Black. Darkness filled the infinite void around him, the physicist who saved the world…supposedly. Gordon Freeman, still in his metal HEV suit, stood there, not moving. After all, what was there to do? After saving the world, encountering mad priests, and going face to face with the person that had hired you in the first place in a very climactic duel, what else could someone want but rest? This seemed like it would last long for the physicist, since it has been an eternity, or at least was like one, since the Gman had put Gordon in this place. Since he last saw Alyx, Eli, and Mossman…oh, that could've been ages ago. But he didn't know. He didn't even know how long he was in there. Then again, he didn't know a lot of things about this…

"Hello, Gordon"

The Gman stood right in front of Freeman. His well-groomed hair, which was normally gray, seemed invisible in the blackness of the space. Freeman could only stare at the odd fellow in his usual blank stare.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Mister Freeman?" For some odd reason, the man smiled as he gave his regular speech at the MIT graduate. "What…probably a few months since we parted yet again, this time at City 17? Well…this isn't much of a new mission…in fact, it's the same one. However…there were complications that had happened while I put you in stasis again…this time, things got worse." Gman seemed nervous in telling Freeman this. He knew that the doctor did not want to continue with these random missions, but in order to protect the world, they had to continue.

"Well, now to our problem. As you remembered, you just destroyed City 17's Dark Energy Reactor. Now, we originally calculated that this would get the rebellion around the world to go into full motion. That was not the case. Austria, which is where City 17 was, and the rest of Europe, for that matter, is now safe and in the hands of Eli, Alyx, Judith, and other members of Black Mesa East. But…we failed to recognize that Breen was not the only person to worry about. There were 6 others in some elaborate deal with the Combine to have Black Mesa happen. As you know, Breen was the person to force you to do the experiment that caused everything to happen. The other 6, however, got the necessary materials, planned out how it would be executed, sort through deals with the Combine…but that stuff is not important, now. And they also planned to use you as the puppet…the one who started this from the very beginning. They used you as their tool, and now, I would believe that you want to get some revenge on them, no?"

Freeman was silent. He had a feeling that he was being used, and he didn't care about that. Well, he did, just not as much as that there are still 6 others like the Administrator, Dr. Breen, out there, controlling the Combine rule and making sure that he, Gordon Freeman, would get killed on sight.

"Well, now, that the time is not as urgent, I guess I should fill you in on exactly what happened, and why the Combine are here today…"

In a large, eye-burning flash, they instantly teleported out of the darkness Gordon had been accustomed to. Now, Gordon saw that he was standing above his old workplace, located inside a New Mexican plateau. It looked like it had the day he first arrived…it looked like that day had never happened.

"Now, Mr. Freeman," Gman started to explain the events AFTER Gordon had left the planet. "As you know, when the experiment you had participated in went completely awry, the military went into action to make sure it did not go any further. We, as in the government, did our best to conceal the fauna in their current location…" Gman sighed. "But we could not, and they continued to stay in the same condition that they would on Xen. So, I took matters into my own hands…I called in Black Ops to finish the job. I had them set up a missile, but a Marine failed to obey his primary orders, and shut down the damn thing." He seemed furious, but calmed down again. "So, I decided to go there, and restart the missile myself, which I successfully did. However…it did not quite work as I had planned…yes, it did blow up, as you'll see here."

Gordon watched on, longing to go back to the day before any of this had happened. These past years have ruined his life, and dammit, he wanted it back. However, once again, his dream was shattered. In seconds, Black Mesa, the laboratory which he once called home, was engulfed in a gigantic, artificial, deadly blaze. Gordon, blinded by the flash that the bomb gave off, looked to the right. There, he saw a figure of the past. A helicopter, which not only included the Gman, but also a marine, had just flown by.

Gordon was standing in a gigantic, technical room. A scientist, who was working above him, was frantically trying to get the portal to work.

"Almost there, just hold on…" he was working frantically, knowing that Gordon was their last hope. He HAD to get through the portal in order to survive.

Gordon, meanwhile, was fighting off natives to Xen, which was the planet that the Black Mesa scientists had used as an apex for teleportation, and was also the source of all their problems. These aliens possessed extraordinary psychic powers, and were launching bright, orange orbs at Gordon, trying to prevent him from going to their home world. From SMG to shotgun to magnum to crossbow, Freeman was doing everything in his power to keep himself safe. Seconds seemed like minutes, minutes like hours. What he was doing right now was never mentioned in the poor physicist's contract.

"NOW GORDON!" exclaimed the lab worker. "Go through the gate now!"

The portal was open, and Gordon did as he was told. He ran for his way out of New Mexico, and as he did, a door behind him opened. Behind it was a single Marine, in a gas mask that he would never forget. As he looked back, he saw the soldier pull the trigger of his own submachine gun. Gordon did not care, because as soon as he did, he went right into the portal, never to see the interior of the now infamous New Mexican lab again.

"…Gordon, are you listening?"

The physicist had drowned out from reality, and was now back. He quietly and hastily opened is eyes to find that he was back where he started, in that black, dark space away from the world that he used to believe was his own.

"Now, Black Mesa is still in existence. After the blast, the fauna THRIVED! It seems that the nuclear fallout nourished the plants, something which we did not know about. These plants allowed the headcrabs, icthyosaurs, and all of the other fauna from Xen to flourish. This brought the Combine. They knew that the conditions on Xen could survive on Earth with these recent events, and now…" the agent sighed. "They colonized it. Using Black Mesa as a base, they invaded the Earth, with the help of those 7 people. Black Mesa is not only a breeding ground for headcrabs and such, but is also City 3, the Combine capital of the earth. Your assignment is to do whatever you did in City 17…just 6 more times. Simple enough, no?"

Gordon then saw himself fade away in the darkness.

"When and where it will end…well, as I said before, I'm not quite at liberty to say."

The Gman then disappeared from Gordon's sight once again.

Well, hopefully you all find this as an improvement over Truth. Please send all comments