lips several times— Okay, I'm off. There's nothing else for me to do here.

After these words, the woman really left. Nicole didn't even have time to see her name on the badge. The girl just stood there with her mouth open to the noise of the projector and the tense silence from the audience.

***

The next day. Nicole cried all night from what happened. She had never felt so flawed and pathetic before. And all because she was disgraced by this upstart who thinks she knows everything about everyone. Pffft. Dumb competitor..Does she think that she can raise herself using Nicole? No, that woman is wrong..Nicole wouldn't just give up and wasn't even going to give up! But she didn't have the strength yet. Thank God what happened did not reach The Administrator and Nicole was still allowed to do more serious work. Now she was supposed to be an assistant and help carry out observations of the creatures from Xen.

And while it was not yet time for work, she stood at the table in the cafeteria and sniffed, remembering yesterday. She had the same Toby with her, still not getting enough sleep and still tired. He tried not to point it out, but he knew perfectly well that something terrible had happened when he saw the redness on the nose and eyes of a friend.

—.. I don't understand.. -Nicole finally said in a trembling voice- ..What the hell did she find out? I was just doing my job...Are you being scolded for completing an order?

Nicole raised her wet eyes to Toby. He listened attentively, so he immediately shook his head negatively. In general, the girl tried to seem strong and unyielding. She wouldn't let anyone see her like this, not even her closest friend. But no matter how sad it was, she had almost no control over her condition now. Thanks to Toby for being okay with it and not asking her anything, pretending that everything was as usual. That's what she needed.

— So and I think not..because it's stupid and not polite..

The girl finally stopped running her finger over the coffee cup and took a sip from there. She felt sick..

— ..well. — the student began, but immediately hesitated after that. He was extremely unsure if he should say anything now. But noticing Nicole's eyes, he animated from this look. He sighed heavily and continued- ..There are inadequate people. Who can quite calmly point on something and you immediately find yourself to blame for everything. -He glanced at Nicole briefly, as if asking if he should speak further or not- ..I have one such lecturer. He is... well..it is impossible to get a good mark. Well, that's just the kind of person he is. I have no choice but to almost fall at his feet. Do you understand what I mean?

—..that we don't solve anything in such situations?

— Yes. — Toby nodded — Unfortunately, this is just life. And like..well. I wouldn't get hung up on it. I care about the result, not the process. In such matters, for sure. And..like...Damn, I don't want to teach you or anyone else, but maybe you should think easier about it too?

— Well, yes.. -Nicole sighed. The student is right as never before. She even envied how calm he was about everything. Although she can't know what he's doing alone with himself. Maybe she's crying too, like her?— Really, I can't do anything here. What happened is gone. It's worth rejoicing in general and saying thank you to the gods for this, considering it went unnoticed, and I still have some kind of position.

Their conversation was interrupted by another visitor, who began to dictate Toby their order. Stop. A familiar voice..

Nicole looked up at the client. Immediately, she recognized the tall and skinny figure, only this time she was without a lab coat. She gripped the edge of the table. It's her!!!!

— So it's you! -Nicole blurted out on her own.

The woman jumped a little from surprise at the noise and turned around lazily. She looked at the girl with relaxed eyes and raised one eyebrow.

—..Do I know you?

— It's you! You've disgraced me! -Nicole pointed a finger at her.

— Did I embarrass you?... oh, wait! it's you! You are a new one!! -A malicious smile immediately crept onto the woman's face.— How wonderful, we met again!

— Don't act like nothing happened! — the girl banged her fist on the table—And anyway, it would be strange if we didn't meet again! We work in the same department, unfortunately!

— Oh, yes, yes.. The smile widened.

— She's the one who shamed me! -Nicole was still pointing at the woman and glanced at the student for a second. Toby, in turn, looked almost scared, which was unexpected. He stared at Nicole with wide eyes and shook his head negatively, as if trying to tell her to stop. But Nicole did not notice this, all her attention was focused on the woman.— Why did you do that?! It's almost reached the administration! I could have been fired!

—Really? Sorry.

— Sorry?? SORRY?! -Nicole was furious. She grabbed her hair and pulled it, trying to calm down— And that's all you can say?!? What are you sorry about?!

—..I'm sorry that it didn't reach the administration. It should have been.

— HOW DARE YOU! -Nico finally couldn't stand it.

The woman only grinned slightly at this and took the ready-made coffee from Toby. Sipping it and setting it aside, she calmly reached into her pocket, took out the money and handed it to the student. With a grin, she continued to watch as the new girl freaked out and tried to cope with her emotions. She crossed her arms over her chest, and pushed one leg back a little, leaning on the table. She didn't seem to give a damn about the squeals and complaints.

— Are you enjoying all this?! Nicole continued.

— Yeah. And why not? I didn't do anything wrong. And your reaction amuses me incredibly. You're funny, you're hysterical.

Well, that's the last straw. Nicole was about to jump on her with fists, completely forgetting about all the rules of decency, when an unexpected yell returned to her mind:

"I'M THE QUEEN OF THIS CAFETERIA!!!

Nico jerked and turned around to see what was going on. Indeed, her mind cleared up and she was grateful to this someone for making her mind sober in time. Otherwise, there would have been only a few steps before the dismissal.

Meanwhile, the picture was as follows: A young red-haired girl in the uniform of a security guard climbed onto the table and was clearly happy about it. That's why there was this shout. What's going on in this Black Mesa..?

— Whoo, well done, Lee!

Nico turned back to the sound. This woman stood with a smile and clapped her hands. Wait. That look. Why is she so.. wait.

Meanwhile, a young guard had already run up to this upstart and almost knocked her down with her hugs.

—I'll have a snack!!! — The redhead growled and really started biting

the green-eyed one

-Ow, ow! What are you doing?

The woman calmly took the so-called Lee in arms and kept her at a certain distance from herself. It suddenly dawned on Nicole.

— It's your daughter?!

Both looked at Nico and laughed. The girl recoiled from such a reaction. She looked at Toby, hoping that he knew something, but he was just biting one finger slightly and looking away. What was he so visibly nervous about??

— This is my sister!! — Lee said cheerfully — And you're the one she mocked yesterday, aren't you?!

— What, sister?! -Nico blushed. And why did she come up with the option of being a daughter?..— Wow, that's the age difference-WAIT, WHAT?!

Lee giggled again

—All right, all right, let me go!! I want coffee!

— No coffee. -The woman replied calmly. Nicole, taking advantage of the situation, finally looked at her badge and read "Susan Thompson". And Lee's badge just said "Lee." It is logical, but at the same time it is strange, where is the last name? ...

— ..Should I make her some cocoa? -Toby's voice sounded as Lee tried to lick her older sister's chin. Nicole looked at him dumbfounded. So he knows them!!!

—Please. — Susan replied and finally put Lee on his feet. She smiled again.

— Well, cocoa will do too! Sis, let's go to brother!!

— Not now. Don't you see that I'm arguing?

Lee turned to Nicole, who was shocked by the number of children in their family, and turned back to Susan.

— But BenreyBenreyBenrey is better..

— That's right.. but.. ah, okay. Let's go —the woman smiled strangely tenderly, giving up to girl.

Lee immediately threw up her hands, began to rejoice and jump. Susan took the finished cocoa, gave the money to the student again, took her coffee and hurried after the youngest, because she ran pretty fast..

Nicole was left with me in complete shock. She took hold of her head.

— What. Was. That???..

—..this.. -Toby stared at her in silence again. There was worry in his gaze.— You shouldn't have fought with her like that..

—Shush. I don't want to hear it. It turns out that you knew who I was talking about all this time. -She looked at him. He shook his head negatively and was about to open his mouth, but Nico curled her lips— No. Not now. I'm sorry, but not now.

Slowly, the girl moved from the cafeteria towards the office in which she would assist. Toby watched her go and even leaned out of his cabin. He knew exactly where this was going. And he felt terribly embarrassed that he couldn't warn Nicole.

***

The girl was sitting at a large control panel. It seemed to occupy almost the entire space in this room. A couple of metal lockers, armchairs, a table, a microwave on it. That's basically it. There was a window in front that led to a chamber with headcrabs inside. There were 5 samples there. Obviously, not the whole pack, only some tenth of it. The chamber itself was designed like one of the Xen islands, just for, it seems, the headcrabs feel calm and comfortable inside.

Next to Nicole was a man who, judging by his behavior and appearance, was no more than 26 years old. He was the assistant that Nicole took over. Johnny, as he introduced himself, was going to transfer to another department for some time. He stood next to her, hanging over Nicole a little, and carefully watched her name the function of each button, at least as she understood it herself. He was delighted with how quickly she grasped everything.

—Yeah..And this button? -Johnny pointed to a tiny green button somewhere to the right in the corner.

— Uh.. — Nico, who still hadn't moved away from the morning, looked down. Fortunately, Johnny was a pleasant enough young man and the girl felt less tense with him. There was something about him that relaxed her—..oh! this is..uh... -She scratched the top of her head. The man was still looking at her with a slight smile, giving her a chance to think and remember—..oh, right! It gives access to lighting control!

The girl beamed at Johnny's face. He just stretched his smile in response and nodded.

— That's right. — Finally, the answer that Nicole wanted to hear was heard.

— Hooray! — the girl allowed herself to be slightly pleased, already enthusiastically examining every key on the control panel. Wow, she really mastered it!

— Well, it's time for you and me to finish..

Johnny sighed and looked at his watch. His eyebrows rose slightly, and his face itself expressed some incomprehension. He consulted his wristwatch and checked the time against the wall clock. This time, his brows furrowed.

— Oh, no. I can't let you go yet.. — he said thoughtfully, tapping his watch with his finger.

—Why? -Nicole asked, watching the man's every action.

— She's late..And why today? -Slightly displeased, he looked away.- I can't leave until she comes. I need to pass you from hand to hand.

— She?.. -Nicole tilted her head in incomprehension.

—..oh! So let me tell you about her while she's walking somewhere! At least you'll be a little ready for her... ahem...peculiar character. -He grinned.

Nicole nodded and sat down more comfortably in her chair. She was already stressed out that she would be working with a certain woman. Moreover, apparently, she also has a bad character.. Anyway, Nico was paying attention and Johnny saw it, so he started his story.

— Her name is Alex. The woman is so... uh...spicy. Perhaps this is the word that would suit her best to describe. — The man leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest — To put it simply — petty, aggressive, extremely attentive and just creepy.

Seeing the discomfort in Nicole's eyes, the man laughed and nodded understandingly.

— I understand. When they told me about her, I was a little scared too. And I was even more scared when I found out that she has a close relationship with Breen, huh..

— Stop. — The girl replied — Wait, with Dr. Breen?? The administrator of this place?!

The man suddenly stopped for a while and looked suspiciously at Nicole.

— Wait, are you saying you haven't heard about Alex at all?? She's on everyone's lips here, everyone is afraid of her here. And you've never even asked why they're afraid of her?

Nicole looked at the floor in discomfort and shook her head. Well, she fails again. She obviously has no luck with the team.

— Well, that's it. Yes, she knows Breen personally and complains to him about every disobedience and violation of someone, once she notices it. If she saw your violation and you were not fired at the same second, you can say that you are very lucky! Like you won the lottery..

Nicole swallowed. God, it's a good thing this Alex didn't see what was going on during that presentation, how she got into an argument with Susan. Otherwise, Nico wouldn't be here anymore..

— But don't be afraid! She also has a lot of good other traits! She may be unbearable, but damn, I honestly think she's one of the smartest scientists here. She knows the world of Xen like all her fingers! For example, she can easily communicate with... well, with these headcrabs, for example! -Johnny pointed out the window at the headcrabs, some of whom were playing and climbing on top of each other— God knows how she understands them, but they really obey her! She treats them like children, haha! Maybe her powers of observation helping her, I have no idea. But that's not all that's good about her. There are a lot more things, it's just thing what made her so popular here. A real authority, commands respect!

Johnny temporarily paused his story to clench his hand into a fist and lean it against his chest, ostensibly as a sign of respect. He even closed his eyes and bowed his head, smiling broadly. Nicole, in turn, was trying to make sense of everything the man had just told her. That is, there is another person smarter than that upstart! Wow, if Alex had been there, she would have put Susan in her place right away! But her famous, apparently, approach to work and outlook on life scared the girl. Will they get along here and won't they kill each other in this little room? Only time will tell. But Nicole decided to show herself to be a really great employee. The main thing is that she does not lose this desire and her attention. Night tantrums, fuck them...

— .. in communication, like your boss, — Johnny continued meanwhile, interrupting Nicole's thoughts, — she behaves like your friend. She talks about topics that are distracted from work, she is interested in how you are doing, and so on. But that doesn't mean she's distracted. I'm not afraid to say this, she's always on the lookout. So do not think that you will really have something friendly and she will forgive you for even the smallest mistake that you made because you were distracted by something..

The door to the room finally opened. And she went inside...Susan?!? What is she doing here?! Nicole shrank back into her chair, obviously not eager to be noticed. A wave of thoughts swept through her head, after which it was empty. The girl was just watching a woman who put a cup of coffee on the table.

— Hello, Johnny. Hello.. -She fixed her bright green eye on Nicole.

— Dr. Alex! We were just remembering you! -Johnny immediately responded, for some reason happy to see this woman. Clearing his throat, he pointed at the frightened blonde—This is the new one! Her name is Nicole. I told her everything I know myself!

The woman squinted, carefully watching Nicole. Nicole, in turn, felt as if she had been stripped, looked at from head to toe, and began to slowly and painfully remove her skin. Because of this, she shrank even more.

—..Hm..i guess you are. -Susan said softly. Or Alex. Nicole is confused. Frightened eyes began to run over the woman's shirt and noticed the badge, which still read "Susan Thompson."

— B-But..it's Susan.. -Nicole said softly. Unfortunately, she was heard.

— Hah, no. -Johnny chuckled.- This is Alex. What makes you think her name is Susan?

Nicole's eyes widened even more when it was no longer written "Susan Thompson" on the same badge, but "Alex". And again without a last name. How is this possible?! She was standing there and didn't move!!

—.....wh-what..how..in the same place..It was written there..

Johnny frowned and looked at the woman's badge himself. Then he smiled again and returned his gaze to the frightened girl.

— Alex sometimes wears other badges. By accident. Don't worry so much, her name is Alex, that's for sure!

Nicole swallowed and nodded. She stared at Alex's distorted face with fear. Her bright green eyes looked straight into Nico's soul, as if they glowing from a successfully falling light, and glittered a little lower in the light...Fangs??!

— Well, okay, I'll go then. They've been waiting for me already. -Johnny sighed and turned to Alex, who looked completely normal.

— Go ahead. The woman replied coldly as she put on her lab coat.

— Oh, come on!

The man came up from behind and gently wrapped his arms around the woman's body, wrapping her in an embrace. She tilted her head slightly and rolled her eyes. He seemed to annoy her with that.

— How about a coffee at 4 o'clock? — he did not calm down.

— Refuse. — the woman replied just as coldly, enduring this with the last of her strength.

Johnny had already started to say something when he was grabbed by the face and pushed towards the door. Alex was sick of his behavior. Or maybe..She was in a hurry to be alone with Nicole, who sat back down in her chair after an unsuccessful escape attempt. The man denied and muttered something in the palm of the woman's hand, but as soon as he was released and he was outside the threshold of this room, he pulled a smile again.

— I'll be waiting for you then! Good luck, new girl! -He winked at Nicole and the door immediately slammed in his face.

The girl trembled. Well, that's it. What's going to happen now? She stared in horror at Alex, who was breathing heavily, hunched up and leaning against the door. She saw that the green eye was still fixed on her. Somehow, her eyes were actually glowing. Brightly.

Nicole is trapped. She even sits in the corner. Panicking, she began to run her eyes around the room and think about how to escape. But she did not find anything useful during this search. There were no ideas either. Maybe now is the time to apologize? No..Nicole can't even move, what else to say. She was shackled by fear while Alex had already started her movement, she felt unexplained danger. Woman climbed up from above, clutching the back of the chair as if with claws. She bent one of her legs at the knee and placed it on the chair between Nicole's legs. She lowered her head to the blonde's face.

—What's up? -Alex asked with a kind of growl. Nicole's face immediately gave off heat, either from the heavy and languid breathing of the woman, or from such awkward intimacy. But it's not important to her now. A lot of thoughts were spinning in Nico's head that they were about to fall, given the angle of inclination of the chair now, that she was about to be gnawed, that Alex reminded her of an animal. And the woman was patiently waiting for an answer, although it was clear from the growl somewhere inside her body that she would not wait long.

—I ... -Nicole stuttered with tears in her eyes- ..excuse me..I'm sorry for what was there then..

Alex suddenly cringed all over. There was a laugh that came deep from the woman's throat. Clearly not a human laugh. But after a moment, she calmed down as suddenly as she laughed.

—What's it to me that you're apologizing here? The job is done. You've made it clear to me what kind of person you are, Nicole. —the woman whispered in the ear of the frightened and panicked girl.— Now I see everything. I know everything. So why apologize? On the contrary, you've given me so much interesting information about yourself. Even more information than is in your blood. -Alex growled the last one, even with hunger.

Nicole was shaking. She wasn't sure how it would end. She still couldn't move. She made only a muffled wheeze, trying to say something.

The woman clicked her tongue and stood on the ground. The chair returned to its usual position, and Nicole slid down a little. Her face was white, and there was a heavy feeling of vomiting inside. Alex dusted off her hands. She seems to have come to her senses.

— Okay, that's in the past! We have to work now! She said with her usual smile and went back to her coffee.— Come to your senses, we still have a lot of work to do.

— ..you are.. a monster. -Nicole muttered.

Alex curled up a little with laughter and answered quietly when she calmed down, continuing to drink her coffee:

— Yep. So be careful.

END