Half Life 2: The Final Push Chapter 10: Goodbye, a half-life fanfic

Darkness. Out of the darkness a small hiss arose.

"He is doing well." One foul voice echoed out.

A new voice melted out from the dark. "Yesssss. That is why . . . I chose . . . hiiiim."

"Be careful.", the first commanded. "It seems that the other have noticed small hostility from you and your employee. Do not develop this urge. This being you're only warning."

The second smiled deviously.

"Don't . . . worry."

….

Gordon felt the impact of the final hanging container vibrate through his H.E.V boots. Alyx followed shortly, landing next to her orange clad companion. He quickly brought his finger to his mouth, indicating Alyx to keep quiet.

The Borealis was so close; they could reach out and touch it. The container that they were standing on was mere inches from the deck railing. However, the reason why Gordon shooshed his partner because of the Combine guards patrolling the top of the boat. Luckily, their container was in the shadows, concealing the pair.

Looking around, the only way atop the boat was another jump. Unfortunately, that would cause them to reveal themselves into the light. Fortunately, the deck was spotted with long, tall cargo boxes, allowing some hiding places.

After waiting for the last guard to disappear from view, Gordon and Alyx pounced, flying in the air for a few seconds before landing on solid deck. The pair quickly sprinted to the nearest cargo box, hiding in the shadows of the large container, just in time. A lone
Combine elite strolled passed the hiding rebels.

"Whew," a small whisper lifted from Alyx, "That was pretty close."

Gordon nodded. Scooting forward to the edge of the box, he peeked around the corner.

About 30 guards were walking around their container. This was definitely against their odds. Alyx crept up behind Gordon and grabbed her own peek.

"Crap. That is no bueno."

Gordon simply nodded . . . again.

Alyx glanced around, trying to find a way out of the situation. There were only boxes and dangerous guards.

However . . .

One box caught her eye. It was black with strange white markings. It was different from the other containers, seeing that is was smaller, indicating that the Combine had brought it on. It was only a few feet from their position.

She simply closed her eyes and grumbled. This is a stupid idea.

"Gordon." She whispered, grabbing his attention. "Follow me."

Alyx moved towards the box, sprinting past the open area, slipping past the enemy. Gordon followed flawlessly. Looking over the box, Alyx found the control panel. Pulling out the handheld E.M.P. devise, she quickly hacked the lock. The door slid too the side only slightly, allowing the pair to enter. She slipped in first, followed by Gordon.

Gordon followed his companion into the pitch-blackness of the mystery container. The doors behind him slid back, exterminating the last bit of light.

"Gordon, could you turn on your flashlight?"

He obeyed, clicking the switch on his armor's shoulder. Light flooded the small room . . . revealing a Hunter mere inches from his face.

Gordon quickly grabbed for his shotgun.

"No! Wait!" the words of Alyx rang out, quickly ceasing Gordon's movement. "It's deactivated. It's safe."

He relaxed slightly, but still kept his gun leveled.

"Now, the only way to get past those guards is to distract them. That's why I'm gonna hack one of these babies." Tapping the beat on the side with her gloved hand, she smiled at Gordon. He was too stunned to move. In his mind, he thought this was a horrible idea.

"So, we doing this?"

Gordon sighed, mouthing the word "yes".

Alyx didn't waste a second. She moved to the nearest Hunter and pushed a small lever under it's belly. A small panel slid out of the underbelly. Pulling the E.M.P. devise out, she began working on the control mechanism. After a triumphant yelp and a shoot of sparks from the panel, she stood up and backed away.

"Gordon, you might wanna step back."

Confused, he stepped back into the wall. Seconds later, the Hunter roared to life. The large creature flipped his head back and forth, assessing the area. It gave out a massive roar.

"Hey," Alyx shouted. "Big boy! Over here!"

The Hunter drew its attention to the young woman, but did not attack.

"Alright, go do what you do."

As if the beast understood, it piled through the doors, instantly crushing through the solid metal. It stood on the deck, almost dazed. The Combine troops all turned their attention to their runaway killing machine.

The Hunter turned its attention to its former master. Screeching out a battle cry, the mechanical tripod charged forward towards the nearest guard. He shot his pulse rifle wildly, unable to land a critical hit. The beast bashed into his torso, killing the guard instantly. Turning towards the next victim, the Hunter spotted a lone guard trying to pull his weapon from the holster. Unfortunately for him, the tripod reached him first, digging it's talons into his chest and pinning him to a cargo box. The remaining guards opened fire. The monster retaliated with exploding fletches, taking out five more Combine.

Gordon and Alyx used this chance to run towards the nearest door to the bottom floors. Before reaching the door, a dead solder flew past their feet. Gordon grabbed the latch to the door, pulling the door open. They entered the bowels of the Borealis.

The lights flickered for a moment before shedding light, revealing the long hallway of the Borealis. The white washed walls and red carpet gave the passageway a clean feeling. Doors leading to a plethora of labs lined the area. Gordon and Alyx cautiously moved forward.

"Welcome to the Aperture Science mobile testing ship number 117."

Gordon and Alyx jumped at the sudden voice of GLaDOS.

"Please make your way towards the main testing area number 23.."

"Why do we have to go there?" Alyx called out.

"Item number 3325 is currently being primed by the . . . adehboisleitplcomadi."

Gordon and Alyx exchanged looks of confusion as the static consumed the speakers before they cut off completely.

"GLaDOS?"

No response.

"GLaDOS!"

Still silence.

Alyx grumbled as she turned to her companion. "I guess we should keep going."

Gordon agreed. They jogged down the corridor, keeping their weapons primed.

Darkness.

"The end is near."

A small hiss replied through smiling teeth. "Heee is . . . close."

"Yes. Soon, it will be complete."

"Of . . . Course. Mr. . . Freeeman . . will end hissss journey."

"What will you do when his task is complete?"

A small, twisted smile appeared. "We have no . . need . . for him in the . . end."

Gordon felt his legs burn from running. Even Alyx was beginning to slow down. It was a miracle that they were still able to move after enduring the past few days. But this was the first time in years that he was able to run on maroon carpet.

Thankfully, Gordon spotted a bulkhead with the number 23 labeled on it's metal.

Alyx paced up to the keypad, looking over the impressive piece of hardware.

"Crap," she exclaimed. "This is some advanced security."

She examined the keypad. "It will take me an hour to get through this."

Frowning, Gordon looked around their surroundings. Of course, there were only doors leading to smaller labs.

"Hey, wait," Alyx grabbed his shoulder. "I know what to do. GLaDOS?"

Again, no reply.

"GLaDOS! We need to get past this door. Can you bypass the security?"

Silence consumed the halls. Alyx sighed in defeated.

A faint clack reverberated from the bulkhead and moments later, the door slid apart. Alyx frown was replaced by a small grin.

"Thank you."

Inside, the only source of light was from three wide windows at the end of a dark, oval shaped ro0m. Gordon and Alyx quickly moved in, checking their corners for Combine. The room was fairly small, containing only a row of consoles. Behind the consoles were the windows, showing a larger room filled with blinding light. Cautiously, Gordon made his way to the window. His eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light.

What he saw was a circular room the size of half a football field, only a few feet below their viewing room. The entire space was white, adding an eerie cleanliness to it. But in the center of the room, was item number 3325. Gordon felt his heart drop. He slowly dropped to his knees, feeling shock flow in through his body.

Alyx moved forward kneeling beside her companion. "Gordon? What is it?"

He whispered, almost faintly. "they stole our idea."

Alyx then looked out the window. Her eyes grew wide as she brought her hand up to her mouth.

In the center of the room was a raised platform with three powerful generators connected to the floor. Directly above it were three long prongs dangling from the ceiling, which were connected to more complex machinery.

It was a teleporter, similar to the one at Black Mesa that caused the Resonance Cascade.

"Oh my God."

A door slid open down in the teleport room, allowing ten Combine elites to enter with their equipment. They started typing on small terminals in the room, causing a low hum to reverberate through the ship.

"Gordon," Alyx whispered. "They are activating the teleporter!"

That was it. Gordon hit his last wall. Through the pain and the hurt, his adventure to this point all lead up to this crucial moment. And he felt that. His monster within slowly wreathed it's ugly head. He hadn't come this far to fail for himself, for Alyx . . . and for Eli.

Shaking off the shock, Gordon glared at his enemy below. He shook with rage. Standing to his feet, he pulled the SMG's from Alyx's shoulder and from his own belt. Holding both weapons in each hand, he pointed to the ground, indicated for Alyx to stay.

"Gordon?" She asked, confused. He didn't listen. Walking away, she stood up, chasing after him. "Gordon?!"

He reached the door leading to the room below and activated the "open" command.

"Gordon, don't do this!"

The door slid open, revealing a stairway to the teleport room. He slipped in and locked the door behind him. Alyx banged on the door. "Gordon!"

Looking back, he smiled before running down the stairs.

Alyx cursed under her breath. She moved to the windows to watch the mayhem. She spotted Gordon walking down the stairs without the Combine noticing. He held both SMG's in his hands. Walking out into the open, Gordon hosed the room with his gunfire. The enemy soldiers tried to return fire, but were caught of guard. Blood spattered the clean walls, adding color to the room. The last two guards tried to return fire, but were instantly shredded by Gordon's accurate use with firepower.

Gordon stood still for a moment, his breath coming out in heaves. The dead soldiers slowly trickled crimson fluid that looked like small streams.

He dropped his empty weapons. They clacked onto the ground, echoing through the once silent room.

It was silent until a small "clack" was heard. Looking towards the teleporter, he spotted the three prongs slowly moving outward. He looked up towards Alyx, trying to see if she knew what was going on.

She activated the mic behind the glass window.

"Gordon!" She called through the speakers. "they have activated the teleport! I can shut it down, but it will take a few minutes."

He nodded. Turning around, he saw bursts of energy connected to both parts of the machine. A small line of white portal energy flowed between the floor and the ceiling. The line began to widen. Gordon stepped back. The portal became an oval shape. Seconds after this stage, it was a large circle of white energy. Small glowing orbs began to hover around Gordon. The fain hum grew to a deafening roar. The room started to shake. Gordon was about to leave when are bright light filled the room. All he could hear was Alyx screaming.

Then the light subsided.

Gordon brought his arm from his eyes so he could see. The teleport had created a large portal to a planet that he had never seen before. Stepping forward, he could see what this hostile place looked like. The portal was sitting on a large cliff, allowing a view that was awe-inspiring. The sky was deep red with black clouds. Blue lightning seemed to strike every second. The ground was sand and matched the color of the sky. The desert seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see. Looking out upon the edge of this world, he could see a large city, black against the horizon. He then looked at the sand fields down below.

Gordon stepped back.

Upon the field were thousands upon millions of troops standing upon the sand. It contained thousands of combine troops, except these were different from the ones on earth. They were bulkier, with a black metal armor. Their eyes were pitch red and their skin a sickly white color. Standing along side these creatures were vortigaunts, decked up in the same armor. These were the slaves of the Combine. Joining these troops were other creatures that Gordon had never seen before, obviously controlled by the enemy now. Overtop the army; he could see thousands of flying Advisors circling their mass army of troops.

Gordon tried to breath. A low horn echoed through across the field. At once, as if they had seen him, the millions of soldiers turned and stared at the orange clad human standing upon their cliff. They all shouted their battle cries, which shook Gordon's armor.

Turning slowly to Alyx, he mouthed the words "hurry up".

Alyx obeyed, punching more commands into the computer.

Gordon looked back upon the field. The army was now running towards his cliff. He looked down to the sand he was standing on. It was jumping.

"Okay, Gordon!" Alyx shouted. "I got it!"

He quickly jumped back into the Borealis. Behind him, the portal slowly closed, slipping back into the air.

"That will hold them off for a few minutes."

Alyx disappeared from the window for a few seconds before reappearing on the stairs. She jogged next to Gordon with a look of concern.

"The Combine have encrypted the system too much. I've managed to close the teleporter for only a few minutes. It will open back up then."

Gordon nodded.

Alyx sighed "Yeah, so we will have to find a way to destroy this thing pretty soon."

Suddenly, lights went off for a second, before resuming its original duty. The speakers cracked to life.

A dark voice echoed through the room.

"What do you mean destroy?"

"GLaDOS," Alyx replied. "We need to destroy it. It's too dangerous to have."

"But . . . . . . . you can't. Item number 3325 is under my supervision."

"Trust me. This needs to be done."

A tense pause followed Alyx's comment. "No it does not."

The lights dimmed slightly. Gordon looked up just in time to see a part of the ceiling slide away. Out of the dark hole, what looked like a large surveillance camera dropped down. It was a cylinder with a single red "eye" dangling in the center. Long black cables made their journey from the main "body" into the eye, which danced around, darting at Gordon and Alyx. This was GLaDOS.

"I see now it was a mistake to let you into my Aperture Science . . . . sjeoceowpld . . . And I don't see it . . prudent . . . for you to leave."

Suddenly, the doors around the room shut and clacked their locks into place. Gordon raised his shotgun towards the deadly A.I. and pulled the trigger. The slug simply bounced off of her hull.

"I am now filling the room with deadly nuro toxin."

Out of the corner of his eye, Gordon spotted green gas emitting from hidden tubes in the wall.

"No!" Alyx shouted. "You can'!"

"You put this on yourself. You deserve punishment."

"You son of a . . .!"

Gordon stepped forward and handed Alyx his gun. Confused, she watched as he walked up to the insane A.I. Moving forward, Gordon was eye to eye with GLaDOS.

"I had heard that you wanted to be like me."

Her mechanical eye rolled for a minute before diverting from Gordon's face like an ashamed child. "I did. You destroyed the frightening men outside. I adored you for that."

"And that is exactly what I'm doing now. If I destroy this teleporter, we can keep the Combine from invading our planet."

GLaDOS became tense at the word 'Destroy'. "I will not let you destroy my teleporter."

Gordon stepped closer, his eyes inches from her own.

"I know you don't want to destroy your creation. But you yourself have destroyed. You have killed those who created and loved you. You have destroyed the lives of men who loved life." He drew in closer. "Now, all I ask is that you is to do something without selfishness. Do something that will benefit the word, instead of yourself. . . . help us . . . please."

GLaDOS thought for a moment. Her memory processors ran full speed, flying though the information. Her moral core deduced the outcome. The mainframe overloaded until . . . . something happened. She ignored the moral core or her memory processors. She didn't rely on the verdict of her decision-making hardware. All she had to rely on . . . was herself. And it was time to make a change.

GLaDOS' single eye turned to Gordon.

"You have one minute."

Alyx did a double take. "I'm sorry?"

"You have one minute before item number 3325 overloads and destroys the inside dock of this facility."

Gordon and Alyx stood for a second, stunned.

"If you go now, you will not die in a fiery death."

That was all it took for the pair of hero's. As the bulkhead doors unlocked and moved out of the way, they started towards the stairs. Before running, Gordon turned to GLaDOS.

He smiled.

GLaDOS felt a feeling that she had not in years . . . happiness. She watched as Gordon and Alyx sprint up the stairs and out of her life.

:51

Alyx sprinted ahead of Gordon as they raced down the corridor. The lights flashed on and off, causing dizziness. They turned right at the next fork in the hall. Alyx stopped.

"Oops."

She turned around.

"We made the wrong turn." She started running the other way with Gordon on her heels.

:36

The stairs were in sight. Gordon took the steps two at a time. He then cranked the door open and shoved the hunk of metal out of the way.

:27

Alyx jumped out onto Borealis' deck for the second time.

A hail of bullets whizzed around her. She dove behind a cargo container for cover. Gordon followed, slamming his back into the large box. The Combine were pouring onto the boat, obviously trying to reactivate the ship's teleporter.

The firepower was so intense, Gordon couldn't even move, in fear that he would be hit quite a few times. Looking around, there was no way out.

:12

Alyx suddenly remembered the portal gun strapped around her back. She quickly flipped the gun out. Ah signaled Gordon to provide cover fire. He primed two grenades and threw the explosives over their container. The two impacts managed to cause a big enough pause in the incoming fire to allow Alyx to stand up and aim. Looking back down at an outcrop near an entrance into the dock, she sent a blue portal near the large bulkhead.

Grabbing Gordon's hand, she sent a small devious small. "Hang on."

Alyx pointed the portal gun at their feet. She fired an orange portal, which manifested under them. Instantly, they were sucked through the blue portal, right next to the large bulkhead . . . which was closing slowly.

GLaDOS sat in her ship, reliving her old memories. The day she was created and shown to the entire Aperture Science team. How she was their greatest creation. The day she was appointed in keeping the Aperture Science Enrichment Center in line. The day the Borealis was created, including item number 3325. . . . . Chell. 'Oooooh, Chell'.

Her life had been a surprise. And now it was finally going to end.

GLaDOS looked around every facility owned by Aperture. Inside, she smiled.

"Goodbye."

: 0

Gordon and Alyx jumped just as the bulkhead door was about to shut. Behind them, a wave of pressure waved through the huge area.

Then . . .

The Borealis exploded into a large fireball, which filled the dock instantly.

The bulkhead closed just as the flames licked through the crack. Gordon covered Alyx to protect her. The whole instillation vibrated violently. It then subsided gradually.

The Borealis had been destroyed, ending the aperture science corporation forever.

:D Whew. Now, that was a tough chapter. And very long. But, I hope you liked it. I probably only have two chapters to go. Soooooooo . . .

More on the way. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!