Step after step, the two members of the Resistance made their way across the scattered, ashen ruins. The barren remains of the European city had been void of all life ever since the destruction of the Citadel's Dark Energy Reactor. What remained of the calamity was in shambles; debris everywhere, making navigating the area rather difficult.
It was hard to believe that it had only been a day prior when Gordon Freeman had received orders to scour the city. He could remember clearly Kleiner's uneasy voice; the older man urging him to search for any survivors of the impact. In hindsight, Gordon could understand the sympathy the elder scientist felt for the City's inhabitants. It only natural to feel empathy towards other humans. Yet, Freeman only had difficulty believing there was anyone alive but himself and his companion.
Walking by Freeman's side was none other than Alyx Vance. The young woman was a tinkering mechanic, skilled hacker, and an overall compassionate and caring person. Her father had worked with Dr. Freeman years ago in the Black Mesa Research Facility. In spite of the fact that Gordon and Alyx had only known each other for nearly a month at the time, he could not help but admire her perseverance. The passionate young woman proved herself an excellent partner, both on the battlefield and during times of leisurely activities. Had Gordon ever a chance to speak his mind, he would perhaps have given sincere compliments to his companion. Now was not the time for that, however.
It had been about an hour of searching, perhaps even longer. Neither Gordon or Alyx were able to find anything or anyone out of the ordinary; not a glimpse of life other than themselves. What struck Gordon as odd was when the third member of the search party, DØG, had suddenly took off, leaving the two travelers in the dust.
DØG was an interesting fellow. Quite a character he had, too. If one could describe the massive robot as a "he". Built by Alyx's father, the eight-foot tall robot was designed to protect her. Her and DØG had apparently been an inseparable duo ever since she was a young girl. Gordon hadn't too much knowledge on DØG himself, however. All he knew was what Alyx told him about, as he never quite bothered to ask her about it. Being skilled in all sorts of mechanics, the woman had apparently added onto her robotic friend until he stood high as a giant.
What was peculiar to Gordon, however, was why the hound had taken off all of the sudden. Apparently, this behavior had also bewildered Alyx as well; she shot Gordon a confused glance before making a lighthearted remark towards the artificial canine.
"Well, there he goes! Wonder what DØG's gotten into."
Alyx paused for a moment, a surprised look arriving on her facial expression as if she had realized something or perhaps gotten an idea.
"Do you think he might have found something?"
Gordon raised an eyebrow, looking at his female friend with equal curiosity. In honesty, he was frankly quite surprised as well. He hadn't quite expected to actually find anything in the vicinity.
Alyx began making her way towards the direction that DØG had taken off; Gordon following close behind the woman as he kept a firm grip on his Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator.
In the far distance, a voice could be heard. A holler, as one might call it, one of an audibly masculine voice. So there was someone out there?
Well, that was to assume that it wasn't a zombie using vulgar words in a fit of rage. He… supposed that could have been possible, but that theory in itself seemed rather unlikely. Zombies typically didn't sound identical that.
Within mere seconds of hearing the unfamiliar of distress, DØG came bounding back to his human friends. This time, however, when he returned, circumstances were quite different. In fact, he had returned with a friend of his own. After coming to a quick halt, DØG let out a distinct beeping noise, presenting what he had found to his master.
"Hey, DØG! I see you found yourself a friend?"
Just as Alyx had said, well… DØG had definitely found himself a friend, for better or for worse. A young man, presumably in his late twenties, wearing a leather jacket of some sort. Not the typical attire anyone of the Resistance or Combine would wear.
It could also be noted that this unfamiliar man was highly agitated. The look on his face alone was clear enough that this man wanted nothing to do with this tomfoolery.
After letting out an irate groan, the stranger replied to Alyx's indirect question.
"I take it this THING belongs to you?"
The newcomer's harsh reaction lead Gordon to wonder if he was dealing with someone hostile. Yet, when he glanced over to Alyx, she appeared to be calm as ever. Maybe she was right to feel like such. Maybe this leather-jacketed fellow was only a complainer, so to speak.
"I take it you two have already gotten acquainted with each other." Alyx's tone of voice was one of sarcasm as she spoke.
Clearly fed up with the shenanigans, the stranger rolled his eyes and gave an equally sarcastic response in return.
"Yeah, we're best friends. Now could you get this massive heap of metal to let go of me?"
Alyx kept a grin on her face, however, she did immediately turn to Gordon, motioning to the stranger who was still confined in the grasp in DØG's large 'arms'.
"What do you say, Gordon? Do you think we should trust this guy?"
That… That was an awfully good question. Gordon did not even know how to respond to such a question. The newcomer didn't appear to be too much of a threat, although one could never be too careful. There was always a chance that he could be affiliated with the Combine, perhaps working undercover or something of the sort.
Gordon shrugged his shoulders in response to Alyx's inquiries.
"You heard him, DØG. You can let him down now."
Alyx spoke to her friend in a way that someone might speak to an actual dog; authoritative and firm, yet kind and trusting. It was quite obvious that the two had formed a stable relationship. It was a rather interesting concept, too; the friendship between human and android.
Sure enough, at Alyx's commands were heard, DØG placed the man onto the ground, or dropped him, rather. The jacketed man fell on his feet with a thud, stirring up the dusty particles beneath him.
"So, does that "dog" of yours do this crap all of the time? Just… kidnapping people without their permission?"
Alyx shook her head, appearing to be somewhat embarrassed by DØG's erratic behavior.
"Can't say he's ever done that before, actually." Alyx exchanged glances with the artificial intelligence, his head lowering into a slump as a low, mechanical whine escaped him.
"He's just weary of strangers, that's all."
DØG wandered back to Alyx's side after getting a good glance at the grumpy individual. There was no bound to that creature's curiosity; artificially intelligent or not. The robot appeared to show curiosity for the man, as did the other two rebels. In fact, the question might even be simultaneous throughout all three of the rebels' minds:
Who is that?
"Follow up if I may, what happened to this place?" the man asked, an incredulous expression on his face.
…Things were getting progressively peculiar. At least, they were in Gordon's silent opinion. Almost everyone had known of City 17. The place had been Combine's main base of operations for years now. Anyone who had been alive for the past twenty years seemed to know about the dangerous city. It was infamous for being home to the Citadel, as well as being located perilously close to the high-security prison of Nova Prospekt. For someone to know nothing of City 17… That was almost completely unheard of in itself!
After a short pause, Alyx began to explain,
"You're in City 17, or what's left of City 17, to put it more accurately. I take it you're not from around here, hm?"
"You have no idea."
"By the way," the woman responded, "My name is Alyx Vance. The gentleman accompanying me is Gordon, and… I see you've already met DØG."
DØG made a silly, cheerful dancing motion at the mention of his name.
As the woman looked back to the disgruntled stranger, her expression softened.
"And you are…?"
Some hesitation, and then, a response.
"…Dean. The name's Dean."