Benry wasn't at the party.

Tommy was starting to get worried.

It was unlike him to miss something like this. Benry loved Chuck E. Cheese; he liked to beat all the high scores in the arcade until they had to reset the machines to give the actual kids a chance. Tommy thought he'd might not have regenerated fully yet, but that wouldn't have stopped Benry from making some kind of appearance. The birthday boy kept glancing around the room as if expecting a skeleton to pop out.

Despite his hopes, he saw neither hide nor hair of Benry. Or, well, bone or cartilage of him.

It's not like he wasn't invited. Tommy and Benry had been friends for too long for one epic battle to come between them. Tommy and the others (minus Gordon) understood that someone needed to be the final boss. Benry had been the one to bite that bullet for all of them. He was almost grateful.

Gordon, well… Gordon would understand, eventually, right? He'd forgiven Bubby for his hand, so why wouldn't he forgive Benry? They'd even worked together again until Xen, where only Benry got hurt. Gordon would come around. Tommy was sure of it.

Yeah.

As much as Tommy wanted all his friends to be friends, he wanted all his friends to be present moreso. It had been weeks since they'd gotten back from Black Mesa. The Science Team had all been trying to readjust to life outside- Bubby for the first time in his life. They hung out a few times in neutral spaces like cafes and parks. Gordon in particular said he didn't want them over at his home yet. Apparently he was in the process of moving.

Tommy knew that Benry could regenerate from just a few atoms, or a polygon, or a line of code. There was no way that he was dead for real. He'd even asked his father and had been told that G-Man had arranged for his friend to be dropped off at Chuck E. Cheese. So why hadn't he come to his birthday party?

Tommy was getting worried that, perhaps, he had somehow hurt Benry beyond what could be forgiven. Was Benry bitter that he'd had to take on the boss fight alone? Did he hate Tommy and the others now? The thought stole Tommy's sleep from him. He spent all night gazing at the faded glow-in-the-dark stickers on his ceiling with his hands buried in Sunkist's fur. The dog snuffled in her sleep.

His phone chimed with the Minecraft skeleton noise and he shot upwards in bed to reach for it. He almost knocked over his glass of water and a picture frame in the process. His heart pounded as his fingers wrapped around metal and glass. Tommy unlocked his phone, filling his bedroom with an eerie blue glow.

Benry had finally texted him.

He got out of bed and started to get dressed. Sunkist watched him from the bed, awoken by her master's franticness. She let out a low whine and a boof. Tommy patted her idly as he passed by but didn't move to get her leash. He'd leave a note for his father on the fridge. He grabbed his phone, his keys, and a soda for the road.

He needed to go pick up his friend.

Tommy had been missing for two days.

The aura around Mr. Coolatta was so cold that it burned. It felt like just standing too close would give you frostbite and it was probably true. He never had to wonder where his son was. As a father, and a godbeing, he had a sixth sense for these things. If Tommy didn't want to be found that was one thing but this was different. He wasn't being blocked by Tommy, his son was gone. He wasn't answering phone calls or texts. They hadn't even been arguing. Tommy would never let his father worry needlessly like this.

He'd invited all of the Science Team to Dunkin' Donuts to ask if they'd seen his son, but no one had. The group looked at Tommy's curly-cue handwriting on the note that G-Man had set on the table with an unreadable air. The man had a very stoic face, but it didn't take being a father for Gordon to sense the fear and heartbreak underneath. G-man's fingers idly smoothed down the crease where Tommy had folded the paper.

'Hey, dad! I had to pop out for an errand. When you wake up, can you feed Sunkist for me? Love you!'

It was written in cheerful yellow gel pen. Sunkist whined and pawed the ground where she sat at Mr. Coolatta's side. She barked out a flurry of bright red Sweet Voice when he lay a hand on the top of her head. It was like Tommy had vanished off the face of the earth. She'd been restless since he'd found her that first morning.

"That is very unlike our Tommy!" Dr. Coomer stated with the same loud, happy tone as usual. Gordon couldn't hold it against him- it was just how he talked. "If he was planning on going on a trip, he would have told someone!"

"I wonder what the 'errand' was," Bubby said, using his fingers to make air quotes and then immediately crossing his arms again. His leather jacket squeaked as he shoved his balled fists into his armpits. "Vague, much?"

Gordon tapped his fingers nervously on the table, eyes locked on the note. There was nothing strange about it and somehow it was even more off-putting that way. "Maybe there's something wrong with your phone, Mr. Coolatta?" he suggested, abruptly reaching for his bag, "Something probably came up and he just couldn't reach you. Let us try."

Dr. Coomer and Bubby reached for their own phones. There were several clicks as the three men typed out hasty messages to their friend.

HELLO, TOMMY! YOUR FATHER IS VERY WORRIED ABOUT YOU. WHERE ARE YOU?

ERROR.

Hey man, are you doing alright? No one's heard from you for a while. Text me -Gordon'

ERROR.

tommy your dad is losing his fucking mind please call him back before he twists space-time into a pretzel

ERROR.

The red 'Not Delivered' message mocked each of them. The texts had bounced immediately. G-Man's face seemed to get even more impassive as his coffee froze in his grip. The sound of ice crackling echoed through the room. The sounds of the other patrons were muffled like they were a million miles away.

"Thank you all for your time, doctors... Coomer, Bubby, Freeman… I will be looking for my ssson, so please, let me know if he contacts you."

"Please, Mr. Coolatta!" Coomer said, reaching for the note to see it again. "Let us assist you. Tommy is our friend and we'd like to find him!"

G-Man snatched it away before the old man could touch it. "There isss, no need. I have a, uh, bad feeling about all this… It would be better if you all ssstayed away for now."

The man and dog vanished before any of the Science Team could protest.

Coomer went missing next. He'd been calling each of the Science Team every day since they'd gotten black from Back Mesa, first thing in the morning. If they didn't pick up, which they often didn't since he was a very early riser, he'd leave them a cheerful message to wake up to. It was a reassuring piece of predictability that they all appreciated. Albeit, not when the phone was ringing at ass o'clock in the morning.

One day, neither of the remaining members woke up to a 'HELLO, GORDON!' or a 'GOOD MORNING, PROFESSOR BUBBY!' on their answering machines. The ice cold feeling from the Dunkin' Donuts returned. Gordon tried to push it aside to make breakfast, but was interrupted less than fifteen minutes later. Bubby showed up on Gordon's front stoop and almost started a fight when he wasn't allowed in.

"I don't care about the fucking boxes in your hallway, Gordon! First Tommy and now Coomer? This is bullshit!"

Gordon stepped out of his front door, forcing Bubby back a few paces, and shut it tight behind him. He hushed him quickly. "Not so loud! I have neighbours, you know? Are you sure he's gone and that he didn't just, like, punch his landline into oblivion?"

"I went to his house, shithead! It's only you that has the weird visiting embargo. He's just gone."

Gordon bit his lip. What if they hadn't wiped out the entire United States Military? Was the HECU still hellbent on covering up the incident at Black Mesa? They'd all already accepted their hush money. It wasn't like any of them were chomping at the bit to talk about their trauma. Possibilities spun in his head.

"Was there any sign of forced entry?"

"No! Everything was locked up when I got there. I have his spare key, so I checked in to make sure he didn't fall down or something. He's. Just. Gone."

Gordon slumped back against his door. "What do we do now?"

A fog seemed to settle over everything, greying out an already dull-colored morning. Gordon's guts twisted in his stomach like the tentacles on a Bullsquid's face. They both tried to call Coomer's phone, but calls and texts both bounced. Bubby grabbed Gordon's forearm and all but dragged him back to Dr. Coomer's place. Gordon barely had the time to get his shoes on.

They found nothing. No note, no struggle, nothing. Gordon stared unseeingly at the picture pinned on Coomer's fridge: the group shot they'd taken at Black Mesa. His own copy was shoved into his wallet. Bubby paced up and down the hallway, teeth grit tightly. He looked like he was about to set a fire or rip out of his own skin.

"Coomer! If this is a prank, I'm going to kill you!" he snapped. There was no answer from the empty house. Bubby marched over to the window and threw it open, shouting into the backyard. "You hear me?!"

"Bubby," Gordon interrupted, "Let's… Let's go down to the police station and file a missing person's report. After that, maybe we can… I dunno, make flyers. Go canvas the streets."

Bubby clenched and unclenched his fists. After a moment, he slammed the window shut again and locked it. "Yeah. Let's do that. Better than nothing, I guess."

They searched all day, but no one had seen Coomer. Bubby was still accosting people on the street when Gordon claimed he had to go home to feed Josh- the sun had already set and the streetlights were blinking on.

"Call me if anything changes, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Go back home to your kid, Freeman."

Dr. Feelgood blared out of Gordon's shitty, outdated iPhone at top volume. At least, it was supposed to be Dr. Feelgood. Instead, it was more like rhythmic static. Gordon threw out his hand to stop the noise and knocked his alarm clock onto the floor with a shattering of glass.

"Fuck!" he snarled, voice thick with sleep, as he pulled himself upwards and hit the answer button. His heart pounded against his ribs as he held the phone up to his ear. He groped for the bedside lamp next. He narrowly avoided pushing that to the floor too. The room filled with greasy yellow light.

"Hello?" he asked, eyes shut tight against the lamplight. He snorted and cleared his throat.

"Go...r… I found… Coo… Tommy… You have to…"

"Bubby, is that you?"

"Gor...d… Don't-"

"I can't hear you, man, you're breaking up. Can you call me back?"

"No! You have… to st… Si… ent…"

"What?"

"Sil… ill! To… Benry…"

"Benry? Bubby, what's going on?!"

The call dropped. Gordon cursed and hopped out of bed, barely noticing when he cut the soles of his feet. His chest felt like it was caught in a vice grip. Benry. Bubby had said something about Benry. His stomach sank and seethed. His anger simmered like acid, so easily called upon.

He should have known it had something to do with that fucker. He couldn't just leave them alone, could he?

He threw on the first set of clean clothes that his hands touched- a Caustic t-shirt, orange hoodie, and jeans. He forced a brush through his hair as fast as he could. He briefly, begrudgingly, wished for his HEV suit. He'd pretty much torn it to shreds with the help of the Science Team after Tommy's birthday party. He'd taken his crowbar to the latches of his suit when the gunk had sealed them shut and broken them, trapping himself. He hadn't been thinking straight.

Bubby had heated the metal while Tommy kept Gordon calm, weakening the suit until Dr. Coomer could rip it open like a tin can. Gordon had been sobbing when they'd finally pulled him out and got him into a shower. The metal had screamed.

He hated it, but at least he would have been safe. If he had to fight Benry again… He clenched his right hand. He didn't even have a gun anymore. He rotated his fist and his scars caught the light. He turned away from his thoughts and headed for the door. He'd figure something out.

He snatched his keys off the table, put on his shoes and jacket, and left the house without another word.

Bubby's apartment door was standing open when Gordon got there. There wasn't any note. His shoes were missing from the shoe rack. Gordon checked the closet for his leather jacket and that was gone too. He cursed under his breath and started to look for a weapon. Bubby had to have something, right?

Dr. Feelgood blared from his phone, followed by a 'HELLO, GORDON', then the Kazoo Kid song (remix). The three blurred together into a terrible, static-ridden mess. Gordon almost dropped his phone in his haste to punch in his lock code.

Three text messages blinked up at him calmly. Tommy, Coomer, and Bubby. They'd messaged him all at once. He hesitantly opened the messages.

Mr Freeman, you have to help us! Its Benry again :( come to Silent Hill

HELLO GORDON! IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE N A BIT OF A PICKLE. CAN YOU COME HELP US? WE'RE AT SILENT HILL

hey asshole, are you going to make us fight this skeleton fucker all alone? meet us in silent hill

His head pounded with lack of sleep and worry. He could feel the pressure growing behind his eyes when he pinched the bridge of his nose. He tried to center himself. At least he had a lead now. Every step felt like a battle as something in him screamed, so he pushed through it by moving faster.

He locked Bubby's apartment on the way out and skipped the elevator in favor of the stairs. If he stood still right now he would burst. He took them two at a time as he descended and leaped over the last few steps completely, shooting out of the apartment building's side door. He just barely kept from running to his car.

He slammed the door shut behind him and took a moment to breathe. He grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and gripped it until his knuckles were white. He tried to anchor himself against the dread that washed over him in waves. Breathe in. One, two, three, four, five… He breathed out through his nose. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...

He could do this.

"Siri, give me directions to Silent Hill."