Chapter 18 – Final Dawn: Part One - Genesis

"How is this possible?" Adrian asked. Gordon was just as shocked as Adrian was. The room they stood in was the room where the resonance cascade occurred in Black Mesa. "This can't be. Black Mesa was destroyed. I know it was. I saw the blast."

"It's true. You saw a blast." The G-Man said from across the room. "Black Mesa was destroyed, however I recently needed the services that it offered. If you hadn't toyed with that bomb Mr. Shepherd, I wouldn't have had to rebuild the place."

"I disarmed that bomb goddamn it!" Adrian yelled.

"Yes you did, but to let the Combine gain control of the planet, I had to destroy Black Mesa to get Dr. Breen to work out the ending of the Seven Hour War." The G-Man replied. Gordon realized the awful truth.

"Wait, get Breen to…no. No you can't be. I thought the Advisors-" Gordon muttered before he was cut off.

"Back at White Forest, I told you that I was an Advisor myself."

"What is he talking about Gordon!?" Adrian asked.

"The Freeman has realized the truth." Rezlan said. "The Freeman has realized the true place of power that the demon holds."

"And that secret will die with you." The G-Man opened his briefcase and pulled out a 9mm. He aimed it at Gordon and Adrian. They acted on instinct and upholstered their own weapons, Gordon pulled out his Magnum and Adrian pulled out his dual 9mms.

"Wait!" Gordon yelled. "Wait, wait, wait! If you're gonna kill us, you might as well enlighten us to the whole story." A silence filled the room. The G-Man didn't lower his arm, but he didn't fire any shots either.

"I will tell the tale Freeman." Rezlan said. "The demon is an ancient force. He first came into being millions of years ago. The Vortigaunt prophets have preached of an ancient being that they only referred to as 'The Demon' who has existed since the dawn of time. The Demon can venture between worlds and time itself. The legends say that the Demon craves chaos and death. He will do anything to cause both."

"Wait, you're not saying that he is-" Adrian started

"Yes Shepherd. The being you see before you is even older that the Earth itself." Rezlan replied.

"Yes. It's true. I am a god." The G-Man said.

"You are no god!" Rezlan yelled. Gordon and Adrian jumped at his outburst. They had never heard a Vortigaunt react this way before. Since Gordon killed the Nihilanth on Xen, the Vortigaunts were a peaceful people. Rezlan continued. "You are a false idol. You are an evil creature." Rezlan turned to Gordon and Adrian. "Many eons ago, the Vortigaunt gods tried to subdue the demon. All attempts failed and the demon eventually escaped. He broke away from us and formed his own race of creatures that he thought superior to the Vortigaunts."

"The Combine…" Gordon muttered

"Yes Freeman. The demon vowed one day that he would return to Xen to wreak havoc on the Vortigaunt race. He did eventually return with the forces of the Combine. He also brought a creature called the Nihilanth. The Nihilanth swiftly took control of Xen and enslaved almost all of the population of it. Using the power crystals from Xen the Nihilanth brainwashed the Vortigaunts into believing in the Demon and his teachings. It was only after the Nihilanth had complete control of Xen that the Demon advanced his plan. That's where you come in Freeman." Gordon stood in shock, but he still kept his sights on the G-Man. 'Him a God?' Gordon thought. It couldn't be. "The Demon found the planet of Earth and saw how prosperous it was. As was his nature, the Demon couldn't have that. He found a way to move Xen's forces to Earth along with his Combine master race. The Demon came to earth with a stash of crystals like the ones he has there in that box." Rezlan gestured to the orange box next to the G-Man. "The Demon delivered the crystals to Black Mesa and they caused the resonance cascade."

"But I didn't plan on these two interfering with my plans." The G-Man croaked. "Dr. Freeman and Corporal Shepherd proved to be unstoppable forces in themselves. Gordon even defeated the Nihilanth and freed the Vortigaunts. I admired their perseverance and decided to keep them alive. I made up a story about me having employers to lead them to false answers and I put them both in stases. When I woke them up, I put them in places where I was sure they would be killed. Unfortunately, they also overcame City 17 and Aperture Science. My plan now is to kill them myself and use these crystals to create another resonance cascade to allow more of my Combine troops to overtake this planet." Gordon finally gave in and let out his feelings.

"You BASTARD! You toyed with our lives! You started a war and you killed thousands of people! Eli Vance and Judith Mossman lost their lives to you!"

The G-Man countered with. "You forget Freeman, if it wasn't for me, neither you nor Mr. Shepherd would have found love with your beloveds, Alyx and Chell." He had hid behind this excuse before. But as much as the duo hated to admit it, the G-Man was right. "Now, without further ado." The G-Man cocked the hammer on the 9mm he was holding the whole time. He emptied an entire magazine at the group. Adrian and Gordon followed suit and fired off their weapons at the evil man. It all happened so quickly. It was within the same second that it all went down.

A bright light suddenly burst in front of the three. Gordon half expected it to be an explosion or death coming for him. But it wasn't. In front of Gordon stood another Vortigaunt, It was Zenlo. Somehow, Zenlo was holding the bullets the G-Man had fired in the air.

"Jeez, not you again." The G-Man complained.

"Prophet Zenlo, you are here!" Rezlan exclaimed. Adrian did not know the Vortigaunt, but Gordon had met him before at White Forest. Zenlo was a seer of the Vortigaunt race; he could see into the future. He however refused to tell Gordon of his for fear of it causing pain and suffering. Zenlo lowered all three of his arms and the bullets the G-Man fired sprinkled to the ground.

"I thought I took care of you on Xen." The G-Man said.

"The future cannot be altered Demon. You of all people should know that!" Zenlo shot off a large burst of lightning from his hands. The shot hit the G-Man. He stumbled back and dropped his briefcase and gun. He almost lost his footing, but he kept his ground.

"Wow, that actually hurt." The G-Man complained."So I guess the prophecy was true. I have been stripped of my immortality and forced into this battle."

"Shall we dance Demon?" Zenlo asked.

"We SHALL!" The G-Man yelled. The two beings ran at each other and the fight began.