The All-knowing vortigaunt rose. Someone had found his hiding place. The vortessence had been stirring beyond measure for days now, it was definitely the end times. He knew what was coming, and he knew what needed to be done. He patiently awaited the call of his kin , when the time of battle would dawn upon him once more and he would join the tightly woven tapestry of the vortessence.
"Emerge from shadows or have your chord cut." he said through a wheezing voice.
"Peace, knowing one. I bring news of your kin and of the one free man." a woman responded.
A racking cough crippled him for a few moments.
"Then by all means, continue." he wheezed when his breath returned.
"Your kin are leaving for the north. He is almost here, we cannot delay any longer." the woman said.
"You forget, only I have faced him before and remained vortal. I know his style. You're hiding something." the all knowing vort said.
"Your reputation is not undeserved. I… spoke with him before, all of this -including you- is part of his plan. He is a mastermind that manipulates whomever he wants and steers history towards his own ends." confessed the woman.
The knowing one regarded her for a few seconds.
"I am not well. If what you say is true I will not survive a second encounter with him. All things considered, why would we play into his hand?" the vort asked.
The woman walked closer and stepped into the light. She was middle aged and had a few streaks of grey between her otherwise brown hair.
"Because he did not reckon on this."
He could smell it before she showed it.
"The… the larval extract." he said in awe. "I have misjudged you, what be your name, woman?"
"Mossman. Doctor Judith Mossman." she replied.
- λ³ -
Battle raged in the Borealis. Gordon fired from behind cover and a combine soldier dropped. Two more took his place. Alyx ran from her position and took cover beside Gordon.
"There are too many, we need to block that breach! Any ideas?" asked Alyx.
Gordon looked up. A crane was dangling a shipping container over the hull breach. If he could somehow drop that… he pulled out his gravity gun and winked at Alyx.
"Gotcha back Gordon!" she said and reloaded her handgun.
Alyx provided covering fire while Gordon repositioned closer to a wall.
"Portal up!" Chell said and shot a portal in the wall next to Gordon.
The portal opened like a window in the air and Gordon blasted the chain suspending the container. Years of salty sea air had rusted the chain, and it snapped on the first try. The container came crashing down, sealing the breach and crushing any soldiers who dared to linger below. The remaining stragglers inside the ship didn't stand a chance against Barney's photon rifle.
"Nice shooting Barney." said Chell with a wink as the last soldier crumbled to ash.
Gordon walked over to where Alyx was looking at the Nihilanth's gate.
"That won't hold out the combine for long Gordon, we need to disable this thing, let me see..." Alyx walked to the computer console.
"Can't we just blast the thing?" asked Barney.
"Aperture technology can stand anything we throw at it, and we can't risk the combine repairing it." said Chell.
"Yeah about that, when you woke up you went all wild eyed and said 'He's coming'. What did you mean?" asked Barney.
Chell frowned.
"When I blacked out my memories came back. I was put into cryogenic sleep at Aperture on the day of the resonance cascade..."
Chell told them all the bits and pieces she remembered. Gordon and Alyx exchanged looks at the mention of the man in the grey-blue suit.
"Our mutual friend..." Alyx whispered. "Unforeseen consequences."
The vortigaunts had been silent up until now, but spoke up at this news.
"His reach extends through the vortessence and can silence any individual, but now that we stand united he will find our resistance much more… surprising." said one of the vortigaunts.
"Chell, you said the Borealis had a twin?" asked Alyx.
"Yes. Project Aurora consisted of two science vessels. The Borealis in the north and the Australis in the south, probably named after the northern- and southern lights." explained Chell. "But when Aperture got news of the resonance cascade they attempted to trigger a failsafe - a fusion charge could be remotely detonated to destroy the ships. The Australis was destroyed, but the Borealis's charge failed, and they attempted to hide the ship in the polar ocean."
"Then when Wheatley took control of Aperture he neglected to keep an eye on the Borealis, and she ran aground on the ice blanket." said Alyx.
"Right, thats a very neat history lesson but how do we stop this gate from bringing in another Nihilanth?" asked Barney.
"The fusion charge may still be a viable option. I may be able to rig it to blow again." said Alyx. "Right Gordon, you ready to explore the rest of this ship?" asked Alyx.
Gordon nodded, but a noise from the blocked hull breach stopped them short.
There was a metallic screech from the shipping container blocking the entrance. And then all hell broke loose. The container crumpled like a soda can and the previously narrow breach in the hull was torn open wide enough for a bus pass. An invisible wave of energy blasted Gordon off his feet and against a wall. Just before his vision faded he saw advisors floating towards them.
- λ³ -
Gordon tried to rub his pounding head, but found that he could not lift his hand. His eyes fluttered open- and he found himself face to face with an advisor.
"I'm getting tired of this." a voice mumbled to his right. Barney.
All the survivors -even the vortigaunts- were bound and shackled back to back in a heap on the floor in front of the Nihilanth's gate. The Advisor drifted off and started working the console with his mechanical arms.
Alyx stirred behind Gordon, then squirmed in panic.
"Gordon? Gordon where are you?"
Gordon couldn't turn to face her but instead gave her hand a squeeze.
"The Alyx and the Freeman's lives are yet woven together. They share a bond even the Advisors can't break." said one of the Vortigaunts.
"Yet I fear Armageddon comes." said Father Grigori. "If a Nihilanth enters this world we will be enslaved like the vortigaunts were years ago."
Gordon was surprised to hear his voice. Had the Advisors really spared them all?
"We have to activate that fusion bomb, Gordon." Alyx whispered into his ear.
Gordon nodded, but a noise drew their attention to the gate. The air in the archway seemed to shimmer and blur, like a reflection on running water. A sound like a great storm filled Gordon's ear and just as it became too loud to bear, it stopped. The air in the archway solidified into a great wall of black.
"We're too late..." said Alyx, despair in her voice.
Even though he emerged victorious from his last encounter with a Nihilanth, he still feared that which waited on the other side of that black veil.
The black veil stirred, and shadow appeared inside. Gordon braced himself. But instead of a monster, a man appeared. A man wearing a grey-blue suit.
