Salvation: A Half-Life/Mass Effect Universe Fan Fiction

Disclaimer: this fan-fiction takes place after the events of both Half-Life 1 and 2 and its episodes, and jumps to the events after Mass Effect 1 and 2. If you have not played or beaten these games this fiction may not make much sense to you. Characters property of their respective companies, Half-Life created by Valve and Mass Effect created by Bioware.

Chapter 5: The Late Dr. Freeman

"Did you hear that explosion!? That has to be Gordon!" Alyx exclaimed to her vortigaunt passenger, keeping her foot firmly pressed on the accelerator, as their truck cut through the muddy road.

"Yes," The vortigaunt started in. "Their is no doubt the Free Man has found those whom he sought. Let us hope we are not too late."

Alyx gripped the wheel tightly - a look of sheer determination reflected in her eyes, through her narrow gaze.

"Wait..." The vortigaunt said, as he tuned his senses to his surroundings. "Does the Alyx Vance hear?" He asked Alyx, with a fair bit of concern in his coarse voice.

"Hear...? Hear what? I don't hear anything." Alyx answered, never once taking her eyes off the road.

"Precisely." Declared the vort. "Moments ago there was no cease to the sound of firearms. Now there is only silence... I fear the Free Man's battle has ended..."

Alyx looked over at the vortigaunt for a moment. The look of determination in her eyes was quickly replaced by one of dread. But it was only for a moment before she turned her attention back to the road, obstinate on finding Gordon.

---

There was a ghostly silence as the sun rose over the mountainside, basking everything the light touched in a brilliant, renewing gleam. He hadn't even noticed that the rain had stopped, as he knelt over the mutilated corpse of what used to be a Combine Advisor. He took deep breathes in droves - panting heavily, trying to catch his breath.

His armor, having seen him through this ordeal, was riddled with bullet pocks, covered in blood, battered, dented, and beaten - showing obvious signs of degeneration from this battle and the many before it. Slowly, he staggered to his feet, wounded and exhausted, with his crowbar still clutched in hand.

"It's done..." He thought to himself, as he looked down at the fallen Advisor laid out at his feet.

He took a look around, seeing for the first time in the morning light, the carnage and destruction he had unleashed on the Combine. That's when he spotted his poor, mechanical friend, still laid out from his battle with the Strider.

"Dog..." He uttered under his breath, in a pained, throaty voice, as he limped over, hoping there would still be a chance to help him. A loud clanging sound came as he dropped his crowbar and hurried over to DOG as fast as his fatigued legs would carry him.

Suddenly, there was a silence... but not like before, no – a dead silence. There was no wind, no birds, no anything... Just then, he realized he couldn't move, something had suspended him.

"Another Advisor!?" He began to dread. "No..." He thought to himself. "I know what this is... Not now... Please, not now!" He pleaded to himself.

He looked around, and he spotted a bird flying overhead. Although it was not flying as much as it was floating... Suspended in time. Everything around him was simply suspended in time.

Slowly he saw darkness creep in all around him, as his world gradually began to fade to black. He was frozen in place again, but not like before. This was almost as if he was looking at the world through another person's eyes. Like he was trapped in his own body - his own thoughts echoing only in his head, but any signal sent to his limbs, any command to move, was simply ignored. That's when he heard it...

"Ohh Doctor Freeeeeeeeman..." Came a chilling voice from the darkness - a cold voice, void of all emotion and humanity.

A voice he had come to know only too well... Just then, a tall, slender man, in a blue business suit, manifested himself before him - casually strolling out from the darkness. His skin was icy pale, and he had an emptiness about his eyes. His right hand clutched a briefcase, while his left adjusted his necktie carefully, as he approached Gordon.

"Now, now... Dr. Freeman." The figure began. "I've never known... you to be the recklesss type."

His manner of speaking was odd - putting pauses where none should be, emphasizing improper syllables, and speaking with a somewhat diabolic hiss. Gordon's  eyes stared back into the empty eyes of the man before him, powerless to do little else.

"Although, I musst... say you never do fail to.... impresss..." This phantom of a man continued. "However, as you... well know I am not one to... sssquander my invessstments."

"What is he gonna do? Why's he here now? What's he planning?" Gordon's mind ran rampant, as the reticent figure before him continued on.

Suddenly, a bright, blinding light shone in from behind the suited apparition. As Gordon looked on, the silhouette of the briefcase wielding man was all he could make out now.

"I did always say that... the right man in the wrong place could... make all the difference in the world... And of course I was right." The figure continued. "But... we can't have you recklessly taking unnecessary... risks now, can we Doctor Freeman?"

"Damn it, not again!" Gordon thought to himself, knowing exactly what was about to happen, the same way it did after Black Mesa.

"Now, what... do we have here?" The suited figure before him caught Gordon's attention again, this time holding up Gordon's Gravity Gun in his hand. "Interesssting little toy you've got here... Perhaps we'll hold on to it... until... Well, until your servicesss... are called for once more..."

Suddenly he could feel motion. He could feel himself moving, although relative to the man before him, and the darkness of his surroundings, he was standing perfectly still.

"No...! Damn you, no! Please, no!" Gordon's thoughts resounded in his own mind, but no words came from his mouth.

"Come along now Doctor Freeman... That time has... come again..."

The light softly returned to where there was only darkness. The bird suspended above suddenly sprang to life and flew off, into the morning sky. Dew drops dripped down, off of the blades of grass, and glistened on the leaves of the trees. The wind rustled through the forest, as the leaves danced on the gentle breeze.

Scattered bodies, and mangled metal parts covered the road as a testament to the preceding battle, leaving the aforementioned sight perfectly intact, save for one thing; the presence of an orange armor clad figure.

"We've gotta be close, it sounded like it came fr..." Alyx stopped mid-sentence, as she slammed on the brakes, causing the tires to skid on the slick road. "Look!" Alyx yelled out hastily, as she threw the door open, and bolted out of the truck to inspect the carnage that caught her eyes.

She looked around frantically, hoping to spot some sign of Gordon, as the vortigaunt too climbed out of the truck to join her in her search.

"Gordon...!? Gordon!" She yelled in desperation, but the only response she got was the land answering with an echo.

"Gordon!" She continued to shout, as she walked closer toward the mangled bodies of the Combine forces, intertwined with bits and pieces of splattered antlions.

"Dog!" She immediately cried out, in a panic, when she spotted her faithful, robotic companion laid out on the ground. She sprinted over to him, praying that her fears would not prove true.

"Dog! Wake up! Oh god...!" She inspected him feverishly, hoping that at any moment his head would playfully pop up as if to say "Haha, I got you!"

The vortigaunt rushed over to Alyx's side as she examined her pet.

"Okay..." She began with an exhaled sigh - still in a panic, but slowly calming down. "His left arm servo motor has been damaged, and his primary buffer panel is missing. But everything else seems to be intact." She explained to the vortigaunt. "The impact must have caused him to go into emergency shutdown. As long as his core memory hasn't been damaged, he should be fine."

Alyx looked over at the vort, with a concerned demeanor. "...Would you mind giving him a jump start? A small jolt should do the trick."

The vortigaunt nodded compliantly. "The Alyx Vance must stand back." He instructed, as he closed his eyes and positioned his hand over DOG.

A brilliant, green stream of electricity shot out from his hands and fused itself into DOG's inner workings. DOG twitched and spasmed, as various mechanical noises resonated from deep within his robotic structure. Realizing that should be enough, the beam of energy ceased from the vort's hands, as he lowered them back down.

Like a loved one in a hospital waiting room, anxiously anticipating critical news from a Doctor, Alyx waited - desperately hoping and praying that her friend would return to her.

"Please... please..." She pleaded to herself, as she awaited some sign of life.  

Just then, the panels surrounding DOG's head slowly started to move back and forth, causing Alyx to gasp happily. Still laying on the ground, he slowly turned his head and locked his optic lens onto her.

"Dog...?!" She beckoned excitedly, hoping that he was really okay. DOG let out a loud, mechanical buzz, that was easily recognized by Alyx.

"Oh Dog, you're okay!" She exclaimed, quickly embracing his sturdy mechanical frame. "You had me so worried, boy! What are you doing way out here? I thought you were still back at White Forest." She asked, ecstatic that DOG was alright.

He softly returned her embrace with one arm, being ever so careful not to harm her with his tremendous strength. Letting go, she began to pet the smooth metallic panels on his head.

"Don't you EVER scare me like that again!" She pleaded with him, before embracing him tightly a second time, and then letting go yet again.

DOG slowly got to his feet, as a shower of sparks shot out from his robotic shoulder joint, causing his left arm to go limp.

"Easy, easy!" She warned him. "Your left arm servos are shot. I'll fix 'em up when we get back to White Forest."

The joy she had gotten from knowing that DOG at least was alright had distracted her from the notion of finding Gordon, for a moment at least. As she turned back around, keeping a vigilant eye on DOG, she suddenly noticed the yellow overturned Charger.

"Oh god, Gordon!" Alyx yelled out, as she ran toward the car, expecting to find a mangled Gordon Freeman underneath. "Gordon? Gordon?!" She searched frantically, but there was no sign of him. She let out a sigh of relief, knowing at least that he wasn't here.

"Dog." She turned back to her amicable robot companion. "Were you here with Gordon? Was he fighting the Combine?" She inquired, hoping DOG would shed some light on Freeman's whereabouts. DOG nodded and took a long look around for himself.

"Dog, what happened? Where's Gordon!?" Alyx asked, nearly in tears. DOG looked at her, before bolting off towards the wreckage of the fallen Strider.

With the use of only one arm, he dug deep into the debris, and with Atlas-like strength, lifted the wreckage up, high over his head. DOG inspected the ground beneath wrecked Strider, thinking that perhaps Gordon had gotten caught under the falling debris. But again, there was no sign of him...

"Gordon...!" Alyx cried out again, cupping her hands around her mouth, with her eyes now glazed over. "Gordon!!" But again, the only response she got was the echo from the teasing mountains.

"Free Man!" The vortigaunt shouted, lending his voice to the search.

The three scoured the area, searching the wreckage for any sign of The One Free Man, but finding none. As she searched, Alyx spotted Gordon's famed crowbar on the wet pavement. She bent down to pick it up.

"He's gonna need this when I find him..." She whispered to herself, in a trembling voice, as she tried to swallow back the stubborn knot in her throat.  

The vortigaunt stopped and looked at her. He closed his multiple eyes and brought his hands together. Suddenly, he was bathed in a brilliant lavender glow, as he began chanting a strange, vortal incantation.

"Chaum chaum... Bog'lek... Gallam galla gilla ma..."

Alyx looked on, not knowing what exactly the vortigaunt was trying to accomplish, but hoping that whatever it was it would succeed.

"Chaum chaum... Bog'lek... Gallam galla gilla ma..."

Just then, the vortigaunt stopped. His color returned, as he let his arms drop back down to his sides. His mouth hung open, as his eyes suddenly reflected a deepened sorrow.

"I... I cannot sense The Free Man." The words brought a grimace to Alyx's face and caused a chill to shuddered her body, as they hit her like a freight train.

"No..." She whispered to herself, shaking her head in disbelief.

"He is... no longer of this world..." The vortigaunt declared, with deep remorse, bowing his head in lament.

Alyx dropped to her knees...

"Gordon..." She uttered to herself, in a trembling voice. "How could you leave me too...?" She closed her eyes, forcing twin streams of tears to flood out, and etch her cheeks.

"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!" She yelled out to the skies, in anguish, as DOG and the vortigaunt looked on - silently sharing in her grief. She looked down at his crowbar in her trembling hands, dotting it with her tears.

"My Gordon..." She cried to herself, as she clenched it tightly, and held it to her heart, quietly sobbing. "Please... Not my Gordon..."