Part 4 – Metamorphosis

Gordon was speechless. His former liaison, and long time friend, now tarried before him, brandishing a Combine decoration. In fact, Alyx looked nothing like her usual self. Her hair, which was always short and taut under a headband, now curled wildly over her features. As he descried her vaguely against the somber room, he was surprised to see how much she had changed. She looked vastly older. Her affectionate smile, which he could recall fondly, had faded completely, and was now replaced with an impassive stare. And her skin, which was rigid and acutely waxen, accentuated her eerily opaque eyes. It was as if she had been transformed into some estranged specter.

"Remember me, Gordon?" Alyx inquired darkly.

She took a few steps closer. Gordon searched her expressionless face for any trace of sentience. What had they done to her?

"It's futile to resist; you will only cause yourself more pain," She intoned mechanically.

At this point, she was only a couple feet away. Gordon could see the sooty depressions around her eyes, lolling lifelessly beneath her coarse brows. She didn't blink at all.

Leaning over her suspect, she placed her hands on Gordon's shoulders. He could feel the tremendous strength in her grip. An erratic discomfort rose in his chest as she gazed at him with those perverse, alien eyes.

"We're not so different, you and I," She began sinuously. "I've seen you fight; I've watched you murder countless numbers of my men. And I've witnessed the enthusiasm in you when you do it."

She paused, running her index finger tantalizingly over Gordon's cheek.

"And now, I have come to realize my own affinity for savagery," She said lightly. "The Combine has offered me so much Gordon, you have no idea."

Alyx leaned in closer. Her face, still callous, was now distinctly active; her eyes would flash, seemingly by compulsion, and her vacuous mouth twitched, as if trying to evince, moment by moment, its owner's demeanor. Gordon had the distinct impression that he was looking at a machine.

"My superiors are willing to afford you a generous position," She declared slowly. "You would be acquitted, of course, of your various crimes against the Combine. In return for your compliancy, they will grant you a considerable amount of power–power, Gordon Freeman, to do whatever you want."

Gordon sat quietly. He doubted the proposition was genuine and, even so, he didn't like it. Alyx continued to scrutinize him closely. After a few minutes, he could tell she was getting irritated on account of his silent indisposition.

"Do you acknowledge the offer?" She asked impatiently.

Gordon nodded falsely. He didn't have the slightest inclination of joining forces with the Combine but he desperately wanted to get out of that room.

Alyx hesitated, as if somehow perceiving his insincerity. Taking one last careful study, she finally she released him from her wrenching embrace. She then strode over toward the door and opened up a rusty cabinet, exposing a lambent blue terminal.

Gordon saw his opportunity. Easing from his chair, he crept agilely behind her. She was focused on the monitor, attentively interpolating something via an adjoining panel. She didn't seem to take any notice of him. Extending his right arm out cautiously, he reached for her gun.

His hand had just grasped the stock when she turned around.

There was a momentary interim; Gordon faltered as Alyx gazed down apprehensively. After realizing what he was after, her reticence melted at once and her face grew livid. She immediately grappled him and forced him to the ground. In his hysteria, Gordon managed to cling to her leg, dragging her down with him. The gun was dislodged from her belt and tumbled out of sight. They tussled on the floor, frenziedly pummeling one another. Alyx quickly gained the upper hand and began buffeting him brutally across the chest. He shriveled beneath her unnatural strength.

Gordon, his forearms held defensively over his face, spotted a steel pipe anchored under a box beside the chair. He waited until Alyx had raised her forearm to smite him again, then nimbly rolled over and scrambled towards it.

Bludgeoning her over the head, Gordon watched his opponent stagger temporarily, and then collapse onto her knees. He had won the fight; though the pain in his ribs and chest began to swell profusely and he could hardly keep his balance. Slumping against the wall, he began tending to his bruised face. The room was in disarray; the shelves along the sides had capsized, spilling various articles across the floor which was now stained with streaks of blood. Staring languidly at the body sprawled out opposite him, he could hardly believe he had just struck Alyx Vance out cold.

A thought then intruded alarmingly into his head: what if she wakes up? He crawled over to where Alyx was lying motionless. If the combine had lobotomized her, he reasoned, there was nothing he could do to save her. He lifted up her hair and began examining the back of her scalp. There was not a single scar or sign of incision. He sighed in relief. This suggested that the cause of her abnormal behavior was external; the manipulation device was most likely concealed somewhere on her epidermis.

Gordon rolled Alyx over onto her back and removed her vest. Unzipping her uniform, he began searching for any overt protrusions on her abdomen. He suspected the presence of some sort of biological agent. The supplier of the agent would probably be located around the pancreas. If the device was lodged there, the pathogen would be self-sustaining: it would be able to reproduce continually and spread throughout the bloodstream. Removing the device would hopefully flush out the disease. It was a shot in the dark, but Gordon didn't have much time.

Finding nothing atypical on her stomach, he rolled her over again to examine her back. To his surprise, Gordon discovered a small implant protruding clearly on the left side of her spine. The area around the apparatus was dry and inflamed. He pulled on the outer part of the implant softly and, almost instantaneously, three minuscule needles issued forth from the skin. The device was out.

After waiting awhile, Gordon was dismayed to find no apparent change in Alyx's complexion. Then slowly, the dusky tone in her skin began to recede. Hovering over her, he could see the sags under her eyes starting to diminish. He couldn't believe it; his inexpert maneuver had worked. The flesh on her face, which had appeared pale and anemic, now assumed a more natural state. It looked as though youth was flowing miraculously back through her veins.

Suddenly her eyes opened, darting about the room frantically before resting on Gordon.

"It's you," She breathed exhaustedly.

Then, leaning up slowly, she kissed him on the lips.