Chapter One
City 17 Citadel, the present.
Gordon Freeman punched the lever on the Gravity Gun, knocking down the squad of combine, that summarily fell into the endless abyss that was the citadel's interior. He only needed to get rid of one more Gluon core to destabilise the Dimensional Generator. One more, and this nightmare would be over, replaced with yet another nightmare. Gordon cursed the Mysterious Man. It was he that took away Gordon's life, and replaced it for this. He was no more than a soldier for hire. He regained his composure, as he took the elevator to the top level. Standing there, in all his decadent glory, was the scum formally known as Doctor Breen. So many atrocities this man has committed, he could barely be called human. He stood there, smiling at Gordon, a crazed look on his face. "You can't destroy me! Your instinct orders you to stop, as you well know you WILL die if you destroy that last reactor sphere." Gordon said nothing, and slammed the button on his G-gun.
"The Doomrunner" Light Escort ship, Deep space, The Future
Captain Dorin Duros frantically shouted out orders, as the covenant fleet closed around him. "Primary Engines Offline! Pitch 22 degrees! Yaw 34 degrees! Chapre! Are the slipstream engines ready?" Lieutenant Chapre, the navigation officer, looked up to Duros in horror. "Are you sure, Captain? There are too many enemy ships around us! There is a 22 chance of survival!" Duros yelled back "And there is a 0 chance of survival if we stay here! We must protect Spartan 118! Push the button, Lieutenant!" They had recently uncovered the last Spartan built in Cryo, deep within the empty void that is space. A creature so perfect in its design, that the covenant annihilated entire systems in order to end its existence. But the brave men and women who fought desperately to defend 018, otherwise known as Outsider, were all immolated by Covenant Bombardments. Their project, however, escaped the Covenant's clutches. Duros would not let those lives go to waste. Chapre looked even more bewildered. "Yes, sir! But we have no coordinates! The long range scanner has been knocked out!" "I don't give a shit!" Duros shouted. "We haven't time to coordinate! Anywhere is better than here."
How wrong he could be.
"The Prophet's Justice" Light Cruiser
"The Imperfect One is fleeing once more, Commander." The navigator yelled to Valeus. Valeus had been hunting the Imperfect One for ten years, each time he slipped through his fingers. "We will not allow It to escape again! What options do we have?" The navigations officer looked at Valeus. "There IS that Ancient device we picked up in Gorn IV... But that would be against custom!" All ancient (Forerunner) Technology was to be taken directly to the Prophets. But desperate times call for desperate measures. The artefact in question was a small container they found deep in the mountains of Gorn IV, and it contained a variety of green fluid, with strange specimens inside. The canisters were sealed by a mobile energy field that stopped them being opened. The other item inside the capsule, however, appeared to be some sort of missile. It was a gamble, but it could be used without knowing specifically what it was. "We have no other choice! Fire!" Valeus shouted. The device shot from the missile tube, self igniting and rocketing towards the human vessel. As the slip stream rupture widened, the missile plunged into it. The rupture exploded into a mass of white light, as both ships were consumed.
City 17 Citadel, present
The horror on Breen's face was evident, as the teleporter he was standing in began to collapse, turning a pale purple hue as it began to collapse. The energy sphere grew smaller and smaller, before imploding outwards at an incredible pace. Alyx screamed as the sphere rapidly accelerated towards her. Abruptly, the sphere halted, as did everything. Directly in front of Gordon's face was the unforgettable face of the Man, G-man.
"Time, Doctor Freeman? Is it really that...time... again? It seems as if you've only just arrived. You've done a great deal in a small time...span. You've done so well, in fact, that I've received some interesting offers for your services. Ordinarily I wouldn't contemplate them but, these are extraordinary times, hm?" "Can you save Alyx? She shouldn't have to die!" "Alright, the woman will live." G-man blinks, and Alyx's silluhette vanishes from his view. "Rather than offer you the illusion of free choice, I will take the liberty of choosing for you if and when your time comes around again. I do apologize for what must seem to you an arbitrary imposition, Doctor Freeman. I trust it will all make sense to you in the course of...well...I'm really not at liberty to say. In the meantime, this is where I get off."
"No." Gordon said, rage boiling over inside. "I do have a choice. AND I MAKE IT NOW!" He lifts up the gravity gun, still containing the gluon ball. He smiles, and hit the button once more. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo!" G-man screamed, his echoes bouncing across invisible corners, as his body is immolated in a field of magnificent white light. Gordon blinks, and he is in a train. Alyx is with him. "What the HELL just happened, Gordon?" "You don't really need to know that." Gordon replied. He looked out the window, and sees the magnificent Citadel become consumed in the ball of white light. The ball of light imploded, leaving an immolated base and……. Two ships?